toughest footballers

[bigcarl]

who do you think is the toughest player of all time?

While players may be lauded for their attitude and skill, there is a special place reserved in the hearts of footy fans for the game’s hardest men.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 26,00.html

two saints in the top 10. ditterich and lockett.

i've voted for lockett, the strongest and most fearsome player i've seen ... even more so than my boyhood hero big carl.

Robbie Flower

Des Tuddenham

Glenn Archer

Leigh Matthews

Dermott Brereton

Gary Ablett Sr

Wayne Carey

Ron Barassi

Carl Ditterich

Tony Lockett

[EB]

Strongest and fearsome isn't really "tough" though.

Can't ever recall Plugger having to REALLY push through any physical pain barrier to play a game ala Dermie

[bigcarl]

Strongest and fearsome isn't really "tough" though. Can't ever recall Plugger having to REALLY push through any physical pain barrier to play a game ala Dermie

that's because no-one had the b*lls to run through him and crack a couple of ribs.

even if you could do it ... and that is a big if ... you'd run the risk that he'd get up and remember you.

but, as you say, it depends on your definition of tough. does it mean most intimidating or most durable?

in this case, looking at the list, apart from robbie flower they were all "tough" in the sense of "hard".

[GrumpyOne]

Somebody older than me suggested that you can't have got a more tougher Saint than Eric Guy.

Never saw him myself, but my mate played in the same team as him in Gippsland.

[True Blue Sainter]

Somebody older than me suggested that you can't have got a more tougher Saint than Eric Guy.

Never saw him myself, but my mate played in the same team as him in Gippsland.

From what I've heard, definitely the toughest Saint going around. Apparently one day just cleaned up Bobby Skilton with a textbook shirtfront. Built like the proverbial brick as well....

[onlooker]

Two former Saints immediately come to mind. The first is Eric Guy and the second is Alan Morrow. I also think Trevor Barker's name should be mentioned here but from a different perspective. When the Saints were at rock bottom they had him play positions and against opponents that should have gone to larger physically stronger players but, as he was our best he ended up with the job. I reckon its a testament to his courage and his toughness that he did this for seasons on end. During this time he took a lot of physical attention as opposition clubs knew with him out of the way or restricted the game was going to be a lot easier.

[older saint]

nathan Burke - Rarely missed a game and carried many many injuries. Hard as nails.That is tough.

Archer is the toughest I have seen

[stinger]

Somebody older than me suggested that you can't have got a more tougher Saint than Eric Guy.

Never saw him myself, but my mate played in the same team as him in Gippsland.

From what I've heard, definitely the toughest Saint going around. Apparently one day just cleaned up Bobby Skilton with a textbook shirtfront. Built like the proverbial brick as well....

he nearly cut him in half......head to toes way.....

[Cairnsman]

LUKE BALL

[Ghost Like]

LUKE BALL

Totally agree Cairnsman, unashamedly love the bloke. If I had a son, I would want him to play football just like Luke Ball as well as carry himself like Ball does off the field.

Others (current) who are genuinely tough is our own Stevie Baker and Michael Gardiner in the big men stakes. Genuinely makes the rest of our players walk taller as well as our opponents have a quick peak to see if he's in the vicinity.

Pound for pound I don't think there's a more harder or tougher player than Daniel Kerr.

In the past: Robert Harvey is always mentioned by commentators and his peers as being tough. In the days when taggers weren't rotated, I'm sure there were plenty who cringed at how tough their day was going to be having to run with the great man. I'll never forget him sticking it up Tony Shaw and a combined effort by Knights & Campbell at Waverley, great memories. (He's probably one of the main reasons interchange rotations were adopted by clubs)

Others: John Nicholls, Ron Andrews, Michael Voss and Scott Burns.

[remboy]

It depends on how you define tough. In terms of playing above you weight and being able to cop any punishment I always respected Ken Hunter. Lightly built but wouldn't hesitate to back into a pack.

[PJ]

Maybe the distinction is feared players or fearless players

Feared

Lockett
Hall
Scott bros (brissy)

fearless

Ball
Kirk
Burkey

[SteveStevens66]

It is a bit of a silly competition. There are 1000s of players who fit the bill and as others have said, there is no attempt to define "tough" by this so-called journalist. Lazy. Robbie Flower was an exquisitely poised player but in the ten "toughest" of all time? No way.

If you want to learn about some really brutal players who were notorious in their day I recommend Jack Dyer's book, The Wild Men of Football. It is a great read and takes you back to an era that is no more. Those were guys who could dish it out.

But if you define "tough" as those who could take it and keep going, among our boys, Baldock was really tough, really fearless, and really brilliant. Ditto Barker. He took everything the opposition threw at him. For those of us who recall Alan Morrow, we have seen toughness personified.

For someone from another team, I'd nominate Robert Dipierdomenico. His performance in the 1989 Grand Final alone will ensure his reputation as one of the toughest ever. Played with a punctured lung and a couple of broken ribs that day!

[carnasaints55]

well said stevey. . i think being tough is hard to define because giving a beating and taking one are different things. guys like ball can take a beating where as guys like baker would dish it out (not denying that he cant take it, but he does a lot of dishing).
id agree about baldock although his toughness is dwarfed for those of us who were not alive then because we all hear about big carl. although from the footage ive seen, he did not go down easily.

who remembers when hamill would line up against archer? always excitin.

[happy feet]

My dad is 86 and has seen a hell of alot of footy. He rates Eric Guy as the toughest he has ever seen, with alot of daylight between him and the rest. He was the hardest at the ball player ever seen, and also fair. Dad was there the day he ironed out Bobby Skilton and Killa had to take Eric of at 3/4 time for his own safety - they thought the crowd would lynch him after the game. Eric was also rated by Neil Roberts as the toughest ever - blokes like Matthews and Dermie he rated as cream puffs compared to Eric Guy.

[Duggie1]

Eric Guy--"The Tank". Saw him play many times.

[bergsone]

G.Burns would be high on my saint list,hard at the ball and hard at the body.

[stinger]

My dad is 86 and has seen a hell of alot of footy. He rates Eric Guy as the toughest he has ever seen, with alot of daylight between him and the rest. He was the hardest at the ball player ever seen, and also fair. Dad was there the day he ironed out Bobby Skilton and Killa had to take Eric of at 3/4 time for his own safety - they thought the crowd would lynch him after the game. Eric was also rated by Neil Roberts as the toughest ever - blokes like Matthews and Dermie he rated as cream puffs compared to Eric Guy.

your dad is right........the guy was built out of granite.......i remember being in the rooms at half time in the early sixties at glenferrie..........i think it was the year the hawks one their first flag...they had one of the all time dirtiest sides...with that mongrel kicker brendon edwards at the top of the list.......we were trying to make the finals.......the hawks really worked us over.....half the side were getting needles at the break ....i remember someone trying to give one to eric for a pretty painful injury........he told the doc to f*** off......