noosa hawk mad
Norm Smith Medallist
http://insidefootballonline.com/holmesby.html
BUDDY COULD BE THE GREATEST
It’s a year when we are supposed to be stepping back and pondering the achievements of our sport over 150 years writes RUSSELL HOLMESBY..
We’ve seen some talk about the greatest footballer to play our game and predictably enough when the Herald Sun’s Mike Sheahan nominated his top 50 there were howls of discontent from people pushing the barrows of their particular favourite or the heroes of their club from days gone by.
But we may well have the greatest of all developing before our very eyes.
Lance “Buddy” Franklin could turn out to be the best of all time.
As I write this I can hear the various choruses of names being chanted by their various support groups, but have a look at Franklin play and I defy any fan to argue against him turning out to be the absolute top of the pile.
Of course nobody has seen the whole range of footballers dating back to the start of the game and it will always be a matter of conjecture when we compare players between eras.
Those of us who have watched more than four decades of football have to remember that we have seen just a quarter of the game’s entire history.
We read about legendary figures like Albert Thurgood and Dave McNamara and wonder how they would have adapted to football in later eras.
The simple answer is that champions would be champions in any era.
McNamara’s case is an example of how hard it is to assess players from bygone eras. I once knew an old St Kilda fan who had seen McNamara play and said he wouldn’t have flourished in the modern era because he was a “mark and kick man”.
Yet a description of him by a West Australian writer after the 1908 carni­val described his “cyclonic” running.
McNamara was a superb kick and had a huge reach, which enabled him to stretch beyond others in marking duels. Shades of Franklin there.
Why is there a temptation to predict such a glorious ranking for Franklin?
He may not be as physically strong (yet) as Wayne Carey, but he already has Carey covered for marking power and is a longer kick.
In fact his left foot matches Royce Hart, the pre-eminent left-footer of the modern era.
Despite standing 196cm, Franklin has sure hands at ground level that match it with the best.
Being good below the knees is a catch-cry for recruiters and while Franklin’s handling may lack the wizardry of a Darrel Baldock, it doesn’t suffer by comparison.
There is one quality that Franklin shares with the absolute elite – that special touch of flair that can enable him to take charge of a game in the manner of a Gary Ablett or Tony Lockett.
These are parts of a footballer’s make-up that can’t be measured in statistics.
All we have as visual evidence of Haydn Bunton’s style is a couple of minutes of training film, but even that brief glimpse shows us a player of superb balance.
Franklin can match that equilibrium.
For a parallel in brilliance and athleticism we can look at Phil Carman. But temperament is a factor, too.
Greatness in football is usually under written by premierships and excellence in the finals, with a general expectation of being able to perform in the biggest games.
Maybe we got a hint of that in the opening week of last year’s finals when Franklin sank Adelaide.
Of course his career path will not just hinge upon marks, kicks and gathers.
It will be dictated by temperament and the ability to handle the pressure that comes with standing in the blinding spotlight of AFL stardom.
Yes, there is a long way to go and it is too early to make the call on Franklin in his fourth season.
But in 10 years’ time we might find him mentioned ahead of all others.
BUDDY COULD BE THE GREATEST
It’s a year when we are supposed to be stepping back and pondering the achievements of our sport over 150 years writes RUSSELL HOLMESBY..
We’ve seen some talk about the greatest footballer to play our game and predictably enough when the Herald Sun’s Mike Sheahan nominated his top 50 there were howls of discontent from people pushing the barrows of their particular favourite or the heroes of their club from days gone by.
But we may well have the greatest of all developing before our very eyes.
Lance “Buddy” Franklin could turn out to be the best of all time.
As I write this I can hear the various choruses of names being chanted by their various support groups, but have a look at Franklin play and I defy any fan to argue against him turning out to be the absolute top of the pile.
Of course nobody has seen the whole range of footballers dating back to the start of the game and it will always be a matter of conjecture when we compare players between eras.
Those of us who have watched more than four decades of football have to remember that we have seen just a quarter of the game’s entire history.
We read about legendary figures like Albert Thurgood and Dave McNamara and wonder how they would have adapted to football in later eras.
The simple answer is that champions would be champions in any era.
McNamara’s case is an example of how hard it is to assess players from bygone eras. I once knew an old St Kilda fan who had seen McNamara play and said he wouldn’t have flourished in the modern era because he was a “mark and kick man”.
Yet a description of him by a West Australian writer after the 1908 carni­val described his “cyclonic” running.
McNamara was a superb kick and had a huge reach, which enabled him to stretch beyond others in marking duels. Shades of Franklin there.
Why is there a temptation to predict such a glorious ranking for Franklin?
He may not be as physically strong (yet) as Wayne Carey, but he already has Carey covered for marking power and is a longer kick.
In fact his left foot matches Royce Hart, the pre-eminent left-footer of the modern era.
Despite standing 196cm, Franklin has sure hands at ground level that match it with the best.
Being good below the knees is a catch-cry for recruiters and while Franklin’s handling may lack the wizardry of a Darrel Baldock, it doesn’t suffer by comparison.
There is one quality that Franklin shares with the absolute elite – that special touch of flair that can enable him to take charge of a game in the manner of a Gary Ablett or Tony Lockett.
These are parts of a footballer’s make-up that can’t be measured in statistics.
All we have as visual evidence of Haydn Bunton’s style is a couple of minutes of training film, but even that brief glimpse shows us a player of superb balance.
Franklin can match that equilibrium.
For a parallel in brilliance and athleticism we can look at Phil Carman. But temperament is a factor, too.
Greatness in football is usually under written by premierships and excellence in the finals, with a general expectation of being able to perform in the biggest games.
Maybe we got a hint of that in the opening week of last year’s finals when Franklin sank Adelaide.
Of course his career path will not just hinge upon marks, kicks and gathers.
It will be dictated by temperament and the ability to handle the pressure that comes with standing in the blinding spotlight of AFL stardom.
Yes, there is a long way to go and it is too early to make the call on Franklin in his fourth season.
But in 10 years’ time we might find him mentioned ahead of all others.
