View Full Version : It's over for Francou
Troy Wingate
22 Aug 2006, 19:46
Channel 10 has just reported that injured Power star will confirm his retirement tomorrow. North Adelaide are in talks with Francou to play for them next season.
Francou was a member of the Power's inaurgural side in 1997. He did not play the clubs AFL premiership in 2004.
Porthos
22 Aug 2006, 19:54
Will he be awarding the Josh Francou medal...er...Showdown medal on the weekend?
Great player, shame he did his knee twice, class midfielder.
Wonder if the Power will parade him around the ground before the showdown.
All the best for the future Josh for no matter what you decide to do.
Macca19
22 Aug 2006, 21:59
That was the rumour before last weeks match, that he'd be going around at the Showdown.
Very big shame his career has to end this way as well. Hav ebeen converting some old Port matches to DVD the last few weeks and he was just so damn good in 01-02.
Troy Wingate
22 Aug 2006, 22:08
Agreed Macca. He should've won that Brownlow Medal as well.
Toots Hibbert
22 Aug 2006, 22:13
Wonder if the Power will parade him around the ground before the showdown.
All the best for the future Josh for no matter what you decide to do.
Yes how fitting that would be. :thumbsu:
Josh was a sensational player. One of the great extractors of a football. He played with passion for us and it's a great shame he missed out on the 2004 flag.
spice18
23 Aug 2006, 01:12
Sad way to end for a great champion of the game. Will be missed but good luck whatever he does. If I were him I wouldn't worry about playing SANFL anymore - nothing to prove. Try to get a gig in the media Josh before other champions retire and squeeze you further behind the queue. We need some more people to strengthern the Power's presence in the SA football media...
Arsene Wenger
23 Aug 2006, 01:24
Absolutely - My fav player of any code after Thierry Henry
Mr Magoo
23 Aug 2006, 04:28
Sad way to end for a great champion of the game. Will be missed but good luck whatever he does. If I were him I wouldn't worry about playing SANFL anymore - nothing to prove. Try to get a gig in the media Josh before other champions retire and squeeze you further behind the queue. We need some more people to strengthern the Power's presence in the SA football media...
Word on the grapevine is that Josh wants to finish off his football career with a premiership with the cockadoodle doo's.
Magpiespower
23 Aug 2006, 06:56
What is it with that family and great footballers getting cut down in their prime?
Francou was an absolute gun. Make no mistake, at his best, he was one of the game's elite midfielders.
His partnership with Primus was uncanny.
Matter of fact, Josh Francou is what we've been sorely missing since 2004 - someone to get in and under and get the ball out of the packs.
Hope the club sign him up as an assistant because I think he has a lot to offer to our young midfielders like Thomson, Sal etc.
Congratulations on a great career, Josh!
I loved Francou's intensity.
The guy was heading for a Brownlow & a Premiership 'til the Gods intervened.
I also hope we can "bottle" him through some involvement with the club.
RussellEbertHandball
23 Aug 2006, 11:52
Unfortunately reality has caught up with Josh's footy career.
In 2001 and 02 the Primus/Francou ruck combo was as good as there was during those years and maybe as good as the game has ever seen, even the reputed Farmer/Goggin combo.
Josh would approach a ball up contest with speed and win the ball so well. I would watch the way he would glide in and out of the contest and wonder if he was on ice skates, so smooth and quick was his entry and exit out of the contest. I have never seen anyone move the way he did at those contests. Another great career destroyed by such a "harmless" looking aproach on the ball, in that contest with Voss in early 2003.
crazy_big_al
23 Aug 2006, 11:57
Josh was a great player
MrMeaner
23 Aug 2006, 12:08
Sorry to see Francou go. I didn't know much about him before he came to Port. I was soon a fan.
Unfortunately, age catches up with everyone.
I think a lot of people forget how good Francou actually was. A guy that comes 2nd and 3rd consecutively in a Bronlow must be alright. If he had played in a Victorian side he would be used as an excuse to why the team hadn't been performing well. In the space of a few years our club lost the on ball brigade of Francou, James, Carr and Stevens. How many other clubs have had the quality of that mid field ripped out of them and remained even competitive or an excuse?
