Goodes

[Primmy]

Just as an additional point, since we are all saying we haven't seen Bobby play. Has anyone got any footage of him in action?

[aardvark]

Good point. Kell got his Charlie in 1995 but he considered he played much better in 1996. However the votes got split amongst other very good players who came on board. If Bobby picked up 3 in low achieving teams, then maybe he still holds the crown. However Goodsey is right up there for elegance.

No argument from me re Goodsy being No.2. Skilts was the "Don Bradman" of the Swans. No 1 by a long way.

[snajik]

Hall kicked 5 more goals than Plugger but he had to play 60 extra games to achieve that.

[aardvark]

Just as an additional point, since we are all saying we haven't seen Bobby play. Has anyone got any footage of him in action?

Part 1: Bob Skilton talks red and white history - Watch Videos Online with BigPond Video | Sport Videos, AFL Videos

Cant find any footage Primmy but this is a fantastic interview for anyone interested in Bob and his thoughts re his time with the Swans. I hope you enjoy it, I did.

[Donners]

I think you could argue Hall ended up a better player for sydney than lockett. I would like to see some stats to compare. I know lockett lifted a rabble and gave a profile to the team and had a great influence on other players coming in and the success but Hall was a champion for us. He is still underrated when they talk about the big forwards, you hear pav brown riewoldt etc and i think Hally gets forgotten.

Games: Hall 162, Lockett 98
Goals per game: Hall 2.9, Lockett 4.7
Marks per game: Hall 7.6, Lockett 6.0
Poss per game: Hall 13.2, Lockett 9.7
Brownlow votes: Hall 63, Lockett 43
All-Australian: Hall 3, Lockett 3
B&F: Hall 1, Lockett 1

I'd say they are reasonably equal. Lockett had arguably worse supply, but less competition in the forward line. Hall won a premiership and captained the side, but Lockett was a major factor in Sydney's rise.

[aardvark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZZsdY95DZI 1970 Semi St kilda v South Melbourne

Only a split second of Skilts in this one but worth a look anyway

[wolftone57]

No way. Skilts won his 3 Brownlows in a team that rarely won a game. Goodsy may rank No 2 but Skilts was a level above any other Swan iv'e seen in the last 50 years.

I only ever saw Skilton play toward the end of his career, he was very old then in the early '70's but still a great player. I come from Broken Hill & our family only had TV from '67 onward. We used to listen to the great "Jumbo" Sharland or Doug Hayward & Dick Mason on the radio. Skilton was a mighty player from an era that produced some of the great legends of the game. Teddy Whitton, John Kennedy, Darrell Baldock, Ron Barrassi, Polly Farmer, Carl Dieterich, Billy Goggin, Ian Stewart, Peter Hudson, Royce Hart, Peter McKenna, Geoff Southby and the list goes on. In the years between 1956 & 1976 more champions were produced than at any other time in the game. Today we rely on more a champion team approach. Is Goodes as good as these? Most certainly! He is already one of the greats, having won more than 1 Brownlow will get you that.

[Doctor J.]

From different eras. So difficult to compare. For years Skilton carried some frightfully ordinary sides and stood out as a true great in an era where the truly skilled were hindered by second rate playing conditions and behind the play thuggery. I think the big difference between the two of them is consistency. Skilton would be in South's best 2 just about every week. He was a certainty to be there, whereas Goodes is never a certainty to be amongst our best every week. He's getting there and if he plays out the rest of his career in similar fashion to how he's started this year, he will deserve to be recognised as the greatest Swan of all time.

[swansrule100]

Games: Hall 162, Lockett 98
Goals per game: Hall 2.9, Lockett 4.7
Marks per game: Hall 7.6, Lockett 6.0
Poss per game: Hall 13.2, Lockett 9.7
Brownlow votes: Hall 63, Lockett 43
All-Australian: Hall 3, Lockett 3
B&F: Hall 1, Lockett 1

I'd say they are reasonably equal. Lockett had arguably worse supply, but less competition in the forward line. Hall won a premiership and captained the side, but Lockett was a major factor in Sydney's rise.

thanks for that and yeah i only meant purely as swans players. Lockett overall is a lot better, and probably still better for sydney, was less trouble i guess. Just think Hally gets forgotten probably because at another team at the moment.

[Velour&Ruffles]

Just a general topic.. is adam goodes the greatest swan ever? better than bob skilton.. thoughts!

Surely you jest.

[India'sDad]

It's been said - Goodes' versatility is without equal in the 15 years I've been watching the Swans - and that's across the other teams in the comp too. Plenty of players have been swung forward or back as a pitch hitter but very few have had full seasons the ruck, as a mid, up forward and down back.

Natural talent is undeniable - but I've felt he hasn't quite dominated enough games in the way his talent suggested he might. Although a few more quarters like Saturday night will change my mind - it was as if he lifted up a gear to a level no-one else had.

Greatest player - weight of opinion says Skilton, most loved Kelly or Kirk, most important Lockett - but I'd give most talented to Goodes. Hopefully another 4 or 5 season in him with the worst case a permanent forward if the engine goes.

[Auntie.Gerald]

he is in white hot form the last 3 rounds !

Go Goodesy !

[chuckie]

Goodesy and Kelly were and in Goodesy case still is a super star but Skilts was something different fair enough he was great in an ordinary team but when he put on the Big V he was even better.
As far as captains go one of our best was Ricky Quade he was a real inspirational captain and someone that should be made a legend of the club this year.
Another player that had he played more games would be spoken in the elite class was Max Papley a real star.

[Plugger1300]

I can't believe there are people on this thread trying to compare the GREATEST full forward of all time with Barry Hall. Loved Hall at the Swans but he isn't anywhere near Lockett. I think people need to go back and watch Tony destroy teams. Yes he was a more dominant player for the sinners (kicked 10 or more goals on 22 occasions and averaged 7.27 in 89') but i believe he became a better overall player at the Swans. He is with Paul Kelly the greatest Swan i have seen.

1.Lockett
2.Kelly
3. Kirk
4.Goodes
5.R.O'conner (just playing)

[satchmopugdog]

So that would be a misprint then where it says B Skilton starting Rover in the AFL team of the Century


THE AFL TEAM OF THE CENTURY
B: B. Smith, S. Silvagni, J. Nicholls
HB: B. Doull, T. Whitten (c) K. Murray
C: F. Bourke, I. Stewart, K. Greig
HF: A. Jesaulenko, R. Hart, D. Reynolds
F: L. Matthews, J. Coleman, H. Bunton
R: G. Farmer, R. Barassi, B. Skilton
I/C: G. Ablett, J. Dyer, G. Williams
Coach: N. Smith
Umpire: J. Elder
Link to the Official AFL press release about the Team of the Century

Have got a funny story related to this.

I was at a Swans Melbourne function with my pommy sister-in-law. It was toilet break time and everyone was congregating in the foyer. A gaggle of women were clustered around Barassi and the bloke standing next to my pommy sister-in-law said, "He could always do that!!!" My sister-in-law wanting to appear knowledgeable said, "Oh but he's a legend you know!" I looked over a saw she was talking to Bobby Skilton. he always seems to be undervalued