Players you thought were going to be elite but never got there

[Ginnieboy]

Not elite, but Jesse White. Thought he'd be a very very good player. Admit to thinking John Butcher would be elite. Cam McCarthy too.

Had the same feeling about White, he actually wasn’t too bad when he put his mind to it and actually had a crack, that was few and far between though.

 

[Ginnieboy]

Chris Tarrant, obviously had a very good career but never came on like I though he would as a fwd, lacked aggression IMO, shipped him off to Freo and they turned him into a high quality FB, we said cheers for that and took him back for 10 cents on the dollar, why Mick never moved him onto Hawkins in the 2011 GF god only knows, Reid could barely walk.

 

[Triggering Tiger]

Are you talking football or ballroom dancing?

He's so versatile he can even umpire!

 

[Triggering Tiger]

Threads like this always take me back to the mid nineties and a bloke called Stephen Jurica for the Tiges tearing it up as a young fella, I'm thinking he looks the goods and will no doubt have a great career in the yellow and black ... and then he just completely disappeared.

He had one of those names that sounded good when yelled out by commentators after a big goal too.

What does he care when he's a bigtime barrister now?

Stephen Jurica | Victorian Bar

www.vicbar.com.au

 

[Father Jack]

What does he care when he's a bigtime barrister now?

Stephen Jurica | Victorian Bar

www.vicbar.com.au

Well I'm glad things worked out for him. I thought aliens must have nabbed him or something.

 

[Wallaby]

Brett Deledio. Was very good. Highly skilled, but never absolutely dominated a game. His stats look all right, but he definitely had all the tools to be a superstar.

I guess it depends on how you categorise that special BigFooty term 'Elite'.

 

[Zevon]

Davis was one lazy SOB, one of the best kicks of football I’ve seen though.

Haha this sums him up perfectly

 

[jim boy]

Well I'm glad things worked out for him. I thought aliens must have nabbed him or something.

You should pay more attention to footy! - he is also a current member of the AFL tribunal and appeals board

 

[Hawkas1988]

Davis was one lazy SOB, one of the best kicks of football I’ve seen though.

I always found it funny that he became a runner for Sydney after he retired considering I thought he was one of the laziest players to play the game and rarely saw him run in matches.

Super talented player though.

 

[Simon_Says]

how undeniably sad we never got to see the best of Troy Broadbridge.

 

[Simon_Says]

Modern players id throw up Marty More, thought he was going to be a future 200+ gamer for Melbourne of half back.

 

[Rabish Binney]

Is it that bad a call? Did you see Rozee in the 2nd half of last season he was incredible.

Agree...but I think Walsh is still a better player.

My point was the way Kornes continued to carry on about it. If Rozee wasn't drafted to PA, Kornes wouldn't even have mentioned it.

 

[TheGreatBambino]

I have a few family friends that support Melbourne and in the mid 2000s they genuinely believed Brock McLean was going to win a Brownlow one day.

 

[hawkman]

Agree...but I think Walsh is still a better player.

My point was the way Kornes continued to carry on about it. If Rozee wasn't drafted to PA, Kornes wouldn't even have mentioned it.

You mean his constant complaining that all long term contracts are bad except for JHF

 

[Ginnieboy]

Dayne Beams has to be up there, if it wasn’t for his vices he could’ve won a Brownlow IMO, was a complete package on the ground, sublime skills, loved the hard ball, stamina, speed, poise, very good mark

 

[BigRang]

Rhys Palmer
Anthony Morabito I genuinely believe that if Mora's body had held together we'd have beaten Hawthorn in that GF

 

[element]

I forgot Dayle Garlett.

Had all the tools and the Hawks even took a chance on him but threw it all away.

 

[Ginnieboy]

I always found it funny that he became a runner for Sydney after he retired considering I thought he was one of the laziest players to play the game and rarely saw him run in matches.

Super talented player though.

Could kick the ball 60 mtrs off 2 steps, he was too lazy to take anymore, man that dude could kick, poetry in motion.

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

For my club (going back a few years) I thought Andrew Wills was going to be a superstar. In the end was more a journeyman.

