Opinion Player Numbers

[1954]

Over all my time watching footy, only one player has beaten the 13. And it cost him his hair!

I have a vague recollection that Bob Philp wore number 13 in the 1960's, and he may have also worn that number when he represented SA.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

I have a vague recollection that Bob Philp wore number 13 in the 1960's, and he may have also worn that number when he represented SA.

Yes you remember correctly. Philpy wore 13 for the Magpies. He also wore 22 for a while and 13 again.

13 - Orazio Fantasia, Wylie Buzza, Todd Marshall, Cam O'Shea, Mitchell Farmer, Ben Eckermann, Danny Morton, Chris Hall, Rohan Smith, Geoff Blethyn, Brad Gotch, Neville Phillips, Phil Robertson, Len Warren, Bob Philp, Eddie Woloczek, ‘Punch’ Mucklow, Ned Hender, Bill McFarlane, Roger Clift, Bob Philp, John McBain, Dean Trowse

The numbers game

It's always interesting to see people's attachment to player numbers, as was raised in one of the 2009 number threads. I thought it might be fun to see how many player names we can attach to the numbers, and have a bit of a historical roll call of PAFC players and the numbers they wore. Feel...

www.bigfooty.com

 

[jac147]

I’m not showing any disrespect but when will #35 become active again?

 

[Steve Dore]

Does anyone care about numbers these days.

What number a player wears has a huge impact on how they perform.

Hinkley owns the number zero.

 

[TeeKray]

I’m not showing any disrespect but when will #35 become active again?

Does it ever need to become active again? It's a bit of a nothing number anyway. Might be better to just leave it be.

 

[NoddyHolder]

I’m not showing any disrespect but when will #35 become active again?

Boak is the last on the list to have played with John McCarthy - so maybe after he retires

 

[jac147]

Boak is the last on the list to have played with John McCarthy - so maybe after he retires

That’s what I was thinking also

 

[Fizzler]

Magpies connection? How about the much more obvious fact that his dad wore 7?

Would be a lot more obvious to me if I wasn’t 6 years old when Peter retired, though I did catch on to that when I remembered the Indigenous jumper we wore this year.

 

[Rising Power]

Rat in 27. Might be the Fijian connection with Alipate.

 

[Wargreymon90]

I don’t understand why players can’t pick high numbers up to like 99

 

[dirty2]

I don’t understand why players can’t pick high numbers up to like 99

Looks stupid... In saying that... Ice hockey ECT it's natural for them to have high numbers and I'm fine with that...

 

[NoddyHolder]

I don’t understand why players can’t pick high numbers up to like 99

They probably can - just don't want to. In footy the lower numbers have always been seen as the more prestigious. Footy players are pretty conservative so they just follow what's always happened with number selections

 

[Wargreymon90]

They probably can - just don't want to. In footy the lower numbers have always been seen as the more prestigious. Footy players are pretty conservative so they just follow what's always happened with number selections

I do recall Cornes and Brogan wanted numbers in the 70s when joining GWS and were told it wasn’t allowed.

I’m sure there would be a player who would jump at the number 99

 

[Fizzler]

I’ve heard that there’s a cap on how high you can go, and I think if it exists then it’s probably 50. I assume you’re allowed to go above that in specific instances though, such as when Essendon had top up players or when a few players across the league wore 67 in 2017 to commemorate 50 years since the referendum. Whatever the case I’d love to see another player rock a massive number like Shaun Rehn and his 52. My favourite number is 65 and I don’t think anyone’s ever worn that in the AFL, and only one player has ever worn it in the NBA for one season near the start of the league. I’d like to think if I played that’s what I would go for.

 

[RangaInTeal]

Boak is the last on the list to have played with John McCarthy - so maybe after he retires

When Chads son is fist pumping Camry members in the Showdown

 

[NoddyHolder]

I do recall Cornes and Brogan wanted numbers in the 70s when joining GWS and were told it wasn’t allowed.

I’m sure there would be a player who would jump at the number 99

Maybe it's just the afl is a conservative institution. I can't see any logical reason that numbers up to 99 couldn't be used

 

[VineValerian]

Maybe it's just the afl is a conservative institution. I can't see any logical reason that numbers up to 99 couldn't be used

Adelaide Uni have numbers in the 600's

 

[NoddyHolder]

Adelaide Uni have numbers in the 600's

every player at the club get their own unique numbers don't they?

For an afl club three digit numbers would make the guernseys too messy looking

 

[JimmyBC]

Looks stupid... In saying that... Ice hockey ECT it's natural for them to have high numbers and I'm fine with that...

You'd go with 69 wouldn't ya big fella?

 

[1954]

Adelaide Uni have numbers in the 600's

I remember attending and end of season exhibition game at Adelaide oval between Sturt and Carlton back in the late 1960's when the curtain raiser was a game between the sanfl reserves premier and the ammo premiers Adelaide University, and there were Uni players with numbers in the 60's and 80's.

One bloke even had a 1/2 sign at the end of his number which many in the crowd found quite amusing.

Games between the top sanfl reserves team and the Ammo premiers were played a number of times back then, the ammo teams would be competitive for a half or so, but would eventually run out of steam and get beaten comfortably.

Further to Adelaide Uni's use of higher numbers than usual, I have a recollection of RussellEbertHandball commenting a year or so back re the reason for their numbering system.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

I remember hearing Adelaide Uni had a player in the 80s named Damien who wore 666 on his back.

 

[dirty2]

You'd go with 69 wouldn't ya big fella?

69er everyone's a winner

 

[RossFC]

I don’t understand why players can’t pick high numbers up to like 99

I reckon they try to keep it 1-50. Maggies players might use numbers up to 70.

 

[Launchpad McQuack]

Looks stupid... In saying that... Ice hockey ECT it's natural for them to have high numbers and I'm fine with that...

Not that high, bud.

 

[Blinky Nyland]

Club YouTube shorts video on the new boys showed Lachie Charleson in a guernsey with #26 and with #26 on his backpack. Tom Anastasopolous had #29 on his backpack. Lorenz was wearing a guernsey with a second digit of 6 (rest was not visible), so I suspect he got Jases's old number 36.