Players Who Stunk In The AFL Grand Final
There are a lot of players who achieve greatness in the Grand Final, but there are others who put in a shocker.
Leigh Colbert, 1995. He was on the verge of stardom, a big 6-foot-4 player with midfield skills. He could have been Geelong's matchwinner but only had 6 kicks and was even outmarked by the much shorter Greg Williams.
Rhyce Shaw, 2003. A quick player who had a whole family to help him prepare for a Grand Final. But he didn't exactly play like Tony Shaw in 1990, it was closer to Pauly Shore. Rhyce Shaw fumbled his way through the game and ended up with 5 kicks.
Matthew Allan, 1999. He was a ruckman who had a lot of possessions, but none of them were ever effective. On this day he was playing against Matthew Capuano, but Allan kept gambling and leaving Capuano. This led to several occasions when Capuano was by himself, Capuano sent the Kangaroos into attack several times and helped turn the game.
Matthew Lappin, Tony Brown, Jamie Shanahan, 1997. Lappin and Brown were celebrating on Grand Final day, appearing on tv with Austinn Jones, but this was before the game was played. Not the best preparation and Jones and Lappin combined for 10 kicks. Shanahan has still not caught up with Darren Jarmen, while it may have been a bad move by the coach to play Shanahan at fullback after Jarmen went forward, it will be Shanahan who is remembered as letting the Grand Final slip from the Saints that year.
Michael Gardiner, 2005. A huge advantage in height and weight, nobody for Sydney should have been able to stop him. Gardiner had 5 kicks, 0 goals and as everyone knows the Eagles lost by less than a goal.
Leigh Colbert, 1995. He was on the verge of stardom, a big 6-foot-4 player with midfield skills. He could have been Geelong's matchwinner but only had 6 kicks and was even outmarked by the much shorter Greg Williams.
Rhyce Shaw, 2003. A quick player who had a whole family to help him prepare for a Grand Final. But he didn't exactly play like Tony Shaw in 1990, it was closer to Pauly Shore. Rhyce Shaw fumbled his way through the game and ended up with 5 kicks.
Matthew Allan, 1999. He was a ruckman who had a lot of possessions, but none of them were ever effective. On this day he was playing against Matthew Capuano, but Allan kept gambling and leaving Capuano. This led to several occasions when Capuano was by himself, Capuano sent the Kangaroos into attack several times and helped turn the game.
Matthew Lappin, Tony Brown, Jamie Shanahan, 1997. Lappin and Brown were celebrating on Grand Final day, appearing on tv with Austinn Jones, but this was before the game was played. Not the best preparation and Jones and Lappin combined for 10 kicks. Shanahan has still not caught up with Darren Jarmen, while it may have been a bad move by the coach to play Shanahan at fullback after Jarmen went forward, it will be Shanahan who is remembered as letting the Grand Final slip from the Saints that year.
Michael Gardiner, 2005. A huge advantage in height and weight, nobody for Sydney should have been able to stop him. Gardiner had 5 kicks, 0 goals and as everyone knows the Eagles lost by less than a goal.
