SA Football Greatest Team

[bennymacca]

Rucci, i guess in the same vein as the Herald Sun team, has compiled his greatest SA football team.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6910570462

Pretty good team, though it astounds me that Andrew McLeod doesnt get into the team. Maybe its my bias, but I honestly think he is a better footballer than Gavin Wanganeen. I think that McLeod missed out on a brownlow, getting close a number of times, kind of tarnishes his record a bit.

Also, some of the older members might be able to correct me, but i thought Rick Davies was a ruck-forward?

He also just seems to have picked out a few from the early 1900s that won a few macgareys and decided they should get into the team.

[BoundaryRider84]

Rucci, i guess in the same vein as the Herald Sun team, has compiled his greatest SA football team.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6910570462

Pretty good team, though it astounds me that Andrew McLeod doesnt get into the team. Maybe its my bias, but I honestly think he is a better footballer than Gavin Wanganeen. I think that McLeod missed out on a brownlow, getting close a number of times, kind of tarnishes his record a bit.

Also, some of the older members might be able to correct me, but i thought Rick Davies was a ruck-forward?

He also just seems to have picked out a few from the early 1900s that won a few macgareys and decided they should get into the team.

Yeah he played as an undersized ruck man, maybe he has the job on the resting ruckman up forward ;-)

[robranisgod]

Rucci, i guess in the same vein as the Herald Sun team, has compiled his greatest SA football team.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6910570462

Pretty good team, though it astounds me that Andrew McLeod doesnt get into the team. Maybe its my bias, but I honestly think he is a better footballer than Gavin Wanganeen. I think that McLeod missed out on a brownlow, getting close a number of times, kind of tarnishes his record a bit.

Also, some of the older members might be able to correct me, but i thought Rick Davies was a ruck-forward?

He also just seems to have picked out a few from the early 1900s that won a few macgareys and decided they should get into the team.

The worst two omissions from the team are Bernie Smith and Bob Hank. And how Don Lindner isn't at least in the squad of players to choose from is an insult to an all time great. Definitely a better player than Kerley and Cornes for starters.

[Failed Creation]

Where the **** is Michael Aish?

Davies or Carey should lead the first ruck, that's a no-brainer.

Tim Evans should be there, as he and Farmer are the only blokes to kick 1000+ goals at League level.

[Wedgie]

Davies or Carey should lead the first ruck, that's a no-brainer.

Surely you jest?
Tom Leahy is the stand out by miles for First Ruck.

I'd move Cornes into the starting 18 and Riccuito wouldn't make the squad but not a bad effort by Rucci.

[am Bays]

Rucci, i guess in the same vein as the Herald Sun team, has compiled his greatest SA football team.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6910570462

Pretty good team, though it astounds me that Andrew McLeod doesnt get into the team. Maybe its my bias, but I honestly think he is a better footballer than Gavin Wanganeen. I think that McLeod missed out on a brownlow, getting close a number of times, kind of tarnishes his record a bit.

Also, some of the older members might be able to correct me, but i thought Rick Davies was a ruck-forward?

He also just seems to have picked out a few from the early 1900s that won a few macgareys and decided they should get into the team.

Shouldn't even be considered as he is a Northern Territorian - did all his development in the NT until he came down to the Magpies as an 18 year old.

For much the same reason Len Fitzgerald shouldn't be considered as he is Victorian.

Cornes is a Gun RIG if you doubt it ask "God". "God" rates him in the top players of his era.

[Wedgie]

Rucci, i guess in the same vein as the Herald Sun team, has compiled his greatest SA football team.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6910570462

Pretty good team, though it astounds me that Andrew McLeod doesnt get into the team. Maybe its my bias, but I honestly think he is a better footballer than Gavin Wanganeen. I think that McLeod missed out on a brownlow, getting close a number of times, kind of tarnishes his record a bit.

Also, some of the older members might be able to correct me, but i thought Rick Davies was a ruck-forward?

He also just seems to have picked out a few from the early 1900s that won a few macgareys and decided they should get into the team.

Shouldn't even be considered as he is a Northern Territorian - did all his development in the NT until he came down to the Magpies as an 18 year old.

For much the same reason Len Fitzgerald shouldn't be considered as he is Victorian.

Cornes is a Gun RIG if you doubt it ask "God". "God" rates him in the top players of his era.

He actually rates Cornes No 1 of his era.

[Magpiespower]

Always on a hiding-to-nothing with these teams. But Rooch has done a pretty good job.

The players he picked from the early days had an enormous impact on the game. Leahy - the "Prince of Ruckmen" - Moriarty, Scott and MacKenzie are absolute giants in the pantheon of SA footy. 'Bos' Daly could've snuck into a forward pocket, too.

Bob Hank has to be in the 22. Don't care where you put him. But he HAS to be in there. Could easily put his teammate Lindsay Head to a half-forward flank at Roo's expense and chuck The Master on a wing.

I'd swap Jumbo and Kerls, too. Champion that he is, Len Fitzgerald's eligibility could be debated in an SA team as opposed to SANFL team, where he's a walk-up start. Bernie Smith and Ken Eustice, among others, were unlucky not to get a guernsey.

Too many champs miss out in these one-size-fits-all "All-Time Greatest" teams. Should be broken up into different eras...

[GWW]

Going by the back page of the Advertiser, its SA's Greatest side, of players playing at Adelaide Oval.

Whilst McLeod may have played an occasional game there in the early 90's, although that is doubtful, he barely would have had any presence there at all. Similar to Ricciuto.

I don't think McLeod's NT heritage would count him out of this side (I just noticed actually, that he's an Emergency), given that he has a Victorian (Fitzgerald) at CHB.

