Players who had it but then lost it

[afc9798]

wow no one has mentioned Ryan Fitzgerald!! kicked 5 goals on debut and 2 in his second.. then 4 in his 3rd game.. bloody good effort. you could tell one day he was gonna tear a game up and become a superstar but as always injurys struck badly for him and retired quite young i think? played at adelaide aswell and it even looked as if he was gonna rip games apart.

martin mcgrath anyone? lol 5 goals on debut and that was it.

Fitzy hardly qualifies as a plyer who lost it, as the only thing that stopped him was constant injuries. Never got the chance to show if he had it or not, over a career. I have no doubt he would have been great, but he can't be blamed for the injuries he copped.

 

[claf-43]

Michael Wilson? Hasnt been seen much this year, has he been injured or

you cant be serious

try watching other games, he has hardly missed one in years, despite having shoulder reconstructions at the end of 04 he kept playing still!

 

[VanBerlo=God]

McPhee.

Had a brilliant 2005 (i think that was the year) and has really struggled to keep it at the same level. Has thrown a few good games together this year, but he's just not the same.

riewoldt??
kosi??

both had fantastic first 1/2 seasons, since have just been good at best, average most of the time.

 

[claf-43]

I agree with the McPhee one, he was the closest thing to Chad Cornes at CHB, was brilliant back their, then he went missing....

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

Justin Murphy would have it in his first season at a new club, then lose it for a couple of years, get traded to another club and get it back for a year, then lose it for a couple, and so on...

Also, might be an early call but Justin Sherman seemed to have it all last year but has since derailed as of this year.

 

[Asgardian]

Port fans might disagree, and it's probably a bit harsh to say he "lost it", but Gavin Wanganeen was a sensational attacking defender in his early days at Essendon, but then spent the rest of his career staging free kicks.

Dead right I'll disagree.

Have a look at his 2004 Grand Final

He was one of the Brownlow favourites in 2003.

Absolute magic player

 

[claf-43]

Dead right I'll disagree.

Have a look at his 2004 Grand Final

He was one of the Brownlow favourites in 2003.

Absolute magic player

Obviously people have no idea about Port games....

Wangas was a brownlow fav in those years.

 

[Monkey King]

Brad Pearce was on fire in 1995. Went missing pretty soon after that.

 

[claf-43]

Brad Pearce was on fire in 1995. Went missing pretty soon after that.

I liked him alot, what happened to him anyway?

 

[Gabbie]

If he could have stayed away from the booze, former South/north player Jason Love could have been anything!

Yep tho he was good at driving milk carts down king st.

My nominations are:

Neale Daniher - he was a much better player than Terry but owing to a couple of serious knee injuries his playing career was cut short - if he was playing today would be one of the best IMO.

Fabulous Phil (Very 'igh Priced) Carman - came over to the Pies with a reputation which he lived up to, but, his temperament was on a different field to his team mates - walked to a different drum and all that, after he left the Pies he was not as consistant and from memory went to North, Saints(??) and Bombers and we all know what happened one day there. He really lost it.

 

[Gabbie]

P.S. to my previous post, which while I was typing i thought of thise guy but had mental block on his name and club.

Light bulb has gone off and here is another nomination.

1988 JOHN GEORGIADES from the doggies

I found this quote on John from one of the doggies sites which sums him up.

I remember being at Optus oval to watch John Georgiades in his first game against carlton, where he kicked 8 goals and thought WOW, who is this guy he is going to be a sensation. After that game he couldn't basically get a kick and was dropped to the reserves never to be seen again

and I would like to add

GARY ABLETT SNR - think about it, it is alledged he had similar problems to some of our friends out west and i don't mean footscray.

FRED COOK - Port Melbourne - need I say no more.

 

[HotDog]

cummings was a let down. He was compared to Coleman in his early days.

 

[RedBull1975]

Michael Wilson (or did he really ever have 'it' to begin with. Is he the worst Rising Star of all time ????

 

[claf-43]

Michael Wilson (or did he really ever have 'it' to begin with. Is he the worst Rising Star of all time ????

