Got thinking today about some of our former hardmen.Shit,we have had some beauties over the years.Real dirty pricks who the opposition and there supporters love to hate.Big Nick.Well,he was the "King" wasnt he?..but there have been plenty of others.......Jimmy Buckley,"The Dominator"Wayne Johnson,Harmsey,Rhys,and plenty more.
Question..........who was the last fully fledged germ that played for us ?
Thats easy......" The Dog " himself,none other than the great Fraser Brown.Ah ! the memories ! but bloody hell,its a long time since Dogga played.And really,we have had no one in that mould since.And i reckon that has been half the problem.No one with that mongrel dog germ factor.Not enough naturally aggressive types.Too many nice young fellas of sound character.Nothing wrong with that,but a sprinkling of "bad" boys wouldnt go astray.
BUT.........all is not lost.........
Ryan Jackson.He had the job of tagging the Saints Robert Harvey on saturday.A very daunting and monumental task for a kid playing just his third AFL game.Be honest,we all thought it was a ridiculous move and the kid would get shredded.But we didnt count on the kids inner resolve.Did he do a great job or what ? fantastic game Ryan Jackson.
Now,whats this got to do with the germ factor ? well was i the only one who noticed it,or did Jackson get inside Harvey's head and actually put him off his game..........Now,dispespecting a great champion and icon of the game such as Harvey is poor form isnt it ?.............but shit i was wrapped.He was in Harveys face all day and verbalized him bigtime.Hallalujah !..........at last ! a bloke with shit in him who doesnt give a stuff about traditional convention.

Reckon Ryan Jackson is the sort of player who can take the mantle from "The Dog" .We have been crying out for this type of player for far too long.Keep it up Jacko.

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All my dangerous friends

Not that Franchina became a great player but in his first half dozen games he played on Nicky Winmar at the MCG and really got into his head (1997)

Good to see Jackson show a bit of mongrel too - could be a classier player than Franchina too.

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

Winston Churchill

next hard man will be smokin Joe

Braddles was the one who actually got into Winmars head... Franchina was lucky enough to be the one to reap the rewards.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I used to really like players like Dean Rice, Peter Dean and Adrian Hickmont. Not necessarily dogs, but hard at it. We could use a few hard players, but a dog or two wouldn't hurt. Bannister has shut a few guys down this season... but may be gone at the end of the season.

Someone (similar to Fev's actions vs pies) who will protect younger players from other dogs like Stephen Baker or Broddie Holand. At least our Irish man has shown he wont be intimidated by Lloyd or Gehrig.

Ok... so Lloyd wouldn't intimidate many backmen.

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Chris Judd: 'I've since watched some Steven Seagal movies and realise pressure points are no laughing matter.'

Setanta for me....his work on Lloyd has been one of the highlights of the season...like the reports on Sean O'Rourke and wouldnt mind seeing another
fiesty Irishman on the list....
Dont see Ryan Jackson as a true mongrel, but liked his game and hope it kickstarts his career.

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

Great post Mick! Yes we needs some toughness alright. I agree with other posters that next year and beyond, don't mess with the O'Hailpin boys!

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

Walker...

Great post Mick. In fact this was a topic of discussion at half time on Saturday, how all opposition clubs set out to rough us up and would generally not expect retaliation. We really need to find the 'GERMS', would have thought someone like Bentick has the tools but just doesn't quite get there. Agree with Walker, and I do like the look of Ando. I guess when you look at the team the 'senior' group don't have the 'GERM' quality so that would resonate through the team. Could we import a GERM? If so, who would we get?

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17 4 10

MACKAY, Andrew.

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THEY LIKE TO SEND UP!!!!!!!!

Until each team plays each other the same number of times, the AFL, as a fair dinkum competition, cannot be taken seriously.

He (Mr Swann) said the honour and pride associated with the club's traditional navy blue jumper was priceless.

Tough as nails no doubt but did other clubs hate him?? Davis Rhys-Jones -now there is some one they all hated! And a nasty bastard too! Very much the "Germ Factor"!

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

Greg Williams was GERM - didn't he knock Rhys out when he (Williams) was playing for Sydney?

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17 4 10

1 AW could be the next one

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I see you watching me watching you.

I dont think Walker is really that kind of player. We don't want him worrying about being our Germ anyway.

I'd definitely be in favour of importing one. The time has passed now, but someone like one of the Carr brothers would be ideal to sit in the midfield and protect Murphy and Gibbs.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Germ lock.

I think Mick, the sad reality is that we don't have any intimidating players. Fev has got a touch of the crazies and is very strong but needs to put all his efforts into being a team player, but I don't mind him initiating the odd melee. Setanta needs to concentrate on being a player (which he will be), doesn't really have the technique to throw his body around with heavy bumps etc.

Much as I hate Baker I'd love him at Carlton, or Beau Waters or Campbell Brown. Mongrels are born not made and I can't see any on the horizon at this stage.