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I reckon P46 has provided sufficient examples of games where ROK literally was the (or a) difference between winning and losing to demonstrate he is a matchwinner on his day. No, not every week, which is why he's not an absolute "superstar" or "champion" (whatever that word means). But most clubs have just a small number of players who are capable of being the genuine difference between winning and losing several times in a season, and of being BOG (or close to it) in others. I suggest we probably have 4 on our list at the moment - ROK, Hall, Kirk and Goodes - a not dissimilar number to most other clubs.
As to his year, the Vic selectors thought him worthy of being one of best 22 Vic players (which equates to approx one of the best 44 from all states) - based on the first half, all that's relevant for that criterion.
The AA selectors deemed him to be one of the best 40 players for the season.
I'd wager a fair bit that the Swans' coaches are going to deem him to be one the best 3 Swans for the season come Friday night.
And it's not like its a season out of the blue. He was AA in 2006. If they'd picked a squad of 40 back in 2005 I reckon he'd have been in it, even though he wasn't named in the 22. He won the RB medal back in 2006. He's not finished outside the B&F top 10 since 2004 - at least.
And putting the above aside, he brings something genuinely unique to the Swans' line-up. How many people on here bemoan the slowness of moving the ball forward. Crave for it to be kicked quickly to a one-on-one contest where Hall or O'Loughlin at least have a chance of just beating their opponent. And yet people think the one player in the team who actually does this with regularity is expendable in exchange for a pick in the mid-teens who might become a decent player in 5 years time, or might be another Willoughby. Or want to swap him for a mediocre or unproven 3rd forward, like Boyle or Dowler.
I accept the club's hand may be forced if he decides he wants to go. And if he does go, we may have to make do with a tweenies pick and/or a mediocre player. But that's a long long way from arguing that the team will be a better unit for it, and that it will bring us closer to another premiership than seeing him play out his career in the red and white.
(As an aside, he attracts a hard hard tag pretty much every week. Some games he is able to star despite that. In other games the tagger gets the better of him - hence his occasional very quiet games. Take him out of the team and that tagger goes to someone like McVeigh, making that next player down the chain have to work harder to have an impact. Even in the games where his direct input hasn't been great, I don't recall him ever stopping working his butt off for the 95% of time he is typically able to stay on the ground, running up and down and back up again. If nothing else, he's making the opposition coach and a player pay him due attention because they know if they let off for even a short while, he can create multiple scoring opportunities for the team in the blink of an eye.)
As to his year, the Vic selectors thought him worthy of being one of best 22 Vic players (which equates to approx one of the best 44 from all states) - based on the first half, all that's relevant for that criterion.
The AA selectors deemed him to be one of the best 40 players for the season.
I'd wager a fair bit that the Swans' coaches are going to deem him to be one the best 3 Swans for the season come Friday night.
And it's not like its a season out of the blue. He was AA in 2006. If they'd picked a squad of 40 back in 2005 I reckon he'd have been in it, even though he wasn't named in the 22. He won the RB medal back in 2006. He's not finished outside the B&F top 10 since 2004 - at least.
And putting the above aside, he brings something genuinely unique to the Swans' line-up. How many people on here bemoan the slowness of moving the ball forward. Crave for it to be kicked quickly to a one-on-one contest where Hall or O'Loughlin at least have a chance of just beating their opponent. And yet people think the one player in the team who actually does this with regularity is expendable in exchange for a pick in the mid-teens who might become a decent player in 5 years time, or might be another Willoughby. Or want to swap him for a mediocre or unproven 3rd forward, like Boyle or Dowler.
I accept the club's hand may be forced if he decides he wants to go. And if he does go, we may have to make do with a tweenies pick and/or a mediocre player. But that's a long long way from arguing that the team will be a better unit for it, and that it will bring us closer to another premiership than seeing him play out his career in the red and white.
(As an aside, he attracts a hard hard tag pretty much every week. Some games he is able to star despite that. In other games the tagger gets the better of him - hence his occasional very quiet games. Take him out of the team and that tagger goes to someone like McVeigh, making that next player down the chain have to work harder to have an impact. Even in the games where his direct input hasn't been great, I don't recall him ever stopping working his butt off for the 95% of time he is typically able to stay on the ground, running up and down and back up again. If nothing else, he's making the opposition coach and a player pay him due attention because they know if they let off for even a short while, he can create multiple scoring opportunities for the team in the blink of an eye.)
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