Clint Bizzell was another I thought had all the tools but didn't really deliver

Daniel Menzel seemed to have it all for Geelong but sadly cut down by injury.

 

[Ginnieboy]

Daniel Menzel seemed to have it all for Geelong but sadly cut down by injury.

I remember him carving us up one night.

 

[HAPPY CHEFFY]

I remember him carving us up one night.

Yep 2015 I think. He seemed to be the perfect answer for us after GAJ left and he was having a great first year in ‘11 but 4 knee recos put a stop to that.

 

[katana]

this thread would be read-able if you weren't allowed to nominate players from your own club. who cares.

some of mine:

• will langford: 2014 finals series, the whole way, he just seemed to get it. find the right positions, have nice skills, play with brutal intensity both ways.
• jake stringer: yeah i guess he technically plays for my team. but i'm getting at 2015 stringer. thought he was going to rip games to shreds fortnightly and be very good the rest of the time. seemed to have it all.
• stephen hill: i have memories of 2010 freo. hill on a wing at subiaco oval. long shadows, and hill is peeling off his man, hitting targets, breaking the game to bits. the final against hawthorn that year especially. i suppose you could put morabito but that's not really fair.
• alex sexton: always thought he had everything to be some kind of breust/gunston hybrid. knows where the goals are. always. nice around the body, can mark the thing, leads to space. kicks really nicely. this one still confuses me because he did kick 6 in his last game so maybe he will be elite.

 

[Yoda_]

Jesse Hogan was supposed to be on a similar level as Jeremy Cameron

The 4 mini draftees from the two expansion club auctions really haven't panned out as much as there billing suggested at the time;

Jesse Hogan, Jaegar O'Mera, Brad Crouch, Jack Martin


iirc, O'Meara was 'the guy' who could be anything and whilst his early form suggested he should, injuries crippled him in the most crucial years of any AFL player.

Hogan has become a fairly reliable foot soldier but not what he was billed as. Martin and Crouch ok AFL players too.

 

[Yoda_]

It's an incredible forward line - agreed - and it's a little off topic, but I reckon it has some stiff competition to be the 'best ever'.

Take Hawthorn's recent forward line:

Rioli - Franklin - Lewis
Breust - Roughead - Gunston

Comparing the Number 1 tall (Franklin vs Lloyd) and I reckon Franklin comes out on top with 3 more AA's, 1 more Coleman, 1 more B&F (flag year), more goals, more of the ball, more tackles, etc, etc.
Similarly the number 2 tall (Roughead vs Lucas) and I reckon Roughie is on top with multiple AA's vs 0, Coleman vs 0, bigger finals performances, better versatility (both good), more goals, etc.
Bewick vs Breust and again I reckon Breust has been better. Next season he will become only the 8th non key forward ever to kick 500 goals. Multiple All Australian and whilst Bewick was quality (all the Essendon guys are), he was a level below Breust IMO with 0 AA's, 200 fewer goals, etc.
Caracella vs Gunston - not really similar players but as a forward, I would again have Gunston ahead. He has kicked double the goals of Caracella (will in fact go past Lucas in a reduced scoring era), has been in the AA squad 5 times, kicked 50+ many times and is a noted finals performer.
Rioli vs Mercuri is a strange comparison as not at all similar. I would argue Mercuri probably had the best season of either ('99) but that Rioli was more consistently good across his career. He also has a Norm and multiple AA's. I think as a forward you would be picking Rioli.
Hird vs Lewis - this is the one match up that falls (pretty clearly) Essendon's way. Lewis was obviously no slouch as a 300 gamer, AA and B&F winner (in a flag year) who was our conduit between midfield and forward line but Hird was something else witha long and illustrious resume.

and with all that said, I'm not even convinced that s Hawthorn's best forward line either with some incredible combinations in the 70's and 80's with Hudson, Matthews, Dunstall, Brereton, Jarman and a strong support crew coming in at different times in that era.

Now try again without your Hawthorn bias on because a few pieces of this is just blatantly incorrect

 

[Yoda_]

Jarrod Brennan - end thread