Your serious thoughts on Carey

[GOBBY1]

I know some intelligent people are going to give a quick answer like hes a *** hes no good blah blah blah
I want serious opinions of what other supporters think of Carey
For a start any one that makes it to the AFL is an excellent footballer and as for being a *** well his lovely girlfriend would argue that.
Is he the best going at the moment is he one of the best of all time.
I think its hard to compare different position players eg Harvey and Carey completely different position players.
I can understand Carlton Eagles Geelong ( to an extent ) supporter saying Carey who because against those teams he hasnt been at his best.
But I was there when he tore Essendon apart in the last quarter when there was 3 on him I was there at Whitten oval when he destroyed the dogs in the first half and in 96 during the olympics when he demoralised the Dees one week and then the dogs the next.
I could go on cos I have seen most of his games and in the early days watched him win the game of his own boot.
The main problem is if u dont support the roos and dont watch other teams on tv then u dont get to see the real stars perform.
Careys problem is when hes got a big audience as in the finals he hasnt had a great game apart from the 94 finals series which was legendary.
So what do u think of him
Do we boo him at games cos he is the best.
we all love to hate champions of other teams

Serious thoughts please

 

[Arch]

carey is a complete champion. As a bombers fan i really admire his ferocity and leadership and just the way he can intimidate other players.But when he plays us of course ill boo him (if i was there anyway)- just because you dont want him to rip us up.
I think when you say he hasnt been at his best against the eagles (esp), you might be a bit off the mark. The carey-jakovich duel has always been pretty even. I remember seeing him rip jako apart at subi (i think last year)- I made a point of going to that game just to watch him play- he turned Jako inside out at the 50, right near the boundary line, and slotted a sweet goal from an unbelevable angle- i felt id got my moneys worth.
That 10 goal haul last year against us, was also pure brilliance although not brilliant enough to win. I also loved that mark he took where he cleaned up Dean Rice in the process. Rice had the blue AFL paint all over his face and he didnt get back up. That was super.
anyway- australians are differnt to most sports fans- we love to cut successful players down and see the underdog win. I think thats why Carey is so hated.
Best player ever ??? dunno yet- my knowledge of AFL/VFL history isnt that extensive to make that judgement- but I'm sure he'll be a Hall of Famer, and people will still talk about him in 30 yrs time.
serious enough for ya ?????


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BOMBERS REIGN SUPREME.

 

[Jaffa]

I'm Collingwood and I would say Carey is unquestionably the best player in the comp. He is the best player I've ever seen. I can't say whether he's the best ever.

If you were going to build a football team from scratch he would be the first player taken if all were available (baring age of course). If anyone doesn't agree with that then you know nothing about football.

The reason why he is booed is because, as Arch said, he plays for the opposition. If he played for our teams then we would love him.

That said however, that thing with the young lady a few years ago has certainly made him unpopular with people. And rightly so. That type of behavior are the actions of a feral Neanderthal. If anyone is going to try and bring up the everyone's entitled to one mistake excuse don't bother.

He is also a whinger on the field but that is a trait in all the great players.

All in all though, he is easliy the best footballer. Not the best role-model though.

 

[Grendel]

Jaffa, just to pick up on a point I strongly disagree with that you had in your post re all great players whinge. I dont know how old you are but ive seen better than carey (and dont worry I know how good he is) who used to cop it week in week out and never said or indicated anything. The two classic examples are Matthews (the BEST player ive seen 8 B&F in teams that had Knights/tuck etc) and Blight. Both of these blokes copped heaps more than carey ever did and just truned around and got on with the game. Carey should look at them and other greats like Doull/Hart/Jezza/Dunstall and then he would be better than he is now.
And that would be pretty bloody scary ;-)

 

[Jaffa]

I started following football around 1980 so I missed all of those players who were at their best in the 70's. Yeah, you're right, Dunstall never really whinged, neither does Robert Harvey.

 

[Shinboners]

Arch

I think I prefer it when you're being a one-eyed Bomber ;-)

Anyway, I have to disagree with you on the Carey-Jakovich duels. When both players have been fully fit, I think Carey has only beaten him once. Other than that, when both players have been fully fit, Jakovich has always come out ahead.

Last year at Subiaco when Carey beat Jakovich, I would have to say that in Jako's defence, he wasn't fully fit. Likewise in round 1 this year, I don't think Carey was fully fit....and that's a shame because I do think that it is one of the great battles in the AFL.

In the Age this week, Malcolm Blight wrote an excellent article on Wayne Carey and whether he was the greatest or not. To Blight's thinking, Leigh Matthews was the greatest because he felt that Matthews had to contend with better opponents week in and week out that what Carey has to (I would argue that Carey has to contend with two or three opponents each week).

