Is Bungy The Best Ever Indigenous Player? Post by: James Brayshaw 19 August, 2009 - 4:45 PM

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I have always been a huge fan of Aboriginal footballers, it's a fondness that had its origins back at Claremont Oval in Perth in the late seventies and early eighties when my brother and I used to climb under the bus depot fence and sneak into the northern end of the ground to watch Jimmy and Phil Krakouer play for the mighty Tigers.

They brought stuff to the table that no-one had seen at that club, ever. Freakish skills, speed, an innate sense of where each other were on the ground, unbelievable goals and great marks, it was phenomenal. When you consider Claremont in those days had Graeme Moss, Ken Hunter, Ross Ditchburn, Warren Ralph, Wayne Blackwell and Steve Malaxos in the same side as the Kraka brothers, you can understand how mesmerising it was for a 12 year old kid to be in attendance.

It's also easy to understand how pumped I was when Jim and Phil were brought to Melbourne to play with North ... the other team I was passionate about at that young age. I talk regularly to past Kangaroos players who were at the club when these two arrived and they say the impact they had, not only on our club but the whole competition was incredible.

If you are reading this and are too young to remember any of the above, I urge you to get on You Tube and check out these two at work, it really was amazing.

The indigenous influence on football has grown enormously since the early eighties. Back then the Krakouer brothers, along with Maurice Rioli, were almost a lone hand as far as indigenous footballers were concerned. Now, every club has at least one aboriginal player on their list, some like ours have six and they have added another dimension to the way our great game is played.

Who is the best ever? Very tough to answer, especially for me as I never saw the great Graham "Polly" Farmer live, the man many say is the best of them all. I did see Barry Cable, Nicky Winmar, Maurice Rioli, Stephen Michael who was an unbelievably good player in the WAFL, Wanganeen, Goodes, the list goes on and on.

But for me it is very hard to go past Andrew McLeod. What a glittering career this superstar has had. 320 plus games, twice a Norm Smith medallist, multiple All-Australians, club best & fairests, has represented his country with great distinction, it is a great credit to him.

His second quarter on Friday night against the Hawks proved just what a champion he is. His team had started horribly, at one stage in the first term they were down by 30 points to the reigning premier. By the time the half rolled around they had hit the front and it was due in no small part to the work-rate and brilliance of Andrew McLeod.

Hard running, beautifully balanced, superb penetrating ball use, put simply he got rolling and the Hawks couldn't go with him. It's not the first time Andrew has risen and imposed himself on a game when his team's been down, he's done it consistently for more than a decade including, famously during two winning Grand Finals and Adelaide were down on both occasions.

I reckon he's the best Aboriginal player I have seen ... pound for pound, week after week ... even better than my heroes Jimmy & Phil ... and that's saying something.

So, for proving it again on the weekend, Bungy ... you are my MVP!

Who do you reckon is the best ever indigenous player?

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• Jenny T says

  Absolutely Macca's the the Best...hes all skill!! And he better play another year for the Crows.

  Posted Saturday 29 August, 2009 9:26 PM
• Jasmin says

  no, he is not the best player what are you tlaking about, he plays for the crows, YUCK! DANYLE PEARCE IS THE BEST PLAYER AND HE PLAYS FOR THE RIGHT TEAM! cya, x

  Posted Monday 5 October, 2009 8:37 PM