Player Watch #21 Errol Gulden - born to play: 2024 All Australian

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My off-season deep-dive number three is Errol Gulden.

This one may be considered quite boring, because there's almost gonna be no analysis, just me gushing over him. But I wanted to fit Gulden's in before the end of the year. He strikes me as the type of player who is going to be so consistently good that he's going to make all the years morph into one. There won't be "that one Gulden season", but just a "Gulden era." So while we still have the one great year to discuss, I want to discuss it.

As I thought about players I wanted to do deep-dives on, I thought it'd be silly to ignore Gulden, but even sillier to include Gulden. After all, what superlatives are left to say about a player who was so good this year he probably needed a second rental in Maroubra just for all the gongs he won?

I will start by saying there is nothing that makes me love a player more than when they stand up and deliver in teams that are not so good. If I have been prone to some bias towards that Blakey/Rowbottom/McInerney trio out of all our youngsters, it's because I will forever remember the way they fearlessly stood up as undersized, inexperienced kids taking the game on and trying to inject energy into a Swans team that was at its lowest ebb in decades. To me, that's when champions are made, not in great teams at the business end of the season.

Whilst Gulden, Warner, Campbell, McDonald etc. all won me over in various ways, I still couldn't quite worship them the way I worshipped others, because they only knew playing in the AFL in a Swans team that was loaded with talent and that won on the regular. So early on this season, when it became clear that this wasn't going to be our year, and there were problems on every line and personnel was grim at times, the one positive for me was to see who would stand up and make something of those circumstances, rather than let those circumstances beat them into submission & struggle.

And of course it was Gulden. It was probably always going to be, if we're to believe the stories about him.

A mate and I were discussing Gulden (and N. Daicos) when some segment on Fox Footy talked about how they both seemed to work tirelessly at their craft and were ultra-professionals and the hardest-working players at their club. I said to my mate, "But how can that be? Shouldn't every player on the list be determined to ensure that THEY are the hardest-working player at the club? If Gulden is the last player to leave the track every session, shouldn't every other player be making sure that THEY are the last person to leave the track every session?"

I thought I was being quite profound, thinking very "big picture" and all. My mate's answer was quite simple.

"Some blokes are just freaks."

Thinking further on that, I think he nailed it. There will always be players who work enormously hard, who give their absolute all, who completely devote themselves to their sport, and I'm sure that describes a number of players on our list and in the AFL. And then there are those who simply have a supernatural level to go to. They just find that little bit extra. Something within them allows them to go harder and faster and longer and stronger at training than any of their peers.

I think that's how Gulden has become the player he is, and in such a short amount of time. If you look at every individual attribute Gulden has, he probably isn't THE best at the club at any of them (besides maybe kicking - I think there are others who may be as good but just don't get the ball as much.) He's not the strongest, not the fastest, not the biggest, not the toughest, not the most dynamic. But he's damn well near the top in every one of them.

All of it combines to make a player who barely has a discernible weakness. Getting caught in tackles trying to get onto his preferred kicking foot? Stuffing up a field kick here and there? Holy shizen if these are the only flaws in a player's game then put simply he is something else.

Congratulations Gulden on an amazing year.
 
caesar88 said:
My off-season deep-dive number three is Errol Gulden.

This one may be considered quite boring, because there's almost gonna be no analysis, just me gushing over him. But I wanted to fit Gulden's in before the end of the year. He strikes me as the type of player who is going to be so consistently good that he's going to make all the years morph into one. There won't be "that one Gulden season", but just a "Gulden era." So while we still have the one great year to discuss, I want to discuss it.

As I thought about players I wanted to do deep-dives on, I thought it'd be silly to ignore Gulden, but even sillier to include Gulden. After all, what superlatives are left to say about a player who was so good this year he probably needed a second rental in Maroubra just for all the gongs he won?

I will start by saying there is nothing that makes me love a player more than when they stand up and deliver in teams that are not so good. If I have been prone to some bias towards that Blakey/Rowbottom/McInerney trio out of all our youngsters, it's because I will forever remember the way they fearlessly stood up as undersized, inexperienced kids taking the game on and trying to inject energy into a Swans team that was at its lowest ebb in decades. To me, that's when champions are made, not in great teams at the business end of the season.

Whilst Gulden, Warner, Campbell, McDonald etc. all won me over in various ways, I still couldn't quite worship them the way I worshipped others, because they only knew playing in the AFL in a Swans team that was loaded with talent and that won on the regular. So early on this season, when it became clear that this wasn't going to be our year, and there were problems on every line and personnel was grim at times, the one positive for me was to see who would stand up and make something of those circumstances, rather than let those circumstances beat them into submission & struggle.

And of course it was Gulden. It was probably always going to be, if we're to believe the stories about him.

A mate and I were discussing Gulden (and N. Daicos) when some segment on Fox Footy talked about how they both seemed to work tirelessly at their craft and were ultra-professionals and the hardest-working players at their club. I said to my mate, "But how can that be? Shouldn't every player on the list be determined to ensure that THEY are the hardest-working player at the club? If Gulden is the last player to leave the track every session, shouldn't every other player be making sure that THEY are the last person to leave the track every session?"

