Some great footballers but for excitement alone

Jeff Farmer and Liam Jurrah,

They played the game differently, on their terms, unpredictable, mercurial, at times freakish.

They could see patterns of play, see the ball bounce before anyone else like in the dream time. 

The indigenous way of playing footy. 

Something special.

 

Peter Vardy.

36 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Peter Vardy.

Yes agree. Very smart.  Goal sense and skill was natural. 

God love Lyon, Neitz and White but i found/find Stinga, Jayden and Petracca more exciting type players.

Some others would be Ricky Jackson, Powell, Cow, Yze, Pickett, Sean White and Darren Bennett from outside fifty!

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned David SchwARZ as yet, he was very very exciting!

It's so hard to split the top 3 (Wiz, LJ and Jako).  Even though The Wiz is my all time favourite Demon, I selected Jurrah, just because his level of freakishness is something I can't see being topped.

It takes a special player to captivate an entire crowd any time the ball is in their area.  The above three did it time and time again.  The decline of Liam Jurrah is up there with Ox's knees for me.

The amazing part, LJ is only 29 - he could still have 3 years or so left on our list if things went differently.  Imagine LJ, Hogan, Jeffy, Trac and TMc in our Round 1 2018 forward line.  Wow.

35 minutes ago, The Chazz said:

It's so hard to split the top 3 (Wiz, LJ and Jako).  Even though The Wiz is my all time favourite Demon, I selected Jurrah, just because his level of freakishness is something I can't see being topped.

It takes a special player to captivate an entire crowd any time the ball is in their area.  The above three did it time and time again.  The decline of Liam Jurrah is up there with Ox's knees for me.

The amazing part, LJ is only 29 - he could still have 3 years or so left on our list if things went differently.  Imagine LJ, Hogan, Jeffy, Trac and TMc in our Round 1 2018 forward line.  Wow.

There was a brief brief period during the 2014 trade week where we picked up Garlett early, Mitch Clark wasn't yet definitively out the door, Jurrah was apparently sniffing around for a return, and Petracca was increasingly looking like he'd be ours. I had dared to imagine a forward line of the following sort and have never quite gotten over what could have been: An absolute excitement machine. 

Garlett   Hogan   Jurrah

Howe    Clark    Petracca

* with Watts and Dawes in reserve.

I'm really not sure how you would go about matching up on that lot.

Edited November 2, 20178 yr by Skuit

We had heaps of exciting players - and some of them were 'the best around', if not a link to a premiership for the Dees of the past with teams not media-favoured, not hyped, not quite capable of winning everything before them. The Ox, in a team with Flower and the young Neitz, would be my 'most exciting', 'most talented', among the 'best ever' nearly every time he walked onto the ground. The greatness that supported him in his play enabled this and then, tragically, his knee!

We need to develop a few individual players with the 'frame' and 'desire' to play 'unstoppable' football. We have the role models and a list that may just produce a brighter present day for the Dees and particularly, a few years of matching the potentials that we have shown on-field in our recent past, albeit erratically, looking back. We have the role models, the contacts and the analysis, and if we can begin to play, this coming season, as did Lovell, Lovett, Tingay and Bailey, for example, our key attribute players cannot fail.

Top 3 clearly are

Jakovich

Jurrah

Farmer

Schwartz also a very popular choice. 

Agree that Charles, Yze, Vardy and Stinga (Tingay) were other notable mentions. Sean Wight as a backman was another that excited us Demons fans with his courage and athletic ability to spoil the marking contest.

On 02/11/2017 at 9:24 PM, spirit of norm smith said:

Chopper Lovell. Hard at the footy. Yes and yes. One of our heart and soul types. 

Excitement machine.  No. 

his game against Carlton in the 94 finals was amazing.

13 hours ago, Skuit said:

There was a brief brief period during the 2014 trade week where we picked up Garlett early, Mitch Clark wasn't yet definitively out the door, Jurrah was apparently sniffing around for a return, and Petracca was increasingly looking like he'd be ours. I had dared to imagine a forward line of the following sort and have never quite gotten over what could have been: An absolute excitement machine. 

