Players you thought were going to be elite but never got there

[BringFevBack2021]

Kane Lucas - I thought he would become a notable accumulator for us and help distribute the ball to Murphy, Gibbs etc.
Troy Menzel - Really thought he had some serious X Factor, seen him as an explosive small forward who could pinch hit in the middle.
David Cuningham - Elite speed, elite skills and incredibly high footy IQ. Has had maybe one or two good games in his career and riddled with injuries. Think he can be handy if he gets a good run at it. Not writing him off just yet.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Orazio Fantasia

14

Orazio Fantasia

Age

28

Ht

180cm

Wt

73kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.6

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.2

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.1

5star

G

1.4

5star

D

9.8

2star

K

5.4

2star

HB

4.4

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.2

2star

G

0.2

3star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

0.0

1star

I still don’t really doubt the talent tbh, but his body is beyond shot.

 

[The Dingrel]

Dunno if his name's been raised. Adrian McAdam. 23 goals in his first 3 games, and 68 from 17 games in his debut season. Played 36 games in total.

 

[biggiemediums]

I always thought Jaiydn Stephenson would become an elite player. He lovebombed us.

 

[Gordon Farkas]

Dunno if his name's been raised. Adrian McAdam. 23 goals in his first 3 games, and 68 from 17 games in his debut season. Played 36 games in total.

Collingwood clearly thought he was still “the next big thing” when they got him after North unloaded him.

 

[beerbandit]

Michael Hurley

18

Michael Hurley

Age

33

Ht

193cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

6.4

5star

T

0.9

3star

MG

389.3

5star

D

16.5

4star

K

11.8

5star

HB

4.7

3star

M

6.3

5star

T

0.3

1star

MG

301.2

4star

D

15.0

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.4

5star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.0

4star

 

[citizen-erased]

Michael Hurley

so many things befell him.
looked a seasoned pro in his first game.

2x AA though. so arguably reached elite status for a bit (either side of his ban too, so could have been 3x)

 

[CharacterFirst]

Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls

Jarrad...

Age

36

Ht

188cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.6

2star

K

5.5

2star

HB

2.1

2star

M

4.7

4star

T

1.2

3star

No current season stats available

D

5.2

2star

K

4.4

2star

HB

0.8

1star

M

3.0

3star

T

0.8

3star

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

Definitely the one player who could have become a genuine superstar.
Even if he remained at the club and was ambivalent with his dedication he would have still reached great heights.
His skill-set for a young kpp were elite. He was making the right decisions when he got the footy.
Nathan was a 6ft'5 version of his older brother.

Hawkins + Nablett would have been a frightening partnership for well over a decade.

Nah, he was really ordinary from the get go... never looked like it

 

[My Tilly]

Nah, he was really ordinary from the get go... never looked like it

Most key position players are after 30 games.
But he had something different. He was already a tremendous kick on both sides of the body. He had excellent hands and agility. You could also see the growth still to come in terms of muscle development. Really would have been one of the best key forwards in the game had he stayed.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

From my team:
Stuart Wigney
Ayce Cordy

Ayce Cordy

Age

33

Ht

204cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.0

2star

K

3.7

1star

HB

4.3

3star

M

2.5

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

0.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

9.0

3star

K

3.0

1star

HB

6.0

4star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.2

3star

Andrejs Everitt

Andrejs Everitt

Age

35

Ht

194cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.9

4star

K

8.2

3star

HB

5.7

4star

M

4.5

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.7

4star

No current season stats available

D

14.2

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.2

4star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.4

4star

G

0.8

4star

Jarrad Grant

Jarrad Grant

Age

34

Ht

193cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

6.2

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.3

4star

G

1.0

4star

No current season stats available

D

13.6

4star

K

6.0

3star

HB

7.6

5star

M

5.4

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

0.6

3star

(microphone head)
Mitch Wallis (harsh because of injuries)

 

[branedotorg]

Sam Petrevski-Seton

10

Sam Petrevski-seton

Age

26

Ht

182cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.2

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

4.2

5star

G

0.3

3star

D

14.4

3star

K

9.5

4star

HB

4.9

3star

M

3.1

3star

T

2.0

3star

G

0.0

1star

D

13.4

4star

K

10.0

4star

HB

3.4

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

5.0

5star

G

0.4

3star

, first round draft pick played young and skinny in a poor team, had two early blinders, was absolutely unplayable in the wet against Collingwood and had 35 and a goal against WB.

settled into not chasing, floating 20m hospital kicks to the advantage of opponents and half paced defensive running. Carrying on the fine tradition at the eagles this year

 

[woopy doo]

What ever happened to Gavin Excell in about 89 was all the hallmarks of a genuine superstar

 

[Engimal v3]

I thought Aaron Black was going to be one of the top forwards of the comp.

