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Brisbane All Time Team as of '24

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I agree with what martinson said about Kiddy but I do think if he continues on his trajectory he absolutely is in the conversation. If we had kicked one more goal, he probably has a Norm Smith.

I'm not high on including Rich in the team. I just don't think he offers what some others do. I am thankful he stayed around when others left but defensively he seemed to get caught out and with Johnson in the team, I don't think you need his left foot coming out of defence, especially if you have Kiddy there as you do.
I reckon the Norm Smith is an overrated award. It's the team that gets you to play in that game and the players from 16 teams don't get that chance. In fact the high majority of players never get that chance.

Of course when someone like Dusty wins 3 well you have to realise something's going on there.

Tbh I'm shocked that Kiddy would be considered in this conversation which isn't any reflection his potential.
 
That's a great team.

Without putting up suggestions as to who would replace them the ones I query are Martin ,Bradshaw and McCluggage because they just don't have the class of the others . But in any sport it's impossible to compare athletes from different eras ,you can only accurately compare them to their peers who are competing in the same circumstances. We also are comparing full time professionals to others where the system and any assistance was completely different.
I just tried to find straight swaps more or less for the players you mentioned as locks. I don't disagree re: Clugg he is good and still has time to get better but I am not sure if he has reached the level of Power who due to the quality around him is probably underrated by most.
Bradshaw is a hard one for me to know exactly where he should be. He kicked 70 or so less goals than Browny in 25 less games but also spent decent chunks playing in the backline. So part of me says he goes to the bench and Browny goes to a FP playing the third tall.
 

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Someone like Bunton who wins multiple best player in the comp awards, 6 x in 11 seasons + 1 runner up in 1934, average of 2 goals a game playing mostly as a rover etc is easy to slot in despite the difference in times because of his outstanding record.

FB: C Johnson G Pert D White
HB: N Lappin P Roos (vc) K Murray
C: J Akermanis M Voss (c) G Wilson
HF: D Zorko B Quinlin J Murphy
FP: C Cameron A Lynch D Bradshaw
Foll S Martin H Bunton Sr L Neale
Int: J Brown L Power S Black H McCluggage

If we just went from the 60s onwards + Bunton because as I said, it is a pretty easy inclusion, would the team look something like this or would there be more changes to be made?
Only positions I'd change is:

Bunton on the wing, Murphy ruck-rover, Wilson rover, Neale half forward.

The ruck is a weakness there. Stef Martin was serviceable, But Norm Brown should be ahead of him. Even Ron Alexander who played in the 70's - 80's & captained the side with aplomb, was far better than Martin IMO. He was a tough & fearless leader who looked after the little blokes. He was also a very good ruckman. I go back to 1974 for my Fitzroy days.
 
And one of the greatest rovers of all-time, Garry Wilson is a lock for Fitzroy's TOTC.
Flea would've been unstoppable in this era. He got physically targeted most times he went near the ball with tactics that would be instant suspensions these days.

It's be interesting to know how players like Quinlan ,Wilson and Murphy who copped a lot every week would go without the physical intimidation.

I remember Whoosha broke Roosy's jaw in an interstate game with a roundarm kinghit from behind that was happily shown on the Footy shows with no report .

I'm not one of those who thinks players were any better in prior eras ,in fact across the board they were demonstrably worse , but the great ones were in the eras where individual efforts were paramount in the success of your team.
 
I reckon the Norm Smith is an overrated award. It's the team that gets you to play in that game and the players from 16 teams don't get that chance. In fact the high majority of players never get that chance.

Of course when someone like Dusty wins 3 well you have to realise something's going on there.

Tbh I'm shocked that Kiddy would be considered in this conversation which isn't any reflection his potential.
I think the weight of Dusty winning 3 is massively overplayed. Yes he won 3 but none of his games were as good as Black in 03, Tracc in 21, among others. Everyone wants to be BoG in the GF so it is a huge achievement and winning 3 is incredible.
It has only been handed out since 1979, so I am sure others, if handed out earlier would have won 3 or more.
Barry Cable won 3 Simpson medals back to back. Maurice Rioli won 2 Simpson medals back to back, 1 in a losing GF, then backed that up with a Norm Smith in '82 during his first year in the VFL. So 3 in a row.
 
Only positions I'd change is:

Bunton on the wing, Murphy ruck-rover, Wilson rover, Neale half forward.

The ruck is a weakness there. Stef Martin was serviceable, But Norm Brown should be ahead of him. Even Ron Alexander who played in the 70's - 80's & captained the side with aplomb, was far better than Martin IMO. He was a tough & fearless leader who looked after the little blokes. He was also a very good ruckman. I go back to 1974 for my Fitzroy days.
Yeah ,Ron and Norm were better players than Stef , much and all that I loved Stef. In fact Matt Rendell had a period where he was better than all of them , just because of his athleticism and capacity to go forward and impact the scoreboard one way or another.
 
Only positions I'd change is:

Bunton on the wing, Murphy ruck-rover, Wilson rover, Neale half forward.

The ruck is a weakness there. Stef Martin was serviceable, But Norm Brown should be ahead of him. Even Ron Alexander who played in the 70's - 80's & captained the side with aplomb, was far better than Martin IMO. He was a tough & fearless leader who looked after the little blokes. He was also a very good ruckman. I go back to 1974 for my Fitzroy days.
He is a West Aussie so this all makes sense tbh.
I did not know that Ron Alexander, former WCE coach played for the roys.
I don't think the Brisbane Lions have ever had a dominant ruckman, so I am not surprised that it is the weakness of the team.
 
