Jump to content

Early Bloomers

Bobby McKenzie
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

No quiz this time. Just thought I would look up how our FIRST YEAR PLAYERS over the years fared in the Brownlow count. Top scorers were:

Percy Beams 15

Greg Parke 11

Bob McKenzie (snr) 10

Allan La Fontaine 10

Alan Johnson 8

Don Williams 8

Andrew Obst 8

Hassa Mann 7

Jack Mueller 7

Of these, Greg Parke was the surprise. To me anyway.

The big names who failed to poll any votes in their first year included Stan Alves, Ron Barassi, Jeff Farmer, Fred Fanning, Denis Cordner, Don Cordner, Gary Hardeman, Travis Johnstone, James McDonald, Ian Ridley, Stuart Spencer, Russell Robertson, David Neitz, David Schwartz, Adem Yze, Brian Wilson, Norm Smith, Jim Stynes and Greg Wells. Leading MFC Brownlow vote getter Robbie Flower polled 3 votes in his first season.

  • Quote
    •  

    Interesting that the most recent was Andrew Obst - would have been ? early 1990s, and as I recal a mature aged recruit.

    I guess it just shows what a bloody hard game it is to break into.

  • Quote

    Not on the subject of Brownlow votes but Terry Leahy won the Bluey Truscott in his debut season in 1967 but never lived up to that form again and ended up going to the Swans.

  • Quote
    •  

    Of these, Greg Parke was the surprise. To me anyway.

    I think he made his presence known with his high flying marking - he was a truly spectacular player to watch (in the same was as Robertson was and Jurrah is)... so I'm not too surprised I suppose.

  • Quote

    It's a pity he could not kick. Looked to handball at all times.

  • Quote

    It's a pity he could not kick. Looked to handball at all times.

    A little unfair... in 1972 he kicked 63 goals and had a total of 242 goals from 171 games for his VFL career.

  • Quote
    • Author

    Not on the subject of Brownlow votes but Terry Leahy won the Bluey Truscott in his debut season in 1967 but never lived up to that form again and ended up going to the Swans.

    Good spotting Freddy. I hadn't looked up Terry's stats re the Brownlow. In 1966 he was the Bluey winner(in his first year). In the Brownlow however, he polled just 1 vote with a career total of 4.

  • Quote
    •  
    • Author

    Interesting that the most recent was Andrew Obst - would have been ? early 1990s, and as I recal a mature aged recruit.

    I guess it just shows what a bloody hard game it is to break into.

    Started in 1990. You make a good point how hard the game is today to start a successful career.

  • Quote

    A little unfair... in 1972 he kicked 63 goals and had a total of 242 goals from 171 games for his VFL career.

    Had number 26 on my first footy jumper. The 9 became a 6 after Hassa retired.
  • Quote

    Had number 26 on my first footy jumper. The 9 became a 6 after Hassa retired.

    Yeah, as a kid, Hassa (and by association, Len) was my favourite player.

  • Quote

    Not on the subject of Brownlow votes but Terry Leahy won the Bluey Truscott in his debut season in 1967 but never lived up to that form again and ended up going to the Swans.

    Interesting that Terry Leahy came up in the thread as I was reading about him last night.

    I think he was thrown around in a variety of tough roles in an undermanned team at the time.

    Apparently he and Graeme Jacobs (another handy player) left the club and went to South Melbourne at the same time after being disciplined over an end of season incident..see Demonwiki

  • Quote

    • Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: St. Kilda

      It seems like only yesterday that these two sides faced off against each other in the centre of the continent. It was when Melbourne was experiencing a rare period of success with five wins from its previous six matches including victories over both of last year’s grand finalists.  Well, it wasn’t yesterday but it was early last month and it remains etched clearly in the memory. The Saints were going through a slump and the predicted outcome of their encounter at TIO Traeger Park was a virtual no-brainer. A Melbourne victory and another step closer to a possible rise into finals contention. Something that was unthinkable after opening the season with five straight defeats.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Carlton

      I am now certain that the decline in fortunes of the Melbourne Football Club from a premiership power with the potential for more success to come in the future, started when the team ran out for their Round 9 match up against Carlton last year. After knocking over the Cats in a fierce contest the week before, the Demons looked uninterested at the start of play and gave the Blues a six goal start. They recovered to almost snatch victory but lost narrowly with a score of 11.10.76 to 12.5.77. Yesterday, they revisited the scene and provided their fans with a similar display of ineptitude early in the proceedings. Their attitude at the start was poor, given that the game was so winnable. Unsurprisingly, the resulting score was almost identical to that of last year and for the fourth time in succession, the club has lost a game against Carlton despite having more scoring opportunities. 

        • Clap
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 3 replies
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Carlton

      The Casey Demons smashed the Carlton Reserves off the park at Casey Fields on Sunday to retain a hold on an end of season wild card place. It was a comprehensive 108 point victory in which the home side was dominant and several of its players stood out but, in spite of the positivity of such a display, we need to place an asterisk over the outcome which saw a net 100 point advantage to the combined scores in the two contests between Demons and Blues over the weekend.

        • Thanks
      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: St. Kilda

      The Demons come face to face with St. Kilda for the second time this season for their return clash at Marvel Stadium on Sunday. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
      • 269 replies
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Carlton

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Tuesday, 22nd July @ 8:00pm. Join Binman & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to Carlton at the MCG.
      Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
      Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

        • Thanks
      • 40 replies
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Carlton

      Captain Max Gawn still has a massive lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Christian Petracca, Jake Bowey, Kozzy Pickett & Clayton Oliver. Your votes please; 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Thanks
      • 23 replies
      Demonland
    View All