All this crap about “mature age” players drafted in the last couple of years from the WAFL ( Clint Jones, Matt Pridis and Ballentyne) and being “relevations” in the AFL......anyone ever heard about/ of Leon Baker????? Wasn’t he in his mid 20’s when he joined Swans and played in premierships???? Wasn’t he in his late 20’s when he played in premierships at Essendon ?????? Didn’t there used to be a rule about players having to be a certain age, played WAFL for 5 years and/or 100 games? Half the so called experts reckon they’ve re-invented the wheel with mature age recruits. Geez they give me the S H ONE Ts!
Foot note: I feel better now.

When Leon Baker went to Essendon in 1984, there was no AFL draft system - in fact, there was no AFL.

So he is no different to numerous mature age WAFL players who have gone to play (and star) in the VFL prior to 1986 (when the predecessor of the current draft system was introduced) .

The AFL is a colts competition, anyone over 20 years of age is regarded as a mature age player.

I get sick of hearing about the young kids at AFL clubs, christ they are all young kids.

p.s. Baker was a gun and still one of the best players I have seen. Was lucky enough to watch him up close at South Bunbury before he came to Swans.

greatwhiteshark - 04 March 2010 04:09 PM

The AFL is a colts competition, anyone over 20 years of age is regarded as a mature age player.

I get sick of hearing about the young kids at AFL clubs, christ they are all young kids.

p.s. Baker was a gun and still one of the best players I have seen. Was lucky enough to watch him up close at South Bunbury before he came to Swans.

Agree Leon was right up there with the very best to pull on a boot and made the transition to a very strong essendon team with ease. That swans team of the early 80’s is the best WAFL team I’ve seen imo closely followed by the Souths team of 80/81.

SeniorSeagull - 04 March 2010 05:30 PM

greatwhiteshark - 04 March 2010 04:09 PM

The AFL is a colts competition, anyone over 20 years of age is regarded as a mature age player.

I get sick of hearing about the young kids at AFL clubs, christ they are all young kids.

p.s. Baker was a gun and still one of the best players I have seen. Was lucky enough to watch him up close at South Bunbury before he came to Swans.

Agree Leon was right up there with the very best to pull on a boot and made the transition to a very strong essendon team with ease. That swans team of the early 80’s is the best WAFL team I’ve seen imo closely followed by the Souths team of 80/81.

Agree with the Swans assessment mate but not the South one. South had a very good side between 78 and 84 and won one flag. They lost the prelim in 78, lost GF in 79, won the flag in 80, lost the GF in 81 and no other flags that decade. Swans certainly and if you were to have a combined side of their consecutive premiership years between 82-84 it would be a very handy outfit.

If only STEPHEN MICHAEL had a CRACK,.......God,what the country missed out on then.MAURICE,you should have got him over Mate.I get a feeling of SLIDING DOORS had he gone over and where RICHMOND may have been from ‘82 on.Maybe,......

Still,for the short time LEON was ESSENDON we all LOVED HIM for how easy he made it look.Don’t think we’d have CRACKED HAWTHORN without him.Our players from the Late 70’s/Mid 80’s(barring Eagles due to different circumstances)were probably the last generation to go over as MATURE,EXPERIENCED Players of OUTSTANDING PEDIGREE and ACHIEVEMENT before the VFL/AFL OBSESSION on KIDS!

ROB WILEY formed a BIG PART of RICHMOND’S GOOD YEARS.He fitted in with KB and the other CHAMPS there like a TRUE CHAMP he was.BUZZ was VERY GOOD at PERTH,before the CHAMPION TEAM at CARLTON made him better(Like that one WESTERN BLUE? ).He was still young when he went at the end of ‘80,but had some VITAL EXPERIENCE beforehand.

Of course,I’m PROUD of the likes of LEON,GLASSY,HARGS,SCOTTY STEVENS,CHANCE,BUDDY and many others from LATHLAIN and Juniors.But I would have liked to have seen ‘em a year or 2 more,before AWFULL’S System RIPPED ‘em away from us.