Crows lack enforcers.

[Slippery Pete]

I look at Douglas now and I see someone more capable (and apparently willing) to stand up for himself than he was when he was younger.

Douglas couldn't/wouldn't take the skin off a three day old custard.

And it's not about being big or strong. It's about being a bit of a smart ass. A footy field is one of the few places in life you can get away with it without getting a punch in the mouth.

Another is BigFooty.

 

[WheresGroomgone]

Flying the flag is often "passed on" like an unwritten rule to the senior players of a team, however, if you look at our senior guys although fantastic players they were not often "enforcing" if you think of Goodwin, Mcleod, Burton or Edwards. This can have a flow on effect as the younger guys may think; "Well if they're not into it perhaps I shouldn't" apart from a few glimpses where their own heat got up. Hopefully with a changing of the guard we may see a different unit where a closer team of players with similar ages and experience go in for bat more for their mates - whether this is a good thing or not time will tell, although one indication of how close a team is how they "stick up" for each other. If we have guys going in as hard as Sellar did against Essendon it also fires others up and gets guys standing taller and hitting the ball harder. The rules have changed to eradicate punches etc but nothing has changed regarding guys going flat out for the ball, tackling and bumping hard, hitting contests and asserting their physical presence, which we have lacked in recent times, let's hope it returns from this season on!

 

[Slippery Pete]

Flying the flag is often "passed on" like an unwritten rule to the senior players of a team, however, if you look at our senior guys although fantastic players they were not often "enforcing" if you think of Goodwin, Mcleod, or Edwards. This can have a flow on effect as the younger guys may think; "Well if they're not into it perhaps I shouldn't" apart from a few glimpses where their own heat got up. !

True, they weren't - but it was clearly offset by their level of talent. Dominating in the way that McLeod did is enforcing in itself.

I think when we're talking about players like Douglas, Reilly, Doughty, Symes, Stevens and co - being nice just doesn't cut it. That's five Ive listed off the top of my head all with the same temperament.

 

[SydCrow]

Jarman on Mick Martyn late in the last quarter of the 98 GF was a classic case of something one of our players would never do now. Pushed him over, then ridiculed him. Then walked away and told the umpire all about it.

sounds like Sloane to Goddard in Round 22

p.s. we all love Darren Jarman

 

[SydCrow]

True, they weren't - but it was clearly offset by their level of talent. Dominating in the way that McLeod did is enforcing in itself.

I think when we're talking about players like Douglas, Reilly, Doughty, Symes, Stevens and co - being nice just doesn't cut it. That's five Ive listed off the top of my head all with the same temperament.

are you saying Reilly, Doughty and Symes aren't hard at it?

 

[Slippery Pete]

are you saying Reilly, Doughty and Symes aren't hard at it?

Don't look for an argument where there isn't one, SydCrow. I wasn't questioning their commitment to the contest at all. Doughty puts his body on the line all the time, no arguments there. I'm saying they all have relatively placcid and business-like on field demeanours. It's ok to have a few of those guys - we seem to have more than our share though.

The most successful teams, IMHO, have a mixture of personalities. We don't want everyone in our team to be like Scott Stevens and Brent Reilly.

 

[SydCrow]

The most successful teams, IMHO, have a mixture of personalities. We don't want everyone in our team to be like Scott Stevens and Brent Reilly.

well, duh, they aren't

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

The AFL have done everything possible to remove the so called enforcer element from our great game

I can recall Roo late in his career being reported on couple occassions and as a result remember him saying that he had to change his game and after his retirement being critical of the AFL for reducing the physicality element of the game.......

it begs the question, how many Roo or Woosha type of players now exist in the modern game?..... unfortunately not too many

however with that said I do expect for us to hit in hard, tackle agressively and when the need arises get around your team mate and remistrate when the oppositiom have crossed the line

I tend to agree that over the past few seasons that we had lost our desire to show some strength on those occassions when it was needed however I am now confident that we do have a group of young players that will support each other and do what's required when it is needed

 

[SydCrow]

for those of you too young to remember the days of The Enforcer

[youtube]1_glgBrNp0k&feature[/youtube]

check out Leigh Matthews from 2.07 onwards - probably the greatest sniper in the history of the game

Q: How many games did he miss through suspension?
A: 5

 

[Allefgib]

I'm semi-confident of the same.

Until they show it though... we lack them.

 

[Slippery Pete]

for those of you too young to remember the days of The Enforcer

check out Leigh Matthews from 2.07 onwards - probably the greatest sniper in the history of the game

Q: How many games did he miss through suspension?
A: 5

Sniper is being very kind. He was dirty.

 

[jenny61_99]

Sniper is being very kind. He was dirty.

And he would have missed MANY more than 5 games under todays rules!

 

[Slippery Pete]

If he was a better footballer than Wayne Carey I'll eat my hat.

