The latest Bomberland Poll asked voters to select the most skilful Bomber out of James Hird, Mark Mercuri, Matthew Lloyd, Dean Rioli and Adam Ramanauskas. It was one of the toughest questions asked this season and many other Bomber players could have featured in the voting. But of the names put forward, the overwhelming majority voted that James Hird was the most highly skilled player. Hird cornered the market with 54.3% of voters giving him the nod. Of the other players, Dean Rioli also polled well collecting just over 20% of the vote.
A number of voters had comments to make:
Reece Freak from Adelaide said: “Jimmy Hird would have to be the most skilful player on the Essendon list and and quite possibly in the league. With his ability on his feet combined with his silky marks and coolness under pressure, he is too good for the rest.”
Meg from Moorabbin said: “What makes James so skilful is that he is very good in every aspect of the game.”
Dean Rioli also rated highly with many.
Nigel Leitch form Horsham said: “Rioli’s skills are so sublime it is sometimes hard to believe he is human! He has a great mark and his evasive skills are second to none. The most skilled player is not necessarily the best player in a team, but the fact that he stands out so much in a team as good as Essendon suggests he has skills that are out of the ordinary.”
It is interesting to note that many voters sat on the fence on this particular question, saying the team was far too talented as a whole to choose one standout player.
Lauren from Adelaide said: “I don’t think you can really choose the most skilful player. Each of them has his part to play and I think they all do it exceptionally. They cover all parts of the ground and do their job well, why else would they be part of the best team in the competition?”
Leanne Singh from Hampton Park said: “How can we pick from just five suggested players, every player has special skills. It’s not fair not to include the whole list.”
Others said that the varying skills of the nominated players made it difficult to differentiate between them.
Terri Skewes from NSW said: “It is difficult to make judgements on skill levels when you are comparing different positions that call for different skills. Then players who play in varying roles are required to have all round skills”.
