Opinion Can Dustin Martin be the GOAT? (Answer: no)

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That is the best post I’ve ever seen on this site. 👏👏👏👏

Thanks for the correction re. Danger not being the 2022 GF AFLCA BOG. I don’t know how or why I thought that was the case. I thought the “fun fact” about his performance was that he didn’t win the Norm Smith but Jono Brown gave him his 3 votes and the coaches also thought he was best. Only the former is true.

Fascinating to me that neither Izzy or Paddy was statistically BOG that day; that was Chad Warner.

Also it was interesting to learn that Isaac has been a Norm Smith winner without being statistically BOG in 2022 and also been statistically BOG and not even close to winning it in 2015. At least he got a vote. It was amazing how many times the highest points player didn’t get any votes. Seriously WTF.

I can’t believe Houli was only 29th best statistically in 2017 with his AFLCA BOG performance or how unremarkable by this metric Cyril, ROK, JJ and Bobby were with their NSMs. It confirms the “eye test” part of watching sports. I remember how Gryan was statistically BOG in the 2022 PF but nobody wouldn’t have had Paddy as the best player that night by many light years. As you said this data only started in 2012 but IIRC by some other non-AFL sanctioned ranking point system Joel Selwood is comfortably BOG in the 2011 GF.

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Is this statement totally accurate?

FWIW. Just using a quick shallow analysis of basic statistics.

Paddy vs Dusty in September 2017

In the QF that they both played in Paddy had 31 touches and kicked a goal while Dusty had 28 with no goals.

Paddy then had 26 touches and kicked 4 against the Swans in the semi and in the PF against the Crows had 24 and 2.

Dusty had 20 and 3 in the PF and 29 and 2 in the GF.

AVERAGES

Paddy 27 touches and 2.3 goals.


Dusty 25.7 touches and 1.7.


Sure I get it. GF instead of SF and NSM and wins etc. But just on the simple fact of three finals their teams allowed them to play in, and judging the individual player output, in this series it didn’t give the upper hand to Martin.


The other issue I have is with the inclusion of 2020 performances. I’m of the school of thought that they just don’t count. This has nothing to do with Richmond or Dusty. I include my own players’ accomplishments in this season as not being legitimate as it wasn’t a real season. Cameron Guthrie you won a Geelong B&F and made the AA team? Nope. Tom Hawkins you won the Coleman? No, it doesn’t count. That season was just waaaaaaaaaaay too goofy to be considered legit IMO. My team made that GF and I wasn’t one millionth as interested in winning that contest as I was a regular GF.

I’m so hardline on the “2020 isn’t a real season” issue that I don’t even consider the Adelaide 2020 wooden spoon legit. IMO they’re still a club that has never won a real spoon.

I had the same thoughts way back in the day about the lockout 1999 NBA season.
Bit of revisionist history about the 2017 QF.

Yes Dangerfield had 31 touches, but went at 45% disposal efficiency. He kicked multiple out on the full and generally butchered the ball.

May have even been this match that spawned the nickname "Clangerfield".
 

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Looks like they forgot to mention they were only counting the home and away seasons.

Because after the full 2017 season including finals, it was:

D Martin 20.86
P Dangerfield 20.09

It is a shame Patrick didn't learn to kick to any sort of level that would cut it in finals.

I wonder who the highest rating player in a Premiership year is? Some people just seem to know how to make their dominance count for their team. And some don't. ;)
 
Isn’t it in overall rating order (descending)?
I can’t believe I looked at it for a good few minutes without picking that up

Was driving me insane…


It’s obviously been a long week
 
Looks like they forgot to mention they were only counting the home and away seasons.

Because after the full 2017 season including finals, it was:

D Martin 20.86
P Dangerfield 20.09

It is a shame Patrick didn't learn to kick to any sort of level that would cut it in finals.

I wonder who the highest rating player in a Premiership year is? Some people just seem to know how to make their dominance count for their team. And some don't. ;)
I must admit it makes me smile, when watching the lengths you guys go to protect Dustbin.

It is sad, it is embarrassing, but it makes me smile.

Face it GAJ (so far) is the best and it isn't even close.
 
I must admit it makes me smile, when watching the lengths you guys go to protect Dustbin.

It is sad, it is embarrassing, but it makes me smile.

Face it GAJ (so far) is the best and it isn't even close.

Protect Dusty, lol.

Conceded Ablett has a better home and away record, though Dusty's is also very good.

Now look at their respective finals records. Because that is definitely not close.
 
147 coaches votes in a single season?

Likely requires an incredibly dominant home and away season + an incredibly dominant finals series.

Also, will anybody ever beat that average of 5.88 coaches votes per game over a whole season? It seems an awful lot.
 
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147 coaches votes in a single season?

Likely requires an incredibly dominant home and away season + an incredibly dominant finals series.

Also, will anybody ever beat that average of 5.88 coaches votes per game over a whole season? It seems an awful lot.
Who got that?
 

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147 coaches votes in a single season?

Likely requires an incredibly dominant home and away season + an incredibly dominant finals series.

Also, will anybody ever beat that average of 5.88 coaches votes per game over a whole season? It seems an awful lot.
Oh, you.

271787.jpg
 
Given his talents Dustin Martin was one of the most underwhelming home & away players in history.

