Opinion 10 most under rated current players

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To follow on from my other thread, the most under rated players as I see it from Fans and the Media

10. Brent Stanton
Mainly due to how maligned he is by the Essendon fans. The guy had 521 touches this year and while he does have the odd brain fade he is a genuine leader of that team and rated very highly from within the club. Rarely plays a raelly bad game and has added consistency to his game which he needed badly.

9. Matthew Boyd
He is rated now but still not to the level he should be. The guy is a ball magnet and gets better every year. Leads from the front and the Dogs would have finished bottom 4 this year if it wasn't for him. Is a fantastic footballer who had had to work hard on his game to get to where he is. Sam Mitchell was under rated a couple of years back, hopefully he will get his credit that he is due in the next two years if he continues as he is.

8. Heath Scotland
Gun. Has been a gun for a while. He is maligned by some due to the way he plays (not the toughest player I've seen) But he gets plenty of the ball and always uses it. Is Carltons get out of trouble player and they will sorely miss him when he does retire. Should have been All Australian this year.

7. Scott Thompson (Adelaide)
One of the players who if he played for a big Melbourne club he would be talked about in the same light as stars of the competiton. Is tough, gets his own footy, uses it well and has shown that he can rack up heaps of touches and lead from the front. Put him in a side like Collingwood and he would be a superstar.

6. Grant Birchall
Had a great year in 2008 and has slipped off a bit but his 2011 aws probably even better than the premiership. Gets lost in a sea of Buddy, Cyril, Hodge and even Gibson love now but is easily one of their most important players and a massive reason why they went so close this year.

5. Leigh Adams
One of the most fearless small players I have seen. I guarantee if you asked casual footy fans who was a better player he or Jarryd Blair, 90% would say Blair and it's wrong. Patch is rated hugely at North and his B&F finishes the last two years show this. Uses the ball well and can kick goals.

4. Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
He isn't a great kick, but he gets a lot of the ball. He is also tough and works as hard as anyone on the field. Was looking like he would be an average player at Hawthorn but took it up several notches at Sydney and has become very important to them. Rated highly from within and has added goal kicking to his game this year.

3. Kade Simpson
Gets lost when you talk about Carltons midield of Judd, Murphy and Gibbs but is one of their most important. Uses the ball well, gets plenty of it and can be tough when required. Has stuck with the club through the hard times and now getting the rewards. Good long kick for goal and can kick them at crucial times.

2. Luke Shuey
I don't live in Perth but I'm sure he has to be rated highly there. 3rd in possessions for the Eagles for the season. Has become a hard running cog in their midfield and one of the most exciting youngsters in years. Should have at least tied for the Rising Star and would have won it had he played for Essendon and Heppel played for the Eagles

1. Tom Rockliff
I don't like him. Comes across as an arrogant little ****. But he can play footy. He is hard gets the ball and is a born leader. Brisbane would have won the spoon if it wasn't for him. Rarely gets any media attention and is again one of the players who would be a media darling if he played for a big Melbourne team.
 

HyperAgressiveDonk

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Birchall is a 23 year old, 193cm run and carry backman, who plays shut down roles on KPFs as well. Gun. Don't know if he is underrated anymore though, was named in the AA squad of 40 and in a lot of peoples AA teams.
 

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the distributer

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To follow on from my other thread, the most under rated players as I see it from Fans and the Media

10. Brent Stanton
Mainly due to how maligned he is by the Essendon fans. The guy had 521 touches this year and while he does have the odd brain fade he is a genuine leader of that team and rated very highly from within the club. Rarely plays a raelly bad game and has added consistency to his game which he needed badly.

9. Matthew Boyd
He is rated now but still not to the level he should be. The guy is a ball magnet and gets better every year. Leads from the front and the Dogs would have finished bottom 4 this year if it wasn't for him. Is a fantastic footballer who had had to work hard on his game to get to where he is. Sam Mitchell was under rated a couple of years back, hopefully he will get his credit that he is due in the next two years if he continues as he is.

8. Heath Scotland
Gun. Has been a gun for a while. He is maligned by some due to the way he plays (not the toughest player I've seen) But he gets plenty of the ball and always uses it. Is Carltons get out of trouble player and they will sorely miss him when he does retire. Should have been All Australian this year.

7. Scott Thompson (Adelaide)
One of the players who if he played for a big Melbourne club he would be talked about in the same light as stars of the competiton. Is tough, gets his own footy, uses it well and has shown that he can rack up heaps of touches and lead from the front. Put him in a side like Collingwood and he would be a superstar.

6. Grant Birchall
Had a great year in 2008 and has slipped off a bit but his 2011 aws probably even better than the premiership. Gets lost in a sea of Buddy, Cyril, Hodge and even Gibson love now but is easily one of their most important players and a massive reason why they went so close this year.

5. Leigh Adams
One of the most fearless small players I have seen. I guarantee if you asked casual footy fans who was a better player he or Jarryd Blair, 90% would say Blair and it's wrong. Patch is rated hugely at North and his B&F finishes the last two years show this. Uses the ball well and can kick goals.

4. Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
He isn't a great kick, but he gets a lot of the ball. He is also tough and works as hard as anyone on the field. Was looking like he would be an average player at Hawthorn but took it up several notches at Sydney and has become very important to them. Rated highly from within and has added goal kicking to his game this year.

3. Kade Simpson
Gets lost when you talk about Carltons midield of Judd, Murphy and Gibbs but is one of their most important. Uses the ball well, gets plenty of it and can be tough when required. Has stuck with the club through the hard times and now getting the rewards. Good long kick for goal and can kick them at crucial times.

