Almanac Teams: Thirty love (1980- )

 

 

 

This is a team of best players to wear the Number 30 jumper since 1980.

 

• Starting 18 will be one player from each club. I have tweaked it after the Number 3 team. Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions will be one club, with Fitzroy, Gold Coast and GWS competing for the last two spots in the starting 18.
• Teams will try to be as balanced as possible but if a number has several rucks as its best player an alternative will be picked. I will explain my selections below the team.
• Players may appear under multiple numbers, for example Eddie Betts number 18 and 19.

 

 

Stats are based on their time in that number.

 

 

I also have two teams per number, one is a best of and the other is based on players picked for different obscure/unusual reasons like cameos, unknown brothers, fathers, known for other reasons

 

 

FB:         Troy Chaplin (PA)                           Matthew Scarlett (DVC) (Geel)         Daniel Pratt (NM)

 

CHB:     Campbell Brown (Haw/GCS)        Mark Bayes (Syd)                                 Terry Smith (St.K)

 

C:           Peter Matera (WCE)                        Tony Free (VC) (Rich)                        Matthew Robbins (WB)

 

CHF:     Peter Vardy (Adel)                           Paddy Ryder (Ess)                               Jarrad Waite (Carl)

 

FF:         Zac Clarke (Freo)                            Peter Wright (GCS)                             Alex Neal-Bulleen (Melb)

 

Ruck:    Peter Moore (C) (Coll/Melb)          Jack Reddan (Bris)                            Tony Woods (Haw)

 

Interchange: James Manson (Coll/Fitz), Darcy Moore (Coll), Fraser Murphy (Carl), Peter Schwab (Haw)

 

Emergencies: Francis Bourke (Rich), Robert Copeland (Bris), Lewis Roberts-Thomson (Syd), Kevin Walsh (Ess)

 

Coach: Francis Bourke

 

No players from GWS or Fitzroy starting, but on the bench. Hawthorn has two in the starting 18.

 

 

 

Games in Number 30 (Years Played)

Troy Chaplin 140 (2004-2012)

Matthew Scarlett 283 (1999-2012)

Daniel Pratt 116 (2005-2011)

Campbell Brown 159 at Hawthorn (2002-2010) 46 at Gold Coast (2011-2013)

Mark Bayes 246 (1985-1998)

Terry Smith 44 (1983-1985)

Peter Matera 248 (1991-2002)

Tony Free 132 (1988-1996)

Matthew Robbins 139 (1999-2007)

Peter Vardy 96 (1996-2001)

Paddy Ryder 170 (2006-2014)

Jarrad Waite 184 (2003-2014)

Zac Clarke 101 (2009-2016)

Peter Wright 66 (2015-2020)

Alex Neal-Bullen 105 (2015- )

Peter Moore 172 at Collingwood (1974-1982) 77 at Melbourne (1983-1987)

Jack Reddan 129 (2009-2015)

Tony Woods 142 (1995-2002)

James Manson 120 at Collingwood (1985-1992) 47 at Fitzroy (1993-1995)

Darcy Moore 102 (2015- )

Fraser Murphy 107 (1984-1991)

Peter Schwab 167 (1982-1991)

 

 

The Number 30 is a very popular number for rucks, key position defenders and tagging onballers.  There are four ruck options in the starting 18, fortunately all of them are capable of playing in the forward line and all are relatively mobile. There are two Hawks in the starting 18 for balance with Fitzroy’s option in James Manson named on the bench.

 

Clubs with multiple options are Brisbane with Robert Copeland, Jack Reddan and Eric Hipwood, Collingwood with Peter Moore, James Manson and Darcy Moore, Essendon with Kevin Walsh and Paddy Ryder, Geelong with Damian Bourke and Matthew Scarlett, Hawthorn with Peter Schwab, Tony Woods and Campbell Brown, Melbourne with Simon Godfrey and Alex Neal-Bullen, Richmond with Francis Bourke, Tony Free and Reece Conca and Sydney with Mark Bayes and Lewis Roberts-Thomson.

