Universal Love Ranking the best Port Adelaide players of all time

[raman]

love the line up but Clive?

Clive wasn't a franchise player (oh, Freo) but he had plenty enough talent to thrive as part of that conceptual team.

 

[Harlott]

Pretty sure I've still got that exact same autographed photo somewhere.

Can still remember his blistering debut on the wing as a 16yo against Sturt.

So glad he got those premierships at the end of his career.

Would've loved an early-90s Port AFL centreline with Ando and Braddles, maybe even a young Bucks.

Saw him at a Port game a while back and he was still rocking a magnificent mullet...

I was at his debut at 16 as well and have a vague memory that they played him at CHF and he played a ripper.

 

[tribey]

love the line up but Clive?

As the crude Calder Cannons reference implied, lineup emphasises guys who went on to stardom/VFL-AFL careers from the stellar nursery that was Alberton. Guys like Andrew Obst, Shane Bond, Troy Bond, Brayden Lyle, Brett Chalmers and Graham Johncock were considered and could've snuck in.

Choco would have to get a guernsey if we're taking into account his VFL career. And I'd squeeze Abba in there, too. Browny & Trigger would be my unlucky emergencies...

Choco technically from West Adelaide and debuted pre-1980, Aber also pre-1980 but not by much.

Clive wasn't a franchise player (oh, Freo) but he had plenty enough talent to thrive as part of that conceptual team.

Man, had he waited a year and had some luck with injury, I firmly believe he'd have developed into a star with the relative anonymity of being just another one of the promising kids at Alberton.

Instead, he goes to the Violet Mist, with all the pressure that comes with being a #1 pick, deployed as an Aaron Hamillesque undersized KPF and it never really comes together for him.

Still, his record of 106 games/178 goals surprised me.

Imagine a Power half-forward line of:

Dew ~ Tredrea ~ Waterhouse

Cripes!

 

[Magpiespower]

I was at his debut at 16 as well and have a vague memory that they played him at CHF and he played a ripper.

That wouldn't surprise me. IIRC, we struggled to fill CHF all year with Dwayne Russell only playing four games. The whole season was cruelled by injury.

And Braddles nicking off after round 15 or some such to tour England with the Australian U19s, robbing himself of the Magarey, before returning to play in that ridiculously strong reserves premiership team.

But as an amateur aficionado of vintage adidas jackets, those '83 white jackets with black three stripes are hot sex...

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Can still remember his blistering debut on the wing as a 16yo against Sturt..

Me too. I'm pretty sure he got 3 Magarey votes for that game on debut.

He has married a mate's sister so I meet Ando a couple of times a year at their family functions. They were in China to watch Port and I caught up with them. He still has the mullet in full glory.

 

[Dylan8]

That wouldn't surprise me. IIRC, we struggled to fill CHF all year with Dwayne Russell only playing four games. The whole season was cruelled by injury.

And Braddles nicking off after round 15 or some such to tour England with the Australian U19s, robbing himself of the Magarey, before returning to play in that ridiculously strong reserves premiership team.

But as an amateur aficionado of vintage adidas jackets, those '83 white jackets with black three stripes are hot sex...

View attachment 386497

Wait on did Port have Adidas jackets? Or was that just wear any bloody white jacket to the warm up day?

 

[glitch01]

Speaking of which, here's some food for thought.

1980-2000

B: G. Wanganeen ~ D. Wakelin ~ D. Hughes
HB: S. Burgoyne ~ M. Leslie ~ C. Enright
C: C. Bradley ~ N. Buckley ~ G. Anderson
HF: B. Pickett ~ W. Tredrea ~ A. Didak
F: D. Brown ~ S. Hodges ~ C. Waterhouse
R: D. Hynes ~ P. Burgoyne ~ A. McLeod
IC: M. Wilson, D. Mead, S. Tregenza, S. Thompson

Stick your Calder Cannons footy factory up your arse.

I'll like any Port team that includes Meady!!
My all time favorite player
Scotty Hodges was the best PAFC player I saw live in the SANFL and was obviously more of a match winner, but to me, Meady epitomised what the PAFC is all about!!
Don't know how people can rank our players - we are spoilt for choice.

 

[Power One]

Still have wonderful visions of Mots running out with those bandy legs flailing away. Could say he won the 1957 GF v Norwood when he was moved to the forward line. Need to check how many goals he kicked. I think he was against Peter Koerner (spelling)when playing centre in that game.

Great player and even better human being.