You seriously are the worst troll their is

Everyone of your posts on this forum have been bagging the Power, why dont you just get over it?

 

[ExTasDeeMan]

Cam Bruce ain't what he used to be, ain't what he used to be, ain't what he used to be.

Also, Jason Cloke was getting props once upon a time.

 

[TheBigUnit]

Dion Woods. Looked really promising running out of defence in his first few seasons, then just seemed to disappear...

 

[Cursed Cat]

Good thread; a mixed bag of nominees; I wholeheartedly agree that at one point these blokes definitely had ‘it’ only to lose it and never find it again
Corey McKernan
Jeff Hogg
Mark Mercuri
Chad Fletcher
Fraser Brown
Lance Whitnall
Craig Turley

I’d argue these guys never genuinely had ‘it’, and would fall under the category of ‘flash in the pan’ or ‘found out’
Adrian McAdam
Mark Dwyer
Shane Woewoddin
Jade Rawlings
Des Headland
Brad Pearce

No question these blokes never had ‘it’ or anything approaching it
Brad Miller
Damian Cupido

Nick Holland and Allen Jakovich are excused due to excessive injury concerns. Darren Gaspar is borderline though, falls in the Barry Stoneham category of blokes that played on 2-3 seasons too many

Trent Croad - Had it, lost it, got it back.

Aussie Jones - had it, lost it, had it again, then retired too soon.

good stuff; James Kelly just about finds himself in that category these days, working hard to get it back; had a good game today

one bloke I'd like to nominate is former North captain Matty Larkin; the bloke had it in spades for a few years there, but completely lost it

 

[pharro]

Was going to go with Allen Jakovich, Adrian McAdam and Darren Wheildon.

Adrian McAdam was an interesting case - got hammered once and was never the same.

 

[hawk3R_4lyfe]

people who say Des Headland have no idea... He recaputured it this season, before getting injured

ummm... no, he's still a few shades from his former Brisbane self.

Aker's lost it too.

 

[sharpie]

Adrian MacAdam.
Allen Jackovich was cruelled by injury, hence his short career.
He was a freak.

a lot of these are 1 year wonders

i think the OP is looking for those that had sort of abilty for a while, then lost it

haselby is quickly going down that path
c. fletcher perhaps as well
D teague
bizzell

 

[jaxxon]

Turley had shocking back problems, it was all down hill from 91 really. Fletcher has had a few injury problems the last two years, but was one of our best in last years grand final. Hasn't had a chance this year to prove himself (a couple of 20+ disposal games), next week could be his week.

 

[mad-saint-guy]

Stephen Powell went from being a gun in 2004, to a good player in 2005 to an absolute hack in 2006.

Brett Voss has completely lost it.

 

[Dal-Las Mav'a Riq]

Leigh Brown was a very good utility in 2003-2004.

Hen has literally been a punchline ever since, yet continues to get a game.

People who dont watch North still rate him. Befuddling.

Soft as butter, shits himself under pressure, no desire to play physical.

His career is on the line and he still serves up tripe

 

[Financialpanther]

Leigh Brown was a very good utility in 2003-2004.

Hen has literally been a punchline ever since, yet continues to get a game.

People who dont watch North still rate him. Befuddling.

Soft as butter, shits himself under pressure, no desire to play physical.

His career is on the line and he still serves up tripe

Brown should have been traded two years ago - he is garbage as a footballer.

 

[The Chad]

technically jade rawlings didn't "lose it" because when he threw it away the reasons were blatantly obvious.

he walked out on a club that had stuck by him through a knee reconstruction as an unknown rookie and made his career because they wouldn't pony up.

then he ended up at a club he didn't want too because he asked to be traded to a club not willing to play ball. i still remember the day when reporters said he would name his preferred club out of melbourne and geelong (both willing to trade) when it was obvious to all and sundry he would declare north melbourne as his preferred destination. sure enough he named north melbourne and the clubs couldn't agree to a trade.

then he played at the bulldogs instead of taking time out of the game to get his knee right and he made the injury permanent, meaning he could never come back.

one of the worst self-inflicted ends of a career you could ever see.