Gary Ablett has paid tribute to his late sister Natasha and thanked Geelong, Gold Coast and the "wider community" for their support after he rejoined the Cats on Thursday.
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Ablett, 33, experienced the high of what he described as an "emotional roller-coaster" week on Thursday when he was traded to Geelong following seven years at the Suns. The Cats gave up pick 19 - the selection they surprisingly gained as compensation for departing free agent Steven Motlop - in the deal, as well as their second-round future pick, receiving Ablett and Gold Coast's pick 24 in exchange.
The dual Geelong premiership star, who appeared 192 times for the Cats between 2002 and 2010, has signed a two-year deal with the club, forfeiting a six-figure sum in doing so, having had a year to run on a three-year deal with Gold Coast.
Ablett had unsuccessfully sought a move back to Geelong 12 months ago, and again requested a move, citing family reasons.
His family was hit by tragedy last week with the death of his sister in her mid-30s. The circumstances around her death were not suspicious.
In a post on his new Exclusive Insight website, Ablett spoke of the pain of losing his sister, who will be farewelled at a funeral on Friday.
"It saddens me deeply to have to say goodbye to my beautiful sister, who will always be a part of our family," Ablett wrote.
"We will miss her every day! Her gentle spirit, her generosity, her humility and her big smile will never be forgotten.
"This week has been an emotional rollercoaster, however, hearing that I will be returning home has brought both myself and my family some joy during what has been a difficult and painful time.
"I'm excited to return to where it all began and to get around the club and my new teammates in due time."
Ablett's agent Liam Pickering told Fairfax Media that he had maintained confidence "common sense would prevail" with his client to head back to Geelong despite Gold Coast's initial insistence they receive a player from the Cats as part of the deal.
The Suns had received a setback when Cats midfielder Darcy Lang chose Carlton as his preferred destination, with Lang joining the Blues on a predictably busy final day of the trade period.
"Obviously it's a really difficult time, and his reasons for coming home, as they were last year, were genuine," Pickering told Fairfax Media.
"I was hopeful that the Suns and the Cats would be able to come to an arrangement, which obviously they did, which is great."
Pickering said Friday would be "another pretty full-on day" for Ablett. "It's never been about the money or he would have stayed," Pickering said, before reiterating that Ablett would have walked away from the game had he not been traded.
"The last couple of years have just been about getting home," he said. "It would have been a shame to see him stand out [of] footy, and he would have."
Geelong list manager Stephen Wells said there had been some doubt a deal would be completed. "It was no certainty all the way through the trade period but in the end, the Gold Coast did what they said they would do," Wells said.
"We've given up a bit to do that in next year's draft and also this year's draft, but it's a great story, Gary coming back to Geelong, particularly having won a best and fairest this year and still having plenty of good footy ahead of him."
Gold Coast chief Mark Evans showed no signs of ill-will towards the former Suns captain, who had been a shining light during his time at the club, even winning the best and fairest this year despite playing just 14 games. "It's important for the Gold Coast Suns, and for Queensland football, to acknowledge Gary's contribution to the club," Evans said.
"He's been a terrific servant, just a great player, we completely respect and understand the circumstances as to why he's asked to return to Victoria and we wish him and [wife] Jordan and all of his family the very best."