2. Luke Shuey
I don't live in Perth but I'm sure he has to be rated highly there. 3rd in possessions for the Eagles for the season. Has become a hard running cog in their midfield and one of the most exciting youngsters in years. Should have at least tied for the Rising Star and would have won it had he played for Essendon and Heppel played for the Eagles

1. Tom Rockliff
I don't like him. Comes across as an arrogant little ****. But he can play footy. He is hard gets the ball and is a born leader. Brisbane would have won the spoon if it wasn't for him. Rarely gets any media attention and is again one of the players who would be a media darling if he played for a big Melbourne team.

Scotland. He's just a HB, get lots of cheapies across HB as all HBs do, if anything he's overrated, who would he replace in the AA team out of interest?

Rockliff is a fine young player, but he gets so much midfield time because the Lions just don't have anyone else, he simply wouldn't get a game as a starting mid in a top 4 team, no way, give a player like Wellingham a full game in the midfield and he can have a 38 disposal, 2 goal game with 19 inside 50s, Rockliff simply isn't capable of that, doesn't hit the scoreboard enough either, he's massively overrated by lions fans IMO.

Thomson, flat track bullie, when the going gets tough he's often nowhere to be seen.

Simpson, been underrated for a long time, very good player.

Stanton, hasn't got a defensive bone in his body, front runner.
 

HurleyTheFuture

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He lost the rising star to Heppell.

Suggests to me that he must be under-rated by at least that sector of the football community.
Look FWIW I think Shuey had a better year than Heppell
but the reason heppell won isnt because of his team, its because he was a first year player and I know that, that shouldnt matter
 

HyperAgressiveDonk

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Look FWIW I think Shuey had a better year than Heppell
but the reason heppell won isnt because of his team, its because he was a first year player and I know that, that shouldnt matter

Partly correct. Also the fact Heppell plays for a team on the eastern seaboard made a huge difference.
 

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HurleyTheFuture

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Dane Swan is very underated IMO
People say he just gets easy touches but hes is such a work horse, and really fast for his size, along with Cloke he pulled collingwood over the line in that prelim
 
Scotland. He's just a HB, get lots of cheapies across HB as all HBs do, if anything he's overrated, who would he replace in the AA team out of interest?

Rockliff is a fine young player, but he gets so much midfield time because the Lions just don't have anyone else, he simply wouldn't get a game as a starting mid in a top 4 team, no way, give a player like Wellingham a full game in the midfield and he can have a 38 disposal, 2 goal game with 19 inside 50s, Rockliff simply isn't capable of that, doesn't hit the scoreboard enough either, he's massively overrated by lions fans IMO.

Thomson, flat track bullie, when the going gets tough he's often nowhere to be seen.

Simpson, been underrated for a long time, very good player.

Stanton, hasn't got a defensive bone in his body, front runner.
Scotland is seriously underrated. Has one of the best kicks in the AFL, and would replace Bob Murphy in my AA team

Stanton is so underrated. He is one of the fittest players in the AFL, up there with Riewoldt and Swan, works his ass off and probably covers more ground in one game than every player in the AFL barring Swan yet he's a front runner? Gimme a break, actually watch him and you'll find that out.
 
1. Trent West
2. Ben Reid
3. Lachie Henderson
4. Eric McKenzie
5. Tom Lonergan
6. Tom Rockliff
7. Josh Kennedy (Syd)
8. David Mundy
9. Matt Priddis
10. Andrew Swallow
Great list. Can't fault it at all. Here's mine:

1. Nathan van Berlo
2. Heath Hocking
3. Sharrod Wellingham
4. Mitch Duncan
5. Heath Scotland
6. Greg Broughton
7. Matthew Priddis
8. Robbie Gray
9. Tom Rockliff
10. Stephen Gilham
 

The Spaniel

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really don't understand the comment of Scotland not being one of the toughest players. anyone who thinks Scotland shirks contests is a fool
 
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Scotland. He's just a HB, get lots of cheapies across HB as all HBs do, if anything he's overrated, who would he replace in the AA team out of interest?

Murphy.

Rockliff is a fine young player, but he gets so much midfield time because the Lions just don't have anyone else, he simply wouldn't get a game as a starting mid in a top 4 team, no way, give a player like Wellingham a full game in the midfield and he can have a 38 disposal, 2 goal game with 19 inside 50s, Rockliff simply isn't capable of that, doesn't hit the scoreboard enough either, he's massively overrated by lions fans IMO.

Wellingham doesn't get enough midfield time because he's not consistent enough. Sure he'll have excellent games, but he'll have the same amount of quiet ones. Rockliff is nothing if not consistent. At the moment Rockliff is better.
 

TheOldXav

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In no specfic order.

1. Ted Richards.
2. Dane Swan
3. Scott Thompson.
4. Luke Ball.
5. Brett Moloney.
6. Darren Glass.
7. Tom Rockliff.
8. Jude Bolton.
9. Ryan Griffen.
10. Sam Fisher.
 

the distributer

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Murphy.



Wellingham doesn't get enough midfield time because he's not consistent enough. Sure he'll have excellent games, but he'll have the same amount of quiet ones. Rockliff is nothing if not consistent. At the moment Rockliff is better.

1. Disagree mate, i thought Murphy was outstanding this year across HB, Scotland was very good too but not as good as Murph/Leon IMO, i actually think Murphy's a bit underrated.

2. How's he going to get consistant full games on the ball with our midfield?, if Rockliff played for us he wouldn't get anymore midfield time than Wellingham, if Wellingham was given as much time on ball as Rockliff he would at least match his numbers, same goes for Sidders and Beams and a dozen or so other young mids across the league.

I think Rockliffs done an incredible job considering no one rated him before being drafted, but i don't think he's going to end up the player most Lions fans think, happy to be proven wrong in time though.
 

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