Opinion Top 5 Most Overrated Players Of All Time

[Silvagnis]

1. Pendlebury - Wish we could wind the clock back and play Koutoufides, Ablett snr, Voss, Harvey, etc. on this "hardnut". Everyone talks about him like he was the first and only footballer who can evade tackles before hitting a target. A taller Dal Santo who is underrated. Brisbane's fab four were better footballers.
2. Swan - poor man's Robert Harvey
3. Rioli - the class disguises lack of a four quarter performance that you get from Murphy and Aker. Rioli has poise to get clear, but does he even have a right foot?
4. Cloke - no Franklin, Kernahan, Lloyd, Brown, Carey, etc. like others believe. Pavlich would have been more damaging playing his position at a club such as Collingwood.
5. Fletcher - gets a tick for longevity, but the bigger forwards smashed him

1. Judd
2. Bartel
3. Scully
4. Kreuzer
5. Lloyd

i went mstly with the current players, judd's out of this world in overrating, bartel's starting to challenge him, (i think the 'nice guy' factor plays a big part in it) scully has never done anything, and is a poor kick, kreuzer overrated as a ruck and as a forward, and lloyd only played to his rep for two seasons.

Would Pav for AA be an overrated player?

 

[Bardo State]

Can't be bothere thinking of the last 30 years so will keep it to current players

1- Yarran - Lauded by many fans as the next Ablett already
2- Goddard - Very good player that has based his career reputation off 1-2 years
3- Judd - Just not the player that many pump him up to be. Probably wouldn't have him in the top 5 mids of 2011
4- J. Brown - Proclaimed as a modern day great. Courageous but IMO a few rungs below Riewoldt, Pav etc
5- Shuey - Struggled to find a 5th but he is massively pumped up while others like Shiels, Redden, Rockliff, Zaharakis etc were taken in the same draft and have had better 2011s. Not as far ahead of the pack as many proclaim him to be.

 

[Brishawk]

1. James Hird
2. Robert Harvey
3. Robert Flower
4. Jason Dunstall
5. Nick Riewoldt

Fishing much?

 

[Donakebab]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd take a young fit & firing J Brown over Buddy every day of the week and am sure 70% of the footy community would agree.
Buddy is freakish of course but come on man...you wanna win finals football and Brown is going to kill himself trying to achieve the ultimate success whereas Buddy may just have a quick glance over his shoulder before making that ultimate sacrifice of heading back into traffic.
3 flags and many, many, many match winning finals appearances over his junior counterpart in number 23.






1. Cyril Rioli
2. Dale Thomas
3. Nick Riewoldt
4. Adam Cooney
5. Nick Naitanui



they're the 5 blokes who get a hell of alot of love from the media but when it comes to crunch time, they seem to go missing or produce sub-par performances on a regular basis. Sure a span of 6-8 weeks of consistent beautiful footy is great but they can't seem to excel to those same levels when it really matters.

You take a pot at someone putting Brown in their list, then proceed to put Riewoldt in yours. Oh the ironing, it is delicious. They are pretty on par over the journey and if you call one over/under rated then you need to put the other in with them.

FWIW, I'd take Franklin over both of them.

 

[Donakebab]

please explain?


Oh yeh........Jobe Watson comes in at number 6.
Carn the Bombers!
Let's hope for a better effort in 2012 and hopefully a finals win
It all rests with this Hurley who you guys rate as the future along with Ryder, Watson and Stanton.

What does Jobe or any Essendon players have to do with this? Potting at my shows you have no decent response.

Simple fact is that Brown and Riewoldt are very evenly performed over their entire careers. Also to say that Riewoldt hasn't played consistant footy shows how short your memory is. Before his hamstring he was the most consistant big man for years.

 

[StringyDog]

Surely this year it was Dempsey and Winderlich, according to Essendon fans these two being injurred was only reason they weren't playing in grand final, wonder what the excuse will be next year when they are back spudding up the side....

