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Mark Mercuri

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Shane Hird

Shane Hird

Cancelled
10k Posts A Star Wars Fan The Cult of Robbo Essendon Player Sponsor 2016
Joined
May 8, 2006
Posts
13,700
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AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
NYJ
One of my top 3 all time favorite Essendon players.The player of class beyond belief.Where is he now? What is he doing? How good was he? What really went on after his brother died? The champion,the Premierships. His display in the 1993 Grand Final. That goal he kicked in 98' I think,long bomb from 55,won the game. His over head marking,the dodging and weaving.


What a player:thumbsu:
 
The goal he missed that would've put us in the 99 GF. :p

He was a gun, and a great bloke too. All class.
 
don4eva said:
The goal he missed that would've put us in the 99 GF. :p

He was a gun, and a great bloke too. All class.
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oh yer,thanks for that painful memory don;)


He was a great bloke. He was so humble and reserved when interviewed straight after the game in 2000. Compared to 93'. When a grinning 19(?) yearold kept saying "sensational mate!!"

We didn't get to see all of what he could do i rekon.
 
Nobby8 said:
We didn't get to see all of what he could do i rekon.
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Yeah, well his '99 season was as close to it as you could get though.

He really was an unbelievable player, and is easily up there in my all time favourites, one of the best I've seen play. I'm not sure what the whole story was with his brother, and it's no one's business really, but it did seem to have an effect on his footy. I remember is baulking skills were 2nd to none, better than Robert Harvey's I would say.
Hird has said before that he is the most skillful player he's played with, so if that isn't a good enough credential, what is.

Unfortunately his last couple of disappointing seasons seemed to have rubbed off on his whole career, which has left him and his career, in my opinion, somewhat underrated.
 

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Boris_Bewick said:
Yeah, well his '99 season was as close to it as you could get though.

He really was an unbelievable player, and is easily up there in my all time favourites, one of the best I've seen play. I'm not sure what the whole story was with his brother, and it's no one's business really, but it did seem to have an effect on his footy. I remember is baulking skills were 2nd to none, better than Robert Harvey's I would say.
Hird has said before that he is the most skillful player he's played with, so if that isn't a good enough credential, what is.

Unfortunately his last couple of disappointing seasons seemed to have rubbed off on his whole career, which has left him and his career, in my opinion, somewhat underrated.
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Yeah completely agree! I've never seen a player who can deliver the ball with precision onto the chest of a teammate like Mercs. Despite having disappointing seasons at the end of his career, he still showed off his briliant skills when he got the chance.
 
Nobby8 said:
We didn't get to see all of what he could do i rekon.
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Yeah what he went through in 2000 would've been devastating for him and obviously affected the remainder of his career. But that didn't stop him from being a fav amongst thousands of Bomber fans. :thumbsu:
 
Boris_Bewick said:
Yeah, well his '99 season was as close to it as you could get though.

He really was an unbelievable player, and is easily up there in my all time favourites, one of the best I've seen play. I'm not sure what the whole story was with his brother, and it's no one's business really, but it did seem to have an effect on his footy. I remember is baulking skills were 2nd to none, better than Robert Harvey's I would say.
Hird has said before that he is the most skillful player he's played with, so if that isn't a good enough credential, what is.

Unfortunately his last couple of disappointing seasons seemed to have rubbed off on his whole career, which has left him and his career, in my opinion, somewhat underrated.
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Good point. Shamelessly shopping him around (along with Misiti) in the latter part of his career I also think contributed to him not receiving the cudos he was due. It is a pity that a players departures from a club can influence how they are viewed for eternity (think Derek Kickett). Mercuri was always a quality/skillful player and solid contributer for EFC. I always remember as a kid getting chills as I saw him have a running shot at goal from 30 out, already marking it down in my footy record before he had even kicked. How he managed to be in this situation always amazed me. I hope that my 1,000 viewings of the 93 Grand final have not given me a biased opinion of his entire playing career :) Star player, would love to have a young Mark Mercuri starting out again in 2007.
 
Boris_Bewick said:
Yeah, well his '99 season was as close to it as you could get though.

He really was an unbelievable player, and is easily up there in my all time favourites, one of the best I've seen play. I'm not sure what the whole story was with his brother, and it's no one's business really, but it did seem to have an effect on his footy.
Code: 
 I remember is baulking skills were 2nd to none,
better than Robert Harvey's I would say.
Hird has said before that he is the most skillful player he's played with, so if that isn't a good enough credential, what is.

