BigFooty Geelong Board Team Of the Sesquicentury - Part 2 (Player Nominations)

Buddha, in the guts, lock in.

a few stats!

Played 274 games, kicking 243 goals for Geelong, 1987-2001
Played in 21 finals, kicking 21 goals
133 career Brownlow Medal votes
Geelong best and fairest 1991, 1993-94, 1996
State representative on eight occasions - Victorian Captain
All-Australian 1991, 1993-94, 1996
Geelong Captain 1995, 1999
Geelong Team of the Century

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Originally from United Methodists in the Church Union Association, Geelong utility Joe Slater was considered to be one of the foremost players of his day, and was named on a half back flank in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. Strong overhead, and boasting phenomenal pace, he was capable of performing effectively as a forward or across centre, but it was as a defender that, by common consent, he played most of his best football. Between 1906 and 1914 Slater played a total of 108 VFL games, and kicked 17 goals. He represented the VFL twice. Having quit football in order to enlist, he lost his life while serving his country in World War One.

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cats2rise said:

I'd love Reg Hickey to be our coach... Can someone be coach and play in the team?

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Geelong's 1962 Brownlow Medallist Alistair Lord was an effervescent, attacking centreman who was continually in the thick of the action. The Cats procured him from Cobden and he made his league debut in 1959, often alternating during the early phase of his career between a half forward flank and the pivot. During his Brownlow year he averaged 30 disposals a game and finished 9 votes clear of his nearest rival. Not surprisingly, he won Geelong's best and fairest award the same year. Lord was in the centre when the Cats beat Hawthorn in the 1963 grand final, but his form after that became patchy as he seemed to lose his motivation. He retired in 1966 after 122 VFL games. He also represented the VFL on 8 occasions.

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A former jockey who once rode in the Melbourne Cup, James Wilson roved for Geelong with great talent and ebullience during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His high status and enormous ability were emphasised by his being voted Champion of the Colony on no fewer than three successive occasions from 1880 to 1882. Geelong was very much the pre-eminent team in the VFA during Wilson's career, winning half a dozen premierships in the seven years between 1878 and 1884. James Wilson's brother William, another former jockey, also played for Geelong with great distinction for several years.

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Michael followed in the footsteps of his father Leo, a great player for the Club and selected also in this team in the other wing position. Michael was recruited from Warrnambool, and immediately set about demonstrating his exceptional ability, fast, skilful, and a courageous dasher, his explosive pace often showing a clean pair of heels to his opponents with the skill to run from the packs at full speed, finding space and bouncing the ball two or three times before driving the ball either deep into the forward line, or through the goals. To watch both father and son playing in the same team with their style of play complimenting each other would be a supporters delight.

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Geelong2k9 said:

Why dont we do a team of players/ coaches who left Geelong to go onto mediocre/ crappy careers with other clubs??

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A natural sportsman, Edward Greeves excelled at cricket, tennis and rowing, but most especially at football. Geelong wanted him to line up for them while he was still at school, but the school authorities refused to allow it. He had to wait until 1923 to make his debut, quickly developing into one of the most eye-catching centremen in the game.​

The prime reason that Greeves was so eye-catching was his kicking style, which was said to be one of the most classically perfect ever seen. Schoolboys all over Geelong would practise for hours trying to emulate it. Moreover, in an era when genuinely two-sided footballers were the exception rather than the rule, Greeves could kick with either foot with almost equal facility and expertise.​

In 1924, the twenty year old Greeves' career blossomed when he was selected to represent the VFL at the Hobart Carnival and, of course, won the inaugural Brownlow. With his elegant style of play ensuring that he always caught the umpire's eye, Greeves also later ran second in the Medal on three occasions in an era when only the best player afield received votes.​

In 1928, well over half a century before Darren Bennett, Greeves spent nearly seven months in the USA, four of them as kicking coach for the University of Southern California's gridiron team, the Trojans (and not the University of South Carolina, as many sources wrongly suggest). Although he was not the first Australian footballer to have an impact on the American game - that honour resides with Pat O'Dea - he was the first such footballer to be deliberately 'head-hunted' by the Americans, and the first to travel to the USA for purposes specifically and exclusively to do with gridiron. While in California, Greeves was reportedly a great success, earning a gold medal for his services, and was indeed offered the opportunity to remain, but the 1929 VFL season saw him resuming his career with the Cats, for whom he went on to play a total of 137 games in eleven seasons, with premierships in 1925 and 1931 the highlights.
Other noteworthy features of Greeves' football career include the facts that he never wore proper football boots, preferring ordinary boots of very soft leather, and he played the entirety of his VFL career as an amateur.
Once his VFL career was over, Greeves maintained his involvement in football by coaching first Warracknabeal, and later Ararat. His importance in the history of the Geelong Football Club was highlighted in 2001 when he was included, as centreman, in the club's official 'Team of the Century'. The Cats' annual best and fairest award is currently named in his honour.​

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