AFL players think otherwise
http://www.afl.com.au/news/features/players-top-50#/four
All-Australian selectors think otherwise:
Rioli
.2012, 2015
Betts 2015
Their own coaches think otherwise.
Cyril's B&F placings at Hawthorn:
2008 - 6th
2009 - 2nd
2010 - 4th
2011 - 8th
[missed 6 games]
2012 - 6th
2013 -
___[missed 10 games]
2014 -
___[missed 13 games]
2015 - 2nd
Eddie's B&F Top 10 placings at Carlton & Adelaide:
2005 -
2006 -
2007 -
2008 -
2009 -
2010 - 9th
2011 - 8th
2012 - 2nd
2013 -
2014 - 8th
2015 - 3rd
Rioli has played in star-studded teams at Hawthorn and has
always been amongst the top 5/6 vote-getters.
Even in the years when he tore his hamstrings, he still averaged 5th or 6th most votes
Eddie Betts has mostly played in ordinary teams who've
never finished in the Top 4
Less competition for votes from his team-mates, but only twice in 11 seasons has he been amongst the top 5/6 vote-getters.
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I've lost count of the number of players over the years whom people have said they'd take
"in a heartbeat over Rioli".
Eddie Betts... Chad Wingard... Shane Edwards… Jack Martin... Steven Motlop... Michael Walters... Haydn Ballantyne... Lewis Jetta... Harley Bennell... Chris Yarran… Travis Varcoe…
The list goes on and on…
Players come and go. Their form fluctuates. They fall out of favour. No longer are they the 'flavour of the month'. But as soon as they hit a purple patch and rack up a few BOGs, or they have a 'career best' year, then we all know which player they get compared to…. Yep. The "overrated" Cyril Rioli.
It's an amazing achievement really that a player can be so overrated and inconsistent (according to the Big Footy brain trust) yet he remains the benchmark of HFFs and is so highly rated by his peers, coaches and the experts who watch most games.