Garlett   Hogan   Jurrah

Howe    Clark    Petracca

* with Watts and Dawes in reserve.

I'm really not sure how you would go about matching up on that lot.

*Snap I felt the same, we have teased many times to have an unstoppable forward line. Lyon Schwarz Farmer Neitz looked like it would blow teams off the park as well.

9 hours ago, DaisyDeeciple said:

*Snap I felt the same, we have teased many times to have an unstoppable forward line. Lyon Schwarz Farmer Neitz looked like it would blow teams off the park as well.

Ya. The above-difference being that they were all on the list but couldn't get on the park together. I tease the Bulldogs about their Bernie Quinlan curse - always looking for forward saviours from elsewhere - but boy do we certainly have our own forward curse when it comes to unfulfilled brilliance.

Anyone who can't find a place for Jakovich in our all time best forward line never watched him play.

His sample size was more than enough to prove he wasn't a Cuthbertson.

Aside from the usual suspects, Rhino Richards was exciting in that no-one knew what was going to happen when he got the footy. Including I suspect, Rhino. When he took off on those runs of his, he certainly got the crowd's collective heart rate elevated

On 01/11/2017 at 11:16 PM, Rafiki said:

Thirty years is a bit too far back for me but in the last 20 odd years it is easily Jurrah

Yeah I have to agree! I was playing too much footy on Saturday’s to see Davey live at his peak. Saw plenty of Jurrah! Absolute freak show! 

Also remember I think Howe’s debut maybe not but he kicked 6 against WCE at Etihad and was jumping on blokes Heads for fun!

14 minutes ago, MudDogs Gawn Win.. someday said:

Yeah I have to agree! I was playing too much footy on Saturday’s to see Davey live at his peak. Saw plenty of Jurrah! Absolute freak show! 

Also remember I think Howe’s debut maybe not but he kicked 6 against WCE at Etihad and was jumping on blokes Heads for fun!

Howe has never kicked 6 in a game.

Some guys just have it all. 

9 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Some guys just have it all. 

Eyes of the beholder. You can't account for 'love'.

On 03/11/2017 at 8:36 AM, Dee Dee said:

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned David SchwARZ as yet, he was very very exciting!

What are you talking about, heaps of people have mentioned him and hes also coming 4th in the poll.

Which right now is looking like a photo finish between Jurrah, Farmer and the great man Allen Jakovich.

6 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

What are you talking about, heaps of people have mentioned him and hes also coming 4th in the poll.

Which right now is looking like a photo finish between Jurrah, Farmer and the great man Allen Jakovich.

I think you'll find he was having a bit of a shot at most other posters, including the poll, mis-spelling his name as David Schwartz instead of Schwarz. 

32 minutes ago, Spirit of '87 said:

I think you'll find he was having a bit of a shot at most other posters, including the poll, mis-spelling his name as David Schwartz instead of Schwarz. 

Yes he was.  Went right over my head.  

On 11/2/2017 at 9:44 PM, hemingway said:

Some great footballers but for excitement alone

Jeff Farmer and Liam Jurrah,

They played the game differently, on their terms, unpredictable, mercurial, at times freakish.

They could see patterns of play, see the ball bounce before anyone else like in the dream time. 

The indigenous way of playing footy. 

Something special.

 

Jeff Farmer 

Something special alright. He left us and to realize how exquisite the Wizard was. We were really spoilt.

That thrill you got when Ox, Farmer, Jurrah or Howe went for the ball.  I agree with so much of what others have included above, but I wanted to add a name from left field. Trav Johnstone with ball in hand, running down the wind ready to deliver a freakish bullet into the hands of the forwards. Breathtaking. 

 

3 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

That thrill you got when Ox, Farmer, Jurrah or Howe went for the ball.  I agree with so much of what others have included above, but I wanted to add a name from left field. Trav Johnstone with ball in hand, running down the wind ready to deliver a freakish bullet into the hands of the forwards. Breathtaking. 

 

I can't think of many others that could deliver a 50m dart across his body and hit someone lace out. Trac is the only one currently that can do it.

 Trapper possessed incredible vision.