Pick the better player: Stephen Copping or Roger Woodcock

[Psyber]

Stephen who?

[Termite]

Different players who were at their best in different eras.
Copping was very useful, especially marking around packs.
But Roger Woodcock's perfect and penetrating kicking style
will always put him streets ahead as a classic footballer who
played in a tougher time. Roger, having goal figures that make
many career full forwards salivate with envy, proved to be of
far more value to his club by having superior goal scoring figures,
kicking ability in general and most importantly of all, remaining
loyal by staying with his club and his state.

p.s. If Barrie Robran says it's Roger Woodcock, then no-one has
any right to argue.

[Moe]

Different players who were at their best in different eras.
Copping was very useful, especially marking around packs.
But Roger Woodcock's perfect and penetrating kicking style
will always put him streets ahead as a classic footballer who
played in a tougher time. Roger, having goal figures that make
many career full forwards salivate with envy, proved to be of
far more value to his club by having superior goal scoring figures,
kicking ability in general and most importantly of all, remaining
loyal by staying with his club and his state.

p.s. If Barrie Robran says it's Roger Woodcock, then no-one has
any right to argue.

Enough said!

[Adelaide Hawk]

Every time I think of Roger Woodcock, and I do regularly because he's a mate, I think of two things:
1. Norwood's ridiculous decision to omit him from our Team of the Century.
2. Norwood thrashing Carlton by 106 points at Norwood Oval in a night match. As Woody was lining up for goal, Neil Kerley said "he'll kick this". The difficult shot sailed through, Ted Whitten said something like, "how did you know he'd kick that Neil?". Kerley's reply ... "I've seen him kick too many of the buggers!!!".

[Dogwatcher]

Roger Woodcock on ABC Local Radio with Keith Thomas and Peter Goers tonight.
Not sure who Goers played for but the other two had some wonderful recollections.

[rogernumber10]

Every time I think of Roger Woodcock, and I do regularly because he's a mate, I think of two things:
1. Norwood's ridiculous decision to omit him from our Team of the Century.2. Norwood thrashing Carlton by 106 points at Norwood Oval in a night match. As Woody was lining up for goal, Neil Kerley said "he'll kick this". The difficult shot sailed through, Ted Whitten said something like, "how did you know he'd kick that Neil?". Kerley's reply ... "I've seen him kick too many of the buggers!!!".

I'm still upset about this.

[GWW]

Who's place in the side should he have taken rn10?

[rogernumber10]

Who's place in the side should he have taken rn10?

It was always my view that our forward line had to have Woodcock on the flank, in place of McIntosh, so that our nominal greatest team had Schulz and Roberts as up-front targets, Button to do the hard work and Woodcock getting what he could (which was his great strength), while the changing Oatey jnr / Sawley alternated through with the starting midfield Aish / Oatey snr. If a bloke who could kick 600 goals as a non-key forward had those with him in a forward line, I reckon he could go okay.
McIntosh was never an out-of-square player in his career. He was a centreman without peer and should have been in the centre in the team of the century, ahead of Lill, who suffers only by length of career v McIntosh. Instead, we put a very great player plainly out of position and I would have been just as unhappy if we had Lill on the flank, albeit happier that at least McIntosh was in the middle.
As with so many of these teams, we tried to fit in our best-ever players, rather than picking the best-ever guys in their positions, which is a different thing.
Lill is clearly an all-time great of our club but IMO McIntosh was a better centreman WHILE Woodcock was a better forward than both of them.
I would have had Lill on the bench, ahead of Sam Gallagher, because I wanted four forwards in the forward line (at least), midfielders in the midfielder and defenders in defence.

IF, you were naming Norwood's greatest players in order, as Essendon did at the turn of the century, McIntosh and Lill are both well ahead of my favourite-ever player, but I wanted to pick a proper team.