 

[Pariah]

This has been a problem we've had at the club for some time. Whilst having an enforcer in the team has some merit there are just as many faults of having an enforcer in the team today's modern game. One is players missing games with modern tribunal members and umpires being in favor of sanitizing our great game to the point where netball is more of a physical game than AFL . Secondly injuries would impact on any enforcers longevity involvement in the game with the speed of the modern game.

 

[OldCrowBloke]

for those of you too young to remember the days of The Enforcer


check out Leigh Matthews from 2.07 onwards - probably the greatest sniper in the history of the game

Q: How many games did he miss through suspension?
A: 5

He was also deregistered by the VFL for 4 weeks and charged by police for assault following his king hit on Neville Bruns in an "off the ball" incident. He would have got more but for the lack of video review in those days.

 

[Slippery Pete]

He was also deregistered by the VFL for 4 weeks and charged by police for assault following his king hit on Neville Bruns in an "off the ball" incident. He would have got more but for the lack of video review in those days.

What a dog act.

 

[OldCrowBloke]

What a dog act.

I have always hated the mongrel...

As a Roosters supporter, I have never forgiven him for his part in wrecking Barrie Robran's knee in the last few minutes of a State game.

 

[SydCrow]

He was convicted of assault and received a $1000 fine for the Bruns act.

I have just looked at the video again and mentally tallied the suspensions Matthews would get these days. I gave him 4 weeks for the head high stuff and 2 weeks for the rest. Total was 64 weeks plus the Bruns one - maybe 10 or 12 weeks for that? And that is just the ones on the Hawks "highlights" package.

There's a good story on the incident here

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/15/1031608345061.html

Note Hocking's comments about "flying the flag"

 

[Tex200]

Seeing as this discussion has drifted to Lethal I must say that I find the whole rewriting of history baffling and quite extraordinary.

The player was a dog pure and simple and yet he is now revered as the greatest player ever. By todays rules he would barely have taken the field. History does not seem to protect other players of his ilk...he stands alone as a complete re write.

When comment is made about the mystery of the missing brownlow it should be remembered that umpires are not completely blind and that the medal was rightfully denied to this thug.

 

[SydCrow]

Seeing as this discussion has drifted to Lethal I must say that I find the whole rewriting of history baffling and quite extraordinary.

The player was a dog pure and simple and yet he is now revered as the greatest player ever. By todays rules he would barely have taken the field. History does not seem to protect other players of his ilk...he stands alone as a complete re write.

When comment is made about the mystery of the missing brownlow it should be remembered that umpires are not completely blind and that the medal was rightfully denied to this thug.

To be fair (and I can't believe I am defending him) those were different times. If the umpires and tribunal had been serious (and remember they were merely reflecting the wider football community) he would have had to modify his game or give it away. His record is extraordinary in terms of games and goals and premierships and the crazy thing is that he had the ability and didn't need to rely on being a thug - unlike say Mal Brown.

People complaining that the game has gone soft are underestimating the physical nature of the contest now (think of the number of stoppages, the tacking, the speed) and the courage required to just take the field. Thankfully this doesn't now include having to worry about being king hit from behind while going for the ball.

 

[Slippery Pete]

Hocking on retaliating: ""I remember afterwards going into the rooms and I was in tears. I thought, 'my God, what have I done?' Tommy, Bernard Toohey and Mick Turner pulled me aside and said, 'look, it was wonderful. It's been needed at Geelong for a long, long time'. I'm actually a non-drinker and a non-smoker, so I wasn't a real party animal. All of a sudden I was seen as someone who they wanted to have around. It was like I'd earnt my stripes. To be accepted into the football club, within the playing group, it actually changed my career from that point on."

 

[SydCrow]

Hocking on retaliating: ""I remember afterwards going into the rooms and I was in tears. I thought, 'my God, what have I done?' Tommy, Bernard Toohey and Mick Turner pulled me aside and said, 'look, it was wonderful. It's been needed at Geelong for a long, long time'. I'm actually a non-drinker and a non-smoker, so I wasn't a real party animal. All of a sudden I was seen as someone who they wanted to have around. It was like I'd earnt my stripes. To be accepted into the football club, within the playing group, it actually changed my career from that point on."

Whiskas earns his stripes

so we need a non-drinking, non-smoking, non-party animal Crow to be The Retaliator

do we have any?

 

[Slippery Pete]

Whiskas earns his stripes

It was the older brother Steven, not Garry.

so we need a non-drinking, non-smoking, non-party animal Crow to be The Retaliator

do we have any?

Ha...

 

[FR0GGY]

Craigy?

 

[AFC979810]

Whiskas earns his stripes

so we need a non-drinking, non-smoking, non-party animal Crow to be The Retaliator

do we have any?

Armstrong?

What?? Too soon?