Would I be correct in thinking Rendell kicked 9? I vaguely recall the old man talking about him doing that at a ground in St Kilda? Was he an out and out ruck or forward ruck?
We used to call him the biggest rover in the League.

He started off as full forward and moved into the ruck as he matured. He was always a natural on baller but yes he kicked 9 one day . Imagine that.

Roosy got robbed in 86. Wilson got robbed twice. In those days if you played for Fitzroy you had to be absolutely outstanding to get votes.

Kevin Murray managed to win it in the twilight of his career after finishing runner up a couple of times.
 
Talking of Brownlows I get really annoyed at how underrated Neale is in the general footy community. I don't care how the media or footy supporters rate the Brownlow his performance in that award in as tough a competition and with so many great players is just about without modern precedent.

I think I'll throw up if he doesn't make AA tonight. Especially if some of the other names being touted get in.
 
Yeah ,Ron and Norm were better players than Stef , much and all that I loved Stef. In fact Matt Rendell had a period where he was better than all of them , just because of his athleticism and capacity to go forward and impact the scoreboard one way or another.
Geez I forgot about Matt Rendell. Yep he would be my pick as the ruckman in that side. Not only was he a very good, mobile ruckman, but he could play forward as well. He kicjed 46 goals from FF in his 1st year in 1981.
 
Many old Roys I know including the old man still to this day are dirty that Roos didn’t win the Brownlow in 86 and said he was miles ahead of any other player in the comp all from CHB?
He should have BOLTED the 86 Brownlow in. Roos was so dominant that year. Similarly when Garry Wilson should have won the 78 & 79 Brownlows, or at least one of them.
 

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How would you rate the likes of Pert and Roos against the likes of Leppitsch, Andrews, Michael etc.
I’d have Roos at CHB and Pert just shades Mal Michael at Full Back.
 
FB: C Johnson G Pert B Stephen
HB: N Lappin P Roos (vc) K Murray
C: J Akermanis M Voss (c) W Smallhorn
HF: G Wilson B Quinlan J Murphy
FP: C Cameron A Lynch D Bradshaw
Foll Matt Rendell H Bunton Sr L Neale
Int: J Brown L Power S Black M Conlan
Sub: Ryan Lester ;)
 
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Many old Roys I know including the old man still to this day are dirty that Roos didn’t win the Brownlow in 86 and said he was miles ahead of any other player in the comp all from CHB?
Mark Dwyer, of all players, stole votes off Roos.
 
Flea would've been unstoppable in this era. He got physically targeted most times he went near the ball with tactics that would be instant suspensions these days.

It's be interesting to know how players like Quinlan ,Wilson and Murphy who copped a lot every week would go without the physical intimidation.

I remember Whoosha broke Roosy's jaw in an interstate game with a roundarm kinghit from behind that was happily shown on the Footy shows with no report .

I'm not one of those who thinks players were any better in prior eras ,in fact across the board they were demonstrably worse , but the great ones were in the eras where individual efforts were paramount in the success of your team.
Before Bernie came to Fitzroy in 1978, it was a case of stopping Wilson & Murphy & you beat the Roys. We had a plethora of great little men in those days - Wilson, Murphy, Irwin, Allan to name a few. But we had no real star key position players. Until Bob Beecroft was moved to FF. He was a great success there. But Wilson used to get bashed most weeks, unfairly of course. You were right about Worsfold in the state game. Except that he broke Osborne's jaw, Not Roos's.
 
Before Bernie came to Fitzroy in 1978, it was a case of stopping Wilson & Murphy & you beat the Roys. We had a plethora of great little men in those days - Wilson, Murphy, Irwin, Allan to name a few. But we had no real star key position players. Until Bob Beecroft was moved to FF. He was a great success there. But Wilson used to get bashed most weeks, unfairly of course. You were right about Worsfold in the state game. Except that he broke Osborne's jaw, Not Roos's.
Yeah . Fairly sure Paul got his jaw broken ,and Ozzie had his cheekbone broken the prior year . Both incidents cruelled our seasons because they were our2 best players at the time . The main reason they stopped interstate games were those injuries and a lot of the coaches putting pressure on players to fake injuries so they didn't have to play.

I wish there'd be some way of bringing them back. They were amazing spectacles with the best vs. the best and the players loved playing in them.
 

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Actually wasn't as hard as I though it might be...

FB: Johnson Andrews Michael
HB: White Leppitsch Rich
C: Lappin Voss McCluggage
HF: Zorko Brown Akermanis
FF: Daniher Lynch Cameron
R: Keating Black Neale
I: Bradshaw Dunkley Ashcroft Pike Power

In the end I decided that even Dunkley's still a new player in the grand scheme of things, he still has shown enough in the two years with us. Wanted to squeeze Brad Boyd in there but couldn't justify it. Leaving out Chris Scott was the hardest call probably.
 
Actually wasn't as hard as I though it might be...

FB: Johnson Andrews Michael
HB: White Leppitsch Rich
C: Lappin Voss McCluggage
HF: Zorko Brown Akermanis
FF: Daniher Lynch Cameron
R: Keating Black Neale
I: Bradshaw Dunkley Ashcroft Pike Power

In the end I decided that even Dunkley's still a new player in the grand scheme of things, he still has shown enough in the two years with us. Wanted to squeeze Brad Boyd in there but couldn't justify it. Leaving out Chris Scott was the hardest call probably.
You left a few Brownlow Medallists out.
 
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Lions or Bears? Brad Hardie? Craig Lambert? Roger Merrett? So soon forgotten.

I assumed post-merger. I probably wouldn’t change much if including Bears, maybe Hardie out for Power & Magic McLean in for Scott. Maybe.
 

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Brisbane All Time Team as of '24

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