Hard Nuts

[thebluelagoon]

every premiership team has a few hard nuts sprinkled through the lineup to provide protection and presence.

Have we got enough hardness in our midst? We cut loose Mitch Robinson, the ultimate hard man. We brought in Clem Smith who might not be a regular in the 22 for a while.

Measure of Hardness scale (Mohs)
if Mitch Robinson, Byron Picket is rated +10
Jordan McMahon, -10

where do all our list rate?
Are we hard enough to go all the way?

 

[zeeCFC]

Buckley likes a scrap, as does Simon White. Bell is a beast and young Cripps will dish it out very soon. Those are the ones who will play senior footy.

Tuohy if fit will also have a go or at least mock those who don't, like Selwood.

I don't think we'll miss Robbo's monthly head high bump or Waite's fortnightly stupid tap.

 

[HARKER]

Won't rate them 1-10 but at best guess it may go something like:

Holman - Out and out hard nut.
Bell - But more so with the bump
Smith - By reputation.
Cripps - Doesn't look like he would but I've seen him bury players.
Graham - Would be one of the first along with Buckley to step in when the heat gets turned up.
Buckley won't take a backward step.
Kreuzer - Some may not have him here but he does hurt opponents.
White - On and off the field
Curnow has his own way of hurting an opponent.
Rowe doesn't mind dishing out a little either but a little more discretely.

 

[DaVillaBlues]

This may seem like an odd choice to some, but in my opinion, Kade Simpson is the toughest player on our list ATM, even though he is as thin as a rake.

I much prefer the displays of toughness that Simmo gives in week in, week out, then the often stupid kamikaze style toughness that Robbo dished out, which often resulting in him getting silly suspensions or giving away crucial free kicks, ditto Waite.

Absolute gem is our Simmo, gives no thought to his own physical safety on the field, plus i love his work with down syndrome kids as well. Probably is in my all time favourite top 5 players at Carlton now

 

[BlueJet]

Are we talking about being hard as in being able to give and receive a bit (Hodge/St Lenny) or snipers? (Pickett/Hardwick)
We've got a growing list of the former (Holman, Dylbucks etc) but thankfully none of the latter.

 

[Sin City]

Holman, Smith, Bell and Kreuzer are our best enforcers. Simpson is as hard at the ball as any of those guys.

 

[GoBlues!]

Are we talking about being hard as in being able to give and receive a bit (Hodge/St Lenny) or snipers? (Pickett/Hardwick)
We've got a growing list of the former (Holman, Dylbucks etc) but thankfully none of the latter.

Lenny is in a class of his own - one of my favourite non Carlton players.

Can't say the same for Hodge. Maybe not a full blown sniper, but has sniper like tendencies and disguises it better than others.

 

[thylacine60]

Holman, Kreuzer, Smith, Bell and Kreuzer are our best enforcers. Simpson is as hard at the ball as any of those guys.

Kreuz beside himself with this.

 

[Beer n Skittles]

I really hate Pickett being named a hard nut. Country footy is full of blokes who play the man because they're too soft to play the ball.

Pickett's signature move of bending over the footy, wimping out of picking it up, then throwing an uppercut with his elbow on a nearby unsuspecting opponent was pathetic.

 

[BlueJet]

Lenny is in a class of his own - one of my favourite non Carlton players.

Can't say the same for Hodge. Maybe not a full blown sniper, but has sniper like tendencies and disguises it better than others.

Sniper means picks to players off from safety.. whether we like him or not Hodge is genuinely tough and leaves himself open to get hit as well.
As for Lenny, I think everyone has a soft spot him.

 

[BlueJet]

I really hate Pickett being named a hard nut. Country footy is full of blokes who play the man because they're too soft to play the ball.

Pickett's signature move of bending over the footy, wimping out of picking it up, then throwing an uppercut with his elbow on a nearby unsuspecting opponent was pathetic.

Glad you pointed this out, far too many people link players of his ilk to toughness, anyone can put a big hit on when someone else is bent over and picking up the ball.
The best ones are the ones who can run through, win the ball, take the oncoming contact and come out the other side.

 

[Kramer1]

Hardness is not always a good thing. Bootsma might still be on the list were it not for his hardness.

 

[thebluelagoon]

I really hate Pickett being named a hard nut. Country footy is full of blokes who play the man because they're too soft to play the ball.

Pickett's signature move of bending over the footy, wimping out of picking it up, then throwing an uppercut with his elbow on a nearby unsuspecting opponent was pathetic.

Thats a fair point on Pickett. There is certainly nothing courageous about shirking the ball to go the man. Mitch Robinson brought a hardness to our team which must have put doubts in some of our oppositions minds. circa 2006 teams would beat up on a young blues team, like they did on the Giants 2013. Mumford is a perfect physical presence for the young team

 

[Sin City]

I really hate Pickett being named a hard nut. Country footy is full of blokes who play the man because they're too soft to play the ball.

Pickett's signature move of bending over the footy, wimping out of picking it up, then throwing an uppercut with his elbow on a nearby unsuspecting opponent was pathetic.

He dislocated Milburn's shoulder. He's got a Carlton membership for life.

Jokes aside, he was down low and had just taken the ball on his chest when Ben Harrison ran into him and was knocked out. He sniped a few, but was hard at it when it was his turn to go.

