Roger Merret ... how good was he?

[littleduck]

Well.. is he an all time great, a legend, an immortal, or just a pretty handy club footballer??

As far as Brisbane goes he is an all time great and a legend and an immortal.. but does he rate alongside the greats?

 

[VANDA]

Champ.

Inspirational & intimidating.

A true leader of men.

 

[Cuzz09]

I always remember that SCREAMER he took in one of his final matches in Brisbane's first final!!

 

[Wildman]

Great player,always led by example.

 

[Crow-mosone]

He was a hard, tough inspirational player.

What's more he made the others around him stand a bit taller.

 

[windyhill]

Stage one...absolute battler at Essendon
Stage two...The Hitman controversy.
Stage three...Controversy seems to turn him into a footballer
Stage four...wouldn`t be a club in the land that wouldn`t fit him in
Stage five...almost first picked at Essendon
Stage six...Victorian regular
Stage seven....Injuries hit, just missed playing his 150th in a meaningless last round game of 1987, yet still plays in the seconds with injury ?!?!? Quite rightly ********ed off with sheedy
Stage eight....gets offered big money by The Bears, Essendon , sorry Sheedy, gives the impression that he is on his way out as a player. Club doesn`t stand in his way
Stage nine , yeah, thanks Kevin,finished.... he`s probably remembered more as a bear than as a Bomber.
Champion ? mmmmm , no. Very very good ? Yes.

 

[Tuco]

Arguably one the most important players Brisbane has ever had. Never really saw much onfield success for himself up there, but was instrumental in giving some pride to all those young players that went on to such great things.

One of only a handful of players that can genuinely take the credit for building the club culture that led the Lions on to all those flags.

 

[VANDA]

Champion ? mmmmm , no. Very very good ? Yes.

disagree with you here Windy.............The Dodger was as important to our team in 84/85 as any player.

no he wasnt a 'classic' footballer in the mould of a Madden or Watson but his contribution in terms of his football prowess & his other qualities of leadership, inspiration & intimidation was just as valuable IMO.

happy to regard him as a champion of our club.

 

[pazza]

The Dodger was a unique character.

Yes he did have a fairly short fuse at times and wasn't backward in coming forward at Essendon, but, he served us and Brisbane well.

For us to have him when we are at arguably our first peak under Sheedy was fantastic, but, he had to work to get in, certainly didn't have a spot delivered on a platter. As Lou Richards said of him in the '85 Grand Final "the most valuable big man football". He was a ruckman playing up forward (and sometimes down back). Luxury!

 

[teams]

You don't play three hundred games without having some footballing attributes. You would put him along side or above Scot Lucas at Essendon.

Played a heap of reserves games before breaking into the seniors if I remember rightly.

What's he doing these days.

 

[NathanD]

You don't play three hundred games without having some footballing attributes. You would put him along side or above Scot Lucas at Essendon.

Played a heap of reserves games before breaking into the seniors if I remember rightly.

What's he doing these days.

I think he's running a post office in Brisbane and is a regular commentator for Lions home games on ABC radio.

 

[MarkT]

Stage one...absolute battler at Essendon
Stage two...The Hitman controversy.
Stage three...Controversy seems to turn him into a footballer
Stage four...wouldn`t be a club in the land that wouldn`t fit him in
Stage five...almost first picked at Essendon
Stage six...Victorian regular
Stage seven....Injuries hit, just missed playing his 150th in a meaningless last round game of 1987, yet still plays in the seconds with injury ?!?!? Quite rightly ********ed off with sheedy
Stage eight....gets offered big money by The Bears, Essendon , sorry Sheedy, gives the impression that he is on his way out as a player. Club doesn`t stand in his way
Stage nine , yeah, thanks Kevin,finished.... he`s probably remembered more as a bear than as a Bomber.
Champion ? mmmmm , no. Very very good ? Yes.

Pretty fair summation although I’d say one very too many at the end there, maybe a half too many. The sort of player every club would love to have and whose value exceeds his ability but no all time great. I don't reckon he influence=d as many games as a player thought of as being as good as he is talked about being. Funnily I reckon Sheedy now over rates him when he talks about him. He always likes a hitman though.

Anyway these things are subjective and no doubt plenty of people rate him higher than I do.

 

[Dogwatcher]

I rate him highly.
Even in his football dotage opposition teams were intimidated by him.
It wasn't anything particular that he did, but more what he might do that worried them.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Great footballer, very important to two teams.

But no-one's mentioned the most important thing!! One of the game's great custodian's of the moustache!

 

[Tim the Toolman]

Funny how most of the comments come from Bombers yet he's more legend at the Lions than the Bombers, obviously because of the longer history in Essendon than Brisbane.

I always thought he was a thug and he always had the better of Fitzroy. But then again, who didn't?

 

[Sid]

Have seen glimpses of him on the 90s dvd. He looks like a bigger terry hill.

 

[Longy413]

Funny how most of the comments come from Bombers yet he's more legend at the Lions than the Bombers, obviously because of the longer history in Essendon than Brisbane.

Might have something to do with the fact that in his time with the Bears, Brisbane were starved for AFL heroes and Roger very quickly became an icon.

At Essendon, we had Watson, Van Der Haar, Daniher, Madden, Salmon etc.

 

[teams]

I think he's running a post office in Brisbane and is a regular commentator for Lions home games on ABC radio.

Thanks. From memory he had just gone into a bottleshop venture with Max Crowe or someone when he left the bombers. Could be wrong on that but sounds like he settled in Qld.

 

[OldLion]

Thug. Up there with Dipper on the use of the elbow. Never saw him have a go a big blokes , only little chaps. Probably the most 'disturbing' aspect of the merging of footy histories at the Lions.

 

[local]

One of few mistakes sheedy has made when trading players.

 

[pazza]

Another of the many products from Essendon's Wimmera Zone - we certainly got plenty from that area over the years.

Just on the end of '87. It was a sad end to Roger's time at Essendon, yet, it started the senior career, after 99 seconds games, of Gary O'Donnell!

Whilst here, Roger managed to captain Victoria, whilst not even being the club's DVC, VC or Captain. Unusual for that to occur.

 

[goDees22]

You don't play three hundred games without having some footballing attributes. You would put him along side or above Scot Lucas at Essendon.

Played a heap of reserves games before breaking into the seniors if I remember rightly.

What's he doing these days.

well above

 

[windyhill]

well above

Completely different types.

 

[peejay]

My lasting memory will be "hitman"

 

[latrell]

I remember roger running straight past the ball one day to take out darren pritchard in the early 90's. Pritch was never the same. Mongrel that merret