Josh Francou Retires

[Magpiespower]

The 'official' end to his AFL career.

At his best, Francou was one of the elite midfielders in the comp - two top three Brownlow finishes attest to that.

His partnership with Primus was uncanny. Unfortunately, injuries cut down both players in their prime.

Congratulations on a great career Josh Francou!

[JK]

Yeah gotta agree, as is often the case, the worth of great players often aren't appreciated whilst current, outside of their own supporter base, but Francou has been a fantastic player, and as you mentioned MP formed such an effective tandem with Matty Primus.

Any word of whether he's quit football altogether or just AFL ... Ie, any chance we'll see him running around with North next year?

[MW]

Josh who?
He's been out of the game that long you completely forget about him.

[RustyCage]

Josh who?

Thats what I said when he won the MM in 1996!!

Absolute champion. One of the best players to ever pull on the black white and teal. Hope he gets recognised in some way, i.e. name the Showdown Medal after him. Good to see him get a lap of honour before the game this week.

Josh Francou
Port Adelaide 1997 – 2006: 156 AFL games, 72 goals
Port Adelaide zone selection 1996 from North Adelaide
All Australian 2002
Runner-up Brownlow Medal 2002
Third place best-and-fairest 2002
Third place Brownlow Medal 2001
Pre-season Premiership side 2001,2002
International Rules Series 2001, 2002
Showdown Medallist Round 3 2001, Round 18 2001, Round 20 2002
Best Team Man 1999
Magarey Medal 1996

[Leaping Lindner]

Yeah gotta agree, as is often the case, the worth of great players often aren't appreciated whilst current, outside of their own supporter base, but Francou has been a fantastic player, and as you mentioned MP formed such an effective tandem with Matty Primus.

Any word of whether he's quit football altogether or just AFL ... Ie, any chance we'll see him running around with North next year?

Apparently North are keen to have him and both parties are currently talking. It's probably a matter of whether his body is up to it. I'd love to see the Son Of Maurie run around for at least one more season in the red and white.

[JK]

Yeah gotta agree, as is often the case, the worth of great players often aren't appreciated whilst current, outside of their own supporter base, but Francou has been a fantastic player, and as you mentioned MP formed such an effective tandem with Matty Primus.

Any word of whether he's quit football altogether or just AFL ... Ie, any chance we'll see him running around with North next year?

Apparently North are keen to have him and both parties are currently talking. It's probably a matter of whether his body is up to it. I'd love to see the Son Of Maurie run around for at least one more season in the red and white.

Cheers LL ... It's one of those things where you kinda get a pang and think "****, my mob are already far enough behind North without Francou" but at the end of the day, you really want to see the best players running around in the comp and play teams at their best to get a genuine indication of how good you are, or whats required to be up there with the big boys ...

[mal]

A 2ND AND A 3RD IN THE BROWNLOW

Does he make the GWW best 20 players of the past 20 years?

[GWW]

A 2ND AND A 3RD IN THE BROWNLOW

Does he make the GWW best 20 players of the past 20 years?

Good player for the team i support, but realistically not in top 20. At his peak was in top 5 midfielders in the comp, but over the space of 20 years there were certainly more credentialled players.

Not trying to play down his accomplishments just giving an honest appraisal. Was a great Port player, and as a supporter, i'm very thankful/appreciative of his efforts.