Opinion Leigh Matthews and that season he didn't win the Brownlow . . .

Masotiger

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The reason was to enrich the empire - this is pretty basic stuff. If they wanted to rid themselves of undesirables, they would hang them. It was cheaper than transportation to the other side of the globe ...

Research James Jump - The Australian People



There is a start on the history of migration in Australia for you - the settlement through forced migration into the colonies.

The colonies insisted on the use of penal labor to establish and grow the settlements, so much so that the previously free Swan River settlement in Western Australia (later to become Fremantle/Perth) requested penal labor to establish the settlement as paying trade rates was too high.

Wrong hill to die on - I was involved in writing the 2009 submission for the Australian Convict Trail to the UNESCO WHC.
Fair enough, thank you, I'll have a read. May not have been the primary purpose as you point out, but I still think the opportunity to rid themselves of undesirables was not far behind. Nevertheless, makes for some interesting reading. Once again, what was considered acceptable then is in no way acceptable today. Times and moods change.
 

Grrr

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Seriously? 🤣
Well you are reducing probably the greatest player or close to it in the history to a one word definition, a thug. There have been players across the decades before him especially who were just as lethal, Jack Dyer wrote about blokes he was scarred of, and he was pretty scary. Barry Hall's hit on Staker was about as bad as Lethals on Bruns. They both regretted it. O'Dea on Greening. Muir on... Went on for as long as footy has been played, and thankfully it isn't played that way anymore. As much as Lethal was a thug, he was equally an ornament to the game, well his footy sure was.
 

Generation X

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Well you are reducing probably the greatest player or close to it in the history to a one word definition, a thug. There have been players across the decades before him especially who were just as lethal, Jack Dyer wrote about blokes he was scarred of, and he was pretty scary. Barry Hall's hit on Staker was about as bad as Lethals on Bruns. They both regretted it. O'Dea on Greening. Muir on... Went on for as long as footy has been played, and thankfully it isn't played that way anymore. As much as Lethal was a thug, he was equally an ornament to the game, well his footy sure was.

I also stated that he was probably the best ever, doesn't change the fact that he was a thug.

Did the video include him king hitting Peter Giles 50m away from the ball? Probably not

The reason he didn't get suspended a lot more back then was because there was no such thing as video evidence. Also only 1 umpire, so if the thug king hit someone behind play chances are he was going to get away with it. There was also a players code, it was rare for players to admit to being hit and 'dobbing'.

Yes back then the game was a lot more brutal, but Mathews was an absolute thug and he did his best hits when his opposition wasn't expecting it or didn't know he was there. Great player but in my book that is the act of a coward.
 

Grrr

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I also stated that he was probably the best ever, doesn't change the fact that he was a thug.

Did the video include him king hitting Peter Giles 50m away from the ball? Probably not

The reason he didn't get suspended a lot more back then was because there was no such thing as video evidence. Also only 1 umpire, so if the thug king hit someone behind play chances are he was going to get away with it. There was also a players code, it was rare for players to admit to being hit and 'dobbing'.

Yes back then the game was a lot more brutal, but Mathews was an absolute thug and he did his best hits when his opposition wasn't expecting it or didn't know he was there. Great player but in my book that is the act of a coward.
He was brutal no doubt.
 
Jan 16, 2016
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I also stated that he was probably the best ever, doesn't change the fact that he was a thug.

Did the video include him king hitting Peter Giles 50m away from the ball? Probably not

The reason he didn't get suspended a lot more back then was because there was no such thing as video evidence. Also only 1 umpire, so if the thug king hit someone behind play chances are he was going to get away with it. There was also a players code, it was rare for players to admit to being hit and 'dobbing'.

Yes back then the game was a lot more brutal, but Mathews was an absolute thug and he did his best hits when his opposition wasn't expecting it or didn't know he was there. Great player but in my book that is the act of a coward.
The last you tube clip i added yesterday has Giles running at the ball getting clobbered with his back to matthews
 
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Okay, he was a thug... No need to cry about it. It was 40 years ago, mate. Get over it.