 

[who knows]

1. Cyril Rioli
2. Dale Thomas
3. Nick Riewoldt
4. Adam Cooney
5. Nick Naitanui



they're the 5 blokes who get a hell of alot of love from the media but when it comes to crunch time, they seem to go missing or produce sub-par performances on a regular basis. Sure a span of 6-8 weeks of consistent beautiful footy is great but they can't seem to excel to those same levels when it really matters.

wtf, all u did was list flashy players and most of them do perform in finals, nic naitanui, dale thomas, cyril rioli, nick riewoldt all have a good finals record.

flashy doesn't necessarily mean overrated

 

[the distributer]

I usually let opinions slip by as my word basically means nothing to anyone else in here as it's all just cyber space garbage and has very little hear say in reality but distributor.....you would have to be nominated as one of bigfooty's most stupendous members for not only some of the things you say about football but also your inadequate knowledge of some of the games best players running around
?

That's not very nice Bobby, I thought you and me were mates, you'll always be good for a laugh though.

 

[Partridge]

wtf, all u did was list flashy players and most of them do perform in finals, nic naitanui, dale thomas, cyril rioli, nick riewoldt all have a good finals record.

flashy doesn't necessarily mean overrated

With the exception of Thomas, it does mean overrated for those players above.

 

[uranium_death]

Most overrated team of the past 20 years:

Backs: G. Wanganeen D. Glass P. Burgoyne

Half Backs: S. Woewodin T. Harley J. Worsfold

Centres: M. Long M. Ricciuto M. Bairstow

Half Forwards: C. Grant A. Rocca M. O'Loughlan

Forwards: Br. Johnson C. Tarrant B. Lindner

Followers: S. Wynd A. Goodes M. Tuck

Interchange: G. Brown A. Jarman N. Holland J. Koschitzke

Yes, the post above is from two years ago, but some of the suggestions above are ludicrous.

Wanganeen is one of the most consistent Aboriginal players ever (when quite honestly, there have not been a lot!). A two-time premiership player and a Brownlow Medallist in a premiership year who beat off both Greg Williams and Garry Hocking to win the award...he wasn't a flash in the pan. A brilliant runner of the half-back line who could sneak a goal on the forward line.

Tom Harley?He was never rated purely as a footballer, but he had more courage than a lot of players. He took a lot of marks against the flight of the ball - a lot of players lauded for their skill both in the past and also today NEVER did or do this. Harley never had the same level of ability as many other playters, but he got the absolute best out of it through hard work (which is why he deserves what he achieved), and was a brilliant captain. You have misinterpreted the praise that has been given to him.

Worsfold likewise - never a brilliant player, but why did he need to be when he had arguably the best backline of the 90s on his side? Had Brennan, McIntosh, McKenna and Jakovich around him. Worsfold played his role - he was never lauded all that much in the media as a player.

Michael Long is another Aboriginal player that over his career performed very well. Played well on the big stage and came back from a couple of knee injuries. When he returned in 1995 after a knee injury in 1994, he finished fourth in the Brownlow and was All-Australian. Unfortunately, Long is too well known for combating racism rather than his playing ability. I would love to have had Long at Geelong.

Ricciuto is just another stupid nomination. A player with great physical presence like Michael Voss with brilliant disposal, he was All-Australian 8 times, a three-time best and fairest winner and is also in the AFL Hall of Fame - the AFL doesn't induct garbage. Ricciuto deserved his rating.

Mark Bairstow played 7 years in the AFL and is among my favourite players of all time. I still have his poster of my wall (where it has not moved since I acquired it in 1993). In fact, I wrote his Wikipedia article because I was disgusted that nobody had written anything. Leading kick getter of 1989, his passing to Ablett was fantastic and his naming of captain was in recognition of his leadership capabilities. He won All-Australian selection four times in a seven year career - that reeks of brilliance. He averaged more than a goal a game.
He came across to Melbourne when he was 23 (due to turn 24) and was a Sandover Medallist as well.

