AFL retirees poll

[springhill]

Of the 10 notable retirees this year who would be your first preference to select in your AFL team? Please dont vote along the lines of the club you support, but rather the best player and why?
This is at the peak of their powers

 

[prawn_86]

is this judging as if they were to continue playing or back in their glory days?

 

[chops_a_must]

Troy Cook.

Nah, seriously. Would have to be Hird you would say, followed by the roo. Some of the things Hird did in big games was remarkable, he just knew when it counted most.

 

[Sprinter79]

Kouta at his absolute peak (although short lived) was the most athletic, highly skilled player I've ever seen.

 

[tasmanian]

Kouta at his absolute peak (although short lived) was the most athletic, highly skilled player I've ever seen.

Yes agree.

If kouta could have had 10yrs the way he played for 1.5yrs he would have been the greatest of all time.

Their was a stretch were he was simply awesome

 

[son of baglimit]

clearly some of you didnt see enough of hird to appreciate the immense ability and incredible footy brain - duelled with carey as the best of his era, when carey was streeting opposition.

best ive seen, and that includes ablett snr.

 

[Duckman#72]

clearly some of you didnt see enough of hird to appreciate the immense ability and incredible footy brain - duelled with carey as the best of his era, when carey was streeting opposition.

best ive seen, and that includes ablett snr.

Totally agree SOB.

Kouta was a magnificent athlete - no question. But Hird was a magnificent footballer. There is a big difference. That's what the criteria is being judged on.

A superior football brain will more often than not win out over a superior body.

That can be supported by looking at the past 5 seasons. Kouta has had very little impact over the past 5 years (when he has been carrying niggling injuries) but Hird has always been a dangerous player regardless of his physical aliments - purely due to his footy acumen. Unfortunately both men have had more than their share of injury problems over the years - which makes their achievements even more amazing.

Kouta would be in my Top4.

1. Hird
2. Archer.....for his spirit, determination, toughness, sheer desperation and love of his club.
3. Roo.....very tough, great leadership, dependable, classy skills and wonderful footy brain.
4. Kouta....wonderful athlete, great leadership qualities (but never displayed the longevity at the "elite level" for long enough for a higher rating.


But I sort of follow the Bombers a bit....

Duckman

 

[tasmanian]

I agree with you guys Hird is the best of the retirees followed by archer imo(yes i support the roos).

Archer was a real champion and still is hopefully a couple more games for him before he retires.Not looking real promising but i still think we can get over the hawks tonight.surely we cant play that bad twice in a row.Geelong were special though and cant see them losing the flag this time.

But their was a period of about a year and a half when kouta was simply awesome.

Remember Steve Kernaghan,s comments and he was their playing with him and I remember seeing some of those games.He just controlled the games like very few players could do.Unfortunately he could never really reproduce that form but if he could have he would have be no1 imo.Hird was a great leader and player for a long time so deserves all the votes he,s getting



cheers

 

[prawn_86]

I actually know Roo, (im from his home town originally), and yet i still felt obliged to vote for Hird.

The reason being that I can think of a few times when Hird has won games off his own boot (West Coast v. Ess comes to mind) whereas i cant think of any examples of Roo doing that.

Both are fantastic leaders and i personally know how much Roo has sacrified, especially physically to give his all to his club.

 

[son of baglimit]

But I sort of follow the Bombers a bit....

and i dont, but have seen enough footy in the last 30 years - all sides - live and on tv, to know what makes a good footballer great - and that is the ability to do the extraordinary constantly (eg carey marking against multiple opponents), and before everyone else tries to copy it (eg daicos' bouncing bending goals)

what always impressed me about hird was he always seemed to have an extra few seconds to do what he wanted, despite being in the thick of it - knew how to make the ball dance, in all conditions, and keep his ego in check at all times.