Riewoldt milestone in exalted company

[Vazelos]

Had a satisfying moment today with a blues supporter mate who always rated Pavlich over Roo conceded today Roo now gets the nod. Roo should get over 350 games and should get close to 800 goals by the time he finishes taking him into alltime status for games played and goals kicked. He will have the all time marks record as well which makes him an all time AFL great not just a Saints great. His last few years post 30 have been phenomenal, has anyone been that good this late in their career?
The fact he is a one team player, an ornament to loyalty and being a great leader and person he is just a legend!!
Plugger at his best was the greatest I ever saw but this man with Harvey are the 2 best Saints men in my time.

[SemperFidelis]

Whilst there is no doubt Pav was underrated out east, and there is no doubt he was a champ, I just can't see him being considered in the same company as Roo ... Roo is a champion's champ.

[Toy Saint]

Any idea how close Riewoldt is to the all time marks record?

Dissapointed he didn't get the record for most games as captain.

[Enrico_Misso]

Any idea how close Riewoldt is to the all time marks record?

Dissapointed he didn't get the record for most games as captain.

Roo needs another 44 marks to break the record

#1 Dempsey 2906
#2 Riewoldt 2863

He took 8 today and his long term average is just under 9, so he should break it in 5 games after the Bye in Round 12 against Adelaide in Adelaide.

Agree on the captaincy.
Wiping Kernahan's name of that record would have been most enjoyable.

[Enrico_Misso]

Should add that Dempsey and Riewoldt track at almost identical marks per game.
Dempsey played 328 games.
Roo has played 324.
So as per earlier post if Roo keeps tracking at 9 marks a game he breaks the record in game 329.

[Enrico_Misso]

and speaking of 324 games to Riewoldt
That moves him one clear of Nathan Burke and in to second place behind Sir Robert Harvey on 383.

So Roo needs 60 more games to pass Harves.
If he plays two more years and plays EVERY game that would give him 60 H&A games plus hopefully some finals.
Else he would have to play on to 2020 to break the record.
So Harvey should only be a little bit nervous.

[Vazelos]

In the end his status will be in exalted company.
Once in a generation player and club man as well.
His loyalty will always be remembered.

[Proph3t of egan]

Should add that Dempsey and Riewoldt track at almost identical marks per game.
Dempsey played 328 games.
Roo has played 324.
So as per earlier post if Roo keeps tracking at 9 marks a game he breaks the record in game 329.

If roo gets put back on the wing, he will rack up 12 marks a game

[BigMart]

Dempsey also played a kick behind with no opponent for 15 years

[Enrico_Misso]

Dempsey also played a kick behind with no opponent for 15 years

That is true.
But in the modern game forwards when their team is defending drift up the ground and do get cheap marks and kicks.

[Enrico_Misso]

The other Riewoldt watch we should put in place is goals.
He is now just 33 goals behind the great twelve time (yes 12) StKilda leading goalkicker and centurian goalkicker Bill Mohr on 735 goals.

StKilda goalkickers
#1 898 Plugger 4.91 per game
#2 735 Mohr 3.77 per game
#3 702 Riewoldt 2.17 per game
#4 594 Loewe 1.85 per game
#5 574 Milne 2.09 per game
#6 390 Gehrig 2.69 per game

He won't catch Plugger but he should cement himself at #2 and maybe give 800 a nudge.

[Joffa Burns]

Dempsey also played a kick behind with no opponent for 15 years

Ignorant comment, you must have started watching footy in the very late seventies early eighties to make such a misinformed statement.

Dempsey was the best contested mark I have seen followed by Swan McKay & Buckets.
He was contested marking when the ball was regularly kicked to big packs in grounds that were wet boggy heaps in the winter.

Prior to his serious burns he was mobile like a young big Carl and only spent the latter years sitting a kick behind play (even in those days the kick behind Mark was often contested).

Dempsey and all time great, TOC in two clubs, greatest brownlow vote getter in history (from memory), brownlow medalist, absolute champion player and best contested Mark I have ever seen with daylight second.

[Enrico_Misso]

Dempsey and all time great, TOC in two clubs, greatest brownlow vote getter in history (from memory), brownlow medalist, absolute champion player and best contested Mark I have ever seen with daylight second.

Greatest Brownlow vote getter because of the two years in the 70's when the votes were doubled (both umps voted).
On adjusted voting (halve those two years) he is third.

The players with over 200 (adjusted) career votes are
#1 220 G Ablett junior
#1 220 S Mitchell
#3 218.5 G Dempsey
#4 215 R Harvey
#5 210 C Judd

[Trev from the Bush]

Dempsey also played a kick behind with no opponent for 15 years

So true. But he played in an era when the game was not all about playing keepings-off. Don't know what the stats were in Demps era but the number of possessions per game during Roo's career have increased dramatically.

