[3] Nonetheless, as the son of a popular and famous football player from Geelong, Ablett attracted a large following even at junior level.

Ablett made twelve senior appearances in total during the season, before spending the latter half of the year with the reserves team.

[3] Playing as a small forward, he helped the club's reserves team win the 2002 VFL premiership against Port Melbourne.

After achieving premiership success with the reserves team in the previous year, Ablett established his position in the senior side the following season.

Ablett alternated as a small forward and midfielder,[4] scoring 26 goals and appearing in all of Geelong's senior fixtures during the 2003 AFL season.

Ablett's consistency, reflected with his appearance in all senior games during the year and team-high 86 tackles, was rewarded with a third-place finishing in the Carji Greeves Medal as the club's best and fairest player.

Ablett finished the season with 35 goals to win the club's leading goalkicker award and once again place third in the Carji Greeves Medal.

After playing his first five seasons as a small forward who occasionally pushed up the ground, Ablett made a permanent move to the midfield in 2007.

His standout season was recognised early on when he was selected to play for the Victorian state team in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match.

After increasing his disposal average once again to 28.9 possessions per game, Ablett finished runner-up for the Carji Greeves Medal to teammate Joel Corey.

[8] Following the 2008 AFL Grand Final loss, Thompson suggested that Ablett would become a more prominent player in the forward line to provide the team with another goal-scoring option.

Ablett recorded 35 disposals and kicked three goals to place second for the Michael Tuck Medal as the player judged best afield in the final.

During the final, Ablett gathered 25 disposals, six tackles, five inside-50s, and kicked one goal to help the Cats defeat St Kilda by 12 points and capture the premiership for the second time in three years.

Ablett's role in Geelong's premiership-winning campaign was further recognised at the conclusion of the season, when he was co-awarded his second Carji Greeves Medal alongside Corey Enright.

[16] On 29 September 2010, Ablett signed a five-year contract valued at $9 million with the Gold Coast Football Club, a side entering the AFL for the first time in 2011.

In 2012, Ablett continued his individual success, winning his fourth Leigh Matthews Trophy and finishing the season with a career-high in kicks (389).

In 2013, Ablett had a tremendous season, leading the league in average disposals (31.2) and taking home his second consecutive (and fifth overall) Leigh Matthews Trophy.

[20] Ablett became the fifth player to win Brownlow Medals at different clubs, joining Ian Stewart, Peter Moore, Greg Williams and Chris Judd.

[21] Ablett had a career-best season in 2014, averaging 32 possessions and kicking 24 goals[22] before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in the Suns' win against Collingwood in round 16.

[26] Dr Peter Larkins stated four weeks later that the status of Ablett's injury meant that he could "miss the majority of the season".

[27] By the end of May, Ablett began to draw criticism from media personalities such as Garry Lyon and Jonathan Brown for his supposed lack of leadership in the struggling Suns side.

On top of their numerous losses, some Suns players were displaying poor discipline and Lyon considered Ablett was not doing enough to prevent off-field indiscretions.

[32] Ablett eventually returned for the round 14 game against North Melbourne;[33] although starting quietly, he was instrumental in the win, gaining 31 disposals and kicking three goals.

[34] He continued to perform well in the next two games, racking up 30 disposals in each and kicking four goals,[25] however he was struck down with a season-ending injury in round 17, suffering a medial ligament tear to the left knee in the first quarter of the Suns' loss to Adelaide.

[42] Following the 2017 AFL season, Ablett won his fourth Gold Coast Suns Club Champion award, despite playing only 14 games.

[46] It was reported that Ablett was seeking a return home for "family reasons", and if no trade was forthcoming, he would quit football despite being contracted to play at Gold Coast until the end of 2018.

[51] Following his return from injury, Ablett's form quickly improved, with a best on ground performance in the win over North Melbourne in Round 12[52] equalling Sam Mitchell's record of 121 games with 30 or more possessions.

[53] After a strong start to the 2019 season, Ablett was offered a one-match suspension, which would have been the first of his career, after striking Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel with a forearm to the head in the Cats' round 7 win; the club chose to appeal the suspension at the AFL Tribunal[54] and was ultimately successful, maintaining Ablett's clean record.

[58] After maintaining his good form upon his return, his best game for the year came in a best-on-ground performance round 23 against Carlton, when he accumulated 28 disposals and kicked three goals.

[78][79] Ablett is featured in a scene evading cars in an international off-road rally driving event, before kicking the ball to Fremantle player Matthew Pavlich.