Is Toby Greene one of the most overrated players in the AFL?
Unfortunately, there is an obsession with fantasy points and statistics. But in modern football, a player’s foot skills and ability to use the football well are absolutely paramount to building a successful career.
Greene is not a good kick of the football and for a player who accumulates so much of the ball, he can be a liability for the Giants at times.
Despite a turbulent off-field career while at Greater Western Sydney, the 20-year-old will play his 50th game for the club this weekend.
I am not suggesting he is a terrible player, as he does have a few redeeming qualities.
Greene is a tough, hard-working player and his tackling ability has improved over his short career. But when GWS inevitably improves to the point of finals contention, Greene will need to change his role.
Many of the Giants’ emerging midfielders are exquisite users of the football and you would much rather the ball in their hands than Greene’s.
The Giants should hope that he can develop into a run-with player who can curb the influence of the opposition’s best.
There have been comparisons drawn between Greene and Collingwood champion Dane Swan. But despite both having questionable off-field interests, they are very different players.
Swan is not an elite user of the football himself, but his overhead marking, gut-running, size and goal-sense far outweigh Greene’s.
Greene is not a terrible footballer, but those suggesting he is a future Brownlow medallist are way off the mark.
Follow Jackson on Twitter – @jclark182
Jackson Clark
Roar Guru
Thought I'd better offer an explanation to this article. I thought he played well against the Kangaroos so I agree that the timing wasn't great. I submitted this article before the match so I certainly wasn't basing it on Saturday's game and feel as though I got a bit unlucky there. The purpose of this article? There is no purpose, like many articles, I just wanted to see what the general consensus was. To be honest, while the article was unnecessary, I still stand by a lot of what I said. The role of a midfielder is becoming more refined as the game develops. While he isn't bad at the contested ball area, he isn't your bash and crash inside midfielder. He also isn't a silky-skilled outside midfielder, like many other players lacking in size. Greene has been touted as a future Brownlow medallist by a lot of my mates - admittedly, that's probably not enough reason to write an article about it.
Brent Ford
Roar Guru
I laughed at this and after the performance that Greene then put in on the weekend it was allmost as if he read the article himself! :)
Connor
Guest
may as well have been. Completely random and unexplainable article that comes from nowhere. i sense some sort of grudge
Connor
Guest
may as well have been. Completely random and unexplainable article that comes from nowhere. i sense some sort of grudge
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Lol. Greene is perhaps one of the best stars at GWS but he is in the making - not overrated if not rated. He seems to know what to do, have game awareness, more so than many of his team mates - something that is easy to explain but not to coach.
Don Freo
Guest
I think the author might have been on the wrong end of Toby's misdemeanor.
Connor
Guest
Firstly, he got 160 points in supercoach yesterday. In order to get a score that high, you need to be very efficient with the ball. Secondly, he has played 50 games in the most inexperienced and newest team. Thirdly, he gathered just under 30 TOUCHES in the first half. Who cares about efficiency or cheapness, thats Ablett or Rockliff like. Fourthly, to suggest he should be a run-with player is downright insulting. Fifthly, in order you to be overrated you have to be highly rated in the first place. Greene isnt. Sixthly, the fact this article comes the day after his very good game yesterday is terrible timing. Seventhly, just because you dont kick well doesnt mean you dont have the potential. All in all, i may have harped on a bit, but this is the WORST article to appear on this site. Absolute rubbish
Axle an the guru
Guest
I like him as a footballer, i think he is a 250 game player in the making.
Cat
Roar Guru
Perhaps you could be right, but I'd think a player leadership group of your peers would have a greater effect than some staffer would, GWS is a very young side, if Greene was playing in a more mature side with a proven leadership group I'd think that could have an effect.
Pope Paul vii
Guest
He's gutsy and smart in close. Some of his teammates would much rather get the ball on the fly. Don't think he's the Brownlow type.
TomC
Roar Guru
I have a lot of respect for Craig Lambert. I tend to think that if he's looking after player welfare at GWS, the kids should know what's expected of them off-field. So I'm not sure it's true that Greene would be better behaved at another club.
Cat
Roar Guru
I'd take him in my side in a heartbeat. He has things to learn for sure, not the least of which is how to behave off field, but in a more mature side he'd quickly learn that stuff won't fly. Has talent, a lot of it, whether he ends up harnessing it fully or not, time will tell.
Fabes
Guest
Agree Don. What the hell sort of an article is this? The Kid is 20, still learning his craft playing alongside other kids in an immature AFL side. Throw him into an established side say Freo, Cats etc with experienced coaches and players around him and watch him blossom. I suggest the writer take a break and rethink his ambition to be a journalist. Shocking article. It's a Catch 22 responding to this article. I didn't want to give it any sort of attention as that is exactly what it deserves!
TomC
Roar Guru
I don't know anyone who rates Toby Greene highly. Who are who referring to? If I google 'Dane Swan Toby Greene' or 'Toby Greene brownlow', this article is the only meaningful result. Who is making these claims about Greene?
Don Freo
Guest
What has Toby done to you? What a nasty article.