Richmonds GOATs

[Rancey18]

I have seen this mentioned a few times over the past few days - and so I am most intrigued to find out everyone's thoughts on this.

Where do some of our current players rank in terms of our club's greatest ever players?

As a younger person it is hard for me to compare eras given I rely on what is written about our past players, so I would love to hear people's thoughts who perhaps saw some of our past greats' careers as well.

Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts!

 

[JimJessTorp]

Jack R - In the conversation - But up against a couple of brilliant full forwards. Richo and Roach.

Dusty. Yep. Ink him in alongside Royce.

Alex. Yep. Pips Fred Swift and *smile* Clay.

Trent. No. Rightfully lauded and would be listed next to Billy Barrot, Ian Strewart and Geoff Rains. But ultimately loses out to Maurice.

Marlion. Has to be listed doesn't he? Greatest GF winning margin, highest number of GF wins per game played, Most blind turns in a GF on debut. The list goes on... (J/K)

 

[TrialByVideo]

Pity there's not a lot of quality footage kicking around of the players we had during our 67-74 period.
For me Royce was head and shoulders above them all.... he was the silk long before silk was in vogue. Like Dusty a big game player.
Also we had serious champion players alongside him, some for the duration and others at various stages.
In no particular order... Bourke, Barrot, Bartlett, Dean, Clay, Stewart, Balmey, Green and Sheedy who had a fantastic finals record.
That's off the top of my head and like today's team plenty of role players.
Really hard to make comparisons due to completely different game styles.

 

[Baloo]

Dusty & Rance have legitimate claims on being up there with our all time best.

Jack would be close to elevating himself to Richo levels

 

[Sintiger]

Already posted elsewhere about Dusty and Royce as the best Richmond player I have seen . Can’t bring myself to say Dusty is better yet but he is getting there.

Jack has an awesome field to line up against. Roach and Richo to name a couple.

Clay and Swift great fullbacks but Rance has then covered imo.

KB was an all time great, as was Francis Bourke.

You can go way back well before my time with players like Dyer, Harris, Titus and Wright but it’s hard to include that era in the conversation.

Of the current players Rance and Martin are the two who will be spoken about as legitimately being in the conversation of the very best players ever in yellow and black.

 

[DavidSSS]

I would agree that Rance and Martin will be talked about as up there with the very best.

I missed Clay in the centre and remember him as an amazing full back with a phenomenal kick out. Rance probably pips him on the full back stakes but Clay earlier played in the midfield and the way the game was played was different.

Many comparisons between Hart and Martin. What both have is that they are more, and do more, than the champions of their era. Look at some champion forwards from the 1970s - they take great marks and kick great goals, not every time but a lot of the time. Hart, he took great marks and kicked great goals, not all of the time. But what happens when they don't mark and goal? Hart would keep his feet and be competing for the ground ball, Hart would be tackling, Hart was applying defensive pressure as a key position forward before anyone had the vocabulary to describe what he was doing. Dusty plays as a mid/forward and is one of the best just on that score. But he adds more, hard to describe but an example is the best description - how the hell did he get tackled in the PF and not only break the tackle but get up off the ground when being tackled by 2 Geelong players and make an effective disposal? It is that extra Hart did and Martin does that sets them apart. Hart has more flags and was almost a star from the start, Martin has very little ground to make up to be his equal.

Cotchin is a great player. Certainly a player of the calibre of the best. Maybe shaded by a few as mentioned above. But, what sets Cotchin apart is getting the captaincy young and the way he has developed as a captain. Maybe not amongst the very best mids like Maurice Rioli, Stewart et al, but certainly one of the best captains of any side ever.

We have quite a few players in the very top echelon at the moment, history will judge, but many of these players will be lauded for decades, along with those who were part of the 5 flags we won between '67 and '80.

DS

 

[23.21.159]

If you are going to compare premierships won, on a pure mathematical level, two now is worth three in the time Hart played. There were only 12 teams back then.
One more and I'd say Martin has Hart covered on that score.

 

[TigerPort]

Need to look at the Team of the century and see if Martin and Rance can be selected in place of one of the existing members of that team

 

[TigerMasochist]

Completely different eras n completely different game styles so it's virtually impossible to try n compare them.
Tross 5 time AA
Reiwoldt 3 time Coleman, 3 time AA . 9 time club goal kicker
Dusty Brownlow n 2 Normies. 3 time AA
Cotch Brownlow, AA, magnificent Leader.
These blokes stand alongside the best in any era of footy. The second tier of players supporting also match anything other clubs have had.
There's 18 clubs these days so theoretically the talent is spread far thinner. There's salary caps to force clubs to off load players as soon as there's success.
The media experts n oppo coaches are still trying to figure out whether we are actually any good, yet we've won two flags n had a wet fart in a prelim over the last three years. Poor bastards have no idea n simply don't rate us. But we've built a TEAM as good as any over the last 60 years.

