Peter McKenna - The overlooked Champion

[ride56]

Wonder what his stats would translate to in a modern game with proper tactics

Probably into a few negative comments from Kappa

 

[zhoung]

Very much in the vein of a Peter Daicos type, humble champion.
Last year after the Adelaide game at the G, a mate and I ended up back at the Pullman, for a few beers.
Bumped into him, his wife and another friend he was with at the time.
We sat had some beers and waxed over the Pies list, Buckley’s tenure (he was pro the decision to re signing bucks) and anything and everything Collingwood related.
After about 5 mins he pointed to his mate and said do you know this bloke? I said no, he replied 123 test wickets. Again, I said I need help, it was Rodney Hogg and we sat and talked footy for over an hour and a half.
A Collingwood champion and gentleman!

 

[rand corp]

Was one of the first players whose popularity reached further than the game itself and whilst he was not a pop star as a singer, as a footballer he was like a beatle in his appeal and popularity. My first jumper was a number six and my grandmother kept a scrapbook on him which she insisted was for me not her . Met him at the royal show once when i was about 5 or 6 and remember owning an early book on skills that he released.. He could time a lead and was the best drop punter in the game around goal, he just did not miss. Not exceptional overhead but not bad and was not overly quick but times his leads well. Dodgy hammies slowed him badly in the end. When he was at his best he just won us game after game off his own boot.

 

[60 Yards Out]

If he wasn't to develop any more tricks, I think 50 goals is about right - ala Jack Gunston - who is a similar style and I think would have been a 100 goal forward in an era of open forward lines - smart, quick and extremely accurate, but nothing special in a contest or at ground level. McKenna would be a very good player, just not a dominant superstar of the game like he was in his era. Forwardline congestion has changed the attributes necessary to be a truly dominant forward.

Don’t be misled. McKenna was very hard to beat in a contest and at ground level.
Not a reference to your comments specifically, but I’m perplexed by some of the comments I’ve read here. People seem to think you didn’t have to be special to kick a hundred goals in the 60s and 70s. If it was so easy, why wasn’t everyone doing it?

 

[left at home]

I was thinking the same thing. Can you imagine Rance with Tuddy lurking on the half forward line?

Rance like many of today’s footballers don’t have a good a awareness of what’s coming, they would panic or even worse of just the thought that tuddy or others like him were near. It would be fun to watch, to see who the real tough men of today are. Not many would be.

 

[left at home]

Don’t be misled. McKenna was very hard to beat in a contest and at ground level.
Not a reference to your comments specifically, but I’m perplexed by some of the comments I’ve read here. People seem to think you didn’t have to be special to kick a hundred goals in the 60s and 70s. If it was so easy, why wasn’t everyone doing it?

Agree, the only real weakness he had was that he was not great overhead.
Into today’s game l would back him in for at least 70 goals a season.

 

[sr36]

Rance like many of today’s footballers don’t have a good a awareness of what’s coming, they would panic or even worse of just the thought that tuddy or others like him were near. It would be fun to watch, to see who the real tough men of today are. Not many would be.

Rance no awareness of what's coming?
Absolutely incredible judgement of when to stick and when to leave his man. Reads what is coming incredibly well.

 

[left at home]

Rance no awareness of what's coming?
Absolutely incredible judgement of when to stick and when to leave his man. Reads what is coming incredibly well.

Different circumstances, what you have written is a judgement call of when the ball is in the air, nothing what so ever to do, of what is around when hunting a ground ball. Most do not know when a bump (hit) is coming, how to brace for it. Or even lay a good hip and shoulder. their vision and awareness is poor in that regard.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Original Co-Host of Hey Its Saturday with Darryl Somers.

Didnt last long as it was broadcast live on a Saturday Morning...and he had his real job later in the afternoon.

Replaced by an Ostrich.

As in Ossie the ostrich who was a puppet; as opposed to Daryl Somers who was a real ostrich.

 

[sr36]

Different circumstances, what you have written is a judgement call of when the ball is in the air, nothing what so ever to do, of what is around when hunting a ground ball. Most do not know when a bump (hit) is coming, how to brace for it. Or even lay a good hip and shoulder. their vision and awareness is poor in that regard.

There was a lot more dirty brutality in the 70s, but there was also a lot more short steps as a result of the elbows, or eyes only for the man. It took a heap more courage to put your head over the ball back then, because of the violence, but I reckon your memory has glorified it. They were more violent but were also lighter, slower and didn't hit the contest as hard as they do today.

