Mick Malthouse lists the six current-day players who have earnt the ‘champion’ tag
A Brownlow Medal doesn’t guarantee champion status, according to Mick Malthouse. The master coach lays out his champion criteria and names the six current players who fit the bill. And explains why Nat Fyfe misses out.
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When Matt Rowell walked off the field with a shoulder injury last weekend there was a collective groan from footy supporters who had enjoyed watching him play for almost five full games.
Five games, and he had been touted as a potential Rising Star recipient. Five games, and he had been included in Brownlow speculation. Five games, and he was being dubbed a superstar, a champion.
Clearly Matt Rowell can play football very well, and the Gold Coast Suns will miss him until he is back from injury, but labels are dangerous in football, especially if they are given too soon. Labels equal pressure, and not everyone can handle that.
It is easy to be seduced by the current form of a player and call him a champion, or even a champion in the making.
But true champions of our game are few and far between, because in my mind there is a tough criteria list the player must possess for the label to fit.
And he must establish himself throughout the whole, long journey to be truly deemed a champion.
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A Brownlow Medal doesn’t always guarantee a champion. It is the umpires award, and every player who has won it has been a worthy recipient, but be careful calling him a champion if he doesn’t fit the champion criteria.
- He must have durability and resilience.
- He needs to be an impact player, most games, every season.
- He must have leadership capabilities but doesn’t necessarily need to be the captain.
- He has to be a big occasion player. He loves the big stage and almost demands it.
- He is inspirational and influential and makes his team and his teammates better.
- He needs to be reliable. The go-to player.
- He needs to possess all of this, year after year.
Currently, in my opinion, there are six players who could be called champions in the league. And there are others who are very close, but we need more time to consider them.
Geelong has three champions.
There is no doubting the credentials of Gary Ablett Jr. Two-time Cats best and fairest. Four-time Gold Coast best and fairest. Eight time All Australian. And he has won two Brownlow medals with the most votes of any current player (261).
More importantly, the 36-year-old has shown years of durability and longevity, through injury and changing clubs.
He is a big moment player and nearly always performs well in the games that matter.
And he has repeatedly won games off his own boot.
His only takeaway is that I don’t think he was a great captain at the Suns, but he seems to be a very good leader at the Cats.
Joel Selwood is a true warrior and a champion.
Three-time club best and fairest, and six-time All Australian, he leads the Geelong team brilliantly as one of the best captains I’ve seen.
He has single-handedly won games for the Cats by getting them out of the mire. He is inspirational for his teammates and has been for many years. When Geelong is down he excels.
Selwood has never won a Brownlow.
But Patrick Dangerfield has, along with seven All Australian nominations, and four club best and fairest awards (one at Adelaide.)
Dangerfield is an inspirational player.
He has proven to be durable, reliable, and although not captain he leads from the front, always. He is also a multi-positional player making him more dynamic and dangerous.
If there is one hit on him, it’s that when he sometimes has a chance to put teams away he misses that must-get goal.
It has taken this Geelong trio years to demonstrate that the qualities they each possess establish them as champions, but I think they well and truly deserve that title now.
Scott Pendlebury stands out in today’s football.
Five-time Collingwood best and fairest, he has tallied 194 Brownlow votes but never won the award.
He is a brilliant leader. He is consistent, reliable and resilient. He is calm in a storm.
I will never forget his 2010 finals series where he stood up in every match, and ultimately helped us win the premiership. Champion.
His teammate, Brodie Grundy, right now is better than really good. He is an excellent, reliable, influential performer for the Pies.
When we look at past champion ruckmen however — Gary Dempsey, Peter Moore, Len Thompson, Graham Moss, Jim Stynes, Scott Wynd and Dean Cox — perhaps we didn’t judge them to be champions until well into their careers, if not at the end.
Therefore I wonder if Grundy needs more time to equal or pass them in performance to be labelled a champion as well.
There is no question however that Buddy Franklin is a champion. In fact, if there wasn’t a concern over his current form due to injury, he would be the first one chosen.
A phenomenal match-winner, his skill, speed and unpredictable talent makes him one of the true champions of our game.
A four-time Coleman medallist he is the only player in the past 20-years to kick more than 100 goals in a season.
He hasn’t always played well in finals, but he has consistently been an impact player at Hawthorn and Sydney, and time and time again has turned a game on its head on his own.
Another player who can do that is Dustin Martin.
Of all his accolades and awards, it’s the two Norm Smith medals that highlight why he is a champion. To play that well, on the biggest stage, twice, is extraordinary.
He meets all the criteria of a champion. Inspirational. Impactful. Influential, multi-positional player. He owns the “don’t argue” and he wins games off his own boot.
And he loves the big stage. Martin is a champion for sure.
That’s my list. It’s short. But as I said, I have tough criteria and I am a harsh marker.
And I think the word champion is too often used, too easily.
In saying that, I think there are several other players who are close to being called champions.
Jack Riewoldt, if not for his form this year and parts of last year rubbing off some of his shine and influence, I would put the nine-time leading Richmond goal-kicker very close to champion status.
So too, Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe.
It has been a bone of contention for some people that I do not label the two-time Brownlow medallist a champion already.
Fyfe is a very, very good player. Clearly. But I don’t think he is a captain who sets an agenda. Captains must do what they ask of their teammates.
He is also unreliable with his disposal, particularly with crunch time shots at goal.
That is the difference, in my opinion, in being very, very good, and a champion.
Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray was unfortunately cut down in his prime by an ACL injury. The three-time club best and fairest, four-time All Australian is highly respected by his own team and any opponent, but that doesn’t quite fit the champion tag.
West Coast’s Josh Kennedy, six-time leading goal-kicker, two-time Coleman medallist is highly reliable, quite resilient, and a big-time player. I feel like he boarders on being a very good player and a champion. Perhaps in five years, after he has retired, we will view that differently.
So too Max Gawn, who like Grundy at Collingwood, means everything to the Demons, but still needs to pay his dues to be called a champion. His big test this year, as new captain, is whether he can get his teammates to play better than at their current standard.
Then there’s those players with time up their sleeve to be adjudged.
Lachie Neale has the potential to be a champion. The two-time club best and fairest (one each at Fremantle and Brisbane,) is a clear standout for the Lions with inspiration, reliability and leadership.
He needs to demonstrate that he can play big-game football when Brisbane plays finals this season.
Patrick Cripps has already been awarded best and fairest three times at Carlton at just 25 years of age. Now he has the added responsibility of captaincy.
He is marked every week as the Blues’ most dangerous player. Only time will tell if he can sustain his exceptional standards for a whole career.
Sam Walsh has all the hallmarks of a champion, but perhaps the burden of such a label in his first year has had a bearing on his performance this season. He has years ahead to prove those early assessments true.
Joe Daniher, for all intents and purposes, before injury struck, looked like he was on the road to champion status. Perhaps we’ll never know.
Marcus Bontempelli. The new Bulldogs captain, who is finding his feet as the club leader, could very well break into the elite echelon of champions if his trend as an excellent, inspirational, courageous and reliable footballer continues.
And of course, Matt Rowell could be anything, but he has to overcome injury first.
It is amazing (and sad) how quickly people are forgotten in football, but the champions will always be remembered. Leigh Matthews, Wayne Carey, Kevin Bartlett, Chris Judd, Nick Riewoldt, Luke Hodge, Glen Jakovich and Dougie Hawkins all spring to my mind, and for very good reason.
“Inches make champions.” (Vince Lombardi) So true.
Originally published as Mick Malthouse lists the six current-day players who have earnt the ‘champion’ tag
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