Malcolm Blight

[Vader]

That doesnt really work, as Jarman was in his mid 20's by the time he played AFL - and a lot of his best football was in the SANFL in the late 80's. Jarman's SANFL record is a good as anybody's.

Mark Ricciuto v Darren Jarman - now you've got me listening. I would say that's the simialr comparison.

Actually, I thought that it was very apt. Blight played 163 games with Woodville, almost matching his 178 games with North Melbourne. Jarman has 2 Magarey Medals to his name (1987 and 1997), which goes close to (but not quite) matching Blight's Magarey and Brownlow medals.

About the only area where things don't stack up is Andrew Jarman's lack of goal kicking prowess.

 

[Slippery Pete]

No. He wasn't. He's the only player who's ever withstood a comparison with Matthews and not come off severely second best, but the honours still go to Matthews. If Matthews is the benchmark against which all others are judged and given a score of 100, Carey probably scores a 97 or 98 (noting that very few other players in the history of the game would score higher than 90 - Blight would probably score in the low 80s).

FWIW, neither Carey nor Matthews ever won a Brownlow - and rightly so. The Brownlow is awarded to the Fairest and Best player, note the distinction from Best and Fairest. Carey & Matthews were both brilliant players, but neither were ever noted for being particularly "fair".

Leigh is certainly in the top few.

But IMHO, Carey is the greatest, and better than Leigh. I'll concede I was exaggerating a bit by saying he's double the player Leigh was.

If I was picking a side and had to choose between the two though, there wouldn't be a second's hesitation. Carey is the best player I've seen by a fair stretch.

 

[Vader]

Leigh is certainly in the top few.

But IMHO, Carey is the greatest, and better than Leigh. I'll concede I was exaggerating a bit by saying he's double the player Leigh was.

If I was picking a side and had to choose between the two though, there wouldn't be a second's hesitation. Carey is the best player I've seen by a fair stretch.

Are you old enough to have seen Matthews in his prime?

I'm not, but I'm happy to go off the opinions of those who are - and you're the first person I've ever found who has come down on the side of Carey.

 

[Slippery Pete]

Are you old enough to have seen Matthews in his prime?

Unfortunately, not live.

I'm not, but I'm happy to go off the opinions of those who are - and you're the first person I've ever found who has come down on the side of Carey.

Really? I reckon 7 out of 10 judges would rate Carey as the greatest they've seen.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/carey-the-greatest/story-e6frf9m6-1111115722650

 

[marvin]

And on that basis you can mount a pretty good argument that he's the 2nd greatest Legend of the Game still alive - albeit a long, long way behind Leigh Matthews who stands head and shoulders above everyone else.

Well, you could make that argument - if Blight was actually one of the "Legends of the Game"

 

[Vader]

Really? I reckon 7 out of 10 judges would rate Carey as the greatest they've seen.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/carey-the-greatest/story-e6frf9m6-1111115722650

Quoting Mike Sheahan doesn't do much for your credibility. But at least you've found someone who shares your opinion, which contradicts my statement that you were the only person I knew who held your opinion.

 

[Vader]

Well, you could make that argument - if Blight was actually one of the "Legends of the Game"

He'll get there eventually. They can't elevate him immediately due to rules about having quotas of Legends to Hall of Famers and such.

 

[RoosterLad]

Barrie Robran > Leigh Matthews.

 

[marvin]

He'll get there eventually. They can't elevate him immediately due to rules about having quotas of Legends to Hall of Famers and such.

I'm not so convinced that he will. He's got to be in the conversation, but Plugger and Sheedy are dead set certainties, and there's a whole bunch of others - Robert Harvey, Gary Ablett snr, Wayne Carey - who would be ahead of him in the queue. There's a number of others who would go into the debate alongside Blight once those names are processed (including Andrew McLeod) and I'm not sure that Blight is clearly ahead of them.

The quota system means that there's only a new Legend every 2-3 years. I wouldn't be surprised to see Blight become a Legend in time - but I'd be equally unsurprised to see him overlooked for that status.

 

[Slippery Pete]

Quoting Mike Sheahan doesn't do much for your credibility. But at least you've found someone who shares your opinion, which contradicts my statement that you were the only person I knew who held your opinion.

Not sure what rock you've been living under, Vader. A big one i reckon. Leigh Matthews himself has rated Carey as the best player of all time.

 

[rooboy]

Not sure what rock you've been living under, Vader. A big one i reckon. Leigh Matthews himself has rated Carey as the best player of all time.

Well to be fair to Vader, there was a poll or vote a few years ago , re. who was the best footballer ever, and Leigh Matthews shat it in.

I can't remember who ran the poll, but players and coaches voted.

 

[The Karma Bus]

I actually really enjoy listening to Blight commentate/special comments too.. He makes me laugh when he starts getting annoyed at whatever it may be.. Better than listening to most of the other generic, boring, tow the line commentators..

 

[Slippery Pete]

Well to be fair to Vader, there was a poll or vote a few years ago , re. who was the best footballer ever, and Leigh Matthews shat it in.

I can't remember who ran the poll, but players and coaches voted.

Would like to see that poll.