I thought I was being quite profound, thinking very "big picture" and all. My mate's answer was quite simple.

"Some blokes are just freaks."

Thinking further on that, I think he nailed it. There will always be players who work enormously hard, who give their absolute all, who completely devote themselves to their sport, and I'm sure that describes a number of players on our list and in the AFL. And then there are those who simply have a supernatural level to go to. They just find that little bit extra. Something within them allows them to go harder and faster and longer and stronger at training than any of their peers.

I think that's how Gulden has become the player he is, and in such a short amount of time. If you look at every individual attribute Gulden has, he probably isn't THE best at the club at any of them (besides maybe kicking - I think there are others who may be as good but just don't get the ball as much.) He's not the strongest, not the fastest, not the biggest, not the toughest, not the most dynamic. But he's damn well near the top in every one of them.

All of it combines to make a player who barely has a discernible weakness. Getting caught in tackles trying to get onto his preferred kicking foot? Stuffing up a field kick here and there? Holy shizen if these are the only flaws in a player's game then put simply he is something else.

Congratulations Gulden on an amazing year.
Click to expand...

yes, can only say that gulden deserves this kind of in-depth praise and credit
hard to believe someone who started so well, so young has managed to continue to noticeably improve and develop
gulden is a freak, a remarkable player
but in your references to other players in that post, you're hitting at something i've been quite sure of ... we're witnessing the evolution of a great generation of swans players, a group i'm convinced will be talked about in the history of the club ...
we are building a premiership side, more and more pieces are being filled in, and we have to believe longmire can put them together and realise this premiership potential
we are building a premiership form guide, premiership dna ... emerging young side makes grand final almost ahead of schedule, endures a season of great frustration and challenges yet lifts to play finals
i genuinely believe we're in an era of swans history being made
we definitely have the talent, with gulden the inspiration ... the "talisman", as some writers would put it
 
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I think there is an aspect of the game that Gulden is the best at (at the club; and in the top handful in the league) and that’s his understanding of the game. That’s both at a high level - ie his understanding of what is possible and what his team is trying to do - but also in the moment. He senses what the next move is, and the next move after that, how the moment is unfolding.

That’s as much the key to how much ball he gets as are his elite endurance, his will to work relentlessly and his skill at winning the ball.
 
liz said:
I think there is an aspect of the game that Gulden is the best at (at the club; and in the top handful in the league) and that’s his understanding of the game. That’s both at a high level - ie his understanding of what is possible and what his team is trying to do - but also in the moment. He senses what the next move is, and the next move after that, how the moment is unfolding.

That’s as much the key to how much ball he gets as are his elite endurance, his will to work relentlessly and his skill at winning the ball.
Click to expand...
Absolutely spot on Liz. There are physical/muscular/skeletal/nervous skills that many very good players have. There is another dimension which is spatio-coordinational skills which is the ability to see things in three-d. This is where Stephens fell down. These are the players who hesitate because they can't see what's in front of them. Lastly, and this is where the true greats excel IMO, is in the temporal ie time. In essence they can foresee what will (or perhaps can) happen. They bring the first two to make the third happen.
When you combine those with study of the game and hard work you get players like Skilton, Pendlebury, Ablett, Judd, Williams and the like. Players for whom time stood still.
Hopefully Gulden will be spoken of in the same terms one day.
 
Kiama Chris said:
Absolutely spot on Liz. There are physical/muscular/skeletal/nervous skills that many very good players have. There is another dimension which is spatio-coordinational skills which is the ability to see things in three-d. This is where Stephens fell down. These are the players who hesitate because they can't see what's in front of them. Lastly, and this is where the true greats excel IMO, is in the temporal ie time. In essence they can foresee what will (or perhaps can) happen. They bring the first two to make the third happen.
When you combine those with study of the game and hard work you get players like Skilton, Pendlebury, Ablett, Judd, Williams and the like. Players for whom time stood still.
Hopefully Gulden will be spoken of in the same terms one day.
Click to expand...

i reckon paul kelly had that awareness too, you can see how he could read a ball out of a pack
never imagined i'd be saying it about another swan, but gulden has elements of kelly about his game
the big difference is that kelly had to carry one of the worst sides; gulden has the potential to drive a multi-premiership side
 
liz said:
I think there is an aspect of the game that Gulden is the best at (at the club; and in the top handful in the league) and that’s his understanding of the game. That’s both at a high level - ie his understanding of what is possible and what his team is trying to do - but also in the moment. He senses what the next move is, and the next move after that, how the moment is unfolding.

That’s as much the key to how much ball he gets as are his elite endurance, his will to work relentlessly and his skill at winning the ball.
Click to expand...

Spot on.

He has Greg Williams level of understanding the game and reading where the ball will be and where he is needed.
 
