Got me thinking after the trapper thread on how much i miss this bloke! his bone jarring tackles most noteably the bulldog special were one of this trademarks along with his courage and fearless attitude! He was not scared of anyone! i remember he got suspended for belting Brendan Fevola one time and laying a crunching tackle that winded Glenn Archer.

i really do see alot of traits in young neville jetta and would seriously hope they trail him as a small back pocket in the way wheels played!

My favourite Whelan moment was defiently the hird bump!! in todays game he probably got 6 weeks but boy he made sure he hurt them!

Heres to the great man! whats everyones favourite Wrecker moment??

Got me thinking after the trapper thread on how much i miss this bloke! his bone jarring tackles most noteably the bulldog special were one of this trademarks along with his courage and fearless attitude! He was not scared of anyone! i remember he got suspended for belting Brendan Fevola one time and laying a crunching tackle that winded Glenn Archer.

i really do see alot of traits in young neville jetta and would seriously hope they trail him as a small back pocket in the way wheels played!

My favourite Whelan moment was defiently the hird bump!! in todays game he probably got 6 weeks but boy he made sure he hurt them!

Heres to the great man! whats everyones favourite Wrecker moment??

Ummh, absolutely Wheels.

One of my favourites.

And Neita when he was throwing his bulk around.

Lets hope we get a few of them. More than just 1, 2, or 3.

Wheels bumped Aker on the wing at the MCG one day v the Bulldogs and Aker did an unintended handstand, such was the force.

Always love checking out his wikipedia page with all the 'incidents'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Whelan

Like! ?

Along with Junior, one of my favourites from the last decade

The hit on Hirdy...love it!

I remember a game lateish in Wrecker's career where he pretty much spear tackled a full steam Buddy Franklin in the middle of the G.

Probably my fave Whelan moment, aside from the Hird one anyway. I'll try and find a vid somewhere.

Thanks for this great thread DD36. About six weeks ago was at the MCG for a Club function and Wheels was there. Spoke to him briefly and he is the most unassuming lovely man. Said that our family still watch his Hird bump on You Tube and he grinned from ear to ear and said, "Couldn't have picked a better bloke to do it to." Made my day. When I told son he said, "I miss Wheels."

My favourite Whelan moment was defiently the hird bump!! in todays game he probably got 6 weeks but boy he made sure he hurt them!

do you reckon Hird thinks about that bump when he loses to the Dee's two years in a row??? Probably doesn't but I'd like to think so.

Edited September 22, 201212 yr by ingeniokinetic

Perhaps the most solid player we had after 200 when not injured. Rarely went missing and was always one of best even when the team was paying poorly.

Wheels should have got a free for "Face in the back".

Trapper slotted it anyway.

Gotta love the wrecker.

I remember a game lateish in Wrecker's career where he pretty much spear tackled a full steam Buddy Franklin in the middle of the G.

Probably my fave Whelan moment, aside from the Hird one anyway. I'll try and find a vid somewhere.

i remember this. buddy tried to go around him to get onto his left foot - wheels read it like a book and smashed him with a proper rugby tackle. was about 2008. sweetest tackle technique youll ever see.

Words cannot describe how much I agree with the sentiment of this thread. Hits on Crawford and Welsh also come to mind.

So, so reliable. If only some other, more talented, Dees players of his time could have been so relied upon.

A wonderful player who should have been in our 150 Heroes list.

Yep, me too, serious man love for Matty Whelan. That Hird bump is a particuar favourite - I visit it at least twice a year on Youtube. And I agree that Nev Jetta has this streak in him. I just wish he could stay fit enough to use it more.

Matty my mate he is a darwin legend, he grew up playing rugby cricket & AFL. when he was in under 14 cricket, he made a 70 in a GF, with a broken fore arm, in a cast, he leant how to takle playing rugby, one day he hit me for a six, when he was 14and i was 17.

Edited September 24, 201212 yr by vincehotboy

Not a bad goal from Trapper after all that just quietly...

This is why Luke Tappscott has a long way to go.

great bump on hird... would probably get a few weeks these days

Matty Whelan is my favourite player from the Dees ever. Extremely tough but fair, skilled player. Pretty underatted.

Got some great memories including flattening Hird in the '04 final. Easily one of the top 5 tacklers in the league in his heyday, possibly number 1. You could always rely on this guy to insert some PAIN into the opposition at important moments.

Edited September 25, 201212 yr by Demonic_Inferno

Got me thinking after the trapper thread on how much i miss this bloke! his bone jarring tackles most noteably the bulldog special were one of this trademarks along with his courage and fearless attitude! He was not scared of anyone! i remember he got suspended for belting Brendan Fevola one time and laying a crunching tackle that winded Glenn Archer.

i really do see alot of traits in young neville jetta and would seriously hope they trail him as a small back pocket in the way wheels played!

My favourite Whelan moment was defiently the hird bump!! in todays game he probably got 6 weeks but boy he made sure he hurt them!

Heres to the great man! whats everyones favourite Wrecker moment??

i also recall some great high marks. he was also a clever player. clever and tough as nails. caught up with him in the end. he's one guy that left it all on the park.

A wonderful player who should have been in our 150 Heroes list.

This.

I was very disappointed that he missed out.

Ahh how could you not love Wrecker? A back pocket that actually did a shut down job.

Loved his tackles that drove blokes nearly twice his size backwards a few metres.

The hit on Hird had a double impact on me, one because it was so awesome, a momentum changer, and two because Hird recovered and pretty much won them the match, so I had a new found respect for him after that.

Didn't they rebuild the Olympic stand because Whelan accidentally ran into the old one?