(04-23-2018, 11:47 PM)Thryleon link Wrote:Finally on Murphy, we all know he has been an ordinary captain, but he works his dot off, and I can't knock him for that. Hes not hercules, he has smashed his body from pillar to post in the clinches for us, and hasnt been durable and strong enough to endure it, and deserves a little more respect than the average punter gives him because irrespective of how badly he gets smashed he still continues to put his body on the line week in and week out, and Ive noted his tackling has improved a bit this season (lets not forget hes wrecked his shoulder twice playing for our footy club, and once they break they stay broken and make tackling difficult).
Lately I've read more and more posters making these points, why have they taken so long to surface?
This debate about captaincy is mired in stereotypes, perceptions and personal preferences. The irony for me is that I cannot say Judd was a Hodge or Brown type captain, yet he copped none of the invective Murphy has to deal with! Ablett Jnr is another, yet stat for stat Murphy is the closest we have to an Ablett Jnr type, and Ablett Jnr was unquestionably the captain! So what is the measure that determines good, bad or ordinary?
The majority of critical posts seem anchored in the realm that A-Graders and Leaders have to be a certain type of player, and if they are not that type they are NBG as leaders. I know fans do not believe that, and to continually demand it from players who clearly do not fit that mold is just bizarre!
The same posters do not complain when Casboult fails to play like Rioli, why do they ask Murphy to play like Hodge?
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"