Was it better than any of Curnow's seasons? How does it rank compared to C. Curnow, T. Cloke, J. Kennedy, L. Franklin, J. Reiwoldt, T. Hawkins, J. Roughead, J. Cameron, T. Walker, and T. Lynch? I think that about covers the best KPFs of the 2010s and onward.
Jesse seemingly combined Travis...
Both began with breakout Finals appearances, followed up with disappointing seasons of missing the eight. If I'm not mistaken, the Chris Connolly era was seen as a talented list underperforming and not meeting expectations. They turned it around in the back half of 2006, finished in the top...
Greater Western Sydney KPF Jesse Hogan is now leading the Coleman Medal after kicking five goals against Hawthorn today. He's having arguably the best season of his career, living up to his considerable hype and associated expectations. His career was disrupted by injuries early on but he still...
It seems like there have been more high-scoring contests of late. I wonder if this has anything to do with the reinterpretation of the holding-the-ball rule. Or perhaps it's just an anomaly, a small sample size outlier. The average team score is up to 84 according to AFL Tables. This is the...
As they say in boxing, styles make fights. Richmond used to beat Hawthorn a lot in that 2012-2016 period if I recall correctly. And West Coast went 4-1 over Brisbane between 2002 and 2004. And West Coast had trouble with Fremantle, Sydney, and the Western Bulldogs in 2005 and 2006.
Any other...
The 2006 Eagles had a pretty terrible forward line. The midfield had to continually overextend itself and kick goals to compensate. Oh, what I would've given for them to have had a time-traveled Josh Kennedy on those teams. I believe the 2005 Eagles had the least marks inside 50 per game in the...
Ashley Hansen wasn't an elite KPF by any means but he meant a lot to the 2005-2007 WCE teams. At 198cm and 94 kgs, Ash had the size and mobility to be a strong leading threat at the CHF position. He helped to straighten up our woeful forward line, providing structure and allowing us to take...
What made 2008 such an outlier season? Was it the delivery that year? Where he played on the field? How he moved athletically? I seem to remember he had some injury concerns that affected his mobility in the immediate following seasons. And he began playing higher up the ground, which seems to...
All players, regardless of position, should be compared because it's all about impact on the game. But it's much harder to compare a forward to a defender or midfielder so it's easier to make comparisons within positions.
When analyzing KPFs, especially in the past, there's always a question of...
Pure ability to mark the ball. Consider every circumstance: uncontested, contested, one-on-one, multiple defenders, pack marks, overhead, out in front, chest marks, on the lead, with the flight of the ball, etc.
I've just been looking at some contested marking numbers going back to 1999 and...
Two of the best CHF single seasons of the 21st century. Both players were part of teams that finished in the top four and made deep Finals runs. Looking at the numbers, it appears Riewoldt was playing a little more up the ground although Tredrea was a mobile roamer himself. Nick had the luxury...
This would make for a more entertaining product. It's always a mood dampener when a team wins a one-possession game by chipping it around with less than a minute left.
Thoughts?
It's good for the league when the Brisbane Lions are strong. The frontier must be defended at all costs and protected from grassroots rugby insurgency. The zealots are always looking for ways to push the AFL's fortifications back; all the way to Victoria if they could. An empire is only as...
Ruthlessly militant, fiercely feminist, proudly progressive. I'm the White heterosexual Victorian man's worst nightmare. I'm cleaning up this forum - and it starts now. Consider your privileges... checked.
Related Reading: Power and Privilege: Intersectionality in Australian Rules Football
Power, Privilege, and Intersectionality in Australian Rules Football
Australian Rules Football (AFL) is a popular sport that has a long and complex history in Australia. It is often seen as a symbol of Australian identity and culture, but it also reflects the social inequalities and power...
For years I thought/assumed Garry Lyon was Greek because of his phenotype: hirsute, dark-haired, and olive-skinned. He also lives in Melbourne so it just kind of made sense in my head. After all, Melbourne has the 3rd largest Greek population in the world, following only Athens and Thessaloniki...
So I was looking over an old thread of mine that was recently bumped. It reminded me that there's been one guy on BigFooty who has always had my back: Brunswick Trap King.
Rain, hail, or sunshine, this guy has backed me up. Whether it was in the Main Forum, Bay 13, or elsewhere on BF, he was...
The way the ball bounces create an element of luck that plays a large factor in the outcome of games. I'm sitting here, watching the WAFL grand final; Claremont just kicked two goals in large part to how the ball bounced in a contest.
The game would be significantly less entertaining if the...
If you don't know what a 'vicsplainer' is, here's a definition of vicsplaining:
vicsplaining1
vic-splane-eng/
verb
The lack of understanding and/or empathy of Victorians with regards to interstate ethnic struggle and hardship
"Eddie Maguire spent the whole segment vicsplaining the new MCG...
Which player was/is the best at dropping the body and shoulder and manufacturing high contact? There's definitely an art/skill to it; some players are better at it than others. I'd probably argue that either Luke Shuey or Joel Selwood are the greatest ducking merchants in AFL history. I do...
Is the game headed in the right direction? There seem to be fewer stoppages than in the past. This was evident last year; I haven't seen this year's statistics. Have to hand it to Hocking: the kick-in rule was the best rule introduced in recent memory. It's changed the flow of the game from the...
It has to be Jamie "The Finisher" Elliot. He's got ice running through his veins, the ultimate closer, an absolute assassin. Jamie's the man that gets the job done. I'm not sure who else in the AFL can match him for clutchness. Any names?
A breakout season that ends in horrific choking fashion. Top 8 position stolen at the last moment, ripped from their hands. For Melbourne, it motivated them to come back stronger and make a prelim; I wonder if Carlton will do the same? Time will tell. They'll learn a lot from this humbling...
Would you agree with this? It's one of the biggest things I hate about the modern game. Too much unselfishness takes away from instinctive football. When you're within range of the sticks, have a crack son.
I call it the 'Moggs Creek' factor. Players love to move to Geelong to 'get away from it all.' The big smoke isn't for everyone, which is why Geelong exists. Does this give them an unfair advantage when signing free agencies? It seems like the team is a hotspot for mature players that want that...
Jack Darling has to be up there. The man has the widest shoulders and thickest arms in the league. Absolutely dwarfed Toby Nankervis in size during the coin toss today, and he's a ruckman!
Some other potential candidates:
Josh Kennedy (SYD)
Olivander Wines (PA)
Samuel Powell-Pepper (PA)...
Thought this was an interesting, yet depressing discussion. I remember throughout the '00s, Carlton routinely finished on the bottom of the ladder. They amassed quite a number of top draft picks; names like Murphy, Gibbs, and Kruezer. The sad part is it never really amounted to anything. They...