Opinion Neale v Bont v Pendlebury v Cripps

Who is better?


  • Total voters
    110

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Dec 20, 2023
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AFL Club
Richmond
So Neale just got the Gary Ayres award (Finals MVP) and well as becoming a premiership captain.

I thought it’d be interesting to see what people think of some of the recent 2nd tier mids in the game and if Neale has gone up the rankings for anybody after this season.

Tough to pick but I think I’d actually go Neale now tbh as he’s won pretty much everything in the game which the others haven’t.
 

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Not gonna try order them but Neale certainly went up in my estimations playing like he did with a broken foot.
 
The first 3 have tasted real success, the 4th only individual.

Hard to know how to rate them given they are all still playing. Brisbane is probably the most likely to make the Grand Final next year too.
Fair chance it stays that way too.
 
Thank you finally somebody said it. I put him in for some variety and to include Pies supporters. I’d say he’s in roughly the same tier though.
Id have him comfortably a level below. His ceiling was never as high, I think thats important when youre trying to pick the best. Pendlebury always seemed like the #2 guy in the midfield, a very good #2 though
 
Id have him comfortably a level below. His ceiling was never as high, I think thats important when youre trying to pick the best. Pendlebury always seemed like the #2 guy in the midfield, a very good #2 though
Pendlebury only won the Coaches Award the year Ablett won his second Brownlow. He had an extraordinary ceiling, but such was his consistency it didn’t raise an eyebrow.

Cripps and Bont’s 29 touch, 1 goal efforts look sensational after they had 23 the week before. Pendles put up those numbers every week in his prime
 
Pendlebury only won the Coaches Award the year Ablett won his second Brownlow. He had an extraordinary ceiling, but such was his consistency it didn’t raise an eyebrow.

Cripps and Bont’s 29 touch, 1 goal efforts look sensational after they had 23 the week before. Pendles put up those numbers every week in his prime
Andy Brayshaw won the coaches award the other year too. I have them at a similar level, both below the others in the poll
 
Id have him comfortably a level below. His ceiling was never as high, I think thats important when youre trying to pick the best. Pendlebury always seemed like the #2 guy in the midfield, a very good #2 though
Pendlebury's peak unfortunately coincided with peak GAJ and Judd - the two best midfielders since the turn of the century.

14 x top 3 in the club best and fairest - has anyone else got near that?
 
Pendlebury's peak unfortunately coincided with peak GAJ and Judd - the two best midfielders since the turn of the century.

14 x top 3 in the club best and fairest - has anyone else got near that?
As I said, consistently very good for a very long time. Ceiling lower than those other blokes
Youre not changing my mind on this
 

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Pendlebury's peak unfortunately coincided with peak GAJ and Judd - the two best midfielders since the turn of the century.

14 x top 3 in the club best and fairest - has anyone else got near that?
Yeah but it’s at Collingwood.
 
Andy Brayshaw won the coaches award the other year too. I have them at a similar level, both below the others in the poll
He won the players MVP. Brayshaw was nowhere near the coaches award winner. Comparing Pendlebury to Brayshaw is not an insult to Pendlebury, it’s an insult to your own thoughts on football.
 
Pendlebury played across an era where he was behind the likes of Swan, Ablett, Judd, Fyfe, Dangerfield, Martin later on.

He was at his peak an incredible player and once again we find ourselves at this stupid, f**king juvenile juncture, of trying to assess a player’s level, based on trinkets won, rather than the quality of the football he actually produced. There are dozens of times over the last 30 years where a peak-Pendlebury would have easily been worthy of a Brownlow or an MVP etc etc etc and no one would bat an eyelid
 

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Opinion Neale v Bont v Pendlebury v Cripps

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