Ford Fairlane
23 Aug 2006, 15:12
Francou says farewell (http://portadelaidefc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=291657). Article up on the Port website.
Francou says farewell
1:12:51 PM Wed 23 August, 2006
Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide’s Josh Francou today announced his retirement from the AFL.
Francou will do a lap of honour before the Power’s final home game of the year on Sunday, which fittingly is a Showdown. Francou so often dominated the Power v Crows clashes during his ten-year career.
etc ...
Count Zero
23 Aug 2006, 17:40
On so many ocassions there would be a congested piece of play and then suddenly Josh Francou would emerge cleanly from the back of the pack and swing around to pump the ball forward. He would steal the ball from under everyone's noses, or Primus would stick it straight down his throat. His nickname should have been Ronnie Biggs.:)
All my early Power heroes are bowing out, and it's quite sad, but I believe that the near future is going to be very exciting for Port Adelaide. :thumbsu: Thanks for everything Josh.
Sad way to go, but what a wonderful player he was.:thumbsu:
Hopefully the boys lift and give him a good send-off.
Pinepower
23 Aug 2006, 18:24
It is appropriate that he will go around before a Showdown He was the showdown specialist
Thanks Josh
Mad Dog
23 Aug 2006, 18:27
Sad way to go for any player
Good luck to him for the future
Macca19
23 Aug 2006, 18:49
THere are plenty of good ball extractors around the AFL, who have the ability to find the ball in close and dish off a creative handball to a reciever on the outside. Not many players had Joshs talent of being able to find the ball in close and somehow dodge and weave out of traffic and end up on the outside running forward. Not many at all.
A showdown specialist he certainly was...especially in the 99-02 stage. I reckon his best game that I can remember was probably the R21 match against West Coast in Subi.
PowerKat
24 Aug 2006, 10:44
A super player who I loved to watch. So sad when really great, talented players' careers are destroyed by injury.
Toots Hibbert
24 Aug 2006, 11:00
Do people know that you can post messages on the clubs website?
http://portadelaidefc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=291780
With him fit and firing for his whole career we may well have snagged another premiership. Shame he missed in 2004. Good luck to him, an absolute talent.
*PAFC*13
24 Aug 2006, 11:40
Adam Thomson will be better than Josh Francou!!
Jars458
24 Aug 2006, 14:23
Francou was an awesome player to watch when he was up and going at his best.
At his prime he was beating 3 and four Crows players at a time.
The injuries were very unfair on him.
Must say I was impressed with him as a comments man on the radio.
He did have white line fever though!:)
THere are plenty of good ball extractors around the AFL, who have the ability to find the ball in close and dish off a creative handball to a reciever on the outside. Not many players had Joshs talent of being able to find the ball in close and somehow dodge and weave out of traffic and end up on the outside running forward. Not many at all. All true. Fortunately we have found another one ;)
Toots Hibbert
24 Aug 2006, 14:58
All true. Fortunately we have found another one ;)
And that man is.....T T T Come on spit it out Pred! :D
wharfie_1870
24 Aug 2006, 17:25
And that man is.....T T T Come on spit it out Pred! :DT T T Tom Logan :p
Toots Hibbert
24 Aug 2006, 17:43
T T T Tom Logan :p
"Bad luck, rather a difficult one. :rolleyes: "
Mr Magoo
24 Aug 2006, 18:19
THere are plenty of good ball extractors around the AFL, who have the ability to find the ball in close and dish off a creative handball to a reciever on the outside. Not many players had Joshs talent of being able to find the ball in close and somehow dodge and weave out of traffic and end up on the outside running forward. Not many at all.
A showdown specialist he certainly was...especially in the 99-02 stage. I reckon his best game that I can remember was probably the R21 match against West Coast in Subi.
I remember his performances in showdown games more than any one game & that is the reason why the AFC is starting to get the upperhand against us, as you can't replace major ball winners like Carr, James & Francou overnight. I would hope that the club seeks to employ Josh when he finishes with football as an assistant coach as he would provide invaluable knowledge to the young guys learning to play in the midfield.
You're right though he had a sensational game against West Coast that day.
