attention port supporters who was a better full forward ?

[McAlmanac]

Randall Gerlach even forced Tim Evans to CHB one year.

Evans started out at CHB - he played 50 games for Geelong there.

Evans for me - just.

[Magpiespower]

Evans started out at CHB - he played 50 games for Geelong there.

Pretty sure he started there in his first season at Alberton (1975) until Jack made the switch to the goalfront.

Then in '76 Randall Gerlach kicked 96 goals.

Until his career was cut short by injury...

[nickname]

I remember Evans starting as a CHB. But didn't Gerlach play mostly at CHF anyway?

[bulldogs]

The big burger. fantastic mark and kick.

[Adelaide Hawk]

I remember Evans starting as a CHB. But didn't Gerlach play mostly at CHF anyway?

Certainly in the early 70s he was CHF, Max James played at FF.

[Psyber]

I'd have Evans for my team, but neither of them were as good as Rex Johns.

[Adelaide Hawk]

I'd have Evans for my team, but neither of them were as good as Rex Johns.

I never saw Rex Johns play but I hear he was very good. Certainly his record in comparision to other forwards of his day was outstanding. Please tell us about Rex Johns, and why you feel he was better than Evans or Hodges.

[MightyEagles]

Evans easy. didn't need to kick 150 + goals in a season, but still kicked a lot of goals.

[Magpiespower]

Evans... didn't need to kick 150 + goals in a season...

Gave it fair crack in 1980...

146 goals!

[Psyber]

I'd have Evans for my team, but neither of them were as good as Rex Johns.

I never saw Rex Johns play but I hear he was very good. Certainly his record in comparision to other forwards of his day was outstanding. Please tell us about Rex Johns, and why you feel he was better than Evans or Hodges.

I saw him play a lot when I was a kid. He had an outstanding ability to take contested marks, even against two opponents, despite not being as big a player as Tim Evans. He had the ability to slip around opposing players and take the ball on his chest wrapping himself around it to prevent it being punched away. He also just semed to know instinctively where to be when the ball was coming in, and was not dependent on his marking skills. He was extremely good at picking up the loose ball and snapping goals over his shoulder. It was his consistency and versatility, and his always being a threat even when Port were, rarely in the era, not dominating the game, that I think gave him the edge over the other two. He was not dependent on good delivery.

As a Norwood supporter, I hated him at the time, but there was always a grudging respect.

[Doc Neeson]

Obviously season 1990, Magarey, Ken Farmer and Premiership No 3 was the highlight, but 1994 and 1996 he also kicked over 100 goals and was most importantly a massive contibutor on Grand Final day. Who could ever forget his heroics in the last quarter in 1994? Five Goals from five kicks, after Jason Spehr had held him to one goal for the first three quarters.
Also if Scotty didn't have his superboot on in the 1996 Preliminary Final, we would have been on our Mad Monday and not even played, let alone win the premeirship the week after. Scotty kicked another 7 in the Grand Final and treated Hicks like a rag doll at times. That year he also won the club B&F, which rarely happens for a full forward.

Having said that, his downfall was that also. He could only play as a Full Forward, nothing else. Which probably IMHO held him back in AFL ranks, once Modra started his rise to superstardom.
Although I still believe that if Cornesy didnt take Scotty off in the 1993 AFL prelim, the Crows would have won that game. He was playing a perfect foil for Mods, letting Modra play a first half blinder and hence the Camrys being seven goals up at half time.

The rest is history.

But 8 premeirships from 8 grand finals is a damn good result in anyones language.
Maybe shouldnt have played in 1995 and 1998, but the team still got the chocolates.

The Burger Man was a champion with 1000 goals but, Scott Hodges for me.
Absolute champion!

[Macca19]

Was too young to see Evans play. Ive seen highlights and the odd game but obviously its too hard to compare when you dont see both players.

I could wax lyrical about my deep man love for Scotty for weeks. The first player that I hooked onto as a kid in 88 and has been my footballing hero ever since.

Couple things I will mention. First off was his defensive side to his game. If he didnt mark, he'd work his arse off to keep the ball in the area. He'd chase, tackle, jump on the ball, crash packs. It was a highly underrated part of his game.

So his AFL stint was a "failure". He still remains 2nd for the Crows in terms of goals per game. I couldnt care less about his stint at the Crows, all I and most other Port fans care about is the fact that he played in 8 flags, was a match winner in most of them, not to mention a host of other finals and was a key component of the club making it to the AFL.

Just wish he could have played one AFL match for Port.

[Magpiespower]

I could wax lyrical about my deep man love for Scotty for weeks... his defensive side to his game. If he didnt mark, he'd work his arse off to keep the ball in the area. He'd chase, tackle, jump on the ball, crash packs. It was a highly underrated part of his game.

Like his desperate run-down and tackle of Jason Speher in the last quarter of the '94 GF.

Holding the ball! Goal! Premiers!

[harry highpants]

as much as i loved watching scotty play and remember when he was kicking bags of 15 and 16 at alberton id have to go for timmy....as no mercy said..1000 speaks for itself

[Adelaide Hawk]

as much as i loved watching scotty play and remember when he was kicking bags of 15 and 16 at alberton id have to go for timmy....as no mercy said..1000 speaks for itself

I've been debating this one since the thread opened, and I have to say the thing that swings it Evans' way is weight of numbers. Over 1,000 goals, and all of them prior to the SANFL's involvement in the AFL. Also, as an opposition supporter, I tended to feel a little more threatened by Evans than Hodges. Whether that had something to do with the way the ball came in, who knows? So, Evans, by a whisker.

Hodges possibly the better "footballer", but Evans the better "full forward".

[nickname]

I always felt like Hodges was easier to stop than Evans because while both were very good leading forwards, Evans was better man-on-man in my view.

[Jimmy_041]

They were both great and it is a credit to both that a thread is dedicated to them

[jointman]

They were both great and it is a credit to both that a thread is dedicated to them

yeah agree there jimmy...both great footballers in different eras...there both up there with the best

[Ebert, Evans & Me]

I saw them both at the height of their careers and it's Evans by a fair distance (obviously, or else I'd be Ebert, Hodges & Me).
That's not disparaging Hodges at all, as I rank Evans amongst the best full-forwards I have seen.

[Gravel]

Great post and very difficult to split them.
Evans 248 games for 1044 goals is only second to Ken Farmer, but he was on the end of Russell Ebert delivery for most of his career.
Hodges 183 games for 693 goals and IMO had a superior defensive game (that 1994 GF tackle on Jason Spehr possibly the best piece of play I have seen) and he always seemed to perform in the big games.
Port Adelaide greatest team (1870- 2000) has Tim at Full forward and Scott in the forward pocket - perhaps that is the answer.