Is Carey the greatest? I don't know, but he's the best that I've ever seen.

 

[colley31]

As a North supporter, he is definitely the best I've seen play during my time, but the best of all time - I don't think anybody knows the answer to this, because every era is different, the game is different today than it was 5 years ago let alone 25 years ago. He is up there, but I just have this funny feeling, that we've seen the best of him. Despite him being 28 years old, the injuries are starting to catch up with him, he has a crook back, and I strongly believe that this is his last contract with the Roos and he will retire at the age of 31.

 

[mtffafl]

There is obviously no doubts Carey is a great player, and the best player in the competition for his position.

But comparing him across the board is a very difficult thing to do... Crawford/Buckley etc all rate high up there as well, but they do a different kind of thing.

Whether you think the finisher or the person that does the hard work in the packs is best, etc, etc.

I'm not saying Carey doesn'ty work hard.

At the same time, I think Carey is the most overrated player in the league. Not because he is bad (anyone with any football sense knows he is far from that)...

But he is often hyped up and talked about as if he is beyond being human.

The commentators and reporters, especially Mike Sheahan continually fight over the front position to kiss his arse... (without intending any offense there).

Great player, but seriously overrated...

Still one of the best in the league however.

I'm sure someone will bag me for this, they seem to about everything I ever say

Matt

 

[The Dutchman!]

I think he is probably the best player of the last 10 years - mainly because, with the exeption of 3/4 of a season with the shoulder, he's remained pretty free of injuries.

I honestly believe James Hird would be neck and neck with him had it not been for his luck with injuries - totally different type of player but equally as unmatchupable. But what can you do?

Matthews, Brereton, Knights, Watson, Baker, S.Madden, N.Daniher, Lockett, Harvey, Matera (early 90's), G.Jakovich, Blight, Buckley etc I've seen all these guys and they were all absolutely brilliant - probably lots more that I can't think of the top of my head - but Carey is probably better than them all - except Brereton and N.Daniher (what a tragedy).

My 2c
Dutch

 

[Grendel]

To right about N.Daniher, he would have been up there with the greats. Imagine him and Doull in your team of the half back line,whooo.
But your other point with Hird,I never quite had him at Careys level for the one fact that he couldnt "burst" 9for want of a better word) open with physical aggeression like Carey could. But if Hird was nearly there so to then was Voss, who is every bit the player jimmy boy is and had nearly about the same luck with injury.
One guy I feel for though is Shwartz. Remeber his 94 season. He would have been at least as good as Carey is,maybe better if his knees had been any good.

 

[Eagle_Fan]

How would Jakovich rate then in terms of the best? I'm obviously biased as hell, but a player who pre-injury consistently beat his opponants, including the one suggested as the best, must surely be rated pretty highly. If he hadn't done his knee, would Jako have a chance, even from an unglamourous position?

 

[Shinboners]

I reckon that Jakovich would have to be included in the top 10 footballers in the last ten years. If he kept injury free, then he would be in at least the top 5.

Anyone know where his brother is these days?

 

[Longjohn]

I think the most under-rated footballer of the past decade and a bit would be John Longmire. This guy played 200 games, his first 50 games at fullback, his last 25 in the ruck. the other 125 at full-forward, behind one W.Carey, but still managed to kick over 500 goals.

So if we are saying what if he never got injuried about N.Daniher, I say Longmire unijuried would have kicked more then 1000 goals.

John Longmire a true gentleman of the game.

 

[Longjohn]

Is Carey the greatest ever or is playing CHB just a very easy position to play, stop asking "who is the greatest CHF? Carey or ..." start asking "who is the greatest CHB? Carey or ..."

I say Take a rest Wayne have a stint at CHB, Jakovich has all his career.

You want to see if Jakovich is great, play him at CHF against Carey, see if the jumper puller gets a touch.

 

[Dave]

Gobby,
I'd rate Carey as the best player going around at the moment, and probably in the top four or five I've seen play (Brereton, S Madden, Ablett). As a few others have stated, it's a bit hard to pick the best of all time as no-one's seen them all play.

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

Last Sunday I saw a half-fit and obviously in-pain Carey take the Swans apart at CHF

I've seen him play in quite a few games now that the Roos are playing games in Sydney and he has just got to be the best all-round 'complete' footballer I've seen (and I've followed footy since 1981)

His strength, fitness, sure hands and fluid skills come together in an imposing physical presecence that few others can match.

We can only wonder what he could do if fully fit, which I understand is not very often these days.

 

[Gonzo]

I'll declare my interests straight up, I am a North supporter so take that into consideration.

