"Clap, clap, clap!"

That's the sound we should be hearing from Geelong supporters today following today's confirmation, finally, that Gary Ablett is on his way to the Gold Coast for the next five years and in all likelihood, the rest of his career.

Ablett gave them everything, particularly in the last four years - a Brownlow, two other placings, three AFL MVP awards, four All Australian jumpers and, of course two premierships.

It is a body of work that any footballer would happy to lay claim to over an entire career, and it is hard to recall any player have a better four seasons than that. Geelong supporters should feel privileged and be thankful to have had front row seats for one of the greatest football shows ever.

No doubt, they'll be anything but. This is footy and they'll be feeling narky. The defection of Ablett and the near-certain departure of coach Mark Thompson has left them bewildered. How could four years of near perfection come crashing down around them?

The Cats moved on as best they could, by removing Ablett's name from the playing list in the club website and we wonder how Richie Pace and the editorial team down at the Cattery will report Ablett's likely third club best and fairest win on Thursday night. And we can only imagine the heavy black type and sad tones in the Geelong Advertiser (formerly the Ablettiser) on Thursday.

It will be an emotional time for all as Ablett formally cuts his ties with the club and by Friday morning, he will be a Gold Coast Sun in name and body. So what comes next?

Ablett spoke of wanting to embrace the challenge of being a leader of men with the Suns and he got off to a fine start at the media conference, which he handled with a suitable mixture of excitement, apprehension and humility.

And he was honest enough to admit the money was a significant carrot. Is it $1.9 million a season? Suns CEO Travis Auld wanted us to believe that no player would receive 25 per cent of the salary cap, but take away the six uncontracted players, you have a bunch of retreads and draftees who can be paid the bare minimum, or not a whole lot more. So perhaps he can be.

As the face of the club and the heart of the side, Ablett will earn every cent of his money. The Suns have put together a reasonable backline but as it stands, he is their only A-Grade midfielder. David Swallow is an emerging star, but has yet to play a game. There's Daniel Harris, but he was short of the mark when he played at North Melbourne the last few years and for now, he is arguably the Suns' second best on-baller.

Ablett will have to get used to a few beatings early on. A bit like the preliminary final this year, he'll find himself racking up 40 touches a game, yet his team will be 10 goals behind on the scoreboard. That's when the leadership role he is said to be craving becomes super important because if the Suns win more than six games in their first season, then they will have done extraordinarily well.

But all things considered, he has made the right move. Nobody other than the 12 year old Geelong fans who one journo demanded Ablett rationalise his decision for, could have reasonably expected him to stay at Geelong.

The money and the challenge made it a no-brainer, and if the 12 year olds don't understand then as Ablett quite rightly made the point, their parents would.