He kicked a lot of goals from the half forward flank in the last half. Was it 7.

 

[240volt]

Anyone got any info of his performance in the 1990 prelim v Nth Adel? From memory Port lost to Glenelg in the 2nd Semi and were beginning to be questioned as to whether they could come back and win the GF. Port were kicking to our end (Sth) in the first qtr and the whole team but particularly Hodges were breathing fire and completely demoralised Nth in that first qtr kicking 10 goals to 1. I think he ended up with 11 or 13 goals for the match where we ended up winning by over 90 points. It's one of the most stunning individual performances I have witnessed. It was a savage response to the week before and poor Nth Adel copped the brunt of it. They must have wondered what they had done to deserve two of the most humiliating defeats in finals history in consecutive years considering what happened the year before

Was at that game. Your right port kicked to the golf course end first qtr and what a first qtr it was. I was at the west lakes end and hardly seen the ball all qtr. Think there only goal that qtr came from D Jarmen.

 

[Andre]

Speaking of which, here's some food for thought.

1980-2000

B: G. Wanganeen ~ D. Wakelin ~ D. Hughes
HB: S. Burgoyne ~ M. Leslie ~ C. Enright
C: C. Bradley ~ N. Buckley ~ G. Anderson
HF: B. Pickett ~ W. Tredrea ~ A. Didak
F: D. Brown ~ S. Hodges ~ C. Waterhouse
R: D. Hynes ~ P. Burgoyne ~ A. McLeod
IC: M. Wilson, D. Mead, S. Tregenza, S. Thompson

Stick your Calder Cannons footy factory up your arse.

That line up is a short summary as to why the SANFL should be taken over and Port allowed to have junior sides and do development again. Port alone pumped out more talent over that period then you've gotten in the last decade across the whole of SA, with the SNAFL doing more and more.

 

[Magpiespower]

Wait on did Port have Adidas jackets? Or was that just wear any bloody white jacket to the warm up day?

They all wore adidas or Puma jackets back then.
West's blood red adidas jacket with black stripes were pretty sexy, too.
Norwood even had player names on the back of their jackets, NBA warm-up suit style...

 

[Magpiespower]

Ah, s**t, while we're on '83, this reserves premiership team...

F: Andy Porplycia, Chris Natt, Ross Agius.
HF: Roger Delaney, Danny Hughes, Des Drogemuller.
C: Michael Errey, Craig Bradley, Greg Boyd.
HB: Len Warren, Martin Leslie, Brenton Owens.
B: Darren Smith, Anthony Dutch, Ivan Eckermann.
R: David Baker, Alan Gill, Arlen Kennedy.
Int: Craig Lum, David O'Donovan.
E: Wayne Mahney.

My 9yo self was disappointed that '83 Reserves Magarey Medallist Des Drogemuller didn't kick on with the league side the next year. Ended up at Centrals. And then the Barossa, I think...

 

[Macca19]

Anyone got any info of his performance in the 1990 prelim v Nth Adel? From memory Port lost to Glenelg in the 2nd Semi and were beginning to be questioned as to whether they could come back and win the GF. Port were kicking to our end (Sth) in the first qtr and the whole team but particularly Hodges were breathing fire and completely demoralised Nth in that first qtr kicking 10 goals to 1. I think he ended up with 11 or 13 goals for the match where we ended up winning by over 90 points. It's one of the most stunning individual performances I have witnessed. It was a savage response to the week before and poor Nth Adel copped the brunt of it. They must have wondered what they had done to deserve two of the most humiliating defeats in finals history in consecutive years considering what happened the year before

Hodges kicked 13.1, which is an SANFL finals record.

North actually kicked the opening goal of the game too!

 

[Macca19]

One of the most dominant single seasons in SANFL, let alone club history. In fact, there's another poll for us. Best individual season you've seen? Mine:

1. Hodges 1990 - MM, B&F, KFM, 153 goals (league record), Flag
2. Buckley 1992 - MM, B&F, JOM, Flag
3. Tredrea 2004 - AFLCA MVP, B&F, AA CHF, SM, Flag
4. Gray 2014 - AFLCA MVP, B&F, AA HFF

Yeah can't disagree with that order.

Hodges 1990 season was freakish and I doubt i'll ever see an individual season so dominant for the rest of my life.

 

[SgtSchulz]

 

[Harlott]

Hodges kicked 13.1, which is an SANFL finals record.

North actually kicked the opening goal of the game too!

