Fair call (same to Agro). I missed his earlier years.

BTW - it was 356 games...

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

I was fortunate enough to see Doull play many games. There have been a number of very good HBF's. We were lucky to have had quite a few over the years. McKay,Hunter, John James. Peter Motley would have been a ripper too. Doull was in a category all his own. I know I am probably biased but not in this instance. Doull was the greatest without exception.

As good as Enright is, he isn't a patch on the great man Doully- so smooth, so quiet and so f#@king effective, not to mention brilliant!! My dear mate christened my first born Bruce in honour of the great one; years before Daniel (my son), I bought a beautifully maintained '75 Holden Kingswood HJ stationwagon and named it, you guessed it, Doully. Don't know if it ever cut the angles as well, but by Christ, it was smooth and reliable, not ot mention brilliant!

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Be positive to all those @ TC- the wait is almost over!

Ang Christou. He'd kick the ball and the crowd would go BRUCE!

Robbo is slowly chipping away at us, rewriting history.
First Simon Madden to replace Nick in the AFL team of the century.
Now this shit, Enright as the greatest. Who was HBF in the AFL team of the century? Doully.
He'll have a crack at replacing Jezza next, then onto Diesel.
cauliflower

Funny that Corey Enright has never been selected as HBF in the All Australian team..

Anyway, in my time watching footy Enright has been the most consistent and accomplished HBF I've seen. Saw the back end of McKay, saw McLeod play some great footy from there and have seen Hodge dominate games from there, but overall as just a HBF Enright beats them because that's where he's actually played all his footy.

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@cecil_anderson

Doull was the greatest HBF. Full stop.

There is a significant gap between him and the others.
When Doull had the ball it was as if the players around him played in slow motion. It was surreal to watch.


On AFL 360 tonight they had Mike Sheahan on and Robbo said on air, that the first thing that Sheahan said to him when he walked into the studio and saw Robbo was , "What about Bruce Doull?"

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Number 17 - come on down!

I think slobbo is looking to delete Doull from the team of the century and replace with Enright. Just like the team he re-wrote minus SOS and Big Nick.
Trying to get as many Carlton players as possible out of his team of the century.

Does anyone remember the game Parkin ( I think) moved Doull to the half forward flank ? Still killed it , but it was just wrong .

Of course in Mark Robinson's revision of history, he will also drop Dick Reynolds and John Coleman from the AFL Team of the Century on the basis he never saw them play either.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

I saw many games of Doull's and while I hate this cliche he could play tall and he could play small.

I saw him take on CHB easily when we had players down and also play on the likes of Leigh Matthews when Curly Austin was injured. He was the best and most versatile by far.

It used to annoy the crap out of one of my filth supporting mates the amount of applause that eminated from the Harris & Heatley Stands after one of Doull's expertly directed spoils.

It used to shit him no end "all that applause for just punching the ball" he'd use to say.

If my mate was annoyed I was generally happy, and of course he was ver bitter and twisted over 79 & 81.

Unfortunately he's getting his own back now.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

I remember the time Dench and Doull were playing on each other, I think North were getting a hiding so they put Dench at FF in the last quarter to try something different. That was a strange sight....

Agree regarding '79 and '82, not '81 though. I remember at the time, late in the last quarter thinking that Bruce had to get the Norm Smith. I've a copy of the '81 GF, must drag it out and watch it again, Fitzy played a great game, but no, Doully easily for me.

I remember in '81 or '82 talking to Hugh Mitchell (former Essendon* player who was a special commentator at the time on I think ABC radio) he was a sales rep who called where I then worked. I said to him that the previous Saturday he'd sounded pretty impressed with Carlton. He just shook his head and said he'd never seen a half back line like Carlton's in Doull, Perovic and Hunter. Not just the way they defended, but the way they used the ball, how they always hit a target on the forward line.

I've said this many times, but Fitzpatrick & Johnston have to be the unluckiest players to never win a Norm Smith.

Fitzy could have won in 79, 81 or 82. As dominant as he was in 81, I suspect he didn't get it that year because he was up against Collingwood's rookie ruckman (Moore being forced to play out of the goal square due to injury) and because Doull was something of a sentimental favourite. I don't think anyone begrudged Doull though, he thrashed Davis that day. Fitzpatrick's game in 82 is underestimated. He was hugely influential at CHF, especially in the premiership quarter. And in 79 he played a stellar game against the Brownlow medallist.

Johnno could easily have won the medal in 79, 82 or 87. Harmes was a worthy winner in 79, so I don't have a problem with that. Rhys-Jones got the job done in 87, but Dermie played injured and was impacted by Dunstall's absence. Then again, I guess Dermie was just about the number 1 player in the comp at the time. The real crime was Rioli being awarded it in 82. If you go back and watch that game, he was beaten soundly by Hunter. Rioli had a purple patch late first quarter/early second quarter, when Hunter was off concussed. Aside from that, Rioli had minimal impact on the match. He wasn't even Richmond's best player that day, let alone the best on ground. Johnno or Fitzy should have got it in 82, without a doubt.

I probably would have gone:
79- Harmes
81- Doull
82- Fitzpatrick
87- Johnston

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It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems.

I note Robbo has corrected himself tonight 'possibly the best half back of all time, besides Doull' or something to that effect.

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@cecil_anderson

Dont have any problems with your assessment of winners, all more than worthy,

Rioli's win in 82 was a travesty, I've got a funny feeling (but someone will know for sure) that Sun Journalist Tom Prior was on the judging panel that day, he was a certified Carlton hater.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

...and A grade [REDACTED].

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

I thought this was more exciting like who was the greatest of all the Wayne Hughes HBF?

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It is not as bad as you are lead to believe.......it is %$#^& worse!!!

My memory of John James in 1961 was that he played most of the year in the Back Pocket. Brilliant player, but his kicking was ordinary particularly when he was kicking for goal. I remember him butchering several shots for goal in the 1962 GF. Bruce Doull was equally brilliant and his disposal was elite. His balance was superb and if I remember correctly he took judo lessons early in his career to learn how to fall correctly. I agree with others here that that prior to Val Perovic joining Carlton, Doull primarily played at CHB and I will never forget his job on Hart in the '72 GF. There have been some peerless players who have made the HBF a position of strength, some of whom have been mentioned, but in my humble opinion Doull was and still is the very best.