 

[jonbe54]

There was a lot more dirty brutality in the 70s, but there was also a lot more short steps as a result of the elbows, or eyes only for the man. It took a heap more courage to put your head over the ball back then, because of the violence, but I reckon your memory has glorified it. They were more violent but were also lighter, slower and didn't hit the contest as hard as they do today.

Pant's says hi.

But seriously no generalization covers it - the game has changed completely. In the '70's the game was about individual contests, now it's a rolling rugby scrum from one end of the ground to the other.

 

[left at home]

There was a lot more dirty brutality in the 70s, but there was also a lot more short steps as a result of the elbows, or eyes only for the man. It took a heap more courage to put your head over the ball back then, because of the violence, but I reckon your memory has glorified it. They were more violent but were also lighter, slower and didn't hit the contest as hard as they do today.

Not glorified it at all, the game was played with some of the most dirty players to have ever played, no doubt about it, and the game needed cleaning up as the hits behind play was getting out of hand. And l am glad it has so.
But there was also some extraordinarily clean and skilful players as well, who did not take a backward step. Yes the game was slower, but don’t kid yourself that they did not hit the contest as hard as today. That is not right.
The speed and the tactics are totally different, but the basics are the same. Some of the basics by the so called stars are poor just the same.
Oh l think your memory has degraded the game back then into mindless thugs who glorified in the violence.

 

[Markfs]

For those with bad memories, a couple of grand finals



the skills ?...you be the judge.
going in hard? ...and these are grand finals too....you be the judge..

 

[Mr Pie]

Never got to see the man play, can't bring myself to watch those GF's, besides when it comes to footy I tend to only look forward, but i was an avid footy card man.

I think it was the 90 series of cards, red border, the final card of each team was a legends card. Our legend was Peter.

I remember reading all of his stats and marveled what he'd achieved.

Also didn't mind him as a commentator. Called what he saw - not what he wanted to see - BT and Bruce.

The only detractor is the 1 year with........ don't even want to type their name.

Legend of a Pie and a top bloke to boot.

 

[Mr Pie]

 

[sr36]

Not glorified it at all, the game was played with some of the most dirty players to have ever played, no doubt about it, and the game needed cleaning up as the hits behind play was getting out of hand. And l am glad it has so.
But there was also some extraordinarily clean and skilful players as well, who did not take a backward step. Yes the game was slower, but don’t kid yourself that they did not hit the contest as hard as today. That is not right.
The speed and the tactics are totally different, but the basics are the same. Some of the basics by the so called stars are poor just the same.
Oh l think your memory has degraded the game back then into mindless thugs who glorified in the violence.

I loved footy in the 70s and I love it now. I don't think of 1970s football as mindless thuggery. The stars of that era were incredible, as are the stars of this era. I just have an issue with the idea that the players of that era were much tougher than modern players. To put your head over the footy in the 1970s did take more courage than it does today because of more illegal acts and also because hip and shouldering someone in the head was acceptable and often applauded. I'm just of the opinion that when we talk about hardness and toughness, it's often forgotten that there were a lot more short steps taken in the 1970s, it wasn't all hardness, courage and toughness. When someone in today's game takes a short step or doesn't put their body on the line, it stands out like dog's balls, blokes are more willing and able to commit to the contest due to the game being cleaned up and I think the game is harder as a consequence.

 

[Robroy22]

If you're going to characterise the late 60's and 70's by Paddy Guinane and Neil Balme chucking haymakers you might as well say the 80's were Ronny Andrews and Lethal / Dermie standing toe to toe, or Lynch and Wakelin in the 2004 GF. Labelling the 70's as brutal and violent is overstating it. It was a tough game back then (but no more so than the 30's,40's and 50's) and yet beautiful players like Robbie Flower, Johnny Greening and Daryl Baldock flourished in the same period.

What SR36 is alluding to is that today's players don't have to have "eyes in the back of their heads" like their predecessors may have. Playing today you are "protected" from bumps and shirtfronts (Old timers like me loved Ryan's hit on Maynard because it was a legal bump on a much bigger opponent) ... SR36 is saying blokes today don't see them coming. Think how many times Varcoe bumps and tackles catching opponents unawares. In the 70's his opponents would be expecting it!

As for the "players are bigger and hit harder now" argument...I don't think I ever saw anyone hit harder than Lethal, Carl Ditterich, Tuddy, Cowboy, Ablett snr, Derm, Ronnie Andrews, Kevin Murray, Teddy Whitten, Magro, Millane, Brown or Kelly. And nobody....NOBODY hit harder than Plugger on the lead. Size has nothing to do with it when you KNOW how to hurt an opponent, Peter McKenna played in an era unlike today. He was able to soak up the physicality used against him and he played the ball and won lots of free kicks because of that.