Freak

 

[240volt]

Hodges kicked 13.1, which is an SANFL finals record.

North actually kicked the opening goal of the game too!

From memory D Jarmen kicked the goal.

 

[Macca19]

From memory D Jarmen kicked the goal.

Yep thats right.

 

[240volt]

Unreal to think someone could kick 13.1 in todays football. There would not be a player in the afl with the kicking skills to kick that straight. Some very average footballs making big bucks in todays game.

 

[Harlott]

Without harping on about it too much, his game was the perfect example of a ferocious attack on the footy way more than the opposition.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

That wouldn't surprise me. IIRC, we struggled to fill CHF all year with Dwayne Russell only playing four games. The whole season was cruelled by injury.

And Braddles nicking off after round 15 or some such to tour England with the Australian U19s, robbing himself of the Magarey, before returning to play in that ridiculously strong reserves premiership team.

But as an amateur aficionado of vintage adidas jackets, those '83 white jackets with black three stripes are hot sex...

View attachment 386497

Ando played his first game for Port against Sturt at Footy Park as a 16 year old on a wing and had a blinder. Would have been top 3 on ground and helped turn the game around.

You might have been thinking of him.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Anyone got any info of his performance in the 1990 prelim v Nth Adel? From memory Port lost to Glenelg in the 2nd Semi and were beginning to be questioned as to whether they could come back and win the GF. Port were kicking to our end (Sth) in the first qtr and the whole team but particularly Hodges were breathing fire and completely demoralised Nth in that first qtr kicking 10 goals to 1. I think he ended up with 11 or 13 goals for the match where we ended up winning by over 90 points. It's one of the most stunning individual performances I have witnessed. It was a savage response to the week before and poor Nth Adel copped the brunt of it. They must have wondered what they had done to deserve two of the most humiliating defeats in finals history in consecutive years considering what happened the year before

I wrote this about Scott's 1990 season and the prelim final in my review of the 1990 season.

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/port-adelaide-premiership-years.1047231/

The name is Hodges, Scott Hodges


In terms of individual achievement, the previously mentioned intensity of 11 was most fitting, as the Magpie champion in the number 11 guernsey, Scott Hodges, seemed to take the whole AFL campaign as a personal mission to get Port Adelaide over the line. The battleship Port Adelaide was nuclear-armed and Scott Hodges was its warhead. After kicking 10 goals against South Adelaide in round 9, Hodges stood unchallenged at the top of the 1990 list of leading goalkickers, a spot he had last occupied after opening the season with 10 goals against Centrals. A bruised knee suffered in that game took some off the edge of Hodges’ awesome firepower for a short while but Scott played through injury, which became a trademark of his long and celebrated career at Port Adelaide.

In the month of August immediately following the announcement of Port’s AFL bid, the nuclear warhead was launched. Using his powerful hands and outstanding athleticism to mix astute leading and imposing contesting marking with fierce ground level pressure and skills allied to a laser-guided thumping set shot kick, Hodges in consecutive weeks kicked 14 goals against West, 10 goals against Woodville, 11 goals against South and 11 goals against Sturt. That brought up an extraordinary total of 46 goals in 4 weeks of football. Hodges was the first player to kick 10 goals or more in three consecutive games, then to prove it was no fluke made it four consecutive games. Hodges kicked his hundredth goal of the season against South Adelaide and finished the 20 game minor round on top of the goal kicking ladder with 127 goals. Hodges had kicked 6 bags of 10 goals or more, the first player to achieve that feat in a single season. More explosive goal kicking heroics were to come in the finals.

Full forwards don’t win Magarey Medals. Only Fred Phillis had accomplished that deed when he set the then SANFL individual season goal kicking record of 137 goals in 1969. Tim Evans had broken that record in 1980 with 146 goals and Rick Davies bettered Evans’s record in 1983 with 151 goals. Neither had come close to winning the SANFL’s ultimate individual accolade. On 10 September 1990, Scott Hodges caring not for history had other ideas as he demonstrated he had caught the umpires’ eyes time and again with his spectacular goal kicking deeds. Hodges polled 16 votes (3 first preferences, 3 second preferences and 1 third preference) to edge out, among others, team mate Simon Tregenza by 1 vote and take home the Magarey Medal to add to his Ken Farmer Medal. Scott was not yet finished collecting medals in 1990 at that stage. He would go on to win the AR McLean Medal as Port Adelaide’s Best and Fairest in 1990 and of course collect the ultimate team accolade, a Premiership medallion.

