Daicos - A Once in a Generation Player

[Thommo 42]

Chris Grant's 51 goals as a 17 year old as a first year player wasn't too bad either. Nor was kicking over 500 goals with a great deal of his career spent at centre half and full back.

Sure, but Chris Grant (who I love) was a 17 year old who was 6'4 and playing key forward.

Daicos was a 180cm wingman/centreman/hff when he was doing it!

 

[Ricmel]

Sort of, but Daicos did it every week. These days it might happen every couple fo weeks from a different player, but Daicos was doing it every week. Added to the fact that he wasn't just dribbling and snapping goals from impossible angles, he was also adept at nailing torps from 55+ at windy suburban grounds, nailing running shots from either foot on a regular basis and also hitting teammates with laser accuracy from any situation from either foot.

He could do it al, while in the modern game there are players who can one of these skills well, but I can't think of any that can do all of them.



Doing it in a warmup, and doing it under tackling pressure in a qualifying final in the last quarter with the scores level is a different thing!



Agreed, in general the modern day skills are better. But is there are player in the modern game that has put a gap between him and the field like Daicos did?

See this is the thing I am talking about when we look back.

Daics did it a lot but he didn't do it every week. Yes it is easier in warm up but it is still not easy. I saw a lot of Daics because at the time he was starting I was good mates with the son of a Pies committee member and I went to a lot of their games cos we got free tickets.

Daics got a lot and he missed a lot. He got better at it later in his career because he practised it a lot and I do think he almost "created" a skill. But fact is today there are a lot of small, clever forwards who are very adept at it. There weren't back then.

 

[Darkdayz]

Point is, you can't tell someone who has grown up on the game in late 90s and 00s how good someone was because there is not the context of the skill levels at the time.

Totally agree.
Personally I think the best current day comparison of what Daicos was doing with regards to context is what Nicnat is doing with Ruck/clearance. This is my opinion of it anyway. Yeah sure all players these days dribble it through, and can kick the unthinkable goals. The difference was Daicos did it in an era where gorilla FF/FB reigned supreme. This is where the Nicnat comparison comes in, hes doing things ruckmen arnt suppose to do. I think thats what the OP was regarding to as a once in a generation player, they dont need to be the best of the best. But rather inspire, dare and challenge what the game is. If you look at our game as a whole, whats it so good the specie, the bump, the torp, the 100m run and bounce goal and so on... its those individuals who decide to break the fundamentals that are considered generational player IMHO. You cant deny that the man had something about him, something that during that period you just couldnt imagine someone doing... All you could do was sit there and marvel at what was unfolding before your very eyes.

 

[DidakDelight]

See this is the thing I am talking about when we look back.

Daics did it a lot but he didn't do it every week. Yes it is easier in warm up but it is still not easy. I saw a lot of Daics because at the time he was starting I was good mates with the son of a Pies committee member and I went to a lot of their games cos we got free tickets.

Daics got a lot and he missed a lot. He got better at it later in his career because he practised it a lot and I do think he almost "created" a skill. But fact is today there are a lot of small, clever forwards who are very adept at it. There weren't back then.

IMO the difference between Daicos and players of today is the distance in their kicking.
Daicos could kick 55 metres with a wet ball on either foot.

 

[Ricmel]

IMO the difference between Daicos and players of today is the distance in their kicking.
Daicos could kick 55 metres with a wet ball on either foot.

I couldn't agree with that. The players today kick it longer than ever before. Kids are coming straight from TAC Cup and kicking it 55 metres.

They are doing so much leg work, by the time they are 18/19 they have the strength in their legs way beyond where players were in the 80s and 90s.

 

[Papa G]

IMO the difference between Daicos and players of today is the distance in their kicking.
Daicos could kick 55 metres with a wet ball on either foot.

Seriously, this post reeks of "the longer I've retired, the better I become."

 

[Silvagnis]

Unfortunately AFL history is full of players robbed of their prime years, Hudson a classic example.

Carlton were said to have rated Motley higher than Kernahan and Bradley.

 

[MarkT2]

well I hope that someone told you how wrong you were.

in Today's game he would be encouraged to centre it and play the percentages.

he was absolutely a product of his time, and certainly not ahead of it.

Sorry but that is just not correct. Leigh Mathews had as many team rules as anyone then and when wining flags at Brisbane. They worked too. "Tell Aka to get in front of Lynchy" for example. That still haunts me!

At the time at Collingwood, he had rules about where to kick out from a point and to whom and he certainly had rules about centreing the ball. Leigh Matews has said Daicos was the player who was the exception and he had licence becasue he was so adpept at making the seemingly impossible work out.

I recall post match once when asked about a "miracle" goal from the boundry in front of the members stand Mathews said he had licence and always saves one for the social club members at Vic Park. IIRC the game I am referring to was against Richmond.

Anyway, the point being no lesser coach than Leigh Mathews made team rule exceptions for Daicos becuase he was so good as defying the odds of success.

 

[Thommo 42]

Leigh having team rules is why Brian Taylor isn't a premiership player