Opinion Triple Position Players

[SickQwon]

With a number of Carlton defenders spending a large chunk of the season on the injury list, Carlton were forced to trial Levi Casboult in the backline as a 'band-aid' type fix to a team selection dilemma. Casboult proved to be more than reliable as a defender, coming 5th in Carlton's Best n' Fairest after a great season. This reinvention as defender would make Casboult a triple position player (Ruck/Fwd/Def).

This had me thinking, who are the triple position players of our game, past or present? Who is/was the best? Were there any that played 4 positions? Discuss.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Mark Blicavs springs to mind.

 

[StillAtLarge]

Roughead played just about everywhere

 

[ShadeyP]

Goodesy , played almost everywhere besides full back .
Pavlich mainly forward but did play a little back early in career with stints in the middle .
Mcleod started as a small forward , moved into the midfield and then settled on the HBF .

 

[Chaisa]

Goodes won a Brownlow playing ruck and onball, could play on the wing, had time at CHB, regularly played as a key forward and played a bit as a tall small forward. In all times stakes he probably has Roughead beat given how long he spent at those positions.

Pavlich and Chad Cornes also guys who played key defence, key forward and midfield.

 

[ShadeyP]

Westhoff , played forward , wing , defender and pinch hit n the ruck some years back .

 

[ferrisb]

Kouta started as a winger, spent time at CHF, a little bit of time at CHB and then finished his career as an inside mid.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Deledio played forward, midfield and on the half back flank.

 

[ferrisb]

Goodesy , played almost everywhere besides full back .
Pavlich mainly forward but did play a little back early in career with stints in the middle .
Mcleod started as a small forward , moved into the midfield and then settled on the HBF .

Two excellent suggestions.

Not only did those two play multiple positions, but to a very high standard.

Goodes won one brownlow as a ruck/rover, his 2nd as a midfielder.

Pavlich best known as a CHF, played large stints as a midfielder and actually made his first AA as FB.

 

[ShadeyP]

Was about to add Kouta but you beat me to it .

 

[craffles]

It truly is the off season. Levi Casboult, one of the all time great triple position players

 

[ep2018]

Pav made AA in all three positions if I remember correctly.

 

[King_Steele]

Goddard

 

[ferrisb]

It truly is the off season. Levi Casboult, one of the all time great triple position players

OP didn't claim Levi was an all-time great anything....

Just talked up his flexibility and used it to introduce an interesting discussion.

Given you're an Essendon supporter, instead of going off half-cocked perhaps you could have suggested James Hird.

Foremost a midfielder, but more than handy up forward and played a bit as a sweeping HBF late in his career IIRC. One of those players too good to be given a specific role (in a good way), you just backed him to do what he wanted.

 

[TryAnHit]

Mark Blicavs springs to mind.

Agree...
Really crushed that wing role in the finals

 

[rippersnipper]

Majak

 

[ferrisb]

Pav made AA in all three positions if I remember correctly.

That's how I remember it. AA at FB, mid and CHF (which is just absurd).

However looking it up now I see he was named at FB once, in the fwd line 3 times and on the bench twice (each bench year he kicked ~70 goals).

I vaguely remember some kind of selection controversy one year. Maybe 2003 he was playing as a mid but they squeezed him into the fwd line(named HFF)?

Can anyone elaborate?

 

[juss]

This is really just a thread of versatile players. There have been a few over the years of varying ability, Deledio, Pavlich, Goodes, Koutafidis, Roughead, Cornes, Sicily, Westhoff, Goddard, and could probably go on and if midfielders count then there would be dozens more who have played forward, midfield and off half back like a Shane Edwards type.

 

[Damon_3388]

Chris Mayne

Half forward, wing, half back.

Cue Chisel's "Standing on the Outside Looking In".

 

[Dadda Dave]

It truly is the off season. Levi Casboult, one of the all time great triple position players

Your lot would love to have him next season as a forward and pinch hit in the ruck lol..

 

[btdg]

I can’t think of anyone like Casboult.

Most of the others mentioned here were superstars who could have played any position because the game folded around them. Casboult is a 3 position workhorse which is pretty rare.

I mean, he wasnt best 22 for a bottom 4 team but then filled in, very competently, in 3 vastly different positions, and finished top 5 in the BnF while remaining a backup at all 3 positions (if he plays rd 1 2020 it will be off the bench). He’s a bit of a one-trick pony if you are looking at his standout skills, but has improved every other aspect of his game to ‘competent’

The closest I can think would be Tyson Goldsack and maybe Matthew Spangher, but neither had the one trick that Casboult has (contested marking).

 

[Topkent]

I can’t think of anyone like Casboult.

Most of the others mentioned here were superstars who could have played any position because the game folded around them. Casboult is a 3 position workhorse which is pretty rare.

I mean, he wasnt best 22 for a bottom 4 team but then filled in, very competently, in 3 vastly different positions, and finished top 5 in the BnF while remaining a backup at all 3 positions (if he plays rd 1 2020 it will be off the bench). He’s a bit of a one-trick pony if you are looking at his standout skills, but has improved every other aspect of his game to ‘competent’

The closest I can think would be Tyson Goldsack and maybe Matthew Spangher, but neither had the one trick that Casboult has (contested marking).

Leigh Brown comes to mind.
Hunter
Staker

Lynden Dunn has played as a CHF, FB and played 2 seasons as a tagger for Melbourne in the midfield.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Oscar Allen played forward, back and ruck this year. Not bad for a second year player!

 

[Madison]

That's how I remember it. AA at FB, mid and CHF (which is just absurd).

However looking it up now I see he was named at FB once, in the fwd line 3 times and on the bench twice (each bench year he kicked ~70 goals).

I vaguely remember some kind of selection controversy one year. Maybe 2003 he was playing as a mid but they squeezed him into the fwd line(named HFF)?

Can anyone elaborate?

From memory he barely played in defence and then they put him as AA in the backline. But I'm happy to be corrected on that.

Deledio is the only really one for Richmond I can think of. Was just as dangerous in defence, midfield or attack. Could probably have been a FF too. Joel Bowden was AA CHB, but was really undersized and I was only a kid but seem to remember him also playing mid and maybe fwd?

J Roughead played a bit all over, chopping out in the ruck and also lining up in the centre square as a midfielder to go with a KPF. Very impressive.

 

[Quokka]

That's how I remember it. AA at FB, mid and CHF (which is just absurd).

However looking it up now I see he was named at FB once, in the fwd line 3 times and on the bench twice (each bench year he kicked ~70 goals).

I vaguely remember some kind of selection controversy one year. Maybe 2003 he was playing as a mid but they squeezed him into the fwd line(named HFF)?

Can anyone elaborate?

I don't think he ever played midfield without playing forward as well. He was very good starting in the centre square and so rotated there more and more if Fremantle were struggling to get control. Seeing as Fremantle was shite for large portions of his career he spent a decent amount of time in the middle.

Drove a lot of Freo fans nuts as he was always a better forward than centre but if you put him deep forward the ball simply wouldn't get to him and even Pav tapped out at being able to collect the ball from restart and kick it 50m to himself leading out of the square.

Still I'd give a team of 22 Pavlich's half a chance against any other similarly freakish team.