Alpha 101 Toughest Aussie Sports Stars

[The Big Shrek]

You are misquoting me. I never said the individuals weren't tough, I said the sport didn't allow them to display it.

I am prepared to make one concession and that is playing through injury which it seems like a couple on your list have done. This happens in every sport though even badminton.

Your sport is so bereft of feats of 'toughness' that most of your list comprises of the people who obtained the most memorable or numerous red cards. It is so very tough to take a cheap shot and get sent off. Thank you for proving my point.

Therefore to answer your question I would repeat what I have said to all of them.

[devilsadvocate]

I'm not misquoting you. You said 'How can you have soccer players in that list?'.

If you had bothered to red the full list, you will see that there are numerous players listed for their hard tackling and defensive toughness. Leigh Matthews is considered the hardest man to have played Aussie Rules, but he would also top the list for dirtiest.

You are disrespecting the most popular game in the world and some of our greatest athletes.

And no you wouldn't tell Roy Keane 'you are soft and your sport is as tough as badminton'. Then again, you might, because you are clearly an ignoramus who knows nothing about football.

[The Big Shrek]

You are misquoting me. I then said the individuals may not be inherently soft, i.e. they may display toughness in other aspects of their lives, just not in soccer.

I then admitted I may be wrong and that soccer players playing through injury may be tough but no more so than any other sport.

Please inform me the tough things soccer players do during a match.

Leigh Matthews may have been dirty and tough, but a list of tough football players wouldn't include purely dirty players which your list was dominated by.

What would Roy Keane do to me? Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots. He'd probably try to slap me, then fall over looking for a free kick the silly Irish git.

And by the way it's soccer not football. We are in Australia. In France they call London Londres, in China god knows what they call their country but it's sure as ******* hell not China. The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

[Dirko]

The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

You are nothing short of a troll....

Wog Ball. Disgraceful comment....Racist.

[Pidge]

The Big Shrek is fighting a losing battle here

[Baron Greenback]

Would have definitely had Steve Waugh above Glenn McGrath.

[Pidge]

Would have definitely had Steve Waugh above Glenn McGrath.

I dont know about that. That would be a close call

[The Big Shrek]

The Big Shrek is fighting a losing battle here

Really, I thought the fact that no-one had come up with anything tough about soccer meant I had won.

[The Big Shrek]

The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

You are nothing short of a troll....

Wog Ball. Disgraceful comment....Racist.

Get off your high horse. It was a joke about how soccer is perceived in this country. Go cry somewhere else and tackle the main issue here which everyone has failed to do.

[Dirko]

Get off your high horse. It was a joke about how soccer is perceived in this country. Go cry somewhere else and tackle the main issue here which everyone has failed to do.

Perceived...yeah by racists.

Man I haven't heard the term Wog Ball since High School and that was a good 16 years ago. Time to move on...

I then said the individuals may not be inherently soft, i.e. they may display toughness in other aspects of their lives, just not in soccer.

So no offence to Glen McGrath, but one would think his toughness he displayed in his personnel life not bowling in cricket would've got him on the so high on the list. Shane Warne hardly a "tough" thing bowling leg breaks.

You obviously have a "hatred" of the round ball game, so pointless in trying to have a decent debate about it. Did you have a look at any of the videos I posted ? Where blokes go in with no fear, and a good chance they'll get cleaned up ? The Peter Cech one was a prime example of what keepers do week in/week out, yeah there soft.....

[Pidge]

The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

You are nothing short of a troll....

Wog Ball. Disgraceful comment....Racist.

Get off your high horse. It was a joke about how soccer is perceived in this country. Go cry somewhere else and tackle the main issue here which everyone has failed to do.

It seems to me that you are the only one on a high horse. Why dont you actually sit down and watch some football. I used to really dislike it, but after watching the World Cup in 2002 i became a big fan.

An example of a tough sports star. Harry Kewell. Could have played for the England national team, but decided to stay with Australia and the benefits have payed off. He has had numerous injuries throughout the last 4 or 5 years. In some cases players would just give up, but not Harry. He has kept at it and now the rewards are paying off with his new club Galatasaray where he has scored 6 goals in 11 appearances.

[The Big Shrek]

I actually like soccer and think it's very skillful and enjoyable to play. I enjoy watching it but less than football. So I certainly don't hate it.

I didn't watch your videos, I'm still on dial up. Keepers may put themselves in harms way but I didn't see them on the list. I am unsure how often they do it compared to other sports as well. I would probably say less frequently.

The cricketers are considered tough due to the mental strain bowling or batting for days at a time.

[Dirko]

The cricketers are considered tough due to the mental strain bowling or batting for days at a time.

No mental stress for Footballers (especially Euro leagues) who can play up to three times in a week, 38 games a season plus upward of 15 to 20 if not more cup games etc.Don't forget National duties also.

