C Cameron v C Rioli v E Betts

Who’s the better player?

  • Total voters
    143

Remove this Banner Ad

In a thread like this.
What you do, is to ignore the votes and comments from the affiliated clubs.

And all the Neutrals are voting for Cyril.

There is the answer.

Edit, With special mention to Brisbane Supporter Bucking Beads , who also voted for Cyril
 
MadMaxx said:
In a thread like this.
What you do, is to ignore the votes and comments from the affiliated clubs.

And all the Neutrals are voting for Cyril.

There is the answer.

Edit, With special mention to Brisbane Supporter Bucking Beads , who also voted for Cyril
Click to expand...


Is it? It’s an opinion poll, it’s not a scientifically binding outcome.

Cyril Rioli was an amazing player.
He also played his whole career in one of the best teams in modern footy, and retired before he had time to decline.

Eddie Betts spent most of his career in mediocre to atrocious teams with a bit of a stint in a good one. He had better attacking output than Rioli and is the all time leader in AFL history for goal assists.

He isn’t the defensive presence that Rioli is, but in finals he actually had the same tackle numbers as Rioli and his goal and assist output went UP, suggesting two things - basically that in better sides he probably would have had even better numbers (and his numbers are already outstanding but they go up a notch in the years he had good teams to play in) and that he lifted in finals which is always a mark that Rioli is graded on highly.


Had he not played those last two seasons with Carlton his overall career record would look even better.

I don’t think it’s as clear cut as what is being made out.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Any club would love to have any of them but Rioli and Betts are ahead of Cameron.

It is hard to compare based on stats alone given Rioli played more mid time and Betts played for teams that were pretty poor. Overall would put Betts slightly ahead as the better and more consistent fp who could still do the amazing

On SM-A136B using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Would have to go with Betts, incredibly longevity, and at his peak was easily the best of the three. You can see how his output rose at Adelaide when they were playing finals, if Betts played in a side as good as the Hawks were, he'd be putting 50-60+ goals on the board every season.

Rioli was exceptional though, his career was cut short, at his best very scintillating in one of the great forward lines of all time. Franklin, Roughead & Gunston were three elite players in that time, & IIRC Rioli, Bruest, Poppy were 3 of the top 5 forwards for scoring from turnovers / pressure acts across a fairly long period (anyone got a stat line - I remember this one from the game Poppy retired on CH7 IIRC).

Cameron a very good player, having a great career, but clearly not as good as the other 2.

What's insane is that Bruest was playing alongside Cyril

To compare, with some other small forward from the past - didn't include Daicos, not sure if he was a small forward for his era, iffy on Bruest being one too though he plays like it.

  • Betts: 12.0 disposals, 1.8 goals, 3.0 tackles (350 games, 640 goals).
  • Cameron: 11.4 disposals, 1.8 goals, 2.6 tackles (229 games, 404 goals).
  • Rioli: 15.1 disposals, 1.5 goals, 4.6 tackles (189 games, 275 goals).
  • Bruest 13.4 disposals, 1.8 goals, 3.5 tackles (300 games, 549 goals).
  • Milne 11.9 Disposals, 2.1 goals, 1.7 tackles (275 games, 574 goals).
  • Phil Matera 10.2 disposals, 2.2 goals, 1.4 tackles (179 games, 389 goals).
  • Mark LeCras 14.6 disposals, 2.0 goals, 2.7 tackles (219 games, 441 goals).
  • Jeff Farmer 11.6 disposals, 1.9 goals, 1.6 tackles (249 games, 483 goals).
Rioli's tackling numbers remain incredible here, as do disposals for the role. Matera absolutely exceptional goals per game.

To take the piss,
Leigh Matthews 22.2 disposals, 2.8 goals, tackles weren't recorded (332 games, 915 goals)

Insane to think he played as a midfielder / forward, as a pure small forward would have probably been the best of all time, let alone being one of the great midfielders, the measuring stick all goal kicking mids need to compare to, let alone small forwards.
 
Cursed Cat said:
We usually had Corey Enright to nullify Cyril.
But it's still Cyril, in that company.
Click to expand...
I saw Corey Enright's recent appearance on The Front Bar. When asked who his toughest opponent was, he didn't even hesitate in answering... Cyril.

I found that interesting. If the GOAT small defender says his toughest opponent was Cyril, then surely this is worth more than glancing at a table of statistics.

According to the stats, Luke Breust was vastly superior to Cyril. As good as Luke Breust has been over the course of his career, I doubt you'll find a single Hawthorn supporter (or any football purist) who would even compare him to Cyril.

Corey Enright had a great record against Rioli. Cyril got him few times, but over the journey, Enright had the wood on him. I reckon Corey played more defensively than usual in those games v Hawthorn. Part of his greatness was the attacking drive he gave Geelong from defence with his 25-30 quality disposals. He was never quite as prominent in games vs Hawthorn. More head down, bum up and concentrating 100% on nullifying Cyril
 
Last edited:
Back One Out said:
I saw Corey Enright's recent appearance on The Front Bar. When asked who his toughest opponent was, he didn't even hesitate in answering... Cyril.

I found that interesting. If the GOAT small defender says his toughest opponent was Cyril, then surely this is worth more than glancing at a table of statistics.

According to the stats, Luke Breust was vastly superior to Cyril. As good as Luke Breust has been over the course of his career, I doubt you'll find a single Hawthorn supporter (or any football purist) who would even compare him to Cyril.

Corey Enright had a great record against Rioli. Cyril got him few times, but over the journey, Enright had the wood on him. I reckon Corey played more defensively than usual in those games v Hawthorn. Part of his greatness was the attacking drive he gave Geelong from defence with his 25-30 quality disposals. He was never quite as prominent in games vs Hawthorn. More head down, bum up and concentrating 100% on nullifying Cyril
Click to expand...