 

[Seattle Mariners]

Clint Bizzell was another I thought had all the tools but didn't really deliver

He was excellent at the Dees.

 

[Millsie69]

Michael Hurley

so many things befell him.
looked a seasoned pro in his first game.

2x AA though. so arguably reached elite status for a bit (either side of his ban too, so could have been 3x)

He wasn't helped by the fact that he was switched forward and back constantly in his first few seasons, rather than settling in one place.

He was an excellent defender for a period of time, but could have gotten there sooner if he had just been kept in defence.

 

[Gavin Excell]

What ever happened to Gavin Excell in about 89 was all the hallmarks of a genuine superstar

Confirmed superstar

 

[Juddernaut08]

Topher Yarran

 

[beerbandit]

so many things befell him.
looked a seasoned pro in his first game.

2x AA though. so arguably reached elite status for a bit (either side of his ban too, so could have been 3x)

He had potential early days to become a generational player. Just didn’t get there in the end, no fault of hes own as he’s body let him down.

 

[freddy mercury]

Anyone on essendons list.

 

[TheBoss]

Jordan Gysberts

Jordan Gysberts

Age

32

Ht

191cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.1

5star

K

8.9

3star

HB

10.2

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.8

5star

CL

3.5

5star

No current season stats available

D

21.2

5star

K

9.4

4star

HB

11.8

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.6

4star

CL

4.4

5star

.

After his debut I thought he was going to be the second incarnation of James Hird.

Drafted in 2009 with the pick we got Brock McLean

Brock Mclean

Age

38

Ht

184cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.7

5star

K

10.9

4star

HB

8.9

5star

M

4.1

4star

T

3.9

5star

CL

4.1

5star

No current season stats available

D

10.8

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

. Got nominated for Rising Star twice across 19 games. Traded in 2012 for a bag of chips and out of the league in 2013.

 

[citizen-erased]

He had potential early days to become a generational player. Just didn’t get there in the end, no fault of hes own as he’s body let him down.

Yeah. Was tracking well against rance as the defender of that era.
Then a ban, then injury
What our spine could have been with gumbleton-daniher-ryder-hurley-hooker

 

[gordo2016]

From my team:
Stuart Wigney
Ayce Cordy
Andrejs Everitt
Jarrad Grant (microphone head)
Mitch Wallis (harsh because of injuries)

I always thought Craig Ellis might turn into a gun. Injuries probably stopped him in the end. Not sure what happened to Wigney, looked like he could be a jet early on, as you say. Also going back before then, Geoff Jennings and Ted Whitten jnr. Both were decimated by injuries but they were jets in the making if they would have got some luck.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

I always thought Craig Ellis might turn into a gun. Injuries probably stopped him in the end. Not sure what happened to Wigney, looked like he could be a jet early on, as you say. Also going back before then, Geoff Jennings and Ted Whitten jnr. Both were decimated by injuries but they were jets in the making if they would have got some luck.

Yes, Ellis is definitely one that I missed.
I also thought Luke Penny had all the makings of an elite key defender... then he pissed off to St Klida and a few years laters had dissappeared altogether.
Wigney was a poor man's Dermi!

 

[tswizzle]

I thought Aaron Black was going to be one of the top forwards of the comp.

Black certainly looked that way early days. It was unfortunate that North didn't shift him to Geelong the first time around, when Geelong was offering first-round draft picks.

The what if's of trade period though... Port had Matthew Lobbe as an absolute beast in the ruck for a few years. In 2015, Bulldogs offered us Pick 11 (which turned into #12) for him... which the Bulldogs later used in pick swaps with Carlton, with Pick 12 turning into Charlie Curnow