
- Jul 13, 2015
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It's not about games played. The likes of Rehn and Kreuzer are nowhere near the top 3 ruckman of all time. They were both decent players (though Kreuzer was not even selected AA ruck once) but the bar for top 3 of all time is set very, very high.
It's a strange one - cos I think generally the great forwards and the great mids of yesteryear are well remembered but the truly elite rucks are largely forgotten outside of a couple of names such as those you originally highlighted (Farmer, Madden, Cox).
Take Gary Dempsey for example - until GAJ took over, he was the leading Brownlow vote getter of all time (which he held for 35 odd years). He won 1, finished 2nd another time and was top 10 an astonishing 13 times. He won 7 best and fairests, including 5 straight. He was named in the team of the century at 2 different clubs. He held the record for the most hitouts for about 30 years, until the game completely changed in terms of the number of stoppages. From his own era and before, he has nearly 2000 hitouts more than any other player ever. It's a similar story for marks - where he still sits 2nd of all time with the highest average ever despite playing in an era where 'chipping it around' didn't exist.
Then you have Graham Moss - he played over 320 games, won 7 best and fairests, spent just 4 seasons in the VFL and managed to become the captain of Essendon, win 3 best and fairests, win a Brownlow and have the 2nd highest Brownlow vote average in history. Oh and he also won a Simpson Medal (best player in the State game).
John Nicholls - who is a name most recognise but not one of the ones mentioned - was named in the AFL team of the century. Famous for his battles with Polly, many consider him in the top 2 rucks of all time. He captained 3 flags, mutiple AA's in the carnival era, won 5 B&F's and was an inaugural legend.
What about Len Thompson? Len won the Collingwood B&F 5 times, captained the club, was selected first ruck in their team of the century, won a Brownlow medal and was top 2 in the 'alltime hitouts' for more than 3 decades until the game completely changed.
or even Peter Moore (Darcy's dad). Moore won 2 Brownlows, multiple B&F's, was AA, etc and I wouldn't have him in genuine consideration for top 3 all time. Nor would I have Jimmy Stynes - who had a season where he was named first ruck in the AA team, won the B&F, won the MVP and won the Brownlow. He also won 3 other best and fairests, another All Australian, etc.
Going back to the real old timers - but you've also got Tom Leahy - who is considered easily the greatest ruck out of SA ever and one of SA's 5 best ever players. He won a Magarey, was runner up 3 other times, was SA's best player in the vast majority of his 31 State games and was the dominant player when his side won the 'Champions of Australia' against Carlton.
Guys Like Shaun Rehn and Matthew Kreuzer (with all respect to them) just don't belong in the same conversation. I'm not sure why some of those above names are so frequently forgotten (or underrated), with there being a number of other guys I could of mentioned in a similar category.
I think the thing about the super elite ruckmen is they often werent needed to win flags.
Same cant be said about forwards, mids and defenders.
Ive watched since the late 70s so many of the old timers are as much myths as anything else.