Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade says criticism of Gary Ablett's body language and commitment to the club over the past week has been grossly unfair.
Eade says the two-time Brownlow Medalist has been a great example of leadership around the club and has the team's full support.
"Off field he's very engaged," Eade said.
"He's a very caring individual. He cares about his teammates, he's spending a lot of time with younger players on the track, helping (Steven) May and (Tom) Lynch as well.
"Certainly off field he's been terrific.
"We've only played two games. People tend to be throwing barbs a bit after two games.
"He equalled for the (Marcus Ashcroft) Medal in round one, so from my point of view he played very well, and he's had a poor one at the weekend."
As far as Ablett's personal issues go, which he touched on in an interview on The Footy Show on Thursday night, Eade said the former skipper has the backing of the entire club.
"We will support Gary and continue to support him football-wise and matters off the field as well," Eade said.
"We'd like people to respect the personal nature of some things in his life off-field, and we won't be commenting or speculating on that."
Ablett revealed on Thursday night that he is contemplating walking away from the game entirely at the end of season due to family issues, which he did not wish to reveal.
“There’s some other things going on in my life that are my number one priority and I need to work through those things and as I said that will be something that I’ll talk to the club about at the end of the year," Ablett said.
