Simon Minton-Connell was a prolific full-forward during his 10-year VFL/AFL career.
With his slick-backed hair, the long-sleeve jumper and at times the double-gloved hands, Minton-Connell roamed around the forward 50 at no less than four clubs between 1989 and 1998.
He kicked 30 or more goals at each of Carlton, Sydney, Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs, but was at his best in his three years with the Swans.
Minton-Connell’s feats in the red and white recently piqued the interest of former Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy who could not quite believe how well he played at a club who struggled greatly during his 46-game spell there.
“Simon Minton-Connell, in those 46 games of which just four were wins, kicked 169 goals and 112 behinds,” he said on SEN’s Bob and Andy.
“That is unbelievable.
“In '92, he kicked 60 goals, 42 (behinds) from 16 games.
“In '93, in 10 games - they didn’t win any - 41 goals, 32 behinds.
“And in his final year they won three games and lost 17, he kicked 68 goals, 38 (behinds).
“That is unbelievable. Simon, are you unfairly dismissed?”
Andy Maher chimed in: “That is all-time full-forward work.
“That three-year period sits you alongside any of the great, legendary full-forwards in the history of football.”
In response, Minton-Connell felt that perhaps his exploits were somewhat overlooked due to the elite full-forward company he kept in the league at that time, while explaining his penchant for the humble chest mark.
“It just happened that there was three pretty (good) blokes charging around, getting all the fanfare at the time in (Gary) Ablett, (Jason) Dunstall and (Tony) Lockett,” he said.
“I was the poor cousin.
“It was great up there at Sydney. It was a beautiful ground. I had the likes of (Mark) Bayes, (Darren) Kappler and (Leon) Lenny Higgins, the beautiful left footers kicking it to you.
“Then of course Kel (Paul Kelly) and Barry Mitchell would kick helicopters at you and break your fingers. I think that’s why I had to go for the chest mark.”
The product of North Hobart booted 94 of his Swans goals from 25 games at the SCG and gave some insight into why he loved the venue, even if the Swans only won two home games during his time there.
“Absolutely gorgeous ground,” he said further.
“What people didn’t know, when you had the three left footers who could kick it 60 metres, 10 feet off the ground, you were leading when the ball was on the half-back flank.
“The full-back would be looking at me like an idiot, but by the time you get to the 40-metre mark it’s lace out.
“It was a great ground.”
The difference, obviously, was the length of the SCG compared to other grounds around the country, particularly in Victoria.
“We didn’t really have a centre half-forward because we didn’t need it,” he said.
“But, when you go to Waverley and those sorts of grounds, you were two kicks away, so we had to go with a smaller half-forward. I think Derek Kicked played centre half-forward at one stage.
“It was a lot tougher when you got to the big grounds, the MCG, Waverley and particular Kardinia Park and the mighty Whitten Oval, they were really long grounds so it was a bit of a struggle to get it down there to be honest.”
Minton-Connell kicked a total of 305 goals (169 with Sydney, 53 with the Bulldogs, 50 with the Blues and 33 for the Hawks) from 112 games across 10 years.