Who was better Cyril or Maurice?

[krisholio14]

Sounds like a perfect description of Cyril to me....Cyril is a better tackler too, by the way....His ball use/retention going inside 50 is the elite of the elite.

I dunno....Maybe you missed the first half of this year's Grand Final?....What Maurice did in 1982, Cyril more than matched.

Except Maurice used to deliver that level of performance on a weekly basis up until his ill fated attempt to cross to Sydney. I also don't think you'll find too many who saw Maurice play who would agree with the tackling either. Cyril has been one of the best tacklers going around during his career, maybe the even the best, his uncle was clearly the best tackler going around is his day, and would be close to the best I've seen. They were similar in that they were quick and could repeat tackle, and when they wrapped someone up, they stayed wrapped up. Maurice used to make blokes feel it a bit more though, without doing anything that would be considered dirty then or now.

While I don't agree on the tackling, I would also add that Cyril has a yard extra in pace than Maurice did.

Anyway, I've made my point, all I'm gonna add is the only people who are going to think Cyril is a better player are people who never saw Maurice, or Hawthorn supporters.

For those who never got to see Maurice at his best, the 79, 80 and 81 WAFL Grand Finals and the 1982 VFL Grand Final are all on youtube in their entirety. The WAFL ones in particular are worth a look, all great games of footy, and not only do you get to see Maurice in full flight, you also get to see Stephen Michael and a few other indigenous players who never made it over, and a few players who did end up in the VFL to varying degrees of success.

 

[footyfan1978]

Maurice Rioli was a classy centreman.
Cyril has a long way to go in terms of impact in engine room to get the same admiration as Maurice.

 

[M Malice]

Cyril is easily our most skilled player....No other player on our list can do the things he does....And we're talking about one of the most highly skilled triple premiership sides in history!

The lack of perspective does my head in.

they are definitely one of the top 4 premiership back to back to back teams of all time maybe from the end of next season they will be one of the 2 best 4 peat teams of all time, and the best of this century so far.

 

[footyfan1978]

Wayne Johnston should have won the 82 norm smith

True.
Maurice played a great game all the same.
Wayne Harmes won the 1979 Norm Smith Medal.
Bruce Doull 1981 ?
1982 Maurice Rioli
1987 David Rhys-Jones

Johnston could have won 2 or 3 of those. Some say 4 but I remember him most for his impact at start of 1982 grand final. He was like a caged lion unleashed at start after serving his 2 week suspension for whacking Polkinghorne of Hawthorn when we destroyed them in the first week Qualifying Final.

 

[krisholio14]

True.
Maurice played a great game all the same.
Wayne Harmes won the 1979 Norm Smith Medal.
Bruce Doull 1981 ?
1982 Maurice Rioli
1987 David Rhys-Jones

Johnston could have won 2 or 3 of those. Some say 4 but I remember him most for his impact at start of 1982 grand final. He was like a caged lion unleashed at start after serving his 2 week suspension for whacking Polkinghorne of Hawthorn when we destroyed them in the first week Qualifying Final.

He should have won it in 1979, no questions about that. His first quarter in 1987 also set the tone for the day.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Maurice Rioli was a classy centreman.
Cyril has a long way to go in terms of impact in engine room to get the same admiration as Maurice.

Last time I checked, they play entirely different positions!

Cyril is a classy, goal-kicking, dual All Australian, A grade small forward, with 4 premierships to his name.

Maurice has some catching up to do on pretty much all those fronts.

 

[masai]

Last time I checked, they play entirely different positions!

Cyril is a classy, goal-kicking, dual All Australian, A grade small forward, with 4 premierships to his name.

Maurice has some catching up to do on pretty much all those fronts.

I've been lucky enough to see both of these play live, many times.

Maurice was in the top 5 players in the VFL, each season he was in Victoria. Added to that, he'd played SOO footy and was in the best regularly in that format.

You probably view the WAFL in the 70's & 80's as second rate, but watching Maurice & TI was worth 10 times the ticket price.

Cyril is a top 50 player in the AFL.

 

[Lethality]

 

[Procrastinator35]

I've been lucky enough to see both of these play live, many times.

