Patrick Dangerfield vs Ben Cousins

Who is/was the better player?


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    96

JCHolmes

Team Captain
Nov 30, 2013
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Hi Everybody

Bit premature as Danger is still playing, but who is/was the better player?

Lets not go into Cousins well publicized drug issues and just compare the two greats on how they went about it on the field. Both were quite frenetic and it seems a decent comparison for me (being biased an all).

Quick stats on accomplishments (from Wiki), some actual decent ones, some meh ones:

Dangerfield: 202 games, 232 goals as of the end of 2017.

  • Brownlow (2016)
  • MVP (2016)
  • Coaches MVP (2016)
  • All-Australian x5 (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
  • B & F x3 (2015) (2016, 2017)
  • Rising Star Nominee (2009)

Cousins: 270 games, 217 goals.

  • Brownlow (2005)
  • MVP (2005)
  • All-Australian x6 (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006)
  • B & F x4 (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005)
  • Rising Star Winner (1996)
  • Premiership Player (2006)
  • Goal of the year (1999)

Danger can take a contested grab, Cousins couldn't do that. Both are considered goal kicking mids. Both could do inside and outside. Both played a very frenetic football style. What do yous think?

Im going with Cousins at this point but its hella close.
 

blitzer

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Aug 27, 2006
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Dangerfield will probably go down as a touch better. Both were some of the best players of their eras. Cousins probably wasn't ever considered the #1 player in the game, even the year he won the brownlow Judd was probably still widely appreciated as the #1 player. Cousins was a bit more like Pendlebury in this era where he had that consistent top 10 type status.

Dangerfield has had several years in the top 2 in the game and has been the best player in the game. 2018 hasn't been his best year but I've little doubt he still has some epic years to come. If he remains fit he will easily shade Cousins career achievements in terms of AA's etc.

In terms of attributes - Cousins had better endurance and was a better kick, Dangerfield better mark, slightly better pace and better contested work.
 

Doashuey

Premiership Player
Sep 13, 2017
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What the stats dont show is Cousin's ability to run beyond human thresholds constantly. He had a year where he spewed at least twice a game just purely down to pushing himself so hard. The distances he covered and at the intensity he ran at to make the next contest are unrivaled IMO. Danger is great but he never pushes his body to the same limits. For that alone, I would say Cousins was in a league of his own.
Some will say drugs allowed him to do that but he was never on the gear while playing. If anything the drugs just made it harder for him to maintain that fitness level which made it more remarkable.
 

frenchconnection

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 16, 2009
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Personally always thought at the time that Cousins was more the complete player than Judd - both were good players but just found Cousins more exciting to watch and that's not taking anything away from Judd. Getting back to Dangerfield still would give the nod to Cousins - Dangerfields kicking lets him down.
 
What the stats dont show is Cousin's ability to run beyond human thresholds constantly. He had a year where he spewed at least twice a game just purely down to pushing himself so hard. The distances he covered and at the intensity he ran at to make the next contest are unrivaled IMO. Danger is great but he never pushes his body to the same limits. For that alone, I would say Cousins was in a league of his own.
Some will say drugs allowed him to do that but he was never on the gear while playing. If anything the drugs just made it harder for him to maintain that fitness level which made it more remarkable.
I would say the drugs would have made it easier for him to increase his fitness and I am suprised by anyone who says anything to the contrary
 
Explain your theory.
training on the gear would make you go harder which in effect would increase your fitness

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saintkildaman

Brownlow Medallist
Jun 1, 2010
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training on the gear would make you go harder which in effect would increase your fitness

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I don’t think ice would’ve made him train harder or better, the opposite if anything. Crazy to think he’d come off a crack bender and still manage to train 5 days and pull off superb match day performances.
 
I don’t think ice would’ve made him train harder or better, the opposite if anything. Crazy to think he’d come off a crack bender and still manage to train 5 days and pull off superb match day performances.
i would think it 100% make him train harder.

How do you think the little ravers dance ror 12 hours?

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Doashuey

Premiership Player
Sep 13, 2017
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training on the gear would make you go harder which in effect would increase your fitness

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But he didn't. That's the mistake most make when thinking his addiction helped him.

His habit was justified to himself as a reward for training hard and playing well. When he got on the gear it was always after a game with a long break or in the off season where he would go on benders for days. Not eating or sleeping for extended periods of time has a huge impact on anyone's health and fitness. Once it came time to get back into training he would have to push through the pain of what he had put his body through to get the levels of training into his body he knew he had to. He was not using during those periods- it was a party drug for him, not a sports enhancement.
It was quite remarkable he had the mental strength to do that yet the drugs are a mental weakness that he couldn't overcome.
Your assertion the drugs helped him is very wrong, it did the opposite.
 

PerthBoy86

Norm Smith Medallist
May 23, 2016
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Cousins had more pace and agility than Danger. Seeing him tear it up in 2005 and 2006 was just unreal. With Judd and Kerr probably the best midfield trio I've ever seen play together. To dominate like we did with such a weak forward line was a testament to how good it really was.
 

bungalow_bill

Norm Smith Medallist
Dec 11, 2010
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You need to differentiate between the best player at their peak and most accomplished. Cousins at his peak would be the better player but looks like Danger will achieve more - except the premiership it seems. Cousins was a running goal kicking machine
 

JCHolmes

Team Captain
Nov 30, 2013
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Back in Cousins day (2005) no one in the entire league averaged more than 29 touches a game. This year currently, 9 players average more than 30 touches a game.

So the era's are quite different when looking at stats. Statistically, Cousins has never had the numbers Danger had in 2016/2017 in terms of goals scored and possessions. Footy was different back then.
 

Big_Birdy

Premiership Player
Jul 6, 2011
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Back in Cousins day (2005) no one in the entire league averaged more than 29 touches a game. This year currently, 9 players average more than 30 touches a game.

So the era's are quite different when looking at stats. Statistically, Cousins has never had the numbers Danger had in 2016/2017 in terms of goals scored and possessions. Footy was different back then.

Cuz never hit Dangers clangers numbers either.

But to be fair, Danger is a far better mark
 
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