Just a few points:

No other player in the league has had such a blatant offensive strategy devised to utilise that player's strengths - Pagan's Paddock - (this works on the premise that if Carey cannot mark the ball it will come to ground - ie he can't be outmarked)

No other player in the league consistently draws TWO defenders - one attacks the ball, the other just crashes into the man.

Once released from these TWO defenders he dominates in any position on the ground.

 

[groucho]

I'm a North supporter so am biased but I do go back a fair way (the late 60's) so I've seen quite a few very good players. Carey's the best because he's the complete package and I don't recall any other player having to contend with 2 and 3 opponents all the time. Someone said that he hasn't performed well in finals but I contend his finals record is second to none. He's played 18 finals and has either been clearly best on ground or arguably bog in 10 of them. That's, not just played well, but best player on the ground. His 3 GF's have produced only one good performance(notwithstanding his match changing move onto the ball in last years GF) but I've checked the records of other greats and Matthews for instance only appeared in Hawthorn's best 6 in 3 of his 7 GF's so how do you judge greatness? By the way someone said that Matthews just kept playing on irrespective of the treatment he got. There are 3 players I know of who would disagree, Bruns,Stephen Smith and Peter Giles, all brutally attacked from behind. Great player but an absolute mongrel.

 

[The Dutchman!]

I'd have to pretty much agree on Longmire. He had a terrible run with knee injuries.

I'd have Jako (even with the injury) as top five or six for the decade.

 

[Grendel]

Groucho, I was the one that said Matthews was better, and I will stick by it. I also said that he gave it out. Regardless of that I saw him cop more than he gave.
You said that Matthews was only listed in the best in 3 of 7 GF? Okay to me he was bog in 76 and close to it in 78 and 83. Solid in 71 and 84. beaten like the whole team was in 75 and past it in 85.
Sounds like you just dont like him which is fair enough. But he was the MAN in the then VFL for everyone. If you could have taken anyone from any team back then they all would have taken Lethal. Carey great as he is has only been the best since about 95.
And if I had a choice back then as to who I could have taken , before he did the Knee Scwartz to me was every bit as good as he was. Injurys are allways a part of it.
Collingwood fans still tell me the greening was going to be the best ever.
It is a subjective thing. Dont like Matthews if you dont want but bive him the credit of being an all time great.

 

[Eagle_Fan]

So Jakovich is a jumper puller eh Shinboner? At least he doesn't need to hit and elbow his way in a tight contest like Waynking Carey! Anyone who can even suggest that Glen Jakovich is a dirty player has obviously never watched him objectively.

 

[Groucho]

Grendel. I've re-visited my post and concede that it came across as a "bash Matthews" piece, but that was more because I was trying to cover a lot of territory without writing "War and Peace" rather than try to belittle Matthews. Let me say uneqivocally that I think Matthews is second best and have no problem with his first placing in a recent poll of all-time greats. It's just unfortunate that the enduring image,for me, is of him whacking Bruns from behind and way off the play. Of course in the days before constant video surveillance I think Matthews(and others) would mete out his own version of retribution ,and the Bruns incident probably changed everything. In many ways Carey plays it in a similar fashion but knows now he can't do much(Channel 7 have said they keep a camera on Carey for the whole game in case"something happens"), but he does operate with an attitude of "ok you can keep punching me in the back of the head while pretending to spoil,but I WILL get you" and hence the "elbow push-off", after marking, that eagle_fan alludes to. I think he was acknowledged as a champion prior to '95 as the Mike Sheahan "Is he the best ever" article appeared in '93 or'94. We'll never know about Schwarz as he only had the one outstanding year before injury, but that particular year was a stellar one for Carey as well and I think that if they both became available then Carey would have been picked by every club ahead of Schwarz-subjectively speaking of course!

 

[Shinboners]

Eagle Fan

It wasn't me that called Jakovich a "jumper puller". That was LongJohn. And anyway, you should know from my previous posts that I have the highest respect for Glen Jakovich. I remember posting on this board that when both Carey and Jakovich are fully fit, Jakovich will beat Carey. On page 1 of this thread, I posted my view that I think that Jakovich is one of the 5 best footballers of the past 10 years.

So, just double check on who posts what before having a go at me.

cheers

 

[Longjohn]

Eaglefan, it was me, not Shinboner.

I will stand by my last statement Jakovich is a jumper puller, also play Carey at CHB and Jakovich at CHF and see how many touches Jakovich gets, it's too easy to punch the ball away all day, That's why I have little respect for the Jumper puller.

There are only two players in the league that have good results against Carey and they are both scraggers.

 

[POOBOY]

Finals time >>>>>>>>>> ugggggggghhhhhhhhhh
CHOKE