Maurice was in the top 5 players in the VFL, each season he was in Victoria. Added to that, he'd played SOO footy and was in the best regularly in that format.

You probably view the WAFL in the 70's & 80's as second rate, but watching Maurice & TI was worth 10 times the ticket price.

Cyril is a top 50 player in the AFL.

1 All Australian in 1983 (His best season) would suggest otherwise.

I'm not here to down-play the merits of 'Magic' as a player....I'm merely suggesting that those who are saying he is far superior to 'Sizzle' have No Clue!

 

[masai]

I have no clue.

 

[footyfan1978]

Last time I checked, they play entirely different positions!

Exactly!!! That's a clue for you that Cyril is not capable of doing the engine room stuff like Maurice could brilliantly despite being the size of such players.
He's a wonderful forward specialist and great at that. Nothing more and nothing less.
If he ever develops into a midfielder we can re-visit whether he can be rated with Maurice.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Seen them both play a lot. Different footballers but if I had to pick it would be Maurice every day of the week.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Exactly!!! That's a clue for you that Cyril is not capable of doing the engine room stuff like Maurice could brilliantly despite being the size of such players.
He's a wonderful forward specialist and great at that. Nothing more and nothing less.
If he ever develops into a midfielder we can re-visit whether he can be rated with Maurice.

His hamstrings have been his downfall in that department....When he does go through midfield, he goes well enough.

Even during Maurice's best years, Terry Wallace would beat him out for the AA center-man position....And I rate Cyril above Plough as a footballer.

 

[krisholio14]

Seen them both play a lot. Different footballers but if I had to pick it would be Maurice every day of the week.

Thing is they aren't that different. Almost exactly the same height and weight, both had/have superior skills, especially ball handling, and both were/are in the best two or three tacklers in the league, if not the best.

The differences as far as their physical attributes go, Cyril has a bigger leap and a little more pace, Maurice was definitely the fitter of the two.

The main difference lies in the fact that Cyril is an impact/burst player. He doesn't get volume touches/involvements, but they are the sort of touches/involvements that can change the outcome of a game very quickly. I would say that his GF performance last year was arguably his best 4 quarter performance for the Hawks, and totally deserving of the Normie, but I don't think he's ever strung a series of games together where he had such an overall bearing on the outcome.

Maurice was also an impact player, but used to get twice the number of touches, and therefore consistently had more influence on games. After '82, once Richmond got in those clearance s**t fights with Collingwood and they tumbled down the ladder and he was left playing with a lot of mugs, I can tell you, Richmond would have been a lot closer to the bottom then they were without Mr Magic in the side. Certainly from 83-85 at least. There were a couple of games I remember watching against top teams where he single handedly carried them over the line.

He also had a lot more stamina than Cyril. Maurice was super fit for his day, which is why he could go all afternoon, and treat heavy grounds like they were bowling greens. It didn't matter what the conditions, Maurice always looked like he had the ball on a string. Cyril does on occasion, but not like his uncle used to.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Thing is they aren't that different. Almost exactly the same height and weight, both had/have superior skills, especially ball handling, and both were/are in the best two or three tacklers in the league, if not the best.

The differences as far as their physical attributes go, Cyril has a bigger leap and a little more pace, Maurice was definitely the fitter of the two.

The main difference lies in the fact that Cyril is an impact/burst player. He doesn't get volume touches/involvements, but they are the sort of touches/involvements that can change the outcome of a game very quickly. I would say that his GF performance last year was arguably his best 4 quarter performance for the Hawks, and totally deserving of the Normie, but I don't think he's ever strung a series of games together where he had such an overall bearing on the outcome.

Maurice was also an impact player, but used to get twice the number of touches, and therefore consistently had more influence on games. After '82, once Richmond got in those clearance s**t fights with Collingwood and they tumbled down the ladder and he was left playing with a lot of mugs, I can tell you, Richmond would have been a lot closer to the bottom then they were without Mr Magic in the side. Certainly from 83-85 at least. There were a couple of games I remember watching against top teams where he single handedly carried them over the line.

He also had a lot more stamina than Cyril. Maurice was super fit for his day, which is why he could go all afternoon, and treat heavy grounds like they were bowling greens. It didn't matter what the conditions, Maurice always looked like he had the ball on a string. Cyril does on occasion, but not like his uncle used to.