Jewelsbon said:
What a strange reaction to a perfectly reasonable post.
Click to expand...
Not really just let him be Errol and after watching Kels they are totally different players . I just love what Errol does as i did Kels and when i see old vision it's exciting .
Sorry didn't mean to offend , it's just they are 2 different players from separate times .
 

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bedford said:
Not really just let him be Errol and after watching Kels they are totally different players . I just love what Errol does as i did Kels and when i see old vision it's exciting .
Sorry didn't mean to offend , it's just they are 2 different players from separate times .
Click to expand...
Sorry Bedders, I took your post as a kind of knock on Errol, on re-reading I see I got it totally wrong and yes, I actually agree with you.

I never got to see Kelly play so I'm not qualified to make any comparisons, so I'll just keep enjoying watching Errol weave his magic.
 
Jewelsbon said:
Sorry Bedders, I took your post as a kind of knock on Errol, on re-reading I see I got it totally wrong and yes, I actually agree with you.

I never got to see Kelly play so I'm not qualified to make any comparisons, so I'll just keep enjoying watching Errol weave his magic.
Click to expand...
Sad you never saw the 2nd greatest number 14 , as with the best he had so much guts , my only knock was in the 96 GF he missed Plugger on the lead and a goal then it might've been 63 years
 
bedford said:
Sad you never saw the 2nd greatest number 14 , as with the best he had so much guts , my only knock was in the 96 GF he missed Plugger on the lead and a goal then it might've been 63 years
Click to expand...

i actually do agree on that play, not long before halftime ... kelly missed lockett, north rebounded and the momentum shifted completely
but it's a harsh overriding memory of kelly and you're wrong if you're solely blaming him for losing that ...
and if you can't see similarities between kelly and gulden ...
 
the hypnotoad said:
i actually do agree on that play, not long before halftime ... kelly missed lockett, north rebounded and the momentum shifted completely
but it's a harsh overriding memory of kelly and you're wrong if you're solely blaming him for losing that ...
and if you can't see similarities between kelly and gulden ...
Click to expand...
Not blaming Kels at all , it happens all the time , it was just when it happened as we had all the momentum .
And there are no similarities between the 2 apart from both wearing red and white . Just don't see the need to TRY and compare......
 
I don’t really see similarities between Kelly and Gulden.

Kelly had physical capabilities - his speed, power - that Gulden doesn’t, and will never, have. Those were the basis of his game. By the peak of his powers he'd honed his skills to a good enough level to make the most of his physical attributes. Clearly he had a good understanding of the game too, but he primarily played the game with his body.

Gulden has elite endurance and can make the ball sing with his feet, but he primarily plays the game with his mind.
 
liz said:
I don’t really see similarities between Kelly and Gulden.

Kelly had physical capabilities - his speed, power - that Gulden doesn’t, and will never, have. Those were the basis of his game. By the peak of his powers he'd honed his skills to a good enough level to make the most of his physical attributes. Clearly he had a good understanding of the game too, but he primarily played the game with his body.

Gulden has elite endurance and can make the ball sing with his feet, but he primarily plays the game with his mind.
Click to expand...
100%. Very perceptive.
 
liz said:
I don’t really see similarities between Kelly and Gulden.

Kelly had physical capabilities - his speed, power - that Gulden doesn’t, and will never, have. Those were the basis of his game. By the peak of his powers he'd honed his skills to a good enough level to make the most of his physical attributes. Clearly he had a good understanding of the game too, but he primarily played the game with his body.

Gulden has elite endurance and can make the ball sing with his feet, but he primarily plays the game with his mind.
Click to expand...
Summed it up very well , Liz great to have you on here
 
liz said:
I don’t really see similarities between Kelly and Gulden.

Kelly had physical capabilities - his speed, power - that Gulden doesn’t, and will never, have. Those were the basis of his game. By the peak of his powers he'd honed his skills to a good enough level to make the most of his physical attributes. Clearly he had a good understanding of the game too, but he primarily played the game with his body.

Gulden has elite endurance and can make the ball sing with his feet, but he primarily plays the game with his mind.
Click to expand...

both courageous smaller players who played "bigger" than they were physically
both outstanding in the air for their size
both had great endurance
both could will themselves to affect a contest
both could read the game well ahead of the play
both lifted the players around them
both able to hit players at distance with low, hard kicks on the run

that's just from a few moments thinking about them, out of any context
 
the hypnotoad said:
both courageous smaller players who played "bigger" than they were physically
both outstanding in the air for their size
both had great endurance
both could will themselves to affect a contest
both could read the game well ahead of the play
both lifted the players around them
both able to hit players at distance with low, hard kicks on the run

that's just from a few moments thinking about them, out of any context
Click to expand...
Kels wasn't the greatest kicks and he's admitted that , but he could climb high for a speccy , Errol hasn't shown that and your talking like Errol is in past tense . Maybe just enjoy Errol for what he is and hopefully goes again to another level . Just don't see you need top make stuff up
 

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Player Watch #21 Errol Gulden - born to play: 2024 All Australian

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