Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade has hit back at criticism about Gary Ablett and says the two-time Brownlow Medal winner is committed to helping the Suns improve.
The inaugural Suns captain has been lambasted after his lacklustre performance against Greater Western Sydney last week but Eade says the criticism is due to Ablett's reputation as a great of the game.
"As I said after the game, which wasn't reported, he wasn't the only one that didn't play very well; he's a victim of his own standards," Eade said on Friday.
"Unfortunately when you become a great player everyone expects those standards week in and week out, and he happened to have an off game.
"I've spoken to Gary and he's very keen to play well. He's got a lot of pride and he's a great player and he played very well the first week (against Brisbane).
"He has one bad game and unfortunately he gets labelled as something."
Rumours about Ablett's future at the Gold Coast began last year and the 32-year-old requested a trade in the off-season to return to his former club Geelong, due to personal reasons.
His commitment to the Suns has since been questioned and prompted comments saying he looked uninterested against the Giants.
Eade says all of the debate after last week's 102-point loss should not be dumped on the two-time premiership winner.
"You could probably aim that (looking uninterested) at a few other players as well," Eade said.
"Sometimes looks can be deceiving when things outside footy can be distracting to your mindset and game."
Despite his off-field concerns, Ablett remains devoted to his teammates.
"Off the field he's been very engaged," Eade said.
"He cares about his teammates, he's spending a lot of time with younger players on the track, helping (co-captains Steven) May and (Tom) Lynch as well."
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