Renaming the Premiership Cup

[barry]

+1 for a barassi stand.

[KSAS]

I have no objections if they name the Premiership Cup after Barassi, but I heard Gerard Healy put a good case in naming a MCG stand after him being more appropriate. There is no AFL representation in the MCG stands, which is strange considering it is the No. 1 sport played there for most of the year (something to do with the MCC).

Renaming the Members stand after Barassi seems the most likely candidate but current MCC holding will make that difficult according to Healy.

Having MCG stands named after Shane Warne and Ronald Dale Barassi seems most fitting for both sports at a Victorian & national level.

[Blood Fever]

Fair call. I would lie low..... a few weeks ago, I was pondering the same if we were going to be in the same position.

[Nico]

I would suggest to all GWS supporters going tonight to take a change of top for after the game. If they roll Collinnnngwooood there will be some very savage Pies supporters after the game. And they will think it is not the fault of their players.

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Woops, wrong thread.

[barry]

The premiership cup should be called the Mitch Morton cup. The reluctant hero.

[Blood Fever]

Polly and John Nicholls were great tap ruckmen. Play was less congested then and it was a great advantage to have a skilled ruck player. He used to find Goggin with 20 metre handpasses as well. Uncanny.

[Bloods05]

Didn't know that he changed to being left footed. He was still a lovely kick on the left. Lots of players kicked well with both feet back then. Bobby Skilton, who was left footed, kicked brilliantly on his right, including drop kicks. Farmer came over relatively late in his career but still had a massive impact. Had a great relationship with his coach Bob Davis whose sides played with skill and flair.

He also had an uncanny understanding with his rover, Bill Goggin. His tap work was at least as good as Dean Cox's.

[Blood Fever]

Didn't know that he changed to being left footed. He was still a lovely kick on the left. Lots of players kicked well with both feet back then. Bobby Skilton, who was left footed, kicked brilliantly on his right, including drop kicks. Farmer came over relatively late in his career but still had a massive impact. Had a great relationship with his coach Bob Davis whose sides played with skill and flair.

[Bloods05]

Farmer was an unbelievable player.

Certainly was. I don't know of any other player who, following a knee injury, changed his preferred kicking foot. I only ever knew him as a left-footer and it never would have occurred to me that this was anything other than natural. And he genuinely could handball as far as some players could kick, and with unerring accuracy. Also a very fair player. He was a phenomenon. So sad that he suffered depression in later life due to repeated concussions.

[Blood Fever]

Farmer was an unbelievable player.

[Bloods05]

Stevo, I always feel that Polly Farmer really introduced to the competition just how powerful a weapon handball was.

It was mainly used as a defensive mechanism prior to him.

Not for a second belittling Ron's value, but Polly also had a huge influence.

Photo finish, except Barass's GF records just tip his nose in front for mine.

Polly's use of handball was remarkable. He was the first player to regularly use the 30-metre handball as an attacking move. Most players weren't even capable of executing a handball of that length.

But what Barassi added to that was the tactical use of handball to wrong-foot opponents who were programmed to expect players to kick, unless (as you say) they needed to handball to get out of trouble. It's what won the 1970 Grand Final, the element of surprise. But as players have become more accustomed to using handball at least as often as kicking, the game has become so much faster and ball use so much more precise.

I'm a great admirer of Polly and the way he was able to turn himself into a skilled left-footer and prolific user of handball after injuring his right knee, but in terms of overall influence (player, coach, administrator and general promoter of the game) Barassi really has no peer.

[royboy42]

There has been no one in the history of the game whose had a greater influence on the game.....it is far from a knee jerk reaction. It actually makes sense.....something you could work on barry.

Stevo, I always feel that Polly Farmer really introduced to the competition just how powerful a weapon handball was.

It was mainly used as a defensive mechanism prior to him.

Not for a second belittling Ron's value, but Polly also had a huge influence.

Photo finish, except Barass's GF records just tip his nose in front for mine.

[Bloods05]

It gets weirder

If that's possible.

[Blood Fever]

It gets weirder

[Bloods05]

Voting 'no' bloods?

Where did that come from?