Brown and Riewoldt are closing in on the King
Roar Pro
By Justin Rodski, 6 Apr 2010 Justin Rodski is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- AFL, Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt, Wayne Carey
Justin Koschitzke of St Kilda (R) consoles Nick Riewoldt (C) after the AFL Round 20 match between the Essendon Bombers and the St Kilda Saints at the Docklands Stadium. Slattery Images
It couldn’t possibly happen, could it? The king, Wayne Carey, dethroned from his mantle as the greatest centre half forward of all time. Maybe not yet, but Jonathan Brown and Nick Riewoldt are certainly threatening to take the crown.
Both are at the height of their powers, are superstars of the competition and must now be considered a chance to knock Carey of his perch.
For my mind, if either can lead their team to a premiership (or two) in the final years of their careers, as well as dominate in that finals series, then that might be enough to eclipse the great North Melbourne champion.
Or at the very least put them on equal footing.
It was Jonathan Brown’s stunning individual performance against Carlton that ignited the debate.
His leadership, work ethic, ability to win the contested footy were as impressive as ever, but it was the way he stood up and kicked crucial goals when the game was there to be won that made it impossible not to draw the comparison.
He booted 7 goals, took 12 marks, had 21 possessions and was the clear match winner.
In awe of Brown’s game after the match, Michael Voss said: “it takes a rare leader to be able to drag the rest of the team with you like that.”
Now he needs to lead the team to a premiership as captain.
He is a two time all Australian and three time best and fairest winner as well as being a triple premiership player at just 22 years of age. He played an important role in all three wins, but without dominating it must be said. Injuries have been his biggest issue in recent years and significantly restricted his ability to perform.
Now he has his body right, I can’t wait to see what Browny will do.
Then, as if to say, don’t forget me, St Kilda Captain Nick Riewoldt responded with a freakish performance in the Saints humiliation of the Kangaroos.
His aerobic capacity, contested marking and consistency from week to week have him without doubt pushing for the title.
He booted 7 goals, took 15 marks, had 23 possessions and was simply unstoppable.
The Saints skipper is a four time all Australian and five time best and fairest winner, but the question mark is still his mental toughness. Who could forget the famous scenes in Brisbane when he was crying on the bench due to a shoulder injury?
And this could in fact be an overriding factor; does he have the ability to mentally find something extra when the chips are down?
There’s no doubt he’s a champion of the game, but must now show the strength and resilience to lead this St Kilda side to a premiership.
As for Carey, well, his status as one of the greatest of all time is unquestionable.
The famous ‘Pagan’s Paddock’ was developed around his dominance, he won the contested ball like no other, took pack marks and time and time again won games off his own boot.
A four time best and fairest winner and seven times All-Australian, he led North Melbourne to the finals for eight consecutive years from 1993 to 2000, including winning two premierships as captain in 1996 and 1999.
Carey would literally turn a game in just 10 minutes, suffocating the life out of any opposition.
A quick look at the career stats shows it’s very hard to split them, and this is why Carey’s ability to step up when it counted most in September has him still in front.
Carey played 170 games, averaged 8 marks, 19 possessions and kicked 524 goals at 3.1 per game.
Brown has played 186 games, averages 7.3 marks, 14.9 possessions and has kicked 435 goals at 2.3 per game.
Riewoldt has played 184 games, averages 9 marks, 16.3 possessions and has kicked 409 goals at 2.2 per game.
Judgement, of course, is still reserved until both hang up their boots, but at this point in time, the way Brown and Riewoldt are playing suggests it’s definitely not beyond the realm of possibility that one if not both could surpass the Duck.
Will it be the Lion King? Or will the footy gods favour Saint Nick?
It might not be either, and only time will tell. But for now, the king lives.
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The Crowd Says (8) | Page 1 of Comments
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- AFL, Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt, Wayne Carey
James said | April 6th 2010 @ 10:54am | Report comment
I think Brown is thriving have Fev as a counter balance, not all the pressure on him. Nick needs to do more to prove he’s a great, IMO. Less tears, more flags.
crazy horse said | April 6th 2010 @ 4:26pm | Report comment
Brown is better than Reiwoldt, looks great this year.
More flags than Carey already.
Chris said | April 9th 2010 @ 8:37pm | Report comment
@ crazy horse
Did Brown captain the Lions in those years? No. Was he there best player or even ranked in the top 3? No. Was it solely because of him that the Lions won those premierships? No. Was it because the Lions of the early 00′s had such a great team all over the park that won them those cups? Yes.
Without Carey, North wouldn’t of made 7 prelim finals in a row. Without Carey North wouldn’t of made 3 Grand Finals and won 2, without Carey the Roos ultimately wouldn’t of been labeled the “TEAM OF THE ’90s”
Research a bit more before you post, buddy.
Nick said | April 6th 2010 @ 6:55pm | Report comment
The sook Riewoldt has a long way to go to be in the same boat as Jonathan Brown and is nowhere near to being compared to Wayne Carey. So what he kicked 7 goals the other night? Did those goals win his team the game? No, definitely not. The game was over by the 10 minute mark of the first quarter and he’d only kicked 1 or 2. Did Nick Riewoldt kick the winning goal after the siren for the Saints last year against the Kangaroos? No. Did he step up when he was needed in last years Grand Final? Obviously not. Champion, my arse.
Brown already has more flags than Wayne Carey and is already close to being equal to him. A flag as captain will catapult him as the best CHF the game has ever seen. But even if the Lions don’t win a premiership, he’ll go down as being one of the greats of the game. Nick Riewoldt will need to do more than win a premiership.
By the way, I’m a Bullies supporter.
Kurt said | April 7th 2010 @ 6:11am | Report comment
And should either of them go on to surpass Carey, perhaps one day they may deserve to be spoken of in the same league as the true greatest centre half forward of all time, five time day and five time night premiership winner Dermott Brereton.
lemo said | April 7th 2010 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
Agree Kurt – you cant compare eras – but Reiwoldt might struggle to handle the ‘attention’ he no doubt would have received if he had played in the 80′s. He would have been lucky to survive.
Brereton the best for me – tough, could kick goals under pressure, proven big game performer.
Reiwoldt has none of those attributes and he is a horrible kick – Gets onto the ball every now and then , but mostly he couldn’t kick over a jam tin.
Brown and Carey on a par with Reiwoldt a long way back – might even put Royce Hart and few others in front of him.
Wayno said | April 8th 2010 @ 2:58pm | Report comment
I think you all need to go and watch some old north melbourne footage to remind yourselves just how good Carey was. At his best, nobody is comparable.
Chris said | April 9th 2010 @ 8:28pm | Report comment
“Carey played 170 games, averaged 8 marks, 19 possessions and kicked 524 goals at 3.1 per game.
Brown has played 186 games, averages 7.3 marks, 14.9 possessions and has kicked 435 goals at 2.3 per game.
Riewoldt has played 184 games, averages 9 marks, 16.3 possessions and has kicked 409 goals at 2.2 per game.”
Going specifically on those stats, Carey played less games then both Riewolt and Brown, and he’s still miles in front in terms of possessions, career goals, and average goals per game. Include the fact that at one stage, Carey was so hot that he was averaging a whopping 5 goals per game! Plus Browny didn’t play a massive roles in the Brisbane premierships since he was only young in the early 00′s, Carey actually captained the club to 3 grand finals including 2 premierships, and he played a bigger role to winning them. He’s also the youngest player to turn captain, which I think was about 20 or 21 years of age. Carey won games off his own boot far more often then Browny or Roo has, but I guess we’ll have to wait when they both retire to make it fair. ATM through, Carey is MILES in front I would think.