In typical Rucci fashion, he compiled a top 10 SANFL players 5 years ago....

1. Barrie Robran
2. Russell Ebert
3. Peter Carey
4. Len Fitzgerald
5. Lindsay Head
6. Rick Davies
7. Neil Kerley
8. Ken Farmer
9. Bob Quinn
10. Dan Moriarty

..showing Carey at number 3 - and yet in this particular side, he now has Carey as the Emergency, with Leahy as 1st Ruck - (I'm not making a judgement on who should have been ruck, just the fact that Rucci has contradicted himself).

[robranisgod]

Rucci, i guess in the same vein as the Herald Sun team, has compiled his greatest SA football team.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6910570462

Pretty good team, though it astounds me that Andrew McLeod doesnt get into the team. Maybe its my bias, but I honestly think he is a better footballer than Gavin Wanganeen. I think that McLeod missed out on a brownlow, getting close a number of times, kind of tarnishes his record a bit.

Also, some of the older members might be able to correct me, but i thought Rick Davies was a ruck-forward?

He also just seems to have picked out a few from the early 1900s that won a few macgareys and decided they should get into the team.

Shouldn't even be considered as he is a Northern Territorian - did all his development in the NT until he came down to the Magpies as an 18 year old.

For much the same reason Len Fitzgerald shouldn't be considered as he is Victorian.

Cornes is a Gun RIG if you doubt it ask "God". "God" rates him in the top players of his era.

No one is doubting that Cornes is a gun, but D Lindner was definitely a better player. And as for "God", he certainly rates Cornes in the top players in his era, but he rates Don Lindner higher. Seriously, I just checked with him and he is more disgusted than I am about Lindner's omission from the squad at least. Where not saying he should have made the final team, but there is no argument that Bernie Smith and Bob Hank should have.

[bennymacca]

as with all of these teams, they are intended to be a conversation starter rather than some sort of definitive thing, and he has done a pretty decent job.

[dedja]

For fear of being lynched, IMHO Wanganeen should not even be mentioned in the same breath as the others in the team. Was a very good player but not in the same league as the real champions.

These exercises always provide mild entertainment but are always the stuff of pure discretion by the writer.

[GWW]

Its a silly criteria - "best team at Adelaide Oval" - I'd like to know if playing 1 game there, which was average, but 300 fantastic ones elsewhere qualifies someone for inclusion. If we're basing it on their overall record, then its a pointless exercise having Adelaide Oval as some sort of criteria.

If we're basing it on games played at Adelaide Oval, then obviously Ricciuto, Wanganeen and McLeod, shouldn't really be given serious consideration, although Wanganeen did play some footy at AO in 89/90 before joining Essendon.

[areaman]

I just wish the line up was named the South Australian way - Forward to Backs - not the Victorian way with the Backs listed at the top.

Pedantic I know but.....

[GWW]

That annoys me too - not to mention the regular practice these days of having the 1st ruck named in the middle of the team selection, instead of separately down down the bottom.

[bennymacca]

Its a silly criteria - "best team at Adelaide Oval" - I'd like to know if playing 1 game there, which was average, but 300 fantastic ones elsewhere qualifies someone for inclusion. If we're basing it on their overall record, then its a pointless exercise having Adelaide Oval as some sort of criteria.

If we're basing it on games played at Adelaide Oval, then obviously Ricciuto, Wanganeen and McLeod, shouldn't really be given serious consideration, although Wanganeen did play some footy at AO in 89/90 before joining Essendon.

it just says SA's greatest football team on adelaide now, thats what i was going by.

[GWW]

I wasn't being critical of you macca, just the actual side itself.

[bennymacca]

I wasn't being critical of you macca, just the actual side itself.

yeah i know, just that i wasnt even thinking of it in terms of adelaide oval.

bloody hard job to fit the greatest players of all time into a team like this.

when i was looking through the list, there were a few where i was like who the hell was that guy, then found out he was a triple macgarey medallist. cant really argue with that.

its so hard to compare different eras too. its pretty easy to compare people in the same era, i mean we all know gary ablett is the best in the game at the moment, but how do you compare him to players of other eras? probably the only way is to compare how good they are compared to the rest of the people in that era.

[RB]

Surprisingly good effort by Rucci. Only problem is Ricciuto - half the footballer all the others were. Hank and Bernie Smith unlucky. Agree with comments re Roo out, Head to HFF and Hank on the wing.

[bennymacca]

Lists could be imcomplete, just stole them from Wiki. 8 Time best and fairest is massive from Hank, 3 time B&F and 8 time all australian from Ricciuto also pretty huge.

How do you split them, honestly. Pretty hard. Longevity by Ricciuto is a positive for him, Hank has another magarey, though I think a brownlow is worth more.

Bob Hank - 224 games, 27 state games

Port Adelaide-West Torrens Premiership Player 1944
West Torrens Premiership Player 1945, 1953
West Torrens Best & Fairest 1945–50, 1952-53, 1957
SANFL Magarey Medallist 1946, 1947
West Torrens Club Captain 1947–55
West Torrens Captain-Coach 1951
27 State games for South Australia (Captain 1951-54)
All-Australian 1953


Mark Ricciuto - 312 games, 5 state games

AFL Rising Star nominee 1993
All-Australian team 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000,
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Adelaide premiership side 1998
Adelaide best and fairest 1998, 2003, 2004
Showdown Medal 2000, 2004, 2005
Adelaide captain 2001–07
Brownlow Medal 2003
All-Australian captain 2004, 2005
AFLPA Best Captain 2005, 2006
Adelaide leading goalkicker 2006
VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century (named 2007)
Australian Football Hall of Fame (inducted 2011)
South Australian Football Hall of Fame (inducted 2012)