I was looking at Hawthorn’s all-time leading goal kickers list recently and noticed Michael Moncrieff sitting at #4 with 629 goals.
That’s ahead of names like Roughead, Breust, Gunston, even Franklin at Hawthorn, yet you rarely (if ever) hear his name mentioned in the same breath as Dunstall, Hudson, Matthews, etc.
He kicked 97 goals in a premiership year (1976), won two flags, and was the club’s leading goalkicker 6 times (equal second most in our history). His goals per game is also 4th of all those greats in our top ten, only behind Hudson, Dunstall and Buddy. At 191 cm and playing in an era of tough defenders and heavy grounds, that seems like a phenomenal career.
What really stands out to me is how, compared to others in the top 10, many of them went on to be named in our Team of the Century - names like Hudson, Matthews, Dunstall, Brereton. Yet Moncrieff, despite his achievements, seems to have slipped under the radar and doesn’t get the same level of recognition, even though his numbers and contributions stack up very well.
This little exploration actually started because I was thinking about how underrated Jack Gunston has been for us, one of the smartest and most reliable forwards of the modern era, and I wondered where he sat in club history. That’s when I stumbled on Moncrieff’s name, well before my time, sitting quietly at #4 and ahead of so many household names.
Would love to hear from those who may have seen him play. What kind of forward was he? Why do you think he doesn’t get the same recognition as the others? Was it just that he came between Hudson and Dunstall? Or is he simply one of those quiet achievers who never sought the limelight?
That’s ahead of names like Roughead, Breust, Gunston, even Franklin at Hawthorn, yet you rarely (if ever) hear his name mentioned in the same breath as Dunstall, Hudson, Matthews, etc.
He kicked 97 goals in a premiership year (1976), won two flags, and was the club’s leading goalkicker 6 times (equal second most in our history). His goals per game is also 4th of all those greats in our top ten, only behind Hudson, Dunstall and Buddy. At 191 cm and playing in an era of tough defenders and heavy grounds, that seems like a phenomenal career.
What really stands out to me is how, compared to others in the top 10, many of them went on to be named in our Team of the Century - names like Hudson, Matthews, Dunstall, Brereton. Yet Moncrieff, despite his achievements, seems to have slipped under the radar and doesn’t get the same level of recognition, even though his numbers and contributions stack up very well.
This little exploration actually started because I was thinking about how underrated Jack Gunston has been for us, one of the smartest and most reliable forwards of the modern era, and I wondered where he sat in club history. That’s when I stumbled on Moncrieff’s name, well before my time, sitting quietly at #4 and ahead of so many household names.
Would love to hear from those who may have seen him play. What kind of forward was he? Why do you think he doesn’t get the same recognition as the others? Was it just that he came between Hudson and Dunstall? Or is he simply one of those quiet achievers who never sought the limelight?
