Help me out here, 'Bomber' Thompson, I'm a little confused: you expect Gary Ablett to forego an extra $500,000 a year so he can continue playing with Geelong. And you expect him to do that because, what, he feels an overwhelming sense of loyalty to the club. Is that it?

The same club which gave him his chance in the big time and has graciously allowed him to play 176 games in the blue and white hoops, and was generous enough to play him in the midfield during two grand final wins? And, of course, the club that permitted him to win the Brownlow Medal?

Give me a break. Ablett owes Geelong nothing; he's repaid any debt he had - with interest - a dozen times over.

You know when club officials, desperate to hang on to a particular player, started bleating about loyalty that they've run out of any decent arguments. It's the last resort of footy scoundrels. Because, rest assured, when the boot's on the other foot and players are looking for a bit of loyalty from their club, it'll be nowhere to be seen.

Thompson's attitude towards his star midfielder - who's weighing up an offer of up to $1.5million a year from the fledgling Gold Coast team, reportedly $500,000 more than the amount he can expect to earn at Geelong - is becoming risible.

Speaking on radio on Saturday, the coach said he could not understand the dilemma Ablett faced, even given the magnitude of Gold Coast's offer and the fact he would be lining up in the same team as his brother Nathan.

In the same breath, Thompson then pointedly went on to wax lyrical about Ablett's teammate Joel Selwood, who has turned his back on other offers to remain at Geelong, for a great deal less money.

One wonders how Steven King feels about this sanctimonious and self-serving nonsense from the Cats coach. For King, a former Geelong captain and premiership ruckman, wanted to stay with his teammates in 2007. In fact, he resisted all overtures from other clubs because of his desire to stay at Kardinia Park.

But fat lot of good that did him. For King was shipped off to St Kilda two weeks after the 2007 premiership - in which he played a more-than-serviceable game - as reluctant a draftee as there ever was, but what could he do about it? He was a mere player, a pawn in the great national draft game. His bargaining power was zero, his negotiating done from a position of zero strength.

So loyalty's a two-way street, and always has been. Not that you'd know that listening to clubs: they want players to be loyal to them, when it suits them, but they're happy to offload the same players at the drop of a hat if their form wanes a little - or if a better offer comes along.

Loyalty? Talk to Luke Ball about a loyalty, the former Saints captain shunted off to Collingwood last year when his heart was always at Moorabbin. Tell that to Josh Kennedy, who couldn't have been shown the door quicker as Carlton made that unseemly and tawdry grab for Chris Judd's services. Talk about club loyalty to Trent Croad and Shane Woewodin and they might well laugh in your face.

Thompson is miffed apparently that Ablett is taking his time making this decision about the Gold Coast. But which 26-year-old wouldn't be mulling over this potentially life-changing decision with some deliberation, and not a few sleepless nights? (By the way, that's the two of them pictured above in 2005).

Thompson's post-match pronouncements - this is the second time he has taken a swipe at Gazza - have been undignified and petulant and they can't have helped the club's cause in keeping Ablett. And besides, they're deeply hypocritical.

What would happen in a year's time, for example, when Greater Western Sydney offers Thompson a long-term deal that would set him up financially for life? A $6 million deal over four years, say. Would he knock that back without a moment's hesitation? Would he say: sorry, I owe Geelong my undying allegiance and I'm afraid I'll have to say no?

What absolute poppycock. Ablett has devoted eight of the best years of his career to Geelong, and helped make them become the champion team they are. He's brought members in by the hundred, helped sell merchandise by the bucketload and, most importantly of all, helped give an underachieving club back its self-respect.

In turn, Ablett owes Geelong a debt of gratitude for giving him a start and setting him on his way to become one of the great players of his era. What he certainly doesn't owe them is a lifelong commitment.