A Cut Above
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I was thinking about the way Richmond fans talk up Dusty being the best player in the comp - except its pretty clear he isn't. Sure he had an out-of-the-box year in 2017, but even Adam Cooney, Allen Jackovich & Shane Woewodin have managed that. Take 2017 out of the equation (guessing it was a contract year?) and his resume is pretty thin. Made the AA team a total four times, but two of those (2018 & 2020) were gifted on reputation.
He was little more than an average player in the early stages of his career, taking 6-7 years to reach elite status, whereas a twat like Danger was pretty much a star from the get-go. Tellingly, Dusty's stats are fairly ordinary - he's never averaged 30 touches over a season, and has never kicked more than 40 goals. Despite lacking the tank to play as a pure midfielder and never having the responsibility of being the #1 target inside 50, he seems to get full credit for both??
Then there's the predictable "but he's a great finals player!" argument. Yeah, and so was Gary Ayres who the player-of-the-finals award is named after yet nobody talked about Ayresy as the best player in the comp. He was simply an excellent footballer who went to another level in September, but a long way behind others in overall value to the team. You could even say the same about Luke Hodge (no way I'd pick him ahead of Sam Mitchell) but at least Hodgey was a remarkable captain, whereas Dusty's childlike persona would see him struggling to lead an under 9's team.
Sorry Richmond fans, I'm sick of watching Dusty only pull his finger out in finals, then get credit for being the best player in the comp all year round - he isn't.
He was little more than an average player in the early stages of his career, taking 6-7 years to reach elite status, whereas a twat like Danger was pretty much a star from the get-go. Tellingly, Dusty's stats are fairly ordinary - he's never averaged 30 touches over a season, and has never kicked more than 40 goals. Despite lacking the tank to play as a pure midfielder and never having the responsibility of being the #1 target inside 50, he seems to get full credit for both??
Then there's the predictable "but he's a great finals player!" argument. Yeah, and so was Gary Ayres who the player-of-the-finals award is named after yet nobody talked about Ayresy as the best player in the comp. He was simply an excellent footballer who went to another level in September, but a long way behind others in overall value to the team. You could even say the same about Luke Hodge (no way I'd pick him ahead of Sam Mitchell) but at least Hodgey was a remarkable captain, whereas Dusty's childlike persona would see him struggling to lead an under 9's team.
Sorry Richmond fans, I'm sick of watching Dusty only pull his finger out in finals, then get credit for being the best player in the comp all year round - he isn't.
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