Brad Johnson - I think people just didn't like his big goofy smile. Six All-Australian selections (two of them when he was over 30), and had the ability to tear teams and games apart. He was also flexible enough to switch between a loose-midfield position and a small-forward role. Very handy to his team and had he played for a Collingwood, or Hawthorn in the 80s, he would have been very handy and he would not be questioned.

Adam Goodes in my opinion is a dual Brownlow Medallist only due to the overall lack of brilliance in the Swans teams during their peak (esp in 2006 when Judd was clearly the best player), but Goodes is the perfect modern footballer. He is big, strong, fast and loves to kick goals. He is one of the best Aboriginal players of the modern era along with McLeod, and will go down as one of the best Indigenous players of all-time without a doubt. When he fires, Sydney fires. Along with Jonathan Brown, possibly the most important player to their club in the AFL, despite his advancing years.

Michael Tuck played over 475 games in both the reserves and Seniors (426 seniors) and although once again never blessed with outstanding skill or speed, was reliable, hard and led by example. He was named captain as well in a Hawthorn team that was brilliant where he led Hawthorn to 4 of their total of 9 premierships upon his retirement in 1991. In a club that demanded excellence and success, they would not give it to somebody that was flaky or unreliable.
Tuck as a player was never elite - but I don't know exactly who rated him to high that he had to be included in this list. If I was fighting a war, Tuck is the sort of person I'd want next to me.

Before anybody questions Michael Tuck, there have been many very overrated Hawthorn premiership players that were merely at the right place of the right time...

 

[blaze036]

Goodes is one of the modern day greats.. how is he overrated

 

[Byron_Clanger]

Yeah Worsfold is overrated, two time premiership CAPTAIN and another as coach, what an overrated hack!

 

[raskolnikov]

Matthew Lloyd (without Hird, Lloyd would have been an OK FF at best)

Quoted for stupidity's sake.

 

[andrew coombs]

Yes, the post above is from two years ago, but some of the suggestions above are ludicrous.

Wanganeen is one of the most consistent Aboriginal players ever (when quite honestly, there have not been a lot!). A two-time premiership player and a Brownlow Medallist in a premiership year who beat off both Greg Williams and Garry Hocking to win the award...he wasn't a flash in the pan. A brilliant runner of the half-back line who could sneak a goal on the forward line.

Tom Harley?He was never rated purely as a footballer, but he had more courage than a lot of players. He took a lot of marks against the flight of the ball - a lot of players lauded for their skill both in the past and also today NEVER did or do this. Harley never had the same level of ability as many other playters, but he got the absolute best out of it through hard work (which is why he deserves what he achieved), and was a brilliant captain. You have misinterpreted the praise that has been given to him.

Worsfold likewise - never a brilliant player, but why did he need to be when he had arguably the best backline of the 90s on his side? Had Brennan, McIntosh, McKenna and Jakovich around him. Worsfold played his role - he was never lauded all that much in the media as a player.

Michael Long is another Aboriginal player that over his career performed very well. Played well on the big stage and came back from a couple of knee injuries. When he returned in 1995 after a knee injury in 1994, he finished fourth in the Brownlow and was All-Australian. Unfortunately, Long is too well known for combating racism rather than his playing ability. I would love to have had Long at Geelong.

Ricciuto is just another stupid nomination. A player with great physical presence like Michael Voss with brilliant disposal, he was All-Australian 8 times, a three-time best and fairest winner and is also in the AFL Hall of Fame - the AFL doesn't induct garbage. Ricciuto deserved his rating.

Mark Bairstow played 7 years in the AFL and is among my favourite players of all time. I still have his poster of my wall (where it has not moved since I acquired it in 1993). In fact, I wrote his Wikipedia article because I was disgusted that nobody had written anything. Leading kick getter of 1989, his passing to Ablett was fantastic and his naming of captain was in recognition of his leadership capabilities. He won All-Australian selection four times in a seven year career - that reeks of brilliance. He averaged more than a goal a game.
He came across to Melbourne when he was 23 (due to turn 24) and was a Sandover Medallist as well.

