Players Who Never Quite Made The Grade

[gohardorgohome]

What about Alistair Ford. He kicked 6 goals at Arden St one day in about 1983.

Zeno Tzatzaris was a a popular guy who played a bit part role for about 6 years. I heard he still went on the footy trip for several years after he had finished up.


Matty Hogg got cleared to Carlton after playing with injury in his last year at the club. I thought he played really well for the dogs in all other years.
I played junior footy with him and it was the only reason I was not totally disgusted when Carlton won the 1995 premiership.

I would have like Matthew Dent to have played more games.

I suppose it is a bit rough to say these guys did not "make the grade". I my opinion any bloke that has played league footy has made the grade, and done more than many of the people who are posting here. It would be better off saying "Those who could have done more" or "Those who got the most out of what they had, but did not do it for many years"

 

[Captain Sensible]

What about Alistair Ford. He kicked 6 goals at Arden St one day in about 1983.

Not likely. Alistair wouldnt have kicked 6 goals in a game. I couldnt even think of a game he got 6 kicks in.

You might be thinking of Ian Rickman's 7 goals on Keth Greig at Arden Street in'84.

 

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Not likely. Alistair wouldnt have kicked 6 goals in a game. I couldnt even think of a game he got 6 kicks in.

You might be thinking of Ian Rickman's 7 goals on Keth Greig at Arden Street in'84.

If only Alistair had Michael's endeavour, he may have been able to make something of himself, had the size- but not the ticker.

Ian Rickman, another who didn't make it. Had the great 7 goal game against the Roo's but I think he only played a handful of games thereafter.
Was a good player for Williamstown though, I seem to recall, after his career finished with the Dogs.

 

[Rhombus]

Andrew Nichol and Gary "Wheels' Barrow.

2 great servants of the club.

 

[Tony Hargreaves]

Kicked 6 against St Kilda at Moorabbin on one occasion.

Coutts kicked his 6 goals in his 4th game against St Kilda at the Junction Oval in Round 10, 1963

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

Coutts kicked his 6 goals in his 4th game against St Kilda at the Junction Oval in Round 10, 1963

A 15 year bump. Sensational stuff.

 

[footscray1973]

Coutts kicked his 6 goals in his 4th game against St Kilda at the Junction Oval in Round 10, 1963

Round 10, then didn't play again until round 1, 1964. Was he injured, dropped, went back to Kaniva?
192cm in that era was a good size, club thought enough of him to move him from #40 to #10 jumper in 64, played another half a season and then gone.

Tony Hargreaves - what happened to him?

 

[Anja_Nees]

While we’re at it:

Wade Skipper
Cam Faulkner
Patrick Bowden

Patrick Bowden

Age

42

Ht

191cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.9

4star

K

9.1

4star

HB

4.8

3star

M

5.6

5star

T

1.1

3star

No current season stats available

D

5.8

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

2.8

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

0.6

3star

Kieran McGuinness

Kieran Mcguinness

Age

40

Ht

190cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.2

2star

K

3.5

1star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.2

2star

T

1.2

3star

G

0.3

3star

No current season stats available

D

6.2

2star

K

3.8

2star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

0.8

3star

G

0.8

4star

Shane Birss

Shane Birss

Age

41

Ht

183cm

Wt

80kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.8

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.0

4star

No current season stats available

D

10.4

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

0.8

3star

Michael Martin

Michael Martin

Age

47

Ht

179cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.2

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

2.1

2star

T

1.1

3star

No current season stats available

D

10.6

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

1.4

2star

T

1.4

4star

Mark West
Nathan Saunders
Cam Wight

 

[cherrypie]