 

[BlueJet]

He dislocated Milburn's shoulder. He's got a Carlton membership for life.

Jokes aside, he was down low and had just taken the ball on his chest when Ben Harrison ran into him and was knocked out. He sniped a few, but was hard at it when it was his turn to go.

Pickett? He was pretty inconsistent, went hard sometimes and pulled out others.. summed him as a footballer more or less.

 

[Garth Vader]

For mine, Sam Rowe would be right up there, of the player's I've seen play. Is consistently hard on a number of levels, not the least with his courage. You don't often see this guy take short steps, back out of a mark, give up on a chase or spoil or put in a faux tackle attempt, and look at his hardness and efforts when taking on some of the league's genuine gorillas. BTW, absolutely stoked that he's been added to the leadership group

Based on highlights and what I've read only, have a feeling Whiley will be right up there in the very near future.

Next 12-18 months will likely give us a good indication as to whether this list is 'hard' enough overall.

Have to see how some of the new faces and recent draftees develop/perform. Have a good feeling, though

 

[DaVillaBlues]

No doubt Sammy Rowe is as tough as they come, survived the toughest battle of them all (Cancer) and is now thriving at AFL level.

What is am liking in our recent crop of drafts is that we have plucked younglings unafraid to shirk the contest (Menzel, Buckley etc)

You wouldn't blame Tenzel for being hesitant going for the pill, esp considering his brothers (esp poor Daniel) history of injuries, but he has shown an desire to win a contested possession, even if it means copping a hit now and then (case in point that 2nd Geelong game when he got whacked in the dying seconds trying to win the ball and should have gotten a free)

The reality is all AFL players are likely tougher (especially mentally) then what the public perception of them is.

If Watto can actually come on and be a quality player (as a forward or backman) after several years of zero confidence, not helped by arseh*le supporters in the outer constantly jeering/abusing him, then that would be an pretty damn impressive set of stones that young man has, toughness of character, perhaps the most impressive 'tough' attribute a player can have (and i think one of Mick's best qualities as a coach, bringing that strength of character out of players)

 

[therubbernub]

cant believe we are mentioning Rowe in this thread

 

[Old navy]

Thomas not one of his most noticeable quailties but there is no doubting that when it's his turn he goes.
It used to pain me to say this but not anymore Daisy is a very hard footballer.

Simpson plays footy like his indestructible and lucky for us too. Has saved countless goals by disregarding his own personal safety. He does it week in week out and is largely underrated.

Buckley and Doc are two younger players who play with nice hard edge to there game. They both seem to enjoy tackling and defending like how they never take a backwards step on the footy field.

 

[gbatman]

We've let go quite a few players who aren't hard at the ball/man, I don't think our team's problem is a lack of trying, I thought we fought games out valiantly last year but were beaten for other reasons. Yes Robinson was a hard nut but even he had games where he spectated and hence struggled for consistency.

Players who have the skills and can be one touch under pressure and attack the man and ball with ultimate competitiveness will be our key to success. Players prone to spectating, holding back and lacking second efforts will be in trouble as we have seen from recent list changes, but they will need to have skill too and be able to deliver the ball. Just getting enough all round balanced good footballers without glaring weaknesses is the big challenge when building an AFL team, we'll know more on how we are going with that mid next year.

I think you'll struggle to find a 'soft' senior player next season.

 

[BlueShift]

This may seem like an odd choice to some, but in my opinion, Kade Simpson is the toughest player on our list ATM, even though he is as thin as a rake.

I much prefer the displays of toughness that Simmo gives in week in, week out, then the often stupid kamikaze style toughness that Robbo dished out, which often resulting in him getting silly suspensions or giving away crucial free kicks, ditto Waite.

Absolute gem is our Simmo, gives no thought to his own physical safety on the field, plus i love his work with down syndrome kids as well. Probably is in my all time favourite top 5 players at Carlton now

If we were rating on a toughness vs body weight scale, Simpson would be number 1 in the AFL.

 

[slashin_velvet]

White is definately one to pop up when things get nasty on the field.

Gibbs is one player who really developed his hardness at the coal face this season. Whilst he didnt run through players and hurt them, he was hard at the ball, and won a lot of contested ball (and our B&F) as a result.

Whiley definately strikes me as a player who is hard at the ball....and the man.

Can't fault the "hardness" of a player like Curnow who ran out a game with a broken leg last season.

 

[Faz 2000]

where do all our list rate?
Are we hard enough to go all the way?

Our overall list hardness is a -3, and we need to get it to at least a +2 in order to compete in finals.

We're not a particularly hard team. We're not an uncomfortable team to play against, and no teams feel hunted or intimidated by us. Conversely, we get bulldozed and picked on by several other clubs (chiefly, Hawthorn). Sure, we have some players who have aggro, but in most recent history this has largely been misguided and resulted in reports (hi Waitey, Mitch, etc).

This is most strongly defined by our stars: Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Yarran - all are tough enough, but not intimidating or rough. There's no real snarl. Our playing list has mostly been filled with guys who are hard OR guys who are good.

Our club needs a Jordan Lewis and has done for ages.

 

[Ellas Ellas]

You need hard nuts that can actually play like the Hawks, Swans and Freo have.

 

[Ellas Ellas]

Pickett was clearly a hard nut. Just because he picked blokes off did not make him any softer those tactics were legal back then so why not?