Brad Johnson - I think people just didn't like his big goofy smile. Six All-Australian selections (two of them when he was over 30), and had the ability to tear teams and games apart. He was also flexible enough to switch between a loose-midfield position and a small-forward role. Very handy to his team and had he played for a Collingwood, or Hawthorn in the 80s, he would have been very handy and he would not be questioned.

Adam Goodes in my opinion is a dual Brownlow Medallist only due to the overall lack of brilliance in the Swans teams during their peak (esp in 2006 when Judd was clearly the best player), but Goodes is the perfect modern footballer. He is big, strong, fast and loves to kick goals. He is one of the best Aboriginal players of the modern era along with McLeod, and will go down as one of the best Indigenous players of all-time without a doubt. When he fires, Sydney fires. Along with Jonathan Brown, possibly the most important player to their club in the AFL, despite his advancing years.

Michael Tuck played over 475 games in both the reserves and Seniors (426 seniors) and although once again never blessed with outstanding skill or speed, was reliable, hard and led by example. He was named captain as well in a Hawthorn team that was brilliant where he led Hawthorn to 4 of their total of 9 premierships upon his retirement in 1991. In a club that demanded excellence and success, they would not give it to somebody that was flaky or unreliable.
Tuck as a player was never elite - but I don't know exactly who rated him to high that he had to be included in this list. If I was fighting a war, Tuck is the sort of person I'd want next to me.

Before anybody questions Michael Tuck, there have been many very overrated Hawthorn premiership players that were merely at the right place of the right time...[/QUOT

As BigFooty is mostly used by people under the age of 30 I feel it necessary to correct this posters' description of Micheal Tuck. Ignore pretty much all of it kids, this bloke either didnt see Tuck play at his peak or at all, or his football knowledge is extremely limited. The notion that Tuck was neither skillful or quick, as put forward by the poster is so wrong as to be farcical. Tuck was a magnificent athlete, his aerobic testing in his mid thirties still in the top 10 at Hawthorn. As a younger player he was as quick as any ruck rover going around and a sensational clearance operative. As for skill, Tuck was a brilliant field kick and probably the best wrongsided player in the VFL. He could play just about anywhere on the field at an elite level but is was as a ruck rover ( best in the comp for the 1970's ) that he was at his peak. He, Scott and Matthews were as good an engine room as there was and Premiierships were won regularly. As i said, this poster is dilusionable.

 

[Sidebottom2Beams]

1. Cyril Rioli
2. Dale Thomas
3. Nick Riewoldt
4. Adam Cooney
5. Nick Naitanui



they're the 5 blokes who get a hell of alot of love from the media but when it comes to crunch time, they seem to go missing or produce sub-par performances on a regular basis. Sure a span of 6-8 weeks of consistent beautiful footy is great but they can't seem to excel to those same levels when it really matters.

In his 3 grand finals Dale Thomas has averaged 28 possession so if that is classed as going missing i can't wait until he plays a good crunch time game.

 

[Waltz17]

I'm only 21 so I will also do my list on current players (I love this kind of thing!). I hope I don't step on anyones toes, I admittedly overrate Richmond players!

ok, here it is in no particular order:

Nic Natanui - I love the guy. Is a friendly, down to earth bloke and a freak of an athlete; as of yet though, he just HASN'T done enough to justify his bi-weekly front page of the West Australian Newspaper habit.

Nick Maxwell - also seems like a great bloke, but is over hyped as both captain and player in the media. Is a glorified third man up and and would be bottom three starters in Collingwood team (in MY opinion, with Dawes and... jee I dunno it's a pretty good team)

Nick Reiwoldt - I loved him in his day but over the last couple of years I don't think he's had the impact on games that he used to, yet commentators still start every STK match with "If they're gonna win, Reiwoldt needs to have a big one" ... he doesn't, and they do.

