10 exciting players that keep drawing Mick Malthouse back to the footy
THESE are the players who excite, who combine unpredictability with skill and who teammates look to for inspiration, and they draw MICK MALTHOUSE back to the footy.
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MY EIGHT-year-old grandson is footy mad.
He reads AFL Records like novels and plays and watches football all weekend, every weekend.
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He is a Saints supporter, but that doesn’t limit whom he most loves to watch.
It’s no coincidence his list of favourites is the same as mine, because there’s a distinction among footballers, an eminence in some that is irresistible. Majestic. Mercurial.
It’s called the X-factor.
Now this isn’t about ability alone — it’s the unknown, the unpredictability and the personality, combined with the skill.
His teammates look to him for inspiration. He is a crowd favourite, and he is capable of an individual act that can turn a game on its head.
LANCE FRANKLIN has the X-factor in spades.
He is the ultimate charismatic footballer — when he has the ball, there is a collective intake of breath.
Whether it’s a long raking goal, his catlike agility, or a stinging kick to set up a teammate, there is electricity in the air whenever he is involved in the play.
Franklin is no angel — he hits hard and throws his weight around — but his strength and endeavour add to his appeal. He is a standout.
EDDIE BETTS has the potential to kick the goal of the year each week.
He has a magical way of playing that attracts an audience and sends them into a spin when he pulls off the impossible.
Adelaide coach Don Pyke has obviously given Betts a licence to have a crack, which means more for the crowd to appreciate.
I love how Joe Daniher goes about his game.
A gangly left footer who presents a polite image, we are witnessing his coming of age on the footy field.
His sweeping kick can set the Bombers alight, especially when it’s a monster 60m goal on the run. The future is his.
DUSTIN MARTIN, like former Magpie Dane Swan, can walk the walk to match his painted body. He does things his way, but unites his teammates with his weekly heroics.
My grandson and his teammates call the “don’t argue” the “Dustin Martin”, such is his following.
He is a brilliant player and is almost in Brownlow-winning form.
I would hate to see him leave Richmond as a free agent.
If anyone has the X-factor, CYRIL RIOLI does.
It might just be one thing he does in a game that propels his teammates to a new level that no one else could do. Sometimes that’s all you need.
His teammates run the length of the ground to celebrate with him and the crowd almost moves with him when he has the ball, waiting to see what he will pull out of the hat. It’s spellbinding.
Aside from NAT FYFE’S hairdo, it’s his sheer brilliance that makes him stand out.
The longer he is in football, the longer he will get the Dockers over the line.
His teammates are clearly inspired by him.
His confidence and flair have captured the attention of the whole football world, for good reason, so we wait to see if Fremantle will remain his home.
The Bulldogs have a few players vying for the X-factor position, but I think JAKE STRINGER has enough of those elusive qualities to claim it.
When the ball is near him the crowd waits for something supernatural to happen. He has enough flamboyance (without knowing it) to execute the impossible.
And not too far behind him, Marcus Bontempelli and Jason Johannisen can pick up the spills and complete the magic act.
SHANE MUMFORD is brutal at Greater Western Sydney. His big tackles are showstopping.
For a ruckman who can’t jump he provides enormous promotion for the team, and it’s obvious the young Giants midfielders look up to him and are more confident simply because he is there.
Likewise MAX GAWN at Melbourne. Sidelined by injury, the Demons are missing his gallantry and big marks.
When fit his teammates gather around him like bees to a honey pot, a clear indication of his popularity and ability to stir the team into action.
West Coast lost its X-factor when NIC NAITANUI went down injured.
His size and strength, athleticism and leap put him in a category of his own — the Eagles are better with him in the team.
Perhaps the missing link at Collingwood early in the season was JAMIE ELLIOTT.
His return from injury seems to have sparked a resurgence of sorts.
The tattoos, the dyed hair, the red boots — it all signifies the young Magpie wants attention.
It’s OK to want it, as long as you deliver, but deliver he does.
His leap is unbelievable for his size, taking the kind of marks kids like my grandson practice in the playground every day. His cult following is growing.
This is the distinction between the X-factor player and the best-and-fairest.
Risk.
The best players are methodical, they toe the line and talk in cliches. They don’t seek attention. They get the job done with hard work and natural talent.
They are qualities I valued, admired and wholeheartedly appreciated as a coach.
Footballers such as Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, Scott Pendlebury, Luke Hodge and Sydney’s Josh Kennedy are the heart and soul of a club.
The X-factor player is the adrenaline — that player with a unique persona, almost unnatural skill, and a desire to excite and exceed limitations.
He takes risks — risks that usually pay off.
As a coach you set perimeters, wide enough for players to show individual flair but rigid enough to stay within the game structure.
If he steps outside the boundaries you haul him in, but you don’t break his spirit, because that is what creates those flashes of brilliance.
Football history is littered with X-factor players who virtually became cult heroes.
They didn’t guarantee match success each week, but they always inspired their team to go harder and do better, and they owned the highlight reel — Wayne Carey, Gary Ablett Sr, Dermott Brereton, Matthew Richardson and Tony Lockett just to name a few.
When I was at Footscray, Simon Beasley stood out for more than his lilywhite skin and blond hair.
Doug Hawkins was Doug Hawkins, as expressive on field as he was off it.
At Collingwood, Swan was a role model — whether he wanted to be or not — with his brazen skills and dry wit.
Dale Thomas with his golden mane and exuberance was adored by the Magpie faithful, and Anthony Rocca was cheered on to kick a goal from wherever he had the ball, and when he did the roar was deafening.
At Carlton, even on one leg Chris Judd performed miracles.
Not as flamboyant or outspoken as other names I’ve mentioned, he simply inspired by doing things other players couldn’t.
Every elite footballer is talented.
Some go on to be the best of the best, and then there are the rare few who challenge imagination and capture football hearts, and the game is richer for having them.
Originally published as 10 exciting players that keep drawing Mick Malthouse back to the footy
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