Both are true champs, but Roo is our champ.

[Joffa Burns]

Dempsey and all time great, TOC in two clubs, greatest brownlow vote getter in history (from memory), brownlow medalist, absolute champion player and best contested Mark I have ever seen with daylight second.

Greatest Brownlow vote getter because of the two years in the 70's when the votes were doubled (both umps voted).
On adjusted voting (halve those two years) he is third.

The players with over 200 (adjusted) career votes are
#1 220 G Ablett junior
#1 220 S Mitchell
#3 218.5 G Dempsey
#4 215 R Harvey
#5 210 C Judd

In pretty good company in that top 5.
The bloke in 4th went ok for a sustained period of time

[BigMart]

I know that about Dempsey... his pack marking... and him being a gun

He won 5 straight b&fs after all and has the most Brownlow votes

But he simply had no opponent in those packs... whilst a FF/FB or CHF/CHB with average heights of 185-190cm wrestled with each other and some skinny flankers who'd never done weights... Dempsey, a 200cm 100kg monster would drop in on the pack with no opponent and take a grab... as it seems twice a quarter.

The ball was kicked long to a forward line pack probably 30 times a quarter as that's how you moved the ballin the 70s

McKay, VanderHaar, Knights, Teasdale, Templeton, Breidis, Glendinnng, Quinlan, Blight - basically just played 'Jack in the Pack'

Contested pack marking was the norm in the 70s and 80s
And it was common to do it for half an hour every training session

Gary Dempsey/Simon Madden were perhaps the best pack marking ruckman ever

[BigMart]

These days, kicking to a pack... not inside 20m from goal, or 5 m from the boundary is a no no!

Coaches will not allow it! Avoid it!

It's why players would prefer to go wide and short to the flank than go long to a contested situation

[mr six o'clock]

Should add that Dempsey and Riewoldt track at almost identical marks per game.
Dempsey played 328 games.
Roo has played 324.
So as per earlier post if Roo keeps tracking at 9 marks a game he breaks the record in game 329.

If roo plays another 20 odd games we can change his nickname to
Mr 3000 !!!

[avid]

Can we do a calculation of most marks per centimetre of height?
Roo would bound away from Dempsey then.

[kosifantutti]

Can we do a calculation of most marks per centimetre of height?
Roo would bound away from Dempsey then.

Both behind Paul Callery.

[skeptic]

On Riewoldt... whilst the very best of the greats of his era (Pavlich, Brown, Richo, Carey etc.) was as good as Riewoldt... with the exception of the latter, none of them were nearly as good as Roo for as long.

Even look at the great mids of his time, Judd, Ablett, Pendles, Danger... most have been better for patches of time but none have been sooo good for as long. Roo IMO is clearly the player of his generation.

He even dislodges my fav Saint of all time... the great Stewart Loewe from our GOAT team

[Vazelos]

His quality over a long time has put him in a rare group of exalted players.
Mike Sheehan grades him down saying his impact on finals wasn't huge but that's downgrading him due to the fact he didn't win a premiership. He has played some massive finals games, the 2009 final against Collingwood stays in my mind.
When he finishes he will be all time great no doubt that's a given.

[desertsaint]

On Riewoldt... whilst the very best of the greats of his era (Pavlich, Brown, Richo, Carey etc.) was as good as Riewoldt... with the exception of the latter, none of them were nearly as good as Roo for as long.

I reckon he's comfortably ahead of all that group bar Carey. He'll end up a Legend. Let's hope it's with a miraculous flag at the very end, in similar vein to Crawford, who hung on just long enough. If only Harvey had played on in 2009.

[Legendary]

His quality over a long time has put him in a rare group of exalted players.
Mike Sheehan grades him down saying his impact on finals wasn't huge but that's downgrading him due to the fact he didn't win a premiership. He has played some massive finals games, the 2009 final against Collingwood stays in my mind.
When he finishes he will be all time great no doubt that's a given.

He won three finals off his own boot - '08 semi vs the Pies, '09 qualifying vs the Pies and '10 qualifying final vs the Cats.

He was also BOG in a fourth final ('04 semi vs the Swans) when he took a dozen marks in the wet and had the 2nd most possessions for St Kilda, despite the rain.

His record in finals (apart from Grand Finals) is excellent.

[Jacks Back]

Now if Geary would only abdicate the captaincy for enough weeks to get Rooey over the line for most games captained...