As John Cahill noted on the night, a thought had to be spared for Simon Tregenza who had finished runner up in a Magarey Medal for the second consecutive year. Scott Hodges, the consummate team man as always, stated he had hoped ‘Trigger’ would poll one more vote so they could each take a Magarey back to Alberton. Simon would also finish runner up to Hodges in the Port Adelaide Best and Fairest count. As well as the Magarey Medal, Port brought home the Under-17 Best and Fairest McCallum Medal, won by brilliant youngster Troy Bond. Port Adelaide’s Barry Miller polled the most votes in the Under-19s Tomkins Medal but was ineligible. With the AFL imbroglio still a constant reminder of the turbulent football scene, Bruce Weber exclaimed “We came, we collected the hardware, now we’re going home” much to the chagrin of the rest of the SA football clubs.

...

Port Adelaide responded by smashing North Adelaide like guitars. The battleship Port Adelaide sailed into Football Park on 29 September with cannons and guns blazing and launched a 13 megaton nuclear missile at North Adelaide that flattened the Roosters in a mushroom cloud that could be seen from Prospect, and more importantly from Brighton Road. At quarter time Port Adelaide led by 58 points, 10.5 to 1.1. Port’s first quarter score was an SANFL finals record. Early in the second quarter the margin had blown out to 88 points as Port led 15.5 to 1.1. From that point with North in tatters, Port set their sights on the week ahead and cruised to an emphatic 91 point victory, exactly doubling North Adelaide’s score 28.14 (182) to 14.7 (91). Port’s midfield, led by Mark Williams and ably supported by brother Stephen, Simon Tregenza and David Hutton across the centreline, bounced back from the previous week’s setback to dominate their North opponents. Russell Johnston and David Hynes rebounded from their previous week’s lethargy to feature high in the best players. John Cahill finally ticked the preliminary final box.

The best North could take from the game was that unlike the 1989 Grand Final they had managed to outscore Scott Hodges. But it took every one of their 14 goals to do so as Hodges blasted through an incredible 13 goals, which was simply unheard of in a preliminary final. In fact it was unheard of in an SANFL final as Hodges added to his record collection. Hodges had kicked his seventh 10 goal haul of the season, extending his own record on that score. The SANFL goal kicking record was within reach with Scott now sitting on 147 goals, only 4 goals behind Rick Davies’ season total of 151 goals, and the SANFL’s biggest game to come. Scott Hodges loved rising to a big occasion.

 

[Magpiespower]

Ando played his first game for Port against Sturt at Footy Park as a 16 year old on a wing and had a blinder. Would have been top 3 on ground and helped turn the game around.

You might have been thinking of him.

Definitely was thinking of him, mate, lol...

 

[Rising Power]

I was a bit too young to remember/acknowledge him on the first go-round, but had a massive soft spot for him along with all the Port guys plying their trade away from Albetr0n circa late 80's/early 90's.

A real shame that he was cooked by the time we fulfilled our destiny of the AFL licence, but adored that he finally got a premiership medallion or two having put Buckley's later flag avoidance to shame. Walk with me:

First Port stint

View attachment 386471

Debuts in 1983, one full season after most recent PAFC flag in 1981.

Plays in losing GF in 1984.

Leaves for Essendon after 1987, immediately missing Port's flags in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992.

Essendon career

View attachment 386473

Debuts in 1988, two full seasons after most recent EFC flag in 1985.

Plays in losing GF in 1990.

Leaves for Adelaide after 1992, immediately missing Essendon's flag in 1993.

Adelaide career

View attachment 386474

Debuts in 1993.

Plays in losing PF in 1993 - to ex-club Essendon, despite leading by 42 points at half time.

Retires at the end of 1996, immediately missing Adelaide's flags in 1997 and 1998.

Second Port stint

Re-debuts in 1995, immediately after PAFC's most recent flag in 1994.

Qualifies to play in finals for the Maggies under the SANFL's rules for AFL-listed players.

PLAYS IN 1995 PREMIERSHIP (Named on interchange).

And does it again the year after!

PLAYS IN 1996 PREMIERSHIP (Named on wing).

View attachment 386475

He was on the flight back from Melbourne on Sunday night - Paddy was on it too (and Jasper). I really wanted to get them together for a "Port-Essendon" theme photo while waiting for our bags but I chickened out...pre-flight Dutch courage fuel had worn off

 

[Power Raid]

View attachment 386538

I don't feel the love

Thank god he went to freo