 

I like the defence, it starts with Matthew Scarlett at FB who is probably one of the three best full backs since 2000 with significant claims to be the best. Mark Bayes at CHB was a very good player and often picked for Victoria; he would be allowed to attack with his raking left foot in this side. To allow Bayes to play more attacking, Troy Chaplin may need to play a more defensive role but he was also a very fine intercept defender. Terry Smith at HBF was a negating midfielder or defender but can provide some run. Daniel Pratt at 185cm and Campbell Brown at 177cm are both fierce competitors who would be required to play on small defenders but both are known to play above their height at CHB and if they do so it would help allow Bayes to be more creative. Other defensive options are Darcy Moore as a tall defender, Jack Reddan and Peter Schwab on a HBF and Tony Free as a small back pocket.

 

Peter Moore is first ruck after having won the Brownlow in 1979 at Collingwood and 1984 at Melbourne. Other options in the ruck are Paddy Ryder, Zac Clarke, James Manson and possibly even Peter Wright can play as first ruck. Peter Matera is the classy player in the midfield who will be needed a lot to have the ball in his hands because of his skill in kicking goals from the wing and delivering into the forward 50. The rest of the midfield is more workmanlike rather than polished. Matthew Robbins on the other wing is a good player but better known as a small forward. Tony Free was a fine player at Richmond, he started as a back pocket, tagger and then a very good midfielder before retiring early due to multiple knee injuries. Jack Reddan was good midfielder at Brisbane but again more of a role player, while Tony Woods is a very good run-with midfielder or wing. Other midfield options are limited with perhaps just Peter Schwab, Terry Smith, Fraser Murphy and Alex Neal-Bullen.

 

The forwards are very tall with three players that can play ruck down there. Peter Wright at FF is best known as forward from his Gold coast days kicking 85 goals from 66 games with a best of five goals. Paddy Ryder started his career at Essendon as second ruck behind David Hille, playing forward or defence with a best of 27 goals in 2011 which included four goals in a match. Zac Clarke probably didn’t show the ability or mobility that he promised from his early days but did kick three goals twice. Peter Moore with 193 goals and a best of 76 goals in a season is perhaps a better option up forward or James Manson who kicked 33 goals in 1990 as a forward/ruck. Jarrad Waite is a mobile tall half forward who was a prominent goalkicker, kicking 377 goals for a best of seven. Alex Neal-Bullen is a premiership winner small forward who runs through the midfield while Peter Vardy is a classy half forward who kicked 44 goals in a premiership season including a bag of seven. Other options up forward are Mark Bayes at CHF, Matthew Robbins as a small marking forward and Fraser Murphy as a small crumbing forward.

 

The interchange is made of Fraser Murphy who was goalkicking crumbing forward pocket who can play as a rover and is include to cover for a weakness in the side. Peter Schwab covers another weakness as a midfielder, wing, running half back option ahead of Robert Copeland who was more of a tagger. James Manson gets in as I only had 17 clubs in the starting 18. Manson didn’t fit in the team balance of the starting side but he does not make the side too unbalanced if starting on the bench and represents Fitzroy (though he had a better career at Collingwood). Darcy Moore gets in just ahead of Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Kevin Walsh for his ability to play both ends and to be more attacking than dour defender. Walsh and Roberts-Thomson are very unlucky as with Francis Bourke who retired in 1981 and therefore missed the bulk of his great career. St Francis does get the gig as coach though.

 

There are two club captains in the side in Peter Moore and Tony Free. I chose Peter Moore as captain as he was 1981 Grand Final captain, Tony Free as vice captain and went with Matthew Scarlett as deputy.

 

The unlucky players were Eric Hipwood (Bris), Damian Bourke (Geel), Simon Godfrey (Melb), and Roy Ramsay (NM), Reece Conca (Rich)

 

 

 

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