He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
I'm not bagging Crouch or Smith as I think they are/were both good players, but I think there is some overrating of Smith's potential.
Some posters seem to think he can take the step up to be one of the comp's premier midfielders who can win his own ball and cause damage to the opposition, I'd love it if that was to be the case but I can't see it happening. At 23 years old he is our premier stopper in the backline and could probably play a similar role in the midfield, although I note he has never played on a Judd or Ablett. I think there are probably others ahead of him in line for the captaincy
As for Crouchy, he was one of my favourites and you're correct about his role in 2005, we sorely missed him in 2006. He was a good player and rated extremely highly internally, but I doubt he would be regarded by many outside the inner sanctum as a champion of the game
According to: RWO - RedAndWhiteOnline.com
Jeff McGee was number #26 from 1967-1968
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