 

[Baloo]

Is Jack below, on a par, or above Richo when it comes to GOAT? That's a comparison made easier by the fact they are the same era.

Richo was an emotional shining light, he kept us going to see the games because he was Richo, wore his heart on his sleeve and loved the club.

But strip away that emotional element, on pure form, ability and output, Jack or Richo for the FF spot (that's until Lynch has a few more years with us under his belt)

 

[Spirit of Jack]

I think everyone is sleeping on Stuart Edwards, the great man Richo was reduced to a decoy for a while there.

 

[Rancey18]

Is Jack below, on a par, or above Richo when it comes to GOAT? That's a comparison made easier by the fact they are the same era.

Richo was an emotional shining light, he kept us going to see the games because he was Richo, wore his heart on his sleeve and loved the club.

But strip away that emotional element, on pure form, ability and output, Jack or Richo for the FF spot (that's until Lynch has a few more years with us under his belt)

Richo - 3 x All Australian, 1 x B&F, 13 x Leading Goalkicker

Jack - 3 x All Australian, 2 x B&F, 9 x Leading Goalkicker, 3 x Coleman Medal, 2 x Premiership Player

Very difficult to compare given the teams Richo played in, but I reckon I am almost leaning towards Jack now.

 

[CarnTheTiges]

Where Jack probably has Richo beaten is accuracy and smarts. Jack is possibly the smartest player going around right now.

 

[Tiger Rob]

Put Richo is this team and he’s Coleman every year.

 

[Bullarto Tiger]

Any of the great players of past eras would be champions in today's competition.
The fact that the game styles and training disciplines were different wouldn't prevent any of the past champions from slotting in and strutting their stuff.
Imagine, for arguments sake, a Royce Hart training under current pre-seasons, fitness regimes (with all the associated conditioning and rehab programs) and playing in this day and age ... he would still be a gun CHF.

 

[Bullarto Tiger]

Put Richo is this team and he’s Coleman every year.

Agree TR.
Richo must occasionally dream to himself of playing in a Richmond team of this quality. He probably would have won a Brownlow in addition to a bag of Colemans.

 

[achillesjones]

TOP 4
Bartlett was ultra consistent and durable, a big game player who was highly skilled in his later years.
Royce was our hero. Rare high marking skills, goal sense and recovery/second effort. Before his time.
Dusty can do things neither could do, but at this stage still weighs in at #3. Ask me again in 2024.
Who would I want to watch for the theatre of it....Dusty. But I am so excited about Marlion.
Richo was another superhero. Gave us a reason to sit in the cold and wet stands.

Apologies to St Francis, who was the most courageous Tiger of all and Ian Stewart, who spent most of his best years at St Kilda.
(*Captain Blood was well before my time.) Honourable mentions to Maurice Rioli, Jack Reiwoldt and Alex Rance.

 

[Midsy]

AFL

• 2× AFL premiership captain: 2017, 2019
• Brownlow Medal: 2012
• AFLCA Champion Player of the Year: 2012
• All-Australian team: 2012
• AFLPA best captain: 2018
• 22under22 team: 2012
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2008

Richmond

• 3× Jack Dyer Medal: 2011, 2012, 2014
• Richmond captain: 2013–present
• Yiooken Award: 2011
• Ian Stewart Medal: 2014
• Richmond Life Member: 2015

Cotch is up with the greatest the club has ever had - bar none.

Can’t believe how short he’s being sold on here.

Complete and utter legend.

 

[kevbokev]

Any of the great players of past eras would be champions in today's competition.
The fact that the game styles and training disciplines were different wouldn't prevent any of the past champions from slotting in and strutting their stuff.
Imagine, for arguments sake, a Royce Hart training under current pre-seasons, fitness regimes (with all the associated conditioning and rehab programs) and playing in this day and age ... he would still be a gun CHF.

I'll add something else to this. Protection, only one umpire and no video review in Royce's day. Half of the opposition were trying to kill him most days.

 

[Tails]

When considering this you have to look at the Team of the Century and remember that Richmond as a club had a reputation forged on it wonderful backlines of the 20's & 30's. Vic Thorp was the undisputed champion backman of his era as was Basil McCormack on the HBF, Geoff Strang was a great who could have played anywhere but is he better than Alex Rance, I don't think so but club historians better than I could comment there. Dusty undoubtedly comes into that team but I don't think Jack could replace Skinny Titus as Skinny played for so long and kicked over 900 goals. Royce in my opinion is the GOAT with KB a very close second.