The tough players are the ones who stand up to the bullying and overt violence. Today, last year, or 50 years ago...that never changes.

 

[Countrypie]

If you're going to characterise the late 60's and 70's by Paddy Guinane and Neil Balme chucking haymakers you might as well say the 80's were Ronny Andrews and Lethal / Dermie standing toe to toe, or Lynch and Wakelin in the 2004 GF. Labelling the 70's as brutal and violent is overstating it. It was a tough game back then (but no more so than the 30's,40's and 50's) and yet beautiful players like Robbie Flower, Johnny Greening and Daryl Baldock flourished in the same period.

What SR36 is alluding to is that today's players don't have to have "eyes in the back of their heads" like their predecessors may have. Playing today you are "protected" from bumps and shirtfronts (Old timers like me loved Ryan's hit on Maynard because it was a legal bump on a much bigger opponent) ... SR36 is saying blokes today don't see them coming. Think how many times Varcoe bumps and tackles catching opponents unawares. In the 70's his opponents would be expecting it!

As for the "players are bigger and hit harder now" argument...I don't think I ever saw anyone hit harder than Lethal, Carl Ditterich, Tuddy, Cowboy, Ablett snr, Derm, Ronnie Andrews, Kevin Murray, Teddy Whitten, Magro, Millane, Brown or Kelly. And nobody....NOBODY hit harder than Plugger on the lead. Size has nothing to do with it when you KNOW how to hurt an opponent, Peter McKenna played in an era unlike today. He was able to soak up the physicality used against him and he played the ball and won lots of free kicks because of that.

The tough players are the ones who stand up to the bullying and overt violence. Today, last year, or 50 years ago...that never changes.

You sir, are a poet

 

[jonbe54]

I loved footy in the 70s and I love it now. I don't think of 1970s football as mindless thuggery. The stars of that era were incredible, as are the stars of this era. I just have an issue with the idea that the players of that era were much tougher than modern players. To put your head over the footy in the 1970s did take more courage than it does today because of more illegal acts and also because hip and shouldering someone in the head was acceptable and often applauded. I'm just of the opinion that when we talk about hardness and toughness, it's often forgotten that there were a lot more short steps taken in the 1970s, it wasn't all hardness, courage and toughness. When someone in today's game takes a short step or doesn't put their body on the line, it stands out like dog's balls, blokes are more willing and able to commit to the contest due to the game being cleaned up and I think the game is harder as a consequence.

The difference is that in the '70's it was man on man - often toe to toe in general play today we have huge packs with sniping dogs taking cheap shots under cover.

 

[Countrypie]

For those with bad memories, a couple of grand finals



the skills ?...you be the judge.
going in hard? ...and these are grand finals too....you be the judge..

I'd respectively direct you to this video here
Take particular note of the drop kicks and blind turns as well as the amount of space

 

[Countrypie]

I'd respectively direct you to this video here
Take particular note of the drop kicks and blind turns as well as the amount of space

And just to labour the point here is 70s footy at its bestwith McKenna in full flight

 

[Markfs]

I'd respectively direct you to this video here
Take particular note of the drop kicks and blind turns as well as the amount of space

I respectfully refer to your respectively directed video from the past, but I dont have the respectful perspective to know what your respective perspective is......

I have to admit that it's a lot better standard of football than the clip I referenced. At least most of the players can kick with some efficiency. I think a lot of people look back to the past and think about the greatly skilled players and forget about the other dozen in the team that made up the numbers. And I think both clips show that while the boys in the past knew a bit about boxing and ufc rabbit punches, the boys of today might know a great deal more about hitting the contest at speed.... and i'm saying this

And just to labour the point here is 70s footy at its bestwith McKenna in full flight

in general of course. There were players in the past who would have been tough in any era.... leigh matthews for one.... and guys like johanisson who get worried off the ball in the modern game and probably wouldnt have made it thru junior footy 50 years ago.

 

[Markfs]

And just to labour the point here is 70s footy at its bestwith McKenna in full flight

i didnt see the whole clip but i did see two mckenna chest marks which were pretty secure...

 

[Wedge McManus]

Probably into a few negative comments from Kappa

lmao. Can you keep him in this forum he's ruining all the others with his BS alt right trolling

 

[jackcass]

I think every Young Pie who grew up in the early 70s had his number on his back.

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