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The ultimate retrofit. Who do you think now would have made it in the past?

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n4sir

n4sir

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Feb 23, 2006
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Watching the interview with Jeremy Cameron tonight, the early thing that struck me was how grounded he was, always referring to life outside of football right from the start of his career, thinking about the farm, the community, and then switching back 100% to football when the job was on.

In many regards this is a bit of a throwback to AFL (and prior to that, VFL and other state leagues) in the early 90s, back to the 80s and beyond.

Before I ask the question, I will say I think that in general AFL does a fantastic job now of encouraging recruits to look at a life beyond football right from the start, and personal development that is far better than the College/NFL system as a professional equivalent, even with the additional $$$ compared to the past. But in the past, it wasn't anything like this, so...

The question I have is that, for a long time I have heard discussions of undeniably great past players, and if they would make it in today's AFL...

What players right now do you think would survive in the less professional, far more brutal and relatively part-time era of football of the 90s, 80s, and even further back?

I've already said my pick. I think JC would be it, or very near the top of the list.
 
Toby Greene, both for talent and tactics
 
Brayden Maynard. These days he's a mid size defensive thug, but in the 70' and 80's he would be a KPD or even KPF with decent fitness and a hard head.

Younger viewers may not remember the sheer thuggery of 1970's footy. Lethal used to scone opponents nearly every match, Carl Ditterich made belting opponents his calling card: I imagine he smashed someone nearly every game he played, I mean report-worthy hits hard enough to get weeks in the modern version of the game. 100% ball players were rare and got thumped even harder for their trouble. Players regularly played on with concussion.

A lot of slimmer skilled blokes would be belted out of the game, for example I think Josh Daicos would have lasted one season, Nick Daicos maybe three. Even a relatively strong fella like the Bont would have been ground down mercilessly.

Tough enduring players like Crisp, Lachie Neale, Dangerfield, your blokes with talent but more importantly endurance, not guys that need a heap of strapping to get on the park, would shine. String beans like Mason Cox or TDK would be mincemeat, the ruckmen all looked like Xerri back then, only shorter.

So for me Xerri, Maynard, Neale would be stars, maybe superstars of the comp in the 1970's.

Dusty would have gone ok, in fact there was a Dusty type, Tiger Croswell.
 
big lumps who have made it now would have made it then: Tex, Hawkins is obviously gone now but he would have cut it easily in the past, Lynch, Riewoldt wasn’t as bulky but should have been ok as well. Thilthorpe has a similar body type. Hogan.

As forwards go I don’t see why they would have struggled albeit they’d have to learn the ways of old in which defenders could get away with more but they have also appreciated the extra space.

I think peak Petracca would be one that could handle it. At his best he throws his body around without a lot of regard for it
 

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Imagine the careers some of the up-and-coming monsters, such as Thilthorpe and Darcy would have if you took them back 30 years where they would have 10 cm+ and 10+kg on even the best key defenders and a game played in a way that would reliably isolate that matchup.

I think the answer is the same as the past players to now. Anyone who was a great of the game was good enough that they would find a way. Ditto any of the top tier players now - they would find a way. They would just be more thuggish.
 
Cyclops said:
Brayden Maynard. These days he's a mid size defensive thug, but in the 70' and 80's he would be a KPD or even KPF with decent fitness and a hard head.

Younger viewers may not remember the sheer thuggery of 1970's footy. Lethal used to scone opponents nearly every match, Carl Ditterich made belting opponents his calling card: I imagine he smashed someone nearly every game he played, I mean report-worthy hits hard enough to get weeks in the modern version of the game. 100% ball players were rare and got thumped even harder for their trouble. Players regularly played on with concussion.

A lot of slimmer skilled blokes would be belted out of the game, for example I think Josh Daicos would have lasted one season, Nick Daicos maybe three. Even a relatively strong fella like the Bont would have been ground down mercilessly.

Tough enduring players like Crisp, Lachie Neale, Dangerfield, your blokes with talent but more importantly endurance, not guys that need a heap of strapping to get on the park, would shine. String beans like Mason Cox or TDK would be mincemeat, the ruckmen all looked like Xerri back then, only shorter.

So for me Xerri, Maynard, Neale would be stars, maybe superstars of the comp in the 1970's.

Dusty would have gone ok, in fact there was a Dusty type, Tiger Croswell.
Click to expand...

I feel like for your Daicos types, it would be a bit of Bartlett / Balme style relationship with the team thugs
 
Jack Viney for sure. Tough as nails.

Rhylee West likely.
Sam Collins & Witts
Oscar McInerney
 
GastevsBeard said:
I feel like for your Daicos types, it would be a bit of Bartlett / Balme style relationship with the team thugs
Click to expand...
Yeah maybe. Peter Daicos was a bit wider than Nick and .ore willing rlto hit back, but maybe he's like a Robbie Fower, able to survive bashing. Flower got bashed.