Lin Jong

46

Lin Jong

Age

30

Ht

188cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.6

4star

K

6.3

2star

HB

9.3

5star

M

2.7

3star

T

4.0

5star

CL

2.3

4star

D

13.7

3star

K

4.0

1star

HB

9.7

5star

M

3.3

3star

T

3.0

4star

CL

0.7

3star

D

16.0

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

8.2

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.8

4star

CL

0.6

3star

, Jack Redpath

Jack Redpath

Age

33

Ht

194cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

7.3

3star

HB

2.5

2star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.7

4star

G

1.6

5star

No current season stats available

D

6.8

2star

K

4.2

2star

HB

2.6

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.6

3star

and Lukas Webb

Lukas Webb

Age

28

Ht

187cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

5.5

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

0.3

3star

No current season stats available

D

12.8

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.4

4star

G

0.0

1star

recent ones who were too good for VFL but just didn’t make the full step up. Obviously injury concerns restricted Jack and Lin from establishing themselves as locked-in Best 22

 

[Sharkey66]

Lin Jong, Jack Redpath and Lukas Webb recent ones who were too good for VFL but just didn’t make the full step up. Obviously injury concerns restricted Jack and Lin from establishing themselves as locked-in Best 22

Brett goods and Will hayes5 as well, just not able to make that step up

 

[Louis Cypher]

Genuinely thought Josh Prudden was going to be better than he was. I remember a very early game of his at Willy against Collingwood where him and Hunter dominated as youngsters. By the time he made it into the senior time it looked like the flair he had was gone.

 

[H Dolphin]

Lin Jong, Jack Redpath and Lukas Webb recent ones who were too good for VFL but just didn’t make the full step up. Obviously injury concerns restricted Jack and Lin from establishing themselves as locked-in Best 22

Amen on Jong. I'd liked to have seen him in the middle after Bont's goal in the 3rd quarter..

 

[weltschmerz]

Lin Jong, Jack Redpath and Lukas Webb recent ones who were too good for VFL but just didn’t make the full step up. Obviously injury concerns restricted Jack and Lin from establishing themselves as locked-in Best 22

Ben Cavarra too. He's excellent at VFL level but for whatever reason he hasn't been able to force himself into the AFL side and I expect him to be delisted this year.

 

[dogwatch]

About 40 per cent of any club’s list at any given time doesn’t quite make the grade.

We could be here a while …

 

[hoianbulldog]

Kenan Reynolds, we screwed up trading him to north. He was just hitting his straps.

 

[Dogs Rule]

Jason Tutt

Jason Tutt

Age

32

Ht

177cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

8.9

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.5

4star

CL

0.5

2star

No current season stats available

D

14.0

4star

K

8.8

4star

HB

5.2

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.8

4star

CL

0.6

3star

.

Started well.

 

[SPower]

Spocky Grant?? Poor Bugger could not just put on a bit more muscle. Also let himself down by not kicking straight in 2015 final. Did play 70+ games. But expected more..

 

[H Dolphin]

Round 10, then didn't play again until round 1, 1964. Was he injured, dropped, went back to Kaniva?
192cm in that era was a good size, club thought enough of him to move him from #40 to #10 jumper in 64, played another half a season and then gone.

Tony Hargreaves - what happened to him?

Big Rod Coutts, quintessential mystery man. 4 games in 1963, 12 in 1964. Then he disappeared. A Rod Coutts played for Nhill in the 1964 Wimmera League for its first Premiership, back to back in 1965 then for a third in 1969, winning the Toohey Medal. The same bloke ? Footscray, coached by EJ, finished 7, 10 and 11 in those years. Doug Hawkins is reported to have said, before his first game, that he'd rather go back to Braybrook and play with blokes who could win rather than hang around at the Club - so bad in the '60s-early 70s. Was Big Couttsey our 1960s Tom Boyd and EJ no Bev ? Maybe Big Couttsey belted a committeeman and Richmond weren't interested ? Did big Couttsey refuse to join a Union ? The mystery remains, why did Big Couttsey leave ?