What I meant was that Cyril is the burst player of the two although Maurice could certainly kill you in 5 mins aswell. He was a better tackler than Cyril IMO. Maurice was a freak, he's the best Tiger I've ever seen play. He was very strong aswell, hard to tackle.

 

[footyfan1978]

His hamstrings have been his downfall in that department...

Spot on. When he gets fit enough to be capable of engine room work, we can see if he can have the impact of the great Maurice Rioli in the engine room. I would love to see if he could be as great as his older relative in the midfield. He still has time to reach those levels but until he gets himself to that level he will be seen as a forward specialist only. A wonderfully gifted one but he has lots of work to do to be rated with genuine engine room specialists.

 

[Procrastinator35]

What I meant was that Cyril is the burst player of the two although Maurice could certainly kill you in 5 mins aswell. He was a better tackler than Cyril IMO. Maurice was a freak, he's the best Tiger I've ever seen play. He was very strong aswell, hard to tackle.

Thing is though, Cyril can do things Maurice could only dream about....And as for Magic being a better tackler?....Just LOL.

Maurice had a superior inside game, thanks also to the ruck dominance of Lee...But when it comes to all-round skills, Sizzle has him cold.

 

[krisholio14]

What I meant was that Cyril is the burst player of the two although Maurice could certainly kill you in 5 mins aswell. He was a better tackler than Cyril IMO. Maurice was a freak, he's the best Tiger I've ever seen play. He was very strong aswell, hard to tackle.

Cyril isn't all that easy to get hold of either, very slippery, as was Maurice. Maurice was better at breaking tackles though.

I think Maurice set the standard for tackling as we know it today. Cyril has the same technique, and the same ability to bring down two or three guys in one passage of play, but geez, Maurice was a master at rattling bones completely within the spirit of the game.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Thing is though, Cyril can do things Maurice could only dream about....And as for Magic being a better tackler?....Just LOL.

Maurice had a superior inside game, thanks also to the ruck dominance of Lee...But when it comes to all-round skills, Sizzle has him cold.

Maurice was a better tackler... Not sure what you're harping on about. Maurice was a better footballer than Cyril, sorry but that's how it is.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Spot on. When he gets fit enough to be capable of engine room work, we can see if he can have the impact of the great Maurice Rioli in the engine room. I would love to see if he could be as great as his older relative in the midfield. He still has time to reach those levels but until he gets himself to that level he will be seen as a forward specialist only. A wonderfully gifted one but he has lots of work to do to be rated with genuine engine room specialists.

Sizzle is a superior mark, kick, tackler & goal-kicker than Magic....Regardless of the positions they play, that makes him a better footballer.

Maurice was a better tackler... Not sure what you're harping on about. Maurice was a better footballer than Cyril, sorry but that's how it is.

Yeah...nah

Strong user-name to footy I.Q

 

[Nostradumbass]

Sizzle is a superior mark, kick, tackler & goal-kicker than Magic....Regardless of the positions they play, that makes him a better footballer.



Yeah...nah

Strong user-name to footy I.Q

How many times did you see Maurice play?

 

[Procrastinator35]

How many times did you see Maurice play?

Live or on telly?

 

[Nostradumbass]

Live or on telly?

Lol.... Playing games now. Just noticed your signature, says it all. I'm done here, you clearly have NFI what you're on about. Maurice was a superior footballer to your beloved Cyril. Toodles chump.

 

[MistyAvalon]

only seen cyril and if you reckon maurice is better... he musthave been amazing

 

[footyfan1978]

Sizzle is a superior mark, kick, tackler & goal-kicker than Magic....Regardless of the positions they play, that makes him a better footballer.

In your dreams, yes. Me thinks you protest too much.
On the football field where position you play matter to what impact you have and rated he is not. Just a better mark on the footy field up in forward line. Outside of that domain in the engine room where most of us rate the best footballers, Maurice takes him to the cleaners in terms of impact which makes him the better and more admired footballer. Cyril still has plenty of time in his career to improve his game enough to also break into the engine room. Will be interesting if he can reach those heights and develop that level of Maurice.