Justin Edwards's Roar Profile

Very true, Kewell’s career dogged by injury. A few glimpses of his excellence here and there for the national team but nothing compared to the perpetual performance of Cahill.

“If it weren’t for injuries, Kewell would have had a stellar international career”. Spot on. But the fact is, he had those injuries. Countless careers have been spoiled by injury and we can’t judge an individual based on their potential and what they could have achieved.

Kewell may have been the more skilled footballer, but Cahill had the better career. Simple as that.

Not suggesting for a moment that Cahill is anywhere near Bradman. In fact, I explicitly stated that Bradman is far and away the greatest sportsperson this country has seen. Bradman is superior to Cahill, and all other Aussie sportsmen for that matter, in every facet.

I chose to take a purely Australian perspective, looking at the contributions of Cahill to Australian sport not world sport. If we shift your questions to an Australian standpoint:
I disagree that Cahill isn’t the best in his sport in Australia but that’s only my opinion
Cahill’s stats are unrivaled by any Australian in his sport.
Most Australian football fans agree Cahill is the best.

Cahill may be only an above average elite performer from a global view, but his contribution to Australian sport is up there with the very very best.

Always unfair to compare athletes with different skill sets. Comparing athletes across sports is always set to spur debate as there are so many variables, so many arguments for and against each competitor.

I prefer to take a focus on contribution to Australian football rather than clubs as money will always be a factor (given its their job!!) and Cahill was certainly as consistent a performer for the Socceroos as Schwarzer. Bear in mind Schwarzer was dropped for the Croatia game in 2006 after two average perforamces against Japan and Brazil.

Schwarzer is a legend, my favourite player actually, but I feel Cahill stands above him.

It is a seriously impressive list, Australia has been blessed with a plethora of sporting champions.
But in your list, Cahill sits comfortably alongside all.

Hi Sheek,

Unfortunately, being born in the 90s means I am mainly forced to rely on statistics and the opinion of others for the past greats, Joe Marston was a legend but I think the majority of Socceroo fans have Cahill at the top of the tree.

I can honestly say I’d never heard of Heather McKay but it seems she has a remarkable record, worthy of higher acclaim.

Margaret Court and Dawn Fraser are certainly Australian legends and certainly have a claim for the #2 spot. Having read comments, I’d think Ian Thorpe was another oversight on my behalf to not include. But its certainly a fascinating debate, arguments for and against all involved.

Kaks,

I prefer to focus on contribution to Australian football and the Socceroo jersey rather than someone’s club exploits as we can all get behind the Socceroos but its hard to support an Australian playing overseas if he’s not playing for your team. Kewell may be Australia’s greatest football export, but his contribution to the Socceroos never matched his talent.

Notice I never said Cahill was the second greatest athlete we have produced, simply argued his case. And I’m also not too concerned what the rest of the world thinks in an Australian list. The rest of the world is mostly non-cricket following and would scarcely know who Bradman is.

Fadida,

A fine list of Australian sporting heroes but surely Cahill sits among them? I’d find it hard to split the six cricketers at the top of your list from each other whereas Cahill sits comfortably at the top of the Socceroo tree. Rafter and Hewitt having 3 grand slam titles between them aren’t close to Cahill, would have Margaret Court and Rod Laver far ahead of them.

The rest of your list may very well be second to the Don. Notice I never said Cahill was or wasn’t, merely argued his case.

Swampy,

While Harry Kewell was certainly an excellent player at club level, he could never translate this into performance for the green and gold. I felt it not worth wasting the words to cement Cahill’s position at the top of the Australian football tree.

Obviously its impossible to name each and every great athlete for Australia, those in your list could certainly be second to Bradman. I just thought I’d argue the case for Cahill