Unfortunately his last couple of disappointing seasons seemed to have rubbed off on his whole career, which has left him and his career, in my opinion, somewhat underrated.
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He was the best at evasion this club has seen since Watson.Like a slippery little eel.The foot passing from him was there right from the start,so confident and deadly with his kicking.
 
don4eva said:
Enter Dyson hehe
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At the risk of being argumentative is Dyson the most direct comparison for a Mark Mercuri? With exceptional evasive skills perhaps, I don't remember Mercuri as being overly quick though. Is there another player that could be MM version 2? Is there a case for Monfries?
 
Duckworth said:
At the risk of being argumentative is Dyson the most direct comparison for a Mark Mercuri? With exceptional evasive skills perhaps, I don't remember Mercuri as being overly quick though. Is there another player that could be MM version 2? Is there a case for Monfries?
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I'm hoping Monfries becomes better than our other elusive playing champions like Mercs,Bewick,Baker,Watson,Garry O'Donnell,Longy..Hirdy etc..
 
Duckworth said:
At the risk of being argumentative is Dyson the most direct comparison for a Mark Mercuri? With exceptional evasive skills perhaps, I don't remember Mercuri as being overly quick though. Is there another player that could be MM version 2? Is there a case for Monfries?
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Hehe Monfries has evolved the technique of evasion into the magical ability to have his opponent push him in the back whenever they come near him, it's miraculous!
 
don4eva said:
Yeah what he went through in 2000 would've been devastating for him and obviously affected the remainder of his career. But that didn't stop him from being a fav amongst thousands of Bomber fans. :thumbsu:
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I don't think it was just the incident with his brother that saw his career begin to go backwards. Obviously that hit hard and probably dented his passion for the game, but he also suffered a series of groin injuries that made it difficult for him to train and play.
 

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whirl said:
Hehe Monfries has evolved the technique of evasion into the magical ability to have his opponent push him in the back whenever they come near him, it's miraculous!
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It's also highly amusing.

Remember when we would see a bloke breathing down Bewick's back and he'd tap the ball on or handball just as he was being taken to the ground and get the holding the man free kick?

The Monfries trick is very similar.
 
Absolute Champion,
I also remember him in a '93 Foster's Cup game running & bouncing directly at Nigel Smart (1992 AA) at Waverley only to blind turn around him & cool as a cucumber slot it through from 40m.
Unfortunately I do not see players with the same class coming through.
Monfries is the closest. But Mercs, Misiti, Olarenshaw etc got more of the ball & used it better in their first full year of senior footy (1993) than the current crop. Just my opinion.
93 - Just a stand out year!
 
Nobby8 said:
One of my top 3 all time favorite Essendon players.The player of class beyond belief.Where is he now? What is he doing? How good was he? What really went on after his brother died? The champion,the Premierships. His display in the 1993 Grand Final. That goal he kicked in 98' I think,long bomb from 55,won the game. His over head marking,the dodging and weaving.
What a player:thumbsu:
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Pound for pound, one of the best marks in the game. Stood out in the reserves wearing number 47.

By the way, looks like the old coot wants to coach beyond 2007- Horsburgh will wait until the mid season break before looking into the coaching job for 2008. If he goes, i don't see any point coaching another lowly club just for the sake of his ego- Agree Nob ?
 
Had one of the best footy brains i've ever seen, was thinking miles ahead of everyone else.

So close to a Brownlow in '99, would have been awesome for him if he got it, single handedly beat Sydney in a final in a half before he went of injured or rested did he not?
 

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DaSawx said:
Had one of the best footy brains i've ever seen, was thinking miles ahead of everyone else.
So close to a Brownlow in '99, would have been awesome for him if he got it, single handedly beat Sydney in a final in a half before he went of injured or rested did he not?
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Your not wrong DaSawx


from memory he was rested in the Sydney game
 
stander said:
You could be right- If anyone knows it will be Mero !
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Ricky Olarenshaw wore 47.

Mark Mercuri definately wore 45 up to the 1993 Night Series, Calthorpe 48, Hird 49, Misiti 52.
Those three changes for the season proper, Rick stayed with 47, Calthorpe stayed with 48 until he went to 14.
 
Longy413 said:
Ricky Olarenshaw wore 47.

Mark Mercuri definately wore 45 up to the 1993 Night Series, Calthorpe 48, Hird 49, Misiti 52.
Those three changes for the season proper, Rick stayed with 47, Calthorpe stayed with 48 until he went to 14.
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Did he wear 45 or 47 in the reserves ? Its pretty foggy going back there but I remember his skills shining underneath the windsock.
 

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