We were wrong. Ish.
April 26th 2008 05:39
It is with a slightly bruised ego that I will now reveal to you a backflip in my football opinion. I don't know if I can do this. Oh well, here goes.
I have moderate respect for Paul Medhurst.
Two years ago I never thought I would be saying such a ludicrous statement. How could someone ever respect the selfish, egocentric wildcard that all the Freo fans adored. The commentators called him 'an excitement machine,' 'enterprising' or 'intuitive' - all footy euphemisms for 'annoying, unaccountable crumber' which would have been much more appropiate.
But flash two years forward to the very same Paul Medhurst, now in black and white, and you will see a different footballer.
At Fremantle, Medhurst was played below his size. A small forward, designed to be a nuisance and register four goals from four kicks, with no marks or tackles needed to keep his spot. Such a player exists in just about every team (see: Stephen Milne and Ashley McGrath, and to an extent, Eddie Betts and Des Headland). Their own fans adore them, and see their overall worth, but those behind 15 other clubs only ever see cheeky snaps, arrogant runs and needlessly exuberant celebrations.
At Collingwood, Medhurst is played beyond his size, as a key position forward. Perhaps no defence has realised this yet, and so he attracts smaller defenders, allowing him to dominate up forward. But more likely, he is just a good footballer who relishes the extra responisibility and has lifted to the task. This gives Collingwood a fellow tall forward next to Cloke and Rocca, and his inner crumber allows him to kick goals from anywhere - something the Pies have needed for a long while. He would never have won the Anzac medal playing the way he did at Freo, and the speech he gave on receiving it only helped his cause.
I am by no means a Medhurst fan yet, but Mick Malthouse has turned him into a decent and respectable forward. Kudos.
I have moderate respect for Paul Medhurst.
Two years ago I never thought I would be saying such a ludicrous statement. How could someone ever respect the selfish, egocentric wildcard that all the Freo fans adored. The commentators called him 'an excitement machine,' 'enterprising' or 'intuitive' - all footy euphemisms for 'annoying, unaccountable crumber' which would have been much more appropiate.
But flash two years forward to the very same Paul Medhurst, now in black and white, and you will see a different footballer.
At Fremantle, Medhurst was played below his size. A small forward, designed to be a nuisance and register four goals from four kicks, with no marks or tackles needed to keep his spot. Such a player exists in just about every team (see: Stephen Milne and Ashley McGrath, and to an extent, Eddie Betts and Des Headland). Their own fans adore them, and see their overall worth, but those behind 15 other clubs only ever see cheeky snaps, arrogant runs and needlessly exuberant celebrations.
At Collingwood, Medhurst is played beyond his size, as a key position forward. Perhaps no defence has realised this yet, and so he attracts smaller defenders, allowing him to dominate up forward. But more likely, he is just a good footballer who relishes the extra responisibility and has lifted to the task. This gives Collingwood a fellow tall forward next to Cloke and Rocca, and his inner crumber allows him to kick goals from anywhere - something the Pies have needed for a long while. He would never have won the Anzac medal playing the way he did at Freo, and the speech he gave on receiving it only helped his cause.
I am by no means a Medhurst fan yet, but Mick Malthouse has turned him into a decent and respectable forward. Kudos.
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