The Monday Moment: Where does Darren Jarman sit on the list of Adelaide Crows’ all-time greats?
Adelaide was planning to mark its 30th season with a second induction to its Hall of Fame before the COVID-19 shutdown. Who would’ve been next in line, and where would Darren Jarman rank in the Top 20 Crows of all time?
Reece Homfray
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It has been five years since Adelaide honoured the inaugural inductees to its Hall of Fame and left the audience in tears, silence and fits of laughter as they recounted two AFL premierships from humble beginnings.
The night marked the 25th anniversary of the club and there were plans to do the same for its 30th season this year before the coronavirus shut down the competition.
That is now being re-evaluated along with just about everything else as the club fights to get back on the field and functioning as something resembling normal again.
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But it begs an interesting question as to which players would have been next in line for the highest honour the club can bestow on them?
And that coincides with a News Corp project that is currently being rolled out across the country during the AFL’s indefinite lockdown – ranking the top 20 players at each club of the AFL era, or in the Crows’ case, of all time.
I’ve spent the past two weeks pondering that very question and speaking with some of the club’s longest serving and most successful coaches about who should not be forgotten when compiling an initial list for consideration.
The Top 10 virtually picks itself – not the order, but the names – then 10-20 becomes a very subjective conversation where the lines are blurred between premierships, All-Australians, Malcolm Blight Medals, goals kicked, games played, years served as skipper or impact at that time.
For instance, how do you compare Tyson Edwards’ 321 games and two premierships with Tony McGuinness’ 113 in the club’s formative years as it hovered in the bottom half of the ladder?
It’s generally accepted that Mark Ricciuto and Andrew McLeod are the two best players to have ever worn the Crows guernsey, but in what order? It depends on who you ask.
Both were among the five players inducted into Adelaide’s Hall of Fame when it was established in 2015 alongside Tony Modra, Ben Hart and Simon Goodwin.
Now, one of the biggest conundrums facing selectors or anyone compiling a Top 20 list is just where exactly does Darren Jarman rate?
Jarman has been in the Australian Football Hall of Fame for 13 years having won one premiership and two All-Australian honours at Hawthorn before becoming a Crow in 1996. And that was on top of 144 games with North Adelaide in the SANFL.
He played 121 games for Adelaide, which doesn’t even put him in the Top 30 for games played and he never won a best-and-fairest – although he came close with runner-up in 1997 – but what value do you put on kicking 11 goals in two winning grand finals?
How high does Simon Goodwin sit with his five All-Australians compared to Patrick Dangerfield’s three in 154 games before returning to Victoria?
Daniel Talia, Ben Rutten or both?
Shaun Rehn and Sam Jacobs?
And where does Tony Modra sit in the history of the club?
There are so many questions and every person will have a different answer, but our Top 20 Crows of all time will be published next weekend.
But before that, stay tuned for a special project run by The Advertiser where a panel led by colleague Matt Turner has selected the Top 150 players to have represented Port Adelaide in its 150-year history.
The first instalment will be published on Wednesday and knowing the passion of Port Adelaide people, it is sure to create plenty of debate.
reece.homfray@news.com.au