As for endurance, unlike AFL, there's no interchange, so play makers stay on the whole 90 minutes. So someone like Muscat who has played at the highest level and is in the list would've played upward of say 3780 minutes per season compared to say an AFL game at 120 mins (30 min qtrs) for a full season say plus 4 finals = 3120 minutes. Brett Emerton has been reported as saying he's got endurance/fitness levels GREATER then most AFL players (obviously blokes like Ablett, Cornes & Judd are in a different class). I dare say Emmo wouldn't be the only bloke.

Adelaide United's squad endurance & mental toughness has been openly praised especially to the win/loss ratio in travelling to far flung places like Tashkent, Korea etc then having to back up three days later for a A-League game. Yep no mental toughness there....

I'd say the United squad are doing it tough, and playing tough also.

[The Big Shrek]

Fair call about playing more frequently, you may have a point there. However, if you tried to play that often in the AFL it just wouldn't work, it would be physically impossible to back it up. This suggests to me that football is more physically exerting than soccer. How many players actually play every game in all the team's campaigns?

The endurance levels of players is an open question, I don't think anyone really knows but it is the endurance coupled with physical contact that makes AFL players tough. If you were to call soccer players tough based purely on endurance you would have to compare it to sports like distance running. I do take the point that toughness is required to reach maintain one's self at the elite level but this is so in every sport.

You have dissuaded me from my original position but I still other sports display more toughness than soccer.

[Swooper16]

How about when going up to meet the ball with another playing knowing that both parties can only use their head. Surely that takes toughness and courage? There has been many sickening head collisions in "Soccer" where both players have gone in head first.

Also when a player goes to head a cross and knows that the goalkeeper is coming in the opposite direction. It takes courage to go head first at full pace knowing that the other player is coming in with their fists. Two good examples of players who do that were Alan Shearer and Nemanja Vidic.

[dinglinga]

You are misquoting me. I then said the individuals may not be inherently soft, i.e. they may display toughness in other aspects of their lives, just not in soccer.

I then admitted I may be wrong and that soccer players playing through injury may be tough but no more so than any other sport.

Please inform me the tough things soccer players do during a match.

Leigh Matthews may have been dirty and tough, but a list of tough football players wouldn't include purely dirty players which your list was dominated by.

What would Roy Keane do to me? Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots. He'd probably try to slap me, then fall over looking for a free kick the silly Irish git.

And by the way it's soccer not football. We are in Australia. In France they call London Londres, in China god knows what they call their country but it's sure as f****** hell not China. The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

i know its hard to be ignorant but it is called "football" in australia not soccer anymore.. hence why its the Football Federation of Australia.

and i would be shaking in my boots if i saw a pumped up roy keane... ask patrick viera ...

[The Big Shrek]

You are misquoting me. I then said the individuals may not be inherently soft, i.e. they may display toughness in other aspects of their lives, just not in soccer.

I then admitted I may be wrong and that soccer players playing through injury may be tough but no more so than any other sport.

Please inform me the tough things soccer players do during a match.

Leigh Matthews may have been dirty and tough, but a list of tough football players wouldn't include purely dirty players which your list was dominated by.

What would Roy Keane do to me? Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots. He'd probably try to slap me, then fall over looking for a free kick the silly Irish git.

And by the way it's soccer not football. We are in Australia. In France they call London Londres, in China god knows what they call their country but it's sure as f****** hell not China. The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

i know its hard to be ignorant but it is called "football" in australia not soccer anymore.. hence why its the Football Federation of Australia.

and i would be shaking in my boots if i saw a pumped up roy keane... ask patrick viera ...

They can't just change the name of an organisation and take away what has been the common usage for the past century. It's soccer.

[devilsadvocate]

The Big Shrek is fighting a losing battle here

Really, I thought the fact that no-one had come up with anything tough about soccer meant I had won.

Actually SJABC posted a number of videos displaying some incredibly touch, brave acts, but you chose not to watch them citing some piss poor excuse.

The only thing you've won is the moron badge, which you can now display proudly with every stupid post you make.

Nonce.

[devilsadvocate]

And by the way it's soccer not football. We are in Australia. In France they call London Londres, in China god knows what they call their country but it's sure as f****** hell not China. The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

You are a diisgraceful racist.
I'm not in Australia, but it makes no difference to what I call the game - it's called football, which comes from its initial name of 'association football'.

[The Big Shrek]

And by the way it's soccer not football. We are in Australia. In France they call London Londres, in China god knows what they call their country but it's sure as f****** hell not China. The name of things change according to where you are and here it's called soccer(or wog ball).

You are a diisgraceful racist.
I'm not in Australia, but it makes no difference to what I call the game - it's called football, which comes from its initial name of 'association football'.

Piss off you girl.

Really? They shortened 'association football' and came up with football? I think you are a tad confused. I thought soccer came from association and football originated from kicking a ball with one's foot. Compris?