AFLW 2024 - Round 9 - Indigenous Round - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Good call on White. I legit somehow overlooked him. Will be amended.
He certainly was a smart moving centreman when I first started watching the footy intently. My memory of that is largely why he sits at 4.
Which is why I'm slightly confused that you'd have powerful athletes like Franklin, Goodes, Koutoufides, Martin, Fyfe and Timmy Watson so high on your list (or even in your Top 50). Dusty is the most 'pure' footballer of that lot, but raw power and athleticism is what elevates them all from the standard, journeyman footballers.
Your top 50 is over-loaded with athletes)
Which is why I'm slightly confused that you'd have powerful athletes like Franklin, Goodes, Koutoufides, Martin, Fyfe and Timmy Watson so high on your list (or even in your Top 50). Dusty is the most 'pure' footballer of that lot, but raw power and athleticism is what elevates them all from the standard, journeyman footballers.
When I look at the traits at the 'other' end of your spectrum, I can think of a few champion footballers you haven't even listed.
How about Sam Mitchell? What have you got against him? He wasn't a quick, athletic, smooth-moving excitement machine, but you claim these aren't the required attributes for your list. (I call bullshit on that...
- Finesse 9/10
- Grace 6.5/10
- Evasiveness/Elusiveness 9/10---so slow, but almost never collared, had a sixth sense
- Instinctiveness 10/10
- Poise 10/10
- Skill 10/10
- Making the impossible seem easy 5/10??
- Flair 6.5/10
- Deftness of Touch 10/10
- Agility 8/10 --very agile in his own way, twisting turning etc. He had superb lateral movement.
- Time Slowing/effortlessness 10/10
- Fleet footed/Light on their feet 9/10 --snail-paced, but danced his way out of trouble
- Anticipation/Game sense 10/10
- Composure 10/10
- Vision 10/10
Sammy pretty much checks all those boxes. What he lacked was the stuff you had at the bottom of your list: Excitement Inducement, Smooth Movement, Speed, Athleticism, Power
I'd also rank Luke Hodge as a 9/10 or 10/10 for most of those other attributes, but also lacking speed, power and athleticism. Not as light on his feet or evasive as Mitchell, but he was far more graceful & smooth than Nathan Buckley, who you've got at 23. Better at 'selling candy' and baulking opponents.
I think you're being a bit prejudiced against the champs who earned the 'hard man' tag. Not just Hodge and Mitchell, but also Michael Voss and Mark Ricciuto. Vossy would happily run though an opponent, but was just as likely to weave around them. He was a beautiful mover. Silky skilled, poised, agile, graceful - he had the lot. Same with Roo.
Here's some more egregious omissions and possible picks:
Brent Harvey (NM)
Garry Wilson (Fitz)
Josh Kelly (GWS)
Dean Kemp (WCE)
Daniel Kerr (WCE)
Chris Judd (WCE, Carl)
Matthew Larkin (NM)
Brad Johnson (W.B)
Mick O'Loughlin (Syd)
Alan Johnson (Melb)
Stephen Hill (Freo)
Jeff Farmer (Melb)
Michael Mitchell (Rich)
Daniel Wells (NM)
Gerard Healy (Melb, Syd)
David Wirrpanda (WCE)
Brian Wilson (Melb)
Brad Hardie (Foots, Bris)
Mick McLean (Bris)
Gilbert McAdam (St K)
Brett Heady (WCE)
Greg Anderson (Ess, Adel)
I like most of your list (good thread idea), but it's interesting to compare our different perspectives on past champion footballers. I always thought Nathan Buckley was more of a industrious, blue collar, grunt midfielder than a silky, evasive, instinctive, finessing genius. He was a champion, but more of a fit-as-f**k hard worker like Cousins, Crawford & Hannebery who had a rocket launcher of a boot on him.
You undersell Robbie Flower's athleticism. Sure, he played with a ton of finesse and artistry, but underpinning all of that was his incredible athleticism - he may have been skinny as a rake, but he was like a gazelle: super quick, beautifully balanced and he could launch over packs. He was real all-rounder type - he probably excelled at everything he dabbled in. He would've made the grade in any sport.
I’m using poetic license when I say Robbie ‘survived largely on artistry alone’ (its only fair in a thread like this). I’m aware that he was also an immense athlete.Which is why I'm slightly confused that you'd have powerful athletes like Franklin, Goodes, Koutoufides, Martin, Fyfe and Timmy Watson so high on your list (or even in your Top 50). Dusty is the most 'pure' footballer of that lot, but raw power and athleticism is what elevates them all from the standard, journeyman footballers.
When I look at the traits at the 'other' end of your spectrum, I can think of a few champion footballers you haven't even listed.
