Remove this Banner Ad

Who is best contested marker in afl?

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Other than the guys already mentioned (Fyfe, Cloke, Casboult, Hooker, Riewoldt, Carlisle, Taylor etc) i think Sandilands is worth a mention. Yes his hands are pretty ordinary but on a good day nobody can actually outmark him. As the saying goes "You can't teach height"
 
There was a game within the last couple years where Hawkins absolutely monstered the last quarter and almost single-handedly won the cats the game. He clunked and goaled seemingly everything that came near him. It might have been against the Roos from memory?
Another game that comes to mind is Harry Taylor against Freo at Simonds Stadium in 2014, had 19 marks and it was probably the best intercept mark game I've seen.

Those are two of the best contested/intercept marking games I can think of.

From the eagles, McGovern in round 1 this year; Mackenzie goes down in the pre-season, Brown goes down in the first quarter. Enter McGovern; takes 12 marks (many of them intercepts), collects 26 disposals, 2 brownlow votes in just his 13th game.

My top 3 are probably Hawkins, Casboult and Fyfe.

Semi Final last year. Hawkins was huge in that last quarter and, had Geelong won, I reckon it would be talked about as one of the great modern finals performances. Easily better than his 2011 Grand Final, for example.
 
Once Ben Brown stops getting moved under the ball and works it all out he will be hard to stop because of his height and launch. Drew Petrie and Waite are decent from my camp. Lots of good ones in the AFL.
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

If you do the same list based on the average per game , you get something like

Lynch
Hawkins
Hogan
Vardy
Gawn
Casboult
Cloke
Hooker
Sandilands
Butcher
Hickey
Bruce

But it also depends where they are on the ground ( affects the defense against them ) and what sort of supply they are getting.
So i'd tend to rate the ruckmen a bit lower and the players from teams with lesser midfields a bit higher.

Gold Coast has 10% fewer kicks into 50 than the Cats, a similar amount to Melbourne , nearly 20% fewer than Collingwood.
But it also depends who else is on their team to spread the defense thinner. ie are they getting double teamed?

Taking that into consideration its hard not to rate Lynch and Hogan very highly.
 
If you do the same list based on the average per game , you get something like

Lynch
Hawkins
Hogan
Vardy
Gawn
Casboult
Cloke
Hooker
Sandilands
Butcher
Hickey
Bruce

But it also depends where they are on the ground ( affects the defense against them ) and what sort of supply they are getting.
So i'd tend to rate the ruckmen a bit lower and the players from teams with lesser midfields a bit higher.

Gold Coast has 10% fewer kicks into 50 than the Cats, a similar amount to Melbourne , nearly 20% fewer than Collingwood.
But it also depends who else is on their team to spread the defense thinner. ie are they getting double teamed?

Taking that into consideration its hard not to rate Lynch and Hogan very highly.

It's a good point. Melbourne had 181 less inside 50's than Collingwood, who also didn't play finals. Imagine Hogan with another 181 forward entries and opportunities. As the midfield develops and he gains more size and experience it should serve him well.
 
Roughead and Riewoldt aren't great 'contested' marks but they get almost all their marks on the lead through separation.

Cloke, Hawkins, Casboult, Hogan
Riewoldt's actually a brilliant one on one mark, but he's a natural leading player. Gerhig used to plan his game around getting one on ones, Roo is so closely watched if he sits in one spot for too long it becomes a 2 on 1 and he's blanketed. But his one on one body work is surprisingly effective. He doesn't come close a Lockett/Dunstall (haven't seen much Dunstall just guessing) though, and Cloke and Hawkins are probably in front of him (could drop the 'probably', but hey I'm biased).

For pack marks, Casboult! Until he gets surpassed than Huge Goddard that is.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

I'll tell you who used to be a great contested mark for a young kpf with potential - Liam Jones about 3 or 4 seasons ago. Not sure what happened but his technique went down the toilet. Confidence looks shot to pieces these days.
 
Hooker >> Carlilse in this regard, Hooker is much stronger, Carlisle likes a bit of a run and jump, Hooker just clunks it.

Both Hooker and Carlisle are fantastic contested marks. Hooker is more stable as a player but the upside in Carlisle if he can turn things around is significant. Hooker is as good as there is at the moment.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Not in the beast KPF mould but I'm am always confident when Rory Sloane is competing in the air. Has a great set of hands.
Probably in that second pack of marking midfielders. The ones in the shadows of Fyfe, Yeo and Dangerfield, e.g. Parker, Cunnington, Ziebell, Deledio etc.
 
Riewoldt's actually a brilliant one on one mark, but he's a natural leading player. Gerhig used to plan his game around getting one on ones, Roo is so closely watched if he sits in one spot for too long it becomes a 2 on 1 and he's blanketed. But his one on one body work is surprisingly effective. He doesn't come close a Lockett/Dunstall (haven't seen much Dunstall just guessing) though, and Cloke and Hawkins are probably in front of him (could drop the 'probably', but hey I'm biased).

For pack marks, Casboult! Until he gets surpassed than Huge Goddard that is.

Lockett was close to unbeatable one-on-one, although he benefited from a lack of flooding in those days (except literally at the old Moorabbin oval). Dunstall was strong in a contest but had elite breakaway pace and also read it in flight better than anyone.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Who is best contested marker in afl?

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top