And that man is.....T T T Come on spit it out Pred! :DI assume you mean Thurstans, which is ridiculous. I don't know where anyone got the idea that he was my favourite player - far from it, I just think he's not quite as bad as a lot of people on this board do.
Porthos
24 Aug 2006, 19:57
Pred, that was awesome of you to not take the bait there. Stand tall!
PS. Viva la Symesy
Pred, that was awesome of you to not take the bait there. Stand tall!
PS. Viva la SymesyWell, I let it go for a while, but this "conception" is kind of annoying.
Ahem, mis-conception, I mean.
Toots Hibbert
24 Aug 2006, 20:31
Pearls before swine Toots, pearls before swine. :rolleyes:
What the hell are you three on - whatever it is I want some!!!!!!!
Toots Hibbert
24 Aug 2006, 22:03
What the hell are you three on - whatever it is I want some!!!!!!!
Ask the man whose avatar is spilling a mark.
Ask the man whose avatar is spilling a mark.Even a spilt mark is impressive - I didn't know avatars could mark!
Eddie Woloschek
25 Aug 2006, 00:04
Adam Thomson will be better than Josh Francou!!
If he's half as good as Zapper was at his best, he'll be a fine player.
Francou was an absolute gun. Make no mistake, at his best, he was one of the game's elite midfielders.
His partnership with Primus was uncanny.
Matter of fact, Josh Francou is what we've been sorely missing since 2004 - someone to get in and under and get the ball out of the packs.
Yep, yep, yep. He's one of the best players to have ever represented the Power. Thanks for the memories, Josh.
wharfie_1870
25 Aug 2006, 10:49
"Bad luck, rather a difficult one. :rolleyes: "It's OK Toots, I am well aware of your bias ;)
Toots Hibbert
25 Aug 2006, 10:56
Bias implies an opinion not grounded in fact. Therefore with regard to Adam Thomson I'm not biased.
wharfie_1870
25 Aug 2006, 11:08
You do understand the difference between "fact" and "perception" don't you ;)
Toots Hibbert
25 Aug 2006, 11:24
You do understand the difference between "fact" and "perception" don't you ;)
If you're asking me to explain it to you I'll be happy to oblige. :thumbsu:
wharfie_1870
25 Aug 2006, 11:46
If you're asking me to explain it to you I'll be happy to oblige. :thumbsu:Errr, no :confused:
Powerstufff
26 Aug 2006, 11:22
....He did have white line fever though!:)Ah yes! Mind you half our team did a few years ago. We challenged Essendon regularly for the most suspensions. Carr, Monty, Wangers, Nick the *rick.......
torchbearer38
29 Aug 2006, 15:44
In 2001 and 02 the Primus/Francou ruck combo was as good as there was during those years and maybe as good as the game has ever seen, even the reputed Farmer/Goggin combo.
Primus/Fancou the best ruck combo the game has seen, come off it, what a load of rot!
ExpectToWin
29 Aug 2006, 15:55
In 2001 and 02 the Primus/Francou ruck combo was as good as there was during those years and maybe as good as the game has ever seen, even the reputed Farmer/Goggin combo.
Primus/Fancou the best ruck combo the game has seen, come off it, what a load of rot!
I agree, the Lade/S.Burgoyne is as good as the game has ever seen:p
Powerstufff
29 Aug 2006, 19:26
In 2001 and 02 the Primus/Francou ruck combo was as good as there was during those years and maybe as good as the game has ever seen....Agreed, they were unbelievable.
PowerFord
1 Sep 2006, 11:31
Overrated. About time he left, we need to use the broom to sweep out the dead wood, the likes of Francou and Kinglsey need to be shown the door.
MrMeaner
1 Sep 2006, 11:38
Overrated.
Hardly. How's Tredrea's contested marking?
Powerstufff
1 Sep 2006, 12:01
Hardly. How's Tredrea's contested marking?
For the definitive identity test ask him for a paragraph each about Chocco, Primus, Salopek and White
wharfie_1870
1 Sep 2006, 13:12
Overrated. About time he left, we need to use the broom to sweep out the dead wood, the likes of Francou and Kinglsey need to be shown the door.Welcome back Jack. It's been a while ;)