Every thread on Big Footy about Matthews always attracts a conga line of buttthurt narks who post the same old shiit about him being a thug.
It's as though they think they're lifting the lid on a great untold secret. We get it. He was a thug and you're a sook.

He was still the greatest player of the 20th century. No amount of whining will ever change that


There is a reason why the AFLPA named their MVP award after Leigh Matthews and not Robbie Flower

the-leigh-matthews-trophy-is-seen-during-the-afl-players-mvp-awards-picture-id845971446
No he was a thug and that is something he will have to live with as well as his supporters.
 

Osho

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The reason was to enrich the empire - this is pretty basic stuff. If they wanted to rid themselves of undesirables, they would hang them. It was cheaper than transportation to the other side of the globe ...

Research James Jump - The Australian People



There is a start on the history of migration in Australia for you - the settlement through forced migration into the colonies.

The colonies insisted on the use of penal labor to establish and grow the settlements, so much so that the previously free Swan River settlement in Western Australia (later to become Fremantle/Perth) requested penal labor to establish the settlement as paying trade rates was too high.

Wrong hill to die on - I was involved in writing the 2009 submission for the Australian Convict Trail to the UNESCO WHC.
The French.
 
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This is a great conversation, mate. We should do this again next time starts a thread about Matthews

But but but he's a THUG!!
thelastmanonearth-funny.gif
Oh i get it, once you cant quieten people talking about Matthews cowardice , you then turn to ridicule. :rolleyes:

But you have nothing to defend the fact that Matthews was a thug in a game of skill.

Matthews will always be known for his king hits on players who were not looking and were unaware of what was coming , so brave!!! :tearsofjoy:
 
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Matthews was a brilliant player but there no way his skills with ball were as amazing as Flower. He was incredible but played his career in a cellar dwellar.
Probably the best wingman in the game I seen.
Played his career in a cellar dwellar you say?

So then, you would think he would dominate the b&f then?

Matthews played in a champion team, you would think with less skill, he wouldn't come close in the b&f?

Just because he was a thug, doesn't mean he couldn't play football, his skills were so good, many people class him as the best ever.
 
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Matthews played in a champion team, you would think with less skill
There is no shame in not being as skilled as Robbie Flower.
99.9% of footballers were not that skilled.
What he, Lethal, did not have in skill, he more than made up for in brute strength and thuggery, to be the match winner he often was.
 
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There is no shame in not being as skilled as Robbie Flower.
99.9% of footballers were not that skilled.
What he did not have in skill, he more than made up for in brute strength and thuggery. to be the match winner he often was.
I'm not saying Flower wasn't a skillful footballer, but you are comparing him to arguably the best of the best.
 
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I'm not saying Flower wasn't a skillful footballer, but you are comparing him to arguably the best of the best.
I think you missing what I'm saying. I'm not the one that said Matthews was more skilled. I just saying as skilled as Matthews was with the ball, he was not as skilled as Robbie Flower. I was not the person that initially tried to compare Matthews to Flower. I just correcting the notion he more skilled as it just not true if you watched the wizardry of Flower with a football.
 
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I think you missing what I'm saying. I'm not the one that said Matthews was more skilled. I just saying as skilled as Matthews was with the ball, he was not as skilled as Robbie Flower. I was not the person that initially tried to compare Matthews to Flower. I just correcting the notion he more skilled as it just not true if you watched the wizardry of Flower with a football.
No, your reply was "plzzz"

I assume that means you think it's no contest?

Well myself and I would assume, many others would say you are right about no contest, it's just that Matthews footy skills are soo far in front of Flowers, that he won 8, think about that, 8 B&F in a team of champions, Flower could on manage 1 in a "cellar dwellar" (your words) team.

Look Flower looked good, you could say he was a pretty footballer, but I wouldn't rate his skills as good as Matthews, not even close.
 
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