How about Sam Mitchell? What have you got against him? He wasn't a quick, athletic, smooth-moving excitement machine, but you claim these aren't the required attributes for your list. (I call bullshit on that...
- Finesse 9/10
- Grace 6.5/10
- Evasiveness/Elusiveness 9/10---so slow, but almost never collared, had a sixth sense
- Instinctiveness 10/10
- Poise 10/10
- Skill 10/10
- Making the impossible seem easy 5/10??
- Flair 6.5/10
- Deftness of Touch 10/10
- Agility 8/10 --very agile in his own way, twisting turning etc. He had superb lateral movement.
- Time Slowing/effortlessness 10/10
- Fleet footed/Light on their feet 9/10 --snail-paced, but danced his way out of trouble
- Anticipation/Game sense 10/10
- Composure 10/10
- Vision 10/10
Sammy pretty much checks all those boxes. What he lacked was the stuff you had at the bottom of your list: Excitement Inducement, Smooth Movement, Speed, Athleticism, Power
I'd also rank Luke Hodge as a 9/10 or 10/10 for most of those other attributes, but also lacking speed, power and athleticism. Not as light on his feet or evasive as Mitchell, but he was far more graceful & smooth than Nathan Buckley, who you've got at 23. Better at 'selling candy' and baulking opponents.
I think you're being a bit prejudiced against the champs who earned the 'hard man' tag. Not just Hodge and Mitchell, but also Michael Voss and Mark Ricciuto. Vossy would happily run though an opponent, but was just as likely to weave around them. He was a beautiful mover. Silky skilled, poised, agile, graceful - he had the lot. Same with Roo.
Here's some more egregious omissions and possible picks:
Brent Harvey (NM)
Garry Wilson (Fitz)
Josh Kelly (GWS)
Dean Kemp (WCE)
Daniel Kerr (WCE)
Chris Judd (WCE, Carl)
Matthew Larkin (NM)
Brad Johnson (W.B)
Mick O'Loughlin (Syd)
Alan Johnson (Melb)
Stephen Hill (Freo)
Jeff Farmer (Melb)
Michael Mitchell (Rich)
Daniel Wells (NM)
Gerard Healy (Melb, Syd)
David Wirrpanda (WCE)
Brian Wilson (Melb)
Brad Hardie (Foots, Bris)
Mick McLean (Bris)
Gilbert McAdam (St K)
Brett Heady (WCE)
Greg Anderson (Ess, Adel)
I like most of your list (good thread idea), but it's interesting to compare our different perspectives on past champion footballers. I always thought Nathan Buckley was more of a industrious, blue collar, grunt midfielder than a silky, evasive, instinctive, finessing genius. He was a champion, but more of a fit-as-f**k hard worker like Cousins, Crawford & Hannebery who had a rocket launcher of a boot on him.
You undersell Robbie Flower's athleticism. Sure, he played with a ton of finesse and artistry, but underpinning all of that was his incredible athleticism - he may have been skinny as a rake, but he was like a gazelle: super quick, beautifully balanced and he could launch over packs. He was real all-rounder type - he probably excelled at everything he dabbled in. He would've made the grade in any sport.
He was a rat not a gazelle.
I rate Platten as one of the best players I have seen but he personally wasn’t footy pr0n to my eyes. Those who liked watching Tiny Tim thread daisy chains may disagree though.
There’s no back-peddling to be done. I have him 53rd on my list of best players I have seen;
Knights was 70s pr0n. I only watched 80s era onward. Knights, like John Holmes, did his best work in the 70s and became a bit lame in the 80s. But from what I remember he was very close to this list. Closer than Platten.
Knights was injured a lot and struggled to recapture his 70s form during the 80s. I remember him having a good season in 1983 but he was no more watchable than VanderHaar of the same era. The graceful soaring Knights of the 70s was long past unfortunately. Flower was still dancing and weaving his magic up until the day he retired.
Now you’re just being an agitating campaigner. I’ve clearly stated that this exercise is a subjective one based on my taste. Just because your beloved Knights and Platten don’t appear here you’ve gotten all offended. It’s not like this list hasn’t got its fair share of Hawk players that appealed from an aesthetic perspective. Mercuri was sublime to watch. Pure, smooth-moving aesthetic eye candy. I think I’d have a lot of support in that.
Then go and make your own list and stop procrastinating by filling this thread with petulant nonsense just because your precious Hawthorne doesn’t dominate this one.
There are ways of approaching a discussion about the merits of someone’s subjective views of the game without being contemptuous. Mercuri was, in my view, Essendon’s most watchable player in my time. By dismissing the possibility that someone could hold this view, considering how undeniably skilful and smooth-moving he was makes you come across as delusional. You don’t have to agree with my rating of him here but these lists are created with the purpose of generating discussion. What you’re doing is outright dismissing my personal preference which is a bit odd really.
