36 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Magnificent 

Lord Flower ? 

Gee, the commentators were so understated in those days. If he was playing today they would be frothing at the mouth and looking in the dictionary for new words to praise his skill. 

There will never be another Bobby. ❤️?

I would have been about 5 when he retired so didn't see him play in the flesh but gee, his balance turn of speed and IQ was phenomenal.

Also, I'm so used to checksides/bananas/snaps, that seeing a bloke try and drop punt from the boundary almost seems like lairising.

What a gem!

Brilliant player. Ripping bloke. So sad that he left us way too early.

Robbie was simply the best and fairest of his era.  No Charlie makes a mockery of the system.

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 20204 yr by Deeoldfart

Watching some of the Melbourne sides in the late 70s and early 80s the only thing to look forward to was Robbie.

Like a diamond in brokenglass.

23 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Just the best  player we ever had. Incredible footballer par excellence.

Great post. Was the only reason to go to the footy. Legend 

 

This is what Cale Morton should have become if we had the player development and culture when he was drafted.

The Great man kicked  left foot goals from as far out as he did with his right. Lucky to find a handful of players that can mange to do that. One that comes to mind is Melksham. However  there is no comparing. 

For some reason he  mostly bounced the ball with his left hand although he was a right hander.

Robbie Flower's highlights are always great to watch you can never be bored  watching the Champ.

4 minutes ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

This is what Cale Morton should have become if we had the player development and culture when he was drafted.

Possibly in a parallel universe somewhere but not planet Earth ?

45 minutes ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

This is what Cale Morton should have become if we had the player development and culture when he was drafted.

Physicality was very similar, yes. Run and use of ball, again, similar but not at Tulip's expertise level. Marking - not nearly as adept at reading the flight as Tulip and the heights he could reach were about the same on a good day. Pace and evasion, free range- finding and evasion, not as strong or sustained as that provided time and again by Flower - but this could have been largely learned given development. Overall, I agree with you (had we had a focus on player development but as we didn't then - and still don't - Morton missed the bus in his time at the Club relative to Flower in a previous era. I do think Morton's attributes and physical similarities to Flower were two factors that may have been put to more confident and sustained use through the coaches. I can see a role for Jackson as a utility that might reflect some of the skills of Robbie, however. 

13 minutes ago, Deemania since 56 said:

Physicality was very similar, yes. Run and use of ball, again, similar but not at Tulip's expertise level. Marking - not nearly as adept at reading the flight as Tulip and the heights he could reach were about the same on a good day. Pace and evasion, free range- finding and evasion, not as strong or sustained as that provided time and again by Flower - but this could have been largely learned given development. Overall, I agree with you (had we had a focus on player development but as we didn't then - and still don't - Morton missed the bus in his time at the Club relative to Flower in a previous era. I do think Morton's attributes and physical similarities to Flower were two factors that may have been put to more confident and sustained use through the coaches. I can see a role for Jackson as a utility that might reflect some of the skills of Robbie, however. 

What kind of player development coaching did Robbie Flower receive as opposed to Cale Morton? Perhaps poor development was a factor with Morton but the club weren't much chop when Robbie was playing either and it didn't stop him from becoming a fabulous player.

Just now, Better days ahead said:

What kind of player development coaching did Robbie Flower receive as opposed to Cale Morton? Perhaps poor development was a factor with Morton but the club weren't much chop when Robbie was playing either and it didn't stop him from becoming a fabulous player.

Flower was a benchmark of player development; how he got there might well be a mystery with a rather poor player development process at the Club remaining as a testament to his intelligence, Club loyalty and of course, his/these remarkable skills and courage 'for the ball'.

We have all heard of players being 'naturals'; Flower was not just one of these. He was an 'exceptional' - one of the very few.

He came into the Club raw but within a few weeks, was blossoming in the opportunity and this represented a quantum leap in his footballing prowess. As a recruit, he had astounding skills development; on the reserves and big time fields, these skills combined with his intellect and love of the game to continue to improve, carving a stellar capacity to extract the most that he could from the game with uncanny consistency.

Morton, on the other hand, had certain attributes that some of us had seen before - without anything being a full suite of skills being evident. However, he provided some considerable similarities with the great Tulip (and we did not have the impetus and developmental regimen to make the most of these 'early' signs). 

49 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

What kind of player development coaching did Robbie Flower receive as opposed to Cale Morton? Perhaps poor development was a factor with Morton but the club weren't much chop when Robbie was playing either and it didn't stop him from becoming a fabulous player.

Perhaps not a great  development and  the poor years the  club had..  He was just a natural player that  adapted with time got smarter and better.  If he played for a top side there would be no doubt a champion recognized by all, 

That the proof can be on the games he played for Victoria  15 times and  Captained by Robbie 3 times .and was always impressive ,

The time he kicked 5 goals playing at CHF for the Vics.  Point taken however Flower was something special

IMV he cannot be compared. Should have been in the ultimate Team of the Century.

Edited December 6, 20204 yr by nosoupforme

Just a beautiful player. I saw him many times.

 

This year there has been a bit of talk about Clarrie not doing as well as expected in the Bluey Truscott. Robbie won ONE, while his teammate Laurie Fowler (a good serviceable player) won THREE. Which shows that medals are meaningless. 

Ps I was there when he kicked that goal against Collingwood, blind turning to avoid getting nailed as he got the ball. Totally freakish.

Might be a tad biased as per my profile pic but the best footballer I've ever seen in a Melbourne jumper

Consistent, reliable, supremely talented whether playing for a very ordinary football team or for the cream of the crop representing the Big V back in the good old days when that actually meant something 

Simply the best

On 12/5/2020 at 6:37 PM, Whispering_Jack said:

The evasion and ability to break tackles and blind turns were what made him remain so strong in the memory, and the log runs around the wing and flanks. I had not even considered how many of his goals were long kicks, many on this selection from the centre square line. He often collected and gave to a teammate with a short kick or handpass an kept attacking, running forward to receive or assist.

He was incredible and earned the most memorable line from a Doggies supporter that "the trouble with Robbie Flower is that he can't kick it to Robbie Flower".

No one can compare to Robbie. He was in a universe all of his own.

Simply the greatest....

Could you image the damage Robbie could do now on our wing....one can dream!

 

Few luminaries there, Len Ghandini, Roger Ellingworth, Tapman, Warren Dean. 
Fading afternoon sun at muddy G 

Good to hear Doug Heywood. 

Would have to be our best ever imo.

My uncle raves about a goal he kicked at Windy Hill on a cold Saturday avro when he took on Essendrugs almost on his own but those were the days when not all the games were televised or had TV cameras at them.

Im sure some of the 60 year old and plus die hards that went to every game back in the 80s would remember this one as well.