Which five world athletes would make the best transition into the AFL?

[shadowpuppet]

Every time these threads pop up i always immediately think Bo Jackson.
Then i expect some one else to nominate Bo Jackson.
Thus I nominate Bo Jackson.

 

[Shoei]

LOL at NBA and NFL players being lauded as some kind of "greatest ever athletes"

Most are juiced up to their eyeballs with human growth hormones, EPO, dozens of steroids and stimulants. Why? Because they are allowed to.

People know Wrestlers are fake yet still believe that NBA and NFL players are somehow superhuman

 

[Kimbo]

Suarez is arguably best in the world right now, and he looks bodied up enough to excel at anything.

Viewed this thread just to see if his name would come up. Would make a great small opportunistic forward of the sort reviled by opposition supporters. He is always looking to score, and on current form is scoring freely. At worst a good sub.

 

[Bobby_]

LOL at NBA and NFL players being lauded as some kind of "greatest ever athletes"

to put things into perspective, the NFL's 2013 combine results;
top 10 performers:

Average NFL vertical leap = 103cm
Average AFL vertical leap = 90cm
Average NFL 40 yard sprint = 4.34 seconds
Average AFL 20 yard sprint = 2.88 seconds



They smoke our top 10 performers for pure athleticism but it would be interesting to see how they go in the 3km and beep test trials

 

[Iason]

Every time these threads pop up i always immediately think Bo Jackson.
Then i expect some one else to nominate Bo Jackson.
Thus I nominate Bo Jackson.

Bo ran a 4.12 40 yard dash at 227 pounds. He just didn't make sense at all.

 

[djrossie16]

Every time these threads pop up i always immediately think Bo Jackson.
Then i expect some one else to nominate Bo Jackson.
Thus I nominate Bo Jackson.

 

[100volt1]

would love to see Cristiano Ronaldo play our game! Amazing pace and has a great leap!

 

[Sydswans0512]

Are you serious?

After his mid-career switch to baseball?

If anything Jordan demonstrates how even even the very best can struggle if placed in a situation where they can't make most advantage of their strengths. Even the greatest drive wont overcome that.

That was Major League Baseball not the easiest thing to switch to

 

[Robbo92]

Lebron would probably come in and be the best player in the league that's how much of a freak that guy is.

 

[Carlo]

Lance Armstrong would get a game at Essendon.

Now that's funny!!!

 

[worthy]

to put things into perspective, the NFL's 2013 combine results;
top 10 performers:

Average NFL vertical leap = 103cm
Average AFL vertical leap = 90cm
Average NFL 40 yard sprint = 4.34 seconds
Average AFL 20 yard sprint = 2.88 seconds



They smoke our top 10 performers for pure athleticism but it would be interesting to see how they go in the 3km and beep test trials

Sprint times are compareable, vertical leap is a big difference, but they are trained for power with very little endurance.

AFL probably combines the 3 main athletic attributes more than most sports:

NFL - Power, Speed
Soccer - Speed, endurance
Basketball - Speed, power
AFL - Speed, power, endurance

 

[Carlo]

Lebron wouldn't figure it out, Wouldn't have enough time, It would take him 5 years to figure out positioning.

 

[DontArgue4]

I am. Completely and totally. He wouldn't make it, would be too slow and oh yes that's right - zero football skills.

As for the skills required, you forgot to add marking, handpassing, tackling, evasiveness and 360 degree peripheral vision too. So apart from all of those limitations I'm sure he'd be fine.

If you think LeBron James would be too slow for AFL footy you need to go watch a lot of footage. He is very, VERY fast. Probably top 10, if not top 5, for speed end to end of a basketball court, with or without the basketball

 

[Partridge]

If you think LeBron James would be too slow for AFL footy you need to go watch a lot of footage. He is very, VERY fast. Probably top 10, if not top 5, for speed end to end of a basketball court, with or without the basketball

Cool. Remind me, is a basketball court the same dimensions as a footy field or just a little bit smaller?

 

[Partridge]

Lebron would probably come in and be the best player in the league that's how much of a freak that guy is.

Meanwhile on Planet Earth..........no he wouldn't. Be lucky to get a kick.

 

[DontArgue4]

Cool. Remind me, is a basketball court the same dimensions as a footy field or just a little bit smaller?

