Duncan, Parker, Simpkin, Duryea, Suckling - Go down in history as unluckiest premiership winners?

[SJ]

Remember in 2004 (or 2005?) when Bomber Thompson was lauded for using Riccardi and Byrnes as a 1-2 punch off the bench....in the middle of the first quarter? Put another way: ten years ago it was considered a notable bit of tactical innovation to conduct two midfield rotations midway through the first quarter. That would happen now at what, the first stoppage?

Recentism at its finest.

 

[HBF]

I don't know if 'unlucky' and 'premiership winner' can realistically go in the same sentence.

That was my first thought when I saw the title of the thread as well.

 

[HBF]

Recentism at its finest.

OT - love you avatar!

 

[telsor]

Yeah have read that about payments but I think that is going even further back in time.

Main reason they were not played was because teams didn't want to risk an injury occurring after they had come on and having no replacement. This applied even more to the 20th man who was kept on the bench almost always until deep in the last Q. The same thing was done in all other leagues, juniors etc so had more to do with that than payments.

Depends on how financial the club was...They got used more as time went on, there was more money in the game, and sports science convinced coaches that fresh legs mattered more than having the 18 best players out there.

The push for the interchange really came about because it was happening all the time by the mid 70s so they changed it mainly so that the 'subbed' player could be brought back and thus a late injury wouldn't hurt. The idea of constant changes like they have now really didn't enter anyone's mind.

 

[MaddAdam]

In the last play of the day when Colbert has the ball, Cometti thinks it's so significant that he mentions that Colbert "started on the bench".

Yep, another illustration of the same point.

Bench players would also have to actively warm up for five minutes too.

 

[Gone Critical]

Depends on how financial the club was...They got used more as time went on, there was more money in the game, and sports science convinced coaches that fresh legs mattered more than having the 18 best players out there.

The push for the interchange really came about because it was happening all the time by the mid 70s so they changed it mainly so that the 'subbed' player could be brought back and thus a late injury wouldn't hurt. The idea of constant changes like they have now really didn't enter anyone's mind.

For sure. When the interchanges bench began and for a long time after. Getting interchanged was a mark against you. Either you were not playing well so came off or were injured.

 

[Forward Press]

For sure. When the interchanges bench began and for a long time after. Getting interchanged was a mark against you. Either you were not playing well so came off or were injured.

It was not so long ago that it was still a negative stigma. Darren Glass was taken off late in the third quarter in the 2007 semis against Anthony Rocca and Worsfold was heavily criticised for his rotation. Nowadays you wouldn't bat an eyelid at the FB having a little spell.

 

[barmy44]

wonder about daniel menzels thoughts on seeing mitch duncan listed as 'unlucky' in the context of the 2011 geelong season... i think he might have a different point of view.

 

[Wounded Lion]

If they feel unlucky, then surely Aaron Shattock has never fully recovered from his 0 touch performance in the 02 Grand Final.

 

[TwentyNine]

The unluckiest premiership winner is still a premiership winner.

Also the unluckiest premiership winner is actually Alex Johnson :/

 

[cryptor]

Back when if you came to the bench it was only because you were injured or you'd been dragged.

Now you come to the bench because you're injured, or you kicked a goal, or you were near the bench, or you've been on the field for nearly 4 minutes.

 

[Samthegun]

What I want to know is...did Luke Parker ever come on in the 2012 GF? Who did he replace?

 

[TwentyNine]

What I want to know is...did Luke Parker ever come on in the 2012 GF? Who did he replace?

Mumford. Parker played 16% of the game, had three touches, two tackles.

 

[Gydafud]

Back when if you came to the bench it was only because you were injured or you'd been dragged.

Now you come to the bench because you're injured, or you kicked a goal, or you were near the bench, or you've been on the field for nearly 4 minutes.

Dragging a player for disciplinary reasons must have lost all impact. Would be more punishing these days to get a player to stay out there for a whole quarter.

 

[threesixpio]

Which English guy got an OBE for the 2005 Ashes but was 12th man pretty much all the time. Can't remember - but as per Warney's sledge - that's a &@&$& joke.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

I'm sure they're far happier playing as the sub for a GF than not playing a GF at all.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Which English guy got an OBE for the 2005 Ashes but was 12th man pretty much all the time. Can't remember - but as per Warney's sledge - that's a &@&$& joke.

Paul Collingwood. Got an MBE

 

[MC_9]

2011 - Mitch Duncan
2012 - Luke Parker
2013 - Jonathan Simpkin
2014 - Taylor Duryea
2015 - Matthew Suckling

These were the guys that were the subs in the Grand Final winning teams. They have that dubious honour and for several of them they only came onto the field for essentially the last quarter and as a result had a minimal impact on the outcome of the game. Had the sub rule not been in place at all then these players would have played a full game but instead because they were subs at the end of the game I suspect more than a few of them were not even tired.

So because they were subs and did not play for a large portion of their grand finals, having reasonably minimal impact on the outcomes of their games, do you think they feel like they might look back on these years and think they were not quite as involved, and it was less their premiership than their 21 team mates?

The sub rule is gone in 2016 as well so these 5 guys will be the only ones who have been the sub and won the premiership, separating them from every premiership winning player for over 40 years.

Suckling and Duryea have also played a full game in a premiership win in 14 and 15 respectively. So they would be fine.

Simpkin should thank his lucky stars that he made the team, after not playing in any of the finals leading into the 13 GF. It was only after Whitecross did his knee in the Geelong Prelim, that he was even considered (barely ahead of Anderson also).

Whitecross is actually the unlucky one out of them all. He had worked his way back int the best 22 leading into the 2013 Grand Final. But 2 knees later, he is now fighting for his spot on the list.

 

[YippeeYiYeo]

I see where the OP is coming from. Winning the grand final should be the most glorious moment of a players career, and something which I'm sure most premiership players have on DVD. Hardly something to reflect on though if for 90 minutes your name is never called by the commentators.

Would definitely feel a bit hollow id imagine. On the flip side you'd say they are lucky not to be the first emergency player sitting in the stands wearing a suit. Those are the guys I feel sorry for, especially if they never get another shot.

 

[walhawk]

I would say the opposite.
They are lucky.
Lucky to be in the team. And luck be premiership players without contributing as much as their teammates.
It was that was for decades. reserve or interchange might only come on in the last quarter or my at all!

 

[Randy Campbell]

Winning a half or a quarter of a premiership.
Must still be better than zero.

 

[ozzyoslo]

OP clearly doesnt remember that bench players hardly played before 06ish anyway

Yep, those players didn't do preseasons play other games during the season and get the games registered as games played, whilst sitting on the bench with the green vest.
OP has recognised a quirky fact.......kudo's.

 

[El_Scorcho]

My memory of each game isn't great but I feel like only Duncan really changed the game, and that was only because Pods was so slow and lumbering that he was getting destroyed on the rebound and Geelong replacing him with a runner was arguably the difference.

So even that one is more Pods going off than Duncan coming on.

There are no lucky premiership winners. Even if you're a late in or the last player picked, you need to be up and about and on the cusp of the best team in the league across a whole season. Someone like Hodge or Bartel could have cruised into the GF out of form and would have played, but the guys listed had to scrap for their spot. Every training session could have been the difference between them and the first guy that missed out.

That's not luck.