Tom Scully - C'mon. Acts serious and professional but I think GWS made a mistake with this one.

lastly, and I welcome to be corrected on this one:
Michael Jamison - I havn't seen THAT much of Carlton, but looking through the "All Australian Predictions" thread I saw him in a lot of Carlton supporters' AA squads, and I just have never seen him do anything worth mentioning as a great FB. Didn't he play so poorly in defence last season they moved him into the forward line? I'm probably way off on this one, haters welcome! haha

 

[Igloo]

I'm only 21 so I will also do my list on current players (I love this kind of thing!). I hope I don't step on anyones toes, I admittedly overrate Richmond players!


lastly, and I welcome to be corrected on this one:
Michael Jamison - I havn't seen THAT much of Carlton, but looking through the "All Australian Predictions" thread I saw him in a lot of Carlton supporters' AA squads, and I just have never seen him do anything worth mentioning as a great FB. Didn't he play so poorly in defence last season they moved him into the forward line? I'm probably way off on this one, haters welcome! haha

I think you are thinking of Thornton.

 

[Monkey King]

lastly, and I welcome to be corrected on this one:
Michael Jamison - I havn't seen THAT much of Carlton, but looking through the "All Australian Predictions" thread I saw him in a lot of Carlton supporters' AA squads, and I just have never seen him do anything worth mentioning as a great FB.

Didn't you see him squads other than Carlton supporter's? At one point after Daniel Merrett went down with injury, it seemed nearly everyone had him as their AA FB. He suffered a knee injury in round 14, up to which point he'd conceded less goals than any other FB, taking the oppositions best forward every week. Drifted out of contention after that obviously.

He was pretty much rushed back for finals, with a round 22 game against the Hawks, which is the game you mentioned when he went forward for a few shots on goal. He wasn't quite the same, a bit proppy at times, but still did pretty well in both Carlton's finals.

So he was pretty good last season, but has only really had the half a top season, so this might lead to some overrating him. I hope he can back it up with a full season of similar performance in 2012. Will go a long way to determining Carlton's chances.

 

[pacman]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd take a young fit & firing J Brown over Buddy every day of the week and am sure 70% of the footy community would agree.
Buddy is freakish of course but come on man...you wanna win finals football and Brown is going to kill himself trying to achieve the ultimate success whereas Buddy may just have a quick glance over his shoulder before making that ultimate sacrifice of heading back into traffic.
3 flags and many, many, many match winning finals appearances over his junior counterpart in number 23.





1. Cyril Rioli
2. Dale Thomas
3. Nick Riewoldt
4. Adam Cooney
5. Nick Naitanui



they're the 5 blokes who get a hell of alot of love from the media but when it comes to crunch time, they seem to go missing or produce sub-par performances on a regular basis. Sure a span of 6-8 weeks of consistent beautiful footy is great but they can't seem to excel to those same levels when it really matters.

Go watch Buddys finals games against the Dogs in 08 or the Crows in 07 yea he struggles in all finals. While you're at it it watch him kick the sealer in the 08 Grand Final from 60 on the boundary.

 

[Igloo]

Go watch Buddys finals games against the Dogs in 08 or the Crows in 07 yea he struggles in all finals. While you're at it it watch him kick the sealer in the 08 Grand Final from 60 on the boundary.

I'd rather not

 

[HyperAgressiveDonk]

where did I mention Franklin struggles in finals?

You gave me a few games to look over there but I want you to tell me where did Franklin go against different opposition in the preliminary final of 2008?
Or the Grand final against Geelong?

Yep was a beautiful goal he kicked against the Crows in the 2007 Qualifier but what happened against the Kangaroos the following week?



I suggest you go watch Brown's recent finals performance where he absolutely destroyed the Blues and the Dogs or even go back to the 2004 finals series or his 2 clutch goals in the 2001 GF against the mighty Bombers of that year.

