The biggest and hardest bumps in AFL history

GREATER Western Sydney man mountain Shane Mumford’s monstrous destruction of Geelong Cat Mitch Duncan in 2016 has sparked nostalgia at Bettingsite.com.au.

Duncan had just collected the football when the massive 197 centimetre Mumford came out of the middle and collected him, front on, with his full 107 kilogram frame.

There was division over whether Mumford should be reported, but he escaped any sanction from the AFL’s Match Review Panel, while Duncan will probably be seeing stars for the rest of his life.

Check out the massive hit here.

Mumford’s poleaxe brought back memories of some of the biggest hits in the history of the VFL/AFL, and reminded every one why it is one of the most physical tests of human strength in the sporting world.

How do you think it stacks up against these brutal destructions?

Mark Yeates tries, but fails against Dermott Brereton

Without doubt the most talked about bump of all time. Story after story has been written about the circumstances surrounding Geelong hard man Mark Yeates’ making a beeline for Hawthorn superstar Dermot Brereton at the first bounce. The Cats felt he was a key to the game and decided the best way to deal with him was to not have to deal with him at all. It didn’t work. A wounded Brereton barfed on his way down to the forward line, after the cheap shot, where he booted a goal shortly after and inspired the Hawks to victory in what is still arguably the greatest grand final of all time. Cats coach Malcolm Blight has since come out and said he regrets ordering the hit on the Hawthorn star and we don’t blame him: “Although there was no elbow or head-high shot, if I could take that back, I would.”

Pickett crumbles Krummel in 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCWkfUuYKk

Byron Pickett was perhaps the hardest hitter in the AFL in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He brought the hammer down on plenty of players during his career. But one stands alone as an obliteration the likes of which we’ve never seen before or since. Poor old Brendan Krummel had a serviceable, but ultimately unmemorable career with the Hawks, but his name will never be forgotten, thanks to the former Kangaroo and Port gun. Krummel was out cold for over half an hour after the hit, which ignited the debate around shirtfronts in the AFL and ultimately led to the reform we see today.

God puts Dipper in hospital

We’ve mentioned the 1989 grand final was one of the all time great games of Aussie Rules football and it produced not one, but two of the biggest hits ever seen. Hawthorn star utility Robert “Dipper” Dipierdomenico was one of the toughest players in football. But Gary Ablett was next level. This guy was not only one of the best players ever in the AFL, but he was also made of something other than skin and bone. Maybe concrete and timber. When he hit you, you stayed hit, as poor old Dipper found out in the 89 decider. Ablett ran through the Hawk during the opening term and left him with severe injuries that could have almost cost his life. It’s remarkable that he managed to play out the game, but he was rushed to hospital immediately after the final siren, due to suffering a punctured lung in the Ablett clash. Dipper reckoned he had a fair idea he was in trouble: “I knew what was coming behind me. Gary kept telling me. He was saying: ‘I’m coming, big fellow’ and I was hoping it would be quick.”

Lights out for Vander Haar

Some people would argue that Brereton may have got his come uppance from Yeates in the AFL grand final, after this monster bump on Essendon star Paul Vander Haar in an 89 final. The massive bump from Brereton happened only two weeks before the Yeates bump and left the Bombers’ forward in a world of hurt. Brereton was always happy to dish out the physical stuff and he never had much care for the damage he caused to opposing players. Waverley erupted when he ran through Vander Haar, wrecking the blond bombshell. Brereton did not apologise – he was doing what he had to do for his team to win. But he did have a little regret: “One thing I didn’t like was … a picture of that bump and a picture of me smiling, and it made out I really liked it … it’s not right. I’d just like to state that you do things in the course of a game to win the game for your team.”

How did he survive that?

We reckon Hawthorn’s star midfielder and captain in waiting Jordan Lewis is a very, very lucky man. The scene of Lewis, seeing stars, with body stiff, laying in the middle of Etihad Stadium after the horrific clash with Western Bulldog Jarrod Harbrow is nothing but disturbing when you look back on it. Commentator Tim Watson said “He’s out before he hits the ground there, Lewis”. This one had very little intent, but maximum impact and supporters at the ground feared Lewis could have suffered a broken It is still hard to believe, but Lewis actually came back onto the ground in the last quarter. The hit was enough to shake the confidence of even one of the hardest men in the game. “Obviously watching the replay you’d think it would bring back memories, but I still can’t put myself in that position and remember anything about the game. Definitely in the two weeks after that hit I was a little bit nervous stepping out onto the field. I don’t remember too much from the game, to be honest.”