I don’t clear nearly enough to fact check, but I find it surprising that he ever won any home and away season awards at all.
 
Given his talents Dustin Martin was one of the most underwhelming home & away players in history.

I don’t clear nearly enough to fact check, but I find it surprising that he ever won any home and away season awards at all.

No fact checking needed.

In the 2017 season Dusty won the Coaches MVP with a still record 122 votes from 22 matches.

He then won the Gary Ayres Award for best finals player(as voted by coaches) with 25 votes.

122 + 25 = 147 coaches votes from 25 matches.

Do you think anybody will ever beat that, including beating the whole season average of 5.88 coaches votes per game?
 
Yes. Much like the Brownlow this year, coaches votes will become more centralised at the top and someone will hit 200 even though they don't deserve it.

Coaches know the players' roles though. For eg last year despite McRae dead set cheat voting for Daicos, and an increase to 23 games per home & away season, and Cripps & Daicos passing the previous Brownlow voting record they didn't even pass the record 122 coaches MVP votes, let alone the 5.88 vots per game average.
 
No fact checking needed.

In the 2017 season Dusty won the Coaches MVP with a still record 122 votes from 22 matches.

He then won the Gary Ayres Award for best finals player(as voted by coaches) with 25 votes.

122 + 25 = 147 coaches votes from 25 matches.

Do you think anybody will ever beat that, including beating the whole season average of 5.88 coaches votes per game?

Dusty had many 'good' seasons, but only one truly amazing season (2017).
Yes, it was probably the best individual season - in the modern/AFL era with current stat records.

The majority of supporters (i.e. non-Richmond supporters) if given the choice would easily take the whole career of GAJ over Dusty.

I would also strongly argue that Leigh Matthews' 1977 season was better than Dusty in 2017.
Hawthorn didn't win the premiership that season, but Lethal's stats that year were absurd:
  • 27.1 disposals / game
  • 3.8 goals / game

For comparison, Dusty's 2017:
  • 29.7 disposals / game
  • 1.5 goals / game
 
Dusty had many 'good' seasons, but only one truly amazing season (2017).
Yes, it was probably the best individual season - in the modern/AFL era with current stat records.

The majority of supporters (i.e. non-Richmond supporters) if given the choice would easily take the whole career of GAJ over Dusty.

I would also strongly argue that Leigh Matthews' 1977 season was better than Dusty in 2017.
Hawthorn didn't win the premiership that season, but Lethal's stats that year were absurd:
  • 27.1 disposals / game
  • 3.8 goals / game

For comparison, Dusty's 2017:
  • 29.7 disposals / game
  • 1.5 goals / game

Thats crazy talk

One was a mercenary who stat padded and went missing in finals

The other was the ultimate team player who was his teams best player in almost every final he ever played, and undoubtedly the greatest grand final player in history
 
Dusty had many 'good' seasons, but only one truly amazing season (2017).
Yes, it was probably the best individual season - in the modern/AFL era with current stat records.

The majority of supporters (i.e. non-Richmond supporters) if given the choice would easily take the whole career of GAJ over Dusty.

I would also strongly argue that Leigh Matthews' 1977 season was better than Dusty in 2017.
Hawthorn didn't win the premiership that season, but Lethal's stats that year were absurd:
  • 27.1 disposals / game
  • 3.8 goals / game

For comparison, Dusty's 2017:
  • 29.7 disposals / game
  • 1.5 goals / game

Will anybody ever beat that Coaches vote season record of 147?

It is supported by:

  • then record Brownlow votes
  • Norm Smith Medal win adjudged best, best, best, best, 3rd best by the 5 judges
  • Season leading average player rating
  • Finals average of player rating above 24 - the highest ever recorded(apart from Dusty's own astonishing 26.9 player rating average from 4 finals in 2020.)

Matthews 1977 season was incredible, but it was a different(much higher scoring) era, and he wasn't so damaging in the finals series, and did not win the Brownlow. We will never have the tools to compare modern players with players of past eras properly, so I was more thinking of the future with this question.
 
Will anybody ever beat that Coaches vote season record of 147?

Matthews 1977 season was incredible, but it was a different(much higher scoring) era, and he wasn't so damaging in the finals series, and did not win the Brownlow. We will never have the tools to compare modern players with players of past eras properly, so I was more thinking of the future with this question.
It will take a long time, but records are made to be broken.
For example, if North Melbourne and West Coast finally start getting double figure wins in a season, Sheezel and Reid are the type of players who could challenge 147.

Yes, Matthews' era was more high scoring (meaning goals were easier to come across), but it was also an era with far less disposals, meaning his average of 27 was probably closer to 30 or even 35 in todays' game.

It is always difficult to compare players from decades apart.
In any case, I would still have GAJ comfortably above Dusty from a career perspective.

The GAJ vs. Matthews debate is an interesting one.
 
Thats crazy talk

One was a mercenary who stat padded and went missing in finals

The other was the ultimate team player who was his teams best player in almost every final he ever played, and undoubtedly the greatest grand final player in history

Dusty was a great finals player, no doubt.

He had three fantastic GF performances, but even Richmond supporters would agree that the overall quality of opponents was... low.

Anyway, you agree with my point - as a Richmond supporter you rank Dusty above GAJ.

Let's see what some other neutrals think.
 

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Opinion Can Dustin Martin be the GOAT? (Answer: no)

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