The point about Hawkins and Tex is fair, fitness less important back then, guys like Balme, Nolan, older Wad even runners like Phil Mannassa played with bellies larger than is acceptable these days.

Hawkins would have been a centurion for sure.

I reckon Oskar Baker might go ok based on his mo alone.
 
Cyclops said:
Yeah maybe. Peter Daicos was a bit wider than Nick and .ore willing rlto hit back, but maybe he's like a Robbie Fower, able to survive bashing. Flower got bashed.

The point about Hawkins and Tex is fair, fitness less important back then, guys like Balme, Nolan, older Wad even runners like Phil Mannassa played with bellies larger than is acceptable these days.

Hawkins would have been a centurion for sure.

I reckon Oskar Baker might go ok based on his mo alone.
Click to expand...
1890s for sure
 
Anthony Condon
Rayden Tallis
Scott Burns
Ronnie Burns
Andrew Eccles
Scott Chisholm
 

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Chad Morrison
 

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Darcy Fogarty for the longest time I thought was a player who was stuck in the wrong era.

Built like an old school full forward. Didn't have the tank to play four quarters of modern AFL football. Very one dimensional mark the ball kick the goal type player.

Think he would have kicked plenty charging out of the goal square in the 80s.

Credit to him for working hard on his game and becoming a much more rounded player now.
 
PhatBoy said:
big lumps who have made it now would have made it then: Tex, Hawkins is obviously gone now but he would have cut it easily in the past, Lynch, Riewoldt wasn’t as bulky but should have been ok as well. Thilthorpe has a similar body type. Hogan.

As forwards go I don’t see why they would have struggled albeit they’d have to learn the ways of old in which defenders could get away with more but they have also appreciated the extra space.

I think peak Petracca would be one that could handle it. At his best he throws his body around without a lot of regard for it
Click to expand...
Tex is a great kick and very polished with ball in hand , but I always thought for a big guy is a little bit soft and avoids contact a bit plays more like a big flanker
 
Tex Walker, he is an old fashioned full forward from a bygone era.

Corn Cobbers said:
Everyone said P Daicos was soft, he played in a tough era... look at him now, a legend of the game who people still talk about over 30 years later 👍
Click to expand...

Peter Daicos wasn't soft, he was a very skillful forward that got targeted for being a dangerous forward in a tough era.

I remember him telling some story about some bloke knocking some of his teeth out and he didn't even get a free kick.

He must shake his head at his sons and a lot of other players these days getting soft free kicks for far less than he got.
 
Plugger35 said:
Tex Walker, he is an old fashioned full forward from a bygone era.



Peter Daicos wasn't soft, he was a very skillful forward that got targeted for being a dangerous forward in a tough era.

I remember him telling some story about some bloke knocking some of his teeth out and he didn't even get a free kick.

He must shake his head at his sons and a lot of other players these days getting soft free kicks for far less than he got.
Click to expand...
Yep Daics was soft like John Platten was soft. Only idiots made such accusations.

Definitely wore hits and paid out too, his short legs and long torso dealt out thwacking hip and shoulders in the packs.

Nick is currently wearing as much beating as mid is allowed to be given these days, which is less than a FF, in turn less than a ruck, and much less than anyone in the Old Days.

WalshistheGOAT said:
Cripps. Comparatively he'd barely need to run defensively in the 80s which has always been his biggest weakness.
Click to expand...
I feel like medical advances are getting fellas on park who would've been injured out of the game. Howe for example.

Crippa definitely can play hurt, and hard as iron, but on the 80s a shoulder was a nasty injury to have, might not have got back on the park?

The smashing wouldn't have worried him much, would thrive in the jungle. Prolly would've been a Blight like utility, kicking tons and winning Brownlows on the ball as needed.

A case for your boy Walsh, footy brains count in any era. Despite what I've said about injuries, there's a type of bloke that gets worn down by the fine tuned training and gazillion ks run. If Walsh was allowed to be mire of a "stay in the centre square" centreman and not run himself raw at training he could be dancing and dishing out Maurjce Rioli style.
 
Lance Whitnall was simply born 10-15 years too late.

Injuries aside, he burst into the league at the tail end of the semi-professinal, big forward era in the late 90s. Kicked 70 goals as a CHF and was All Australian at 22 years old in what was still a stacked league. But it was a league in transition to fully professional players running 12kms per game and in particular, the introduction of zone/flooding defences meant killed off his ability to work off his man and find space 30-40m out. He had a 2 year injury run right at that time (2001-2), came back and had some solid but unspectacular years, converted to CHB where he was better, but was still out of the league by age 27 which seems insane.

Brendan Fevola also would have been fine EITHER 20 years earlier or later. His son was basically a drinking problem which no one really knew how to handle. He also went from Coleman medallist to our of the league in 13 months. In the 80s no one would have cared. In the 2020s having a substance abuse problem is totally fine, apparently. He would probably just get traded to Geelong and would have played another 7 years and 5 Coleman's while everything got swept under the rug
 

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The ultimate retrofit. Who do you think now would have made it in the past?

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