In the book The Australian Game of Football, published by the AFL in 2008 and commemorating 150 years of Australian football, Carey was named the greatest player ever.

 

[feenix67]

Im old enough...

Matthews => the Nullabour => Everyone else

In my opinion.

 

[OldCrowBloke]

Are you old enough to have seen Matthews in his prime?

I'm not, but I'm happy to go off the opinions of those who are - and you're the first person I've ever found who has come down on the side of Carey.

I am definitely old enough to have seen them both in their prime. Bloody Matthews effectively ended the career of Barrie Robran when he crunched him and wrecked his knee in the last couple of minutes of a State game. He was certainly tough (ask the behind post he snapped in half when he ran into it), but Carey shades him for ability to win a game through individual brilliance and effort, and for those moments when he busted open packs to take the big mark and bomb the long goal. Carey was a far more spectacular player.

 

[Crow-mo]

Quoting Mike Sheahan doesn't do much for your credibility. But at least you've found someone who shares your opinion, which contradicts my statement that you were the only person I knew who held your opinion.

matthews might be the greatest player ever might not be. but this idea that its acknowledged is just you doing your thing again.

for a large chunk of Carey's pomp he was being described as the greatest anyone had seen.

a couple of years before that Ted Whitten won a major poll as greatest ever player.

 

[Crow-mo]

incidentally one of the biggest kudos to blight the player is that he is the only player to have won AA as FF, FB & ruck rover.

thats an all time versatility that even guys like pav, chad cornes, or Hird can match.

 

[PCORF]

Malcolm Blight is simply a South Aussie legend of footy. From the 80m drop punt at princess park to helping us win some premierships. But like all he had his ups and his downs.

 

[Crow-mo]

incidentally i think marthews was a better player, but blight was the better coach

 

[jenny61_99]

incidentally i think marthews was a better player, but blight was the better coach

That's a massive call when Matthews won twice the flags as coach - with two different clubs no less.

IMO both were brilliant players AND brilliant coaches. I'd have Blight ahead as a player, but that is based on the fact that Matthews was a thug (certainly in his later years). A brilliant one no doubt, but a thug none the less.

 

[johnnypanther]

Are you old enough to have seen Matthews in his prime?

I'm not, but I'm happy to go off the opinions of those who are - and you're the first person I've ever found who has come down on the side of Carey.

You will have to add me to that list too Vader - i've seen all of Matthews (albeit we did have much less tv coverage in those days), but IMO Carey was simply the greatest player:
- i've never seen any other player so consistently omnipresent on a footy field as he was, and playing in perhaps the most difficult position of all (CHF).
- somewhat ironically, (since many people consider his time at the Crows as not a success), his stature increased even more (to me) when i saw him play for the Crows because i realized that there was so much more to his game than strength, marking ability....... he had an inate ability to hold onto the ball and be able to evade an opposition player and then accurately find a target to kick to with either foot.

In any case, it is impossible to compare players properly from different eras, different positions....

FWIW, i also saw Teddy Whitten for the second half of his career, yet i never really rated him up there. Just my own opinion,but i thought his persona took on a life of its own after he retired due to a lot of his off-field activities and his health etc.

Barrie Robran, (best player i have ever seen even though i say Carey goes down as the greatest) could have been the greatest of all, however, not having played in the VFL precludes him from that IMO, despite his performances in State games and intra-club state games. What a great loss to the game it was when his knee was shattered by Matthews - i'm sure that otherwise he would have gone on to win a "million' Magarey medals in an era when SA footy was at its peak.

Blighty i always thought was one of the most brilliant and could do the mercurial, but perhaps not consistently enough to rank with Carey, Matthews, Robran.

Just my opinions.

 

[feenix67]

The whole "never played in the VFL so can be called the greatest" argument in relation to Robran is hilarious imo. Do people honestly thing that if he went and played in the VFL he would have just been a good average player?

In my view, the only difference between the VFL and the SANFL during that era was depth. The top 20 players in the SANFL, would be the equal to the VFL. Hence Barry deserves to hold a legitimate top 5 place.

And I think JP's rating of Blight as "mercurial" is 100% appropriate and can be equally applied to his coaching career.

 

[Slippery Pete]

The whole "never played in the VFL so can be called the greatest" argument in relation to Robran is hilarious imo. Do people honestly thing that if he went and played in the VFL he would have just been a good average player?

In my view, the only difference between the VFL and the SANFL during that era was depth. The top 20 players in the SANFL, would be the equal to the VFL. Hence Barry deserves to hold a legitimate top 5 place.

Agree. It's what Victorians tell themselves so they argue players like Polly Farmer were better than Robran.

 

[Smoooothy]

barrie robran > leigh matthews.

this ^^^

 

[Damp Squarie]

That's a massive call when Matthews won twice the flags as coach - with two different clubs no less.

IMO both were brilliant players AND brilliant coaches. I'd have Blight ahead as a player, but that is based on the fact that Matthews was a thug (certainly in his later years). A brilliant one no doubt, but a thug none the less.

Very true .^^.
Probably the only thing Matthews beats Blight at is special comments /commentary.