Grant Birchall; Tasmania's best player ever?

[Lord Mud of Glenferrie]

I can't speak for Hudo games but my brother tried to obtain the Dunstall 17 goals game and he was told it would cost $1000 because the game was only on film and someone had to manually transfer it onto DVD. You would think the club would track down special games like that one and get them in a format that fans can view/buy even if only as a webstream online for members only. I would think it worth doing just so people don't forget about the feats of our past champions even if it is not particularly commercial. Even if the club put together a collection of 50 games of significance that you can't already buy (and assuming $1000 per game) we are only talking $50,000 plus whatever it costs to stream them online (inclusive of rights).

So, the question is why don't they. I reckon I could easily get together 10 fellow Hawthorn supporters to pay $100 each to get a DVD of the 16 and 17 goal games. But there is so much more that should be made readily available. I believe the club, and any club for that matter, should make their entire library available on DVD. Surely the club(s) are not concerned that general availability reduces the historical importance and therefor the value of these treasures.

Using Hawthorn for example, what is wrong with the club compiling a virtual tour of the museum and included in that tour is a list of videos of their entire library. Any member can gain access to those videos for a nominal cost. Seems like good business practice to me.

Channel 7 is sitting on a virtual goldmine of old footage. The odd showing of historical games is not good enough. Without being too nasty I think that the AFL purchasing the rights to those videos would have been money better spent than VLAD's self gifted pay rise. And going further down this track would not it be good business practice for channel 7 to offer their videos for sale.

Oh dear, I forgot. The age of Computers. One out = millions out. Aw well it sounded good for a while.

 

[Lord Mud of Glenferrie]

Clearly showing my age on this one!

Plot twist, Tasmania's best 22?

Yeah, start with the spine. It will make your hair stand up.

 

[Davo23]

I'd have Birchall alongside Pritchard, and both well behind Hudson, also behind Baldock, Stewart, Richo, Hart, and prob a few others, that's not to say Birchall isn't a very good player.

Yes, and Rod Rocket Eade as well.

Perhaps the OP means that Birchall is the current best Tassie player?

 

[Furn2]

Best current Tassie player but not in the frame for best ever.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Shayne Stevenson!

Only bloke I've ever seen kick a goal with a broken leg!

Huddo ever do that?

 

[James Colorado]

Amazing the quality of the players produced by the smallest state in the Commonwealth.

It could be argued that Hudson is in our top five players (maybe only second or third behind Barney), Baldock as St Kilda's best ever, Hart as Richmond's best ever, with Richo top ten, and Stewart not far behind Baldock for St Kilda and also rated highly at Richmond too. Hart and Stewart are AFL Team of the Century players, and you'd think that Hudson and Baldock were stiff to miss out.

We've done well out of the Apple Isle at Hawthorn, having had Hudson, Eade, Pritchard and Birchall all being big parts of some of our strongest teams.

 

[Lord Mud of Glenferrie]

Shayne Stevenson!

Only bloke I've ever seen kick a goal with a broken leg!

Huddo ever do that?

From 1968 when he first injured his knee Huddo only ever played on one leg. It could have been broken but it was a bit hard to tell. He did not have any hairs on that leg. Vin Waite's favourite tactics was to pull the hairs on Hudson's leg to try and put him off his game. Ah! Vin Waite. Carlton's favourite tough man. The fastest I ever saw him run was when he was being chased by Doug wade after Waite hit a Geelong player from behind. Both were moving at the speed of a startled Sloth. Nothing has ever changed at Carlton.

 

[Dewnior]

Lots of great players to have come from Tassie. Here are a few that would lay claim to being the best.

Robert Johnson - 1959-69 (3 flags)
Rodney Eade - 1976-87 (4 flags)
Graham Wright - 1988-98 (1 flag)
Ian Stewart 1963-75 (2 flags, triple brownlow winner)
Darrel Baldock 1962-68 (Premiership captain)
Royce Hart 1967-77 (4 flags)
Alastair Lynch - 1988-04 (3 flags)
Peter Hudson - 1967-77 (1 flag)
Darrin Pritchard - 1987-97 (3 flags)
Percy Jones - 1966-79 (4 flags)
Brent Crosswell - 1968-82 (4 flags)

 

[Thaihawk]

Clearly showing my age on this one!

Plot twist, Tasmania's best 22?

Beat me to. Definitely in Tas best ever team, but not number 1.

 

[Dewnior]

Yes, and Rod Rocket Eade as well.

Perhaps the OP means that Birchall is the current best Tassie player?

Amazing that no-one else picked up on Rocket

 

[dermott]

Baldock, Hudson, Hart and Stewart were in a class of their own. All genuine champions. There were many other good players from Tasmania but none that rivalled the big Four.

 

[JoeHawk]

Afterall it's Hudsons legacy as a player that has made hawthorn so popular in Tassie hence our games there, which Huddo I belive played a huge part in getting.

 

[JoeHawk]

Lots of great players to have come from Tassie. Here are a few that would lay claim to being the best.

Robert Johnson - 1959-69 (3 flags)
Rodney Eade - 1976-87 (4 flags)
Graham Wright - 1988-98 (1 flag)
Ian Stewart 1963-75 (2 flags, triple brownlow winner)
Darrel Baldock 1962-68 (Premiership captain)
Royce Hart 1967-77 (4 flags)
Alastair Lynch - 1988-04 (3 flags)
Peter Hudson - 1967-77 (1 flag)
Darrin Pritchard - 1987-97 (3 flags)
Percy Jones - 1966-79 (4 flags)
Brent Crosswell - 1968-82 (4 flags)

Ah-hem......and Paul Hudson??? Ok not a great but a premiership player nonetheless.

 

[Dewnior]

Ah-hem......and Paul Hudson??? Ok not a great but a premiership player nonetheless.

I wouldn't put Paul in the same category as the ones listed above

 

[crazywildhorse]

In the years I've been following the VFL/AFL (when the Eagles entered the comp), Richo would have to be the best Tasmanian player.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

What would you do if Jesus came to Hawthorn?

Put him on the back flank and move Birch to the pocket.

 

[Omega]

Hudson easily best ever from Tassie. He was a freak, goal kicking machine no one could stop.

 

[Manila_Hawk]

What about our 1983 Norm Smith medalist from Wynyard. Colin Robertson.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Ian Paton

 

[TazHawk15]

Hudson easily best ever from Tassie. He was a freak, goal kicking machine no one could stop.

The Tassie best ever fowardline is unreal.

Hart,Hudson,Richo,Lynch,Baldock,roach,

 

[Flukey!]

I think it is great that the older members on here stick up for our past champions.
The younger guys will never appreciate them otherwise.

 

[Southern Urchins]

Clearly you never saw Mitch Thorp play.

 

[tige19]

3 Premiership, elite foot skills, immense leadership and a proper hatred for Essendon.

Well, is he?

Not even close.

Stewart, Hudson, Richardson and Hart all superior.

 

[Sixpence]

Absolutely. It really is a great pity that most of the posters on this board never got to see Huddo.

Yeh, yeh, rub it in Old Man!

 

[realhawk]

Peter Hudson then daylight.

Correct, Hudson is the best player ever from tassie, ahead of Stewart, hart and baldock. Leigh Matthews said he was the best player he played with. If he hadn't have done his knee at his prime he could would have gone down as the games greatest ever player full stop. An out and out freak, have a quick look at the history books people.