Whats your point? His acceleration would be almost unmatched, mind you hes 205+ cms and 110+kgs. Not sure if you watch footy but very little of the game is spend sprinting at full pace for more then 50-70 metres. Basketball court is 30 metres, a little longer in the nba. So the greatest athlete in the world wouldnt be able to sprint an extra 20-30 metres in your eyes? ..... ok mate

 

[HenrikLundqvist]

Never ceases to amaze me how many compare endurance sports like AFL to the high intensity, interval sports like NFL.

 

[Partridge]

Whats your point? His acceleration would be almost unmatched, mind you hes 205+ cms and 110+kgs. Not sure if you watch footy but very little of the game is spend sprinting at full pace for more then 50-70 metres. Basketball court is 30 metres, a little longer in the nba. So the greatest athlete in the world wouldnt be able to sprint an extra 20-30 metres in your eyes? ..... ok mate

My point is the assumption that a great player in another sport can instantly, seamlessly adapt to playing a completely different sport, that is extremely demanding in both fitness and skills required, is ridiculous.

Who says he's the "greatest athlete in the world" anyway? US sport fanboys?

As for his acceleration, I'd love to see him line up in a 100 metre sprint against Dangerfield. Or Jetta. Or pretty much any fast player here. They'd torch him.

 

[DontArgue4]

My point is the assumption that a great player in another sport can instantly, seamlessly adapt to playing a completely different sport, that is extremely demanding in both fitness and skills required, is ridiculous.

Who says he's the "greatest athlete in the world" anyway? US sport fanboys?

As for his acceleration, I'd love to see him line up in a 100 metre sprint against Dangerfield. Or Jetta. Or pretty much any fast player here. They'd torch him.

US sport fanboys? na mate, basically the whole world would agree. You clearly have no idea about how much of a freak he really is. Your stuck in your little aussie rules bubble and you cant handle anyone saying that there are better athletes out there.

No, they wouldnt torch him.

 

[captain cotch 9]

Billy Slater

 

[Partridge]

US sport fanboys? na mate, basically the whole world would agree. You clearly have no idea about how much of a freak he really is. Your stuck in your little aussie rules bubble and you cant handle anyone saying that there are better athletes out there.

No, they wouldnt torch him.

Quite the opposite. I follow plenty of sports outside Aussie Rules. The difference is I don't think Ablett would waltz into the Premier League, nor do I think Lionel Messi would effortlessly stroll into the NBA. Every sport of that calibre (and that's soccer, footy here, basketball, American football) has its own very daunting and unique challenges and only years and years of preparation and training allow you to play them. Let alone play them well.

Some choose to rank media profile above sanity and that's fine. I don't.

 

[DontArgue4]

Quite the opposite. I follow plenty of sports outside Aussie Rules. The difference is I don't think Ablett would waltz into the Premier League, nor do I think Lionel Messi would effortlessly stroll into the NBA. Every sport of that calibre (and that's soccer, footy here, basketball, American football) has its own very daunting and unique challenges and only years and years of preparation and training allow you to play them. Let alone play them well.

Some choose to rank media profile above sanity and that's fine. I don't.

I never once said LeBron would step into the AFL and dominate. All i've been saying is that he is a freak athlete, which is not opinion, it is fact. The fact that you are honestly trying to shoot down the idea that he is an amazing athlete is hilarious.

 

[Juddernaut08]

Kobe would be good.

 

[Tiger_man322]

He was a great basketballer no doubt ... but how did go at pro baseball ? Struggled big time if IRRC and never got out of the minors.

Baseball is vastly different to Basketball. AFL requires basically the same skills, just add kicking and more endurance. His skill set would suit AFL better then Baseball.

Sure, he would have to work on it. Couldn't just walk in to a best 22. But Michael Jordan, if he wanted it. He would make it happen.

Sure, he wasn't the best baseball player. Watch any interview, and everyone that played with him says that he was the first to training and the last to leave. Always wanting to improve his game. Same went for his baseball.

 

[Partridge]

I never once said LeBron would step into the AFL and dominate. All i've been saying is that he is a freak athlete, which is not opinion, it is fact. The fact that you are honestly trying to shoot down the idea that he is an amazing athlete is hilarious.

Wrong. Never said he wasn't an amazing athlete. I said the idea of him walking into the AFL in any capacity is laughable. Same goes for any other sportsman.