 

[GetDimmaBack]

Big Rod Coutts, quintessential mystery man. 4 games in 1963, 12 in 1964. Then he disappeared. A Rod Coutts played for Nhill in the 1964 Wimmera League for its first Premiership, back to back in 1965 then for a third in 1969, winning the Toohey Medal. The same bloke ? Footscray, coached by EJ, finished 7, 10 and 11 in those years. Doug Hawkins is reported to have said, before his first game, that he'd rather go back to Braybrook and play with blokes who could win rather than hang around at the Club - so bad in the '60s-early 70s. Was Big Couttsey our 1960s Tom Boyd and EJ no Bev ? Maybe Big Couttsey belted a committeeman and Richmond weren't interested ? Did big Couttsey refuse to join a Union ? The mystery remains, why did Big Couttsey leave ?

The Coutts family was originally from Kaniva.

My father (aged 21) coached them in the late 40s in the Tatiara League. The Coutts boys - not sure how many altogether - were pretty good, and pretty big, apparently. Tough, too.

Rod could have been a star, but was a country boy at heart and never really coped with living in Melbourne. Knowing the family, Dad thought he might struggle with city life. He was right.

Champion of the bush, like many young blokes from the regions back then. So many coodabeens from "up the scrub"...

 

[H Dolphin]

Thankyou, Dimma, you've just killed my next, well, first, sci fi mystery paperback. Chapter 12 had him roving 'round Mt Beauty with the black Panther. COUTTS !! the cry from the Outer as Big Rod launched skywards from full forward. Coutts was the most exciting player at the Club. He was like Naughton. Re reading, your old man must have been a bloke with his fingers on the pulse.

 

[Martyn_30_]

Not young players but Watts, Minton Connell and Cook went from full forward to gone basically one year after another, after showing a lot early.

 

[Sharpiesadog]

Minton-Connell had 2 years with us. Played over 100 games and kicked over 300 goals in his career so perhaps shouldn’t be on this thread.

 

[LondonBulldog]

So I used to know James Cook. There was a period of time when he went out with my girlfriends best friend, so had a few nights out with him over a 6 month period. Gee he was a laugh. Never really took his footy too seriously. I remember him leaning on a goal post in a reserves game back at princess park so I quizzed him that night at the "Cactus" bar in Moonee Ponds. His response was its only the two's mate doesn't matter kicked 4 should be back next week!!! Was just a happy go lucky big kid really.

Mark West though, now that was the best 17 game player to ever play for the Dogs. If only Libba, Westy and Jose weren't around who knows what could have been. That and 3 should reconstructions wrecked his chances.

 

[GetDimmaBack]

Thankyou, Dimma, you've just killed my next, well, first, sci fi mystery paperback. Chapter 12 had him roving 'round Mt Beauty with the black Panther. COUTTS !! the cry from the Outer as Big Rod launched skywards from full forward. Coutts was the most exciting player at the Club. He was like Naughton. Re reading, your old man must have been a bloke with his fingers on the pulse.

Sorry to destroy your hopes. H!

Dad was playing with Williamstown, had a bit of a blue with the coach and, in something of a huff, applied for the Kaniva job which was advertised in that week's Sporting Globe. Bit surprised when he got it, but decided to go "to see what happens".

Willy had a new coach tbe following year and they asked him to come back, which he did.

He often said later that it was a mistake leaving Kaniva. He loved the town and the people.

By the way, Roger Merrett's family are locals. Dad always said the Merrett boys - about 5 of them - were the toughest players he'd ever seen.
Roger was true to type...

 

[bobs head soup]

For me, the epitome of an almost player who totally looked the goods early will always be Alister Ford.

1981 was my first year of going to the footy with my mates rather than my Dad. We went to 1sts and 2nds week in week out.

1981 was also our worst ever year by wins (2) or percentage (65).

We were pretty keen for a saviour.

In Round 2 against powerhouse Collingwood at Vic Park (cruel selection choice) Ford was thrown to the wolves for his debut.

We performed to expectations, getting rolled by around 100 points, but Alister, an athletic barely 17 year old 196cm spearhead (great size for those days) with flowing blonde hair and a good leap took big pack marks and kicked 3 goals.

We were sold, for sure he was our next Templeton.....