Paul Bevan plays at AFL standard - let's all wet our pants

[Donners]

Had to laugh at the Kelly comparisons. He's more like an uninjured Chapman, with a bit less skill. He'll have his place, but be quickly forgotten once somebody better comes along.

[CureTheSane]

Anyone who thinks Leigh Matthews, as a 4-time premiership coach and 4-time premiership player and premiership captain, was a lucky coach and not a particularly good player, would have to have his views on players questioned.

Absolutely

Perspective.

Comparing Bevan to Kelly and Matthews?
Really?

[connolly]

Sweetie. Next time you want to try drugs, come and see me first.
The ones that you're taking aren't nearly strong enough!!

Fearless like Kels ... indeed.

Have you ever seen Paul Kelly play a game - or are you just going on hearsay?

Im going on mysay. Bevo is as courageous as Kelly (saw Kelly's first game, his last and most in between) and that is a big rap but one that is warranted. Bevo had a couple of stitches at half time last week and flew back into an oncoming pack to save the game. I reckon the kid has had more stitches put in his scone per game than even Kirky. There must be a stat on this somewhere. Where is NMW when you need him?

[CJK]

let's all wet our pants.

Can some of us not?

[connolly]

Absolutely

Perspective.

Comparing Bevan to Kelly and Matthews?
Really?

Mathews was the luckiest coach to get the most talented mid-field ever to run onto a football ground in modern football. The Collingwood premiership team of 1990 is justifiably rated the worst in living memory. More luck to face probably the worst team ever to play a Grand Final. That match was notorious for a brawl at quarter time provoked by Collingwood in which two teams and team officials threw cut lunches. Essendon never recovered and the thug won that one with usual mix of aggression and physical intimidation.
He is out coached EVERY week without the dazzling array of stars that he had playing at the start of the millenium. His one great claim to fame as far as i'm concerned is that he laid out Demetriou in a final, and for that we all should be eternally grateful. Most over-rated footballer and coach in the history of the game.

[connolly]

Anyone who thinks Leigh Matthews, as a 4-time premiership coach and 4-time premiership player and premiership captain, was a lucky coach and not a particularly good player, would have to have his views on players questioned.

As a player Mathews would struggle in the modern game. Real greats would star in any era. He would be too slow and his late high hits would see him not play for most of his career for contemporary football. He also played in a very powerful pre-salary cap team. A glorified thug.

[CureTheSane]

Mathews was the luckiest coach to get the most talented mid-field ever to run onto a football ground in modern football. The Collingwood premiership team of 1990 is justifiably rated the worst in living memory. More luck to face probably the worst team ever to play a Grand Final. That match was notorious for a brawl at quarter time provoked by Collingwood in which two teams and team officials threw cut lunches. Essendon never recovered and the thug won that one with usual mix of aggression and physical intimidation.
He is out coached EVERY week without the dazzling array of stars that he had playing at the start of the millenium. His one great claim to fame as far as i'm concerned is that he laid out Demetriou in a final, and for that we all should be eternally grateful. Most over-rated footballer and coach in the history of the game.

As a player Mathews would struggle in the modern game. Real greats would star in any era. He would be too slow and his late high hits would see him not play for most of his career for contemporary football. He also played in a very powerful pre-salary cap team. A glorified thug.

I think you'll find that 99.9% of football supporters will disagree with you.
Matthews was a champion on any scale.
His achievements as a coach speak for themselves.
One could say that St.Kilda should have won multiple flags with the likes of Winmar, Lowe, Harvery etc etc
The team itself won't win a flag.

But I am not going to try and convince you of anything, as that would appear to be futile.
Believe what you want.

[Nico]

As a player Mathews would struggle in the modern game. Real greats would star in any era. He would be too slow and his late high hits would see him not play for most of his career for contemporary football. He also played in a very powerful pre-salary cap team. A glorified thug.

Not sure I agree on struggling in the modern game, but agree with the rest. Would have to be one of the greatest thugs of all time and it wasn't just his late high hits, he didn't discriminate, he just belted players unfairly full stop. He clearly had not a scintilla of a concern for his fellow man's welfare. For Sheahan to name him as the greatest of all time shows a complete disregard for or lack of knowledge of the greats who went before and after him.

Mind you there was another Hawthorn player who preceded him who went close, by the name of Kevin Coverdale.

I also reckon that Bevan is as courageous as Kelly. Kelly was hard running, quicker and a different style of player who in most cases was a running forward headlong type courageous footballer, whereas Bevan goes in all directions. Not the most skilful player but right up there in the Courage Stakes.

Skilton leaves them all behind. He would bounce the ball then run headlong into a pack just to win a free.

[Jewels]

Connolly, you should get yourself to the aftermatch functions in the Noble at the SCG, you have a kindred spirit in Brad Seymour. He confessed the other night that Bevo is just about his favourite player and loves the way he plays.
I thought of you straight away.

[hammo]

Connolly, you should get yourself to the aftermatch functions in the Noble at the SCG, you have a kindred spirit in Brad Seymour. He confessed the other night that Bevo is just about his favourite player and loves the way he plays.
I thought of you straight away.

Ever seen Brad or Connolly in the same room together?

[Nico]

I was one who really thought Bevan was the luckiest player to get a game in the GF of 2005 simply on basis that his form was poor. He was very ordinary at the very best in the PF. His form until a few rounds in this year, in my opinion was no better.

But no one in their right mind can question his value to the team this year. At the North match I took my notebook for Bevo watch and put it away at half time after a faultless first half and he has continued on from there. To his credit he has learned to run forward of the game to make space, get a handpass off with plenty of time whereas in the past he had no idea, and I can't recall the last HTB against him. He has reinvented his game and good luck to him. Just hope he keeps it up.

Maybe Bolton looked at his next few games after the Norf game and said gee this bloke is showing me up, I better pull my finger out.

[Rob-bloods]

Realistically he is probably closest to Jude Bolton and may well succeed him one day. He is tough and not a great disposer but could well play out of the middle as a ball winner and pump the ball forward a la Jude.

[ugg]

Note for Bevan in teh Mark of the Year comp.

2008 Toyota AFL Mark and Goal of the Year

[connolly]

Thanks for that UGG. I'm voting early and often for Bevo!

[Bear]

Bevan has some positives:

Tackles hard
Chases hard
Relatively fearless
Gives 100%

Bevan has some negatives (purely from watching him closely live on Sat night):

Kicking skills
Judgement as to whether to go up or stay down in a marking contest
Hesitancy in playing on after taking a mark in clear space
Holding on in tackles long after the player has disposed of the ball
Maintaining both vision of ball location and control of designated opponent in contested ball situations
General lack of confidence in himself and lack of peripheral vision


A lot of these are intricacies of the game that those who haven't played or have come into the game in adulthood may not look for, but they are vital to winning 50/50 contests and hence most games.

I don't care how many couragous marks any player takes running backwards near the end of the game, or what your last memory of a game is, if you cost goals throughout the game because you invariable get beaten in key one-on-one contests, you are a liability.