He also wouldn’t have actually played as much on Betts though as a direct opponent. There’s a perception that Enright played as a back pocket and blanked forward pockets to make a name for himself. He was literally still being named in the Cats centre line up until midway through 2009 and was on the half-back line in 2011 and a year or two after. It makes sense that with Rioli playing a bit higher up the field than guys like Betts and Cameron, he probably had to deal with Rioli a lot more
 
With Cameron If we are leaning so much towards the other two players because of finals.

Cameron has now kicked 46 goals and is the leader of all current players.

4 goals from top 20 all time and only behind Kevin Bartlett for small forwards that I see, unless we count Leigh Matthews.

I voted Cyril btw.

258A6DFE-56E1-4B0E-BB90-32DBB3AD40DD.png
 
I feel like Cyril is a very different player to the other two. Sure, they are all small forwards but Cyril was playing further up the ground with the occasional burst in the midfield and was way more versatile.

I reckon you could easily play Cyril and one of Cameron / Betts in the same team and if I have to choose between the latter I am taking peak Betts over peak Cameron. Betts kicked 6 or more goals on 8 occasions which is huge in the modern game.

1. Cyril
2. Betts
3. Cameron

All brilliant footballers
 
Cleansweep17 said:
So who’s the better player out of these 3. Cameron finally getting a flag got me thinking. Pretty tough to split now imo.
Click to expand...
Why are we comparing these three?

Aside from being g indigenous, they're completely different players.

Rioli was a high defensive half forward who spent time on the ball.

Betts was a deep goal kicking crumbing small forward.

Cameron is a leading and marking deep forward. He is a forward target. He's almost a medium forward.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Lavender Bushranger said:
Why are we comparing these three?

Aside from being g indigenous, they're completely different players.

Rioli was a high defensive half forward who spent time on the ball.

Betts was a deep goal kicking crumbing small forward.

Cameron is a leading and marking deep forward. He is a forward target. He's almost a medium forward.
Click to expand...

Anybody who makes a team of the…

Is putting these players in the forward pocket position only. That is similar enough.

It is also fun to compare players.

Hope this answers your question.
 
Cleansweep17 said:
Anybody who makes a team of the…

Is putting these players in the forward pocket position only. That is similar enough.

It is also fun to compare players.

Hope this answers your question.
Click to expand...
I just think it's a strange comparison. They're three completely different players playing three completely different roles.
 
Lavender Bushranger said:
I just think it's a strange comparison. They're three completely different players playing three completely different roles.
Click to expand...
Their different players, and have different traits but they do play a similar position that's the beauty of AFL.
People will compare completely different style key forwards why not small?
 
All 3 players are special in their own way but go take a look at the relative highlights packages and you'll see the difference.
 
Cursed Cat said:
We usually had Corey Enright to nullify Cyril.
But it's still Cyril, in that company.
Click to expand...
And what a great job he did. Remember when he beat cyril on the wing in 08 GF. Here is a screen grab where he beat him...
1727680188790.png
How's a little help from his friend?

1727680234050.png
You thought you had won? You should have brought more than a 2 on 1.
1727680307685.png
 
Headless said:
Gee, not sure about that. I think they're quite different, and Betts obviously played for longer, and stats only tell you so much about a player, but Rioli was unreal. Averages:
  • Betts: 12.0 disposals, 1.8 goals, 3.0 tackles (350 games, 640 goals).
  • Cameron: 11.4 disposals, 1.8 goals, 2.6 tackles (229 games, 404 goals).
  • Rioli: 15.1 disposals, 1.5 goals, 4.6 tackles (189 games, 275 goals).

More than that, though, Rioli is the one I want in my forward 50 based on a bunch of intangible qualities.
Click to expand...
Rioli would have kicked alot more if he wasn't so unselfish. Dished off plenty to his teammates. He was magical with how he moved as well. Cat like agility. Betts had tricks but not quite like Cyril whereas Charlie has his electric pace which sets him apart.
 
AlwaysHawks15 said:
Rioli would have kicked alot more if he wasn't so unselfish. Dished off plenty to his teammates. He was magical with how he moved as well. Cat like agility. Betts had tricks but not quite like Cyril whereas Charlie has his electric pace which sets him apart.
Click to expand...

Not to dispute most of your points because they’re all true but Betts himself is ranked #1 all time in AFL history since the stat was recorded for dishing goals off to his teammates. He was fractionally behind Rioli for average per game but it’s not a major point of difference between the two. And Rioli had some pretty decent forward mates to spot-up
 

Remove this Banner Ad

C Cameron v C Rioli v E Betts

Similar threads

Cleansweep17
  • Poll
Opinion Neale v Bont v Pendlebury v Cripps
2 3 4
Replies
98
Views
2K
Fadge
F
Wosh
  • Poll
Autopsy AFL 2024 Round 18 - Crows v Saints Sat July 13th 7pm C / 7:30pm E (AO)
2 3
Replies
62
Views
2K
FyfeToAdelaide
FyfeToAdelaide
J
Elite V's Superelite
2 3
Replies
54
Views
2K
vikingpimp
vikingpimp
BigVic
  • Poll
Dogs 2016 vs Lions 2024 - who had the better run
2
Replies
28
Views
926
T2B_
T2B_
Havoc
  • Poll
North Melbourne v West Coast.. who will be better in 2024?
6 7 8 9 10
Replies
241
Views
15K
R00StaR
R00StaR
Arr0w
Contract v Output
Replies
24
Views
1K
rapidfire7
rapidfire7
Cleansweep17
  • Poll
Dogs 2016 v Lions 2024
Replies
22
Views
855
juss
juss
Back
Top