Just my opinion mate and I'd take a fit firing Brown over Franklin everyday of the week if I could choose going into a final because Buddy won't get the mark needed when the game is on the line like Brown will and for pure set shots, Brown is a superior kick.

I know you're just having a laugh because nobody is really that stupid but i'll bite. Franklins goal average is finals is superior to Browns in finals. Franklins goal average in finals is actually better than his H&A average as well. Franklins everything in finals ( Disposals, kicks, handballs, tackles etc etc ) is better than Browns. Brisbane supporters even concede that Brown did next to nothing in finals in 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004. By the age of 24, Franklin already has two clear best on grounds in finals and bags of 7 and 8 goals. Something Gary Ablett senior, Dunstall or Lloyd hadn't done by that age, or any forward that I can remember.

And this "get the mark when needed" stuff? That's a lie. He is our best clutch player. Kicked a goal against Adelaide to ice a final. Iced the grand final against Geelong. Kicked one of the great finals goals last year against Colingwood to put us in front with a couple of minutes left. And kicked a few last quarter goals against Sydney on on leg when they were coming back in the recent semi-final. All this from a KPF at 24 Brown hasn't had that many clutch moments in finals by 30. Yet you don't think Franklin can get the job done? Lol.

You ask where he's gone in some games in finals? His record in finals is better than any forward playing right now ( yes I can provide proof if you want ). No forward can perform every final they play, and no forward ever will. By 24, he has already outperformed a 30 year old Brown in finals. I really shouldn't bite, as it's clear your'e taking the piss ( yes I know you're a bay 13 poster ), or have an overactive imagination ( this is most likely, as you sensationalise and lie about things when you post ), or haven't actually watched much football.

 

[raff23]

I know you're just having a laugh because nobody is really that stupid but i'll bite. Franklins goal average is finals is superior to Browns in finals. Franklins goal average in finals is actually better than his H&A average as well. Franklins everything in finals ( Disposals, kicks, handballs, tackles etc etc ) is better than Browns. Brisbane supporters even concede that Brown did next to nothing in finals in 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004. By the age of 24, Franklin already has two clear best on grounds in finals and bags of 7 and 8 goals. Something Gary Ablett senior, Dunstall or Lloyd hadn't done by that age, or any forward that I can remember.

And this "get the mark when needed" stuff? He is our best clutch player. Kicked a goal against Adelaide to ice a final. Iced the grand final against Geelong. Kicked one of the great finals goals last year against Colingwood to put us in front with a couple of minutes left. And kicked a few last quarter goals against Sydney on on leg when they were coming back in the recent semi-final. All this from a KPF at 24 Brown hasn't had that many clutch moments in finals by 30.

You ask where he's gone in some games in finals? His record in finals is better than any forward playing right now ( yes I can provide proof if you want ). No forward can perform every final they play, and no forward ever will. By 24, he has already outperformed a 30 year old Brown in finals. I really shouldn't bite, as it's clear your'e taking the piss ( yes I know you're a bay 13 poster ), or have an overactive imagination ( this is most likely, as you sensationalise things when you post ), or haven't actually watched much football.

anyone that mentions buddy in the most overrated player category has no idea about football at all, if having a bad final is kicking 2 or 3 goals than how do you rate the riewoldt's of the world who has played 1 or 2 good finals in his life? does that make him overrated? absolute load of BS.

 

[pacman]

I'd rather not

Sorry to bring it up Igloo, but I remember Rob Murphy saying it was the best thing he'd seen on the footy field and the Dogs defenders couldn't do anything to stop him.

 

[Bosk]

Dale Thomas
Harry O'Brien
Matthew Scarlett
Stephen Milne
Jack Riewoldt


5 genuine tossers who also happen to be overrated.

 

[HyperAgressiveDonk]

Dale Thomas
Harry O'Brien
Matthew Scarlett
Stephen Milne
Jack Riewoldt


5 genuine tossers who also happen to be overrated.

Matthew Scarlett & Jack Riewoldt in particular. To be fair to daisy though, I hear he is quite a good bloke.