The top three game-players at Geelong are three of the only four players to reach the 300-game milestone at the Cats.
The fourth is John ‘Sam’ Newman, who struggled to exactly 300 games in 1980. If this season ever gets going, they should be joined by Joel Selwood as number five.
Four 300-game milestone achievers is a relatively low number for a club that can claim a history that goes back to the 1890s, and puts them well behind the present leader Hawthorn, who have eight. However, when the bar is lowered to 250, and then 200, Geelong are easily the clubhouse leaders with 18 and 40 respectively and you are left to ponder why this is so.
Another conundrum to ponder is the relative value of any awards a player may achieve along his long journey and the worth they add to his longevity. How do you rank a premiership, a best and fairest, a Brownlow, a Norm Smith Medal, All Australian selection or captaincy of the club in your achievements?
The three greatest game-players at Geelong – Corey Enright (332 games), Ian Nankervis (325 games) and Jimmy Bartel (305 games) – are all AFL top 100 game-players and have all received most of these accolades, but none all of them.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Number one on the list, Corey Enright played in three premierships with teammate Jimmy Bartel in the win-a-year, skip-a-year sequence of 2007, 2009 and 2011 under coaches Mark Thompson (the first two) and Chris Scott (the last one). Ian Nankervis did not play in any (and perhaps played fewer games because of it).
Enright also won two best-and-fairest awards, whereas Ian Nankervis won three, and Jimmy Bartel none.
Enright was All Australian six times, Nankervis once and Bartel twice. However, Bartel won the Brownlow Medal (2007) and the Norm Smith Medal (2011) and both were premiership years!
The only one of the three to captain the club was Ian Nankervis, which he did for five years from 1978 to 1981, and then again in 1983. Another achievement for Nankervis was being equal leading club goal-kicker in 1975 with Larry Donohue.
This shows that they were all great players who maintained form and fitness for an extraordinary period of time.
Enright and Nankervis both started as 19-year-olds and played until after their 35th birthday, whereas Bartel started as an 18-year-old and retired at age 32.
Playing in different eras with different rules and different conditions makes it hard to single out any player as the best Cat of all time.
Should Gary Ablett Junior’s years away from the club be considered? Should Gary Ablett Senior’s wayward nature be excused? And what about current champ Joel Selwood, who possibly may have missed all of this year due to a situation over which he had no control?
I will leave it to others to decide, and just stick to the facts of who ranks in the top 100 game-players and goal-scorers of all time at the Geelong Football Club.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
From Wikipedia: 'The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.' Jack Dyer, Lou Richards and Bob Davis. I once shook Dyer's hand as a teenager, an absolute gentleman. I did meet Lou who was exactly the same outside the media. I never got to meet Bob Davis.
Camo McD
Roar Guru
Agreed, yeah Bobby Davis!
Aransan
Roar Rookie
Thanks for your response Stephen. In 1980 there was a final 5 and Geelong were top of the ladder after the home and away season, as a result they had a bye in the first week of the finals. Geelong lost the 2nd semi-final to Richmond and were defeated by Collingwood in a preliminary final. Newman was short for a ruckman at 6'2" (189cm) and if he was played as a second ruckman in his final year I can understand how he could have spent a lot of time on the bench. He had a good career with two best and fairests and was also a captain of the club, if he was close to 300 games near the end of the season I can understand how he could have been gifted a couple of games.
Stephen Shortis
Roar Guru
I believe he played all games except Round 17, but Geelong played only one final. In five of his last 7 games he averaged 6 disposals per game. In the other two, he had 19 disposals against the two bottom teams (St Kilda and Fitzroy) but in both games 9 Geelong players had 18 or more disposals. Against Fitzroy he gave away 8 free kicks. I don't deny his ability, and he had a bad run of injuries (including losing part of a kidney) but my memory is of him spending a lot of time on the bench in his final year.
Stephen Shortis
Roar Guru
No Selwood?
Aransan
Roar Rookie
Sorry, my original post disappeared.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
What about the Geelong Flyer, Bob Davis? Farmer didn't play many games but changed the way the game was played.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
What about the Geelong Flyer, Bob Davis? Polly Farmer didn't play so many games but changed the way the game was played.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
So you actually played 1 AFL game then?
Raimond
Roar Guru
302 then
Camo McD
Roar Guru
Best I've seen would be: 1. Ablett Sr & Ablett Jr totally different players, both incredible, can't split them. 3. Scarlett 4. Bartel & G Hocking - both v tough and v skillful. Can't split them either. Would also have to consider Polly, Reg Hickey etc from yesteryear too.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
In your dreams.
Raimond
Roar Guru
301
Aransan
Roar Rookie
How many AFL games did you play?
Raimond
Roar Guru
he kicked a career-best 19 goals, too; and five Brownlow votes
Aransan
Roar Rookie
Sam Newman retired at the end of the 1980 season having played 22 out of 24 games -- 22 home and away and 2 finals in that season. No team will gift a player 22 games in their final season to reach 300 games. A footballer has to be of the highest quality to justify selection over such a long period in order to play 300 games. We don't have to agree with his views outside football.
Boo
Guest
No 1 Gary Senior ( off field shouldn't be a consideration ) No 2 Polly No 3 Gary Junior no 4 Jimmy Bartel No 5 Scarlo No 6 Dangerfield No 7 Buddha no 8 Boris no 9 Doug Wade no 10 Stevie J