By Luke Darcy
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WHEN Daniel Cross arrived at the Whitten Oval as the Bulldogs' last pick in the 2000 draft, I recall thinking initially that he lacked any stand-out quality that would enable him to make a career out of AFL football.
What I failed to recognise in him during those first few weeks was a fervent desire, bordering on obsession, to become the best possible player he could be.
Few players in the game may have less god-given talent than Daniel Cross, but equally few could lay claim to being the most dedicated athlete in the country.
While every club is desperate to find a rolled-gold star like Chris Judd, the best and most consistent teams value their foot soldiers like Crossy, who may not win the game off their own boot but who will never let you down when it counts.
AFL players have to quickly get used to the weekly public assessment of their performance.
It can be confidence shattering to have a poor game analysed by coaches, the media, the fans, even your own family.
But the most intense experience comes when you look your teammates in the eye and know you've let them down.
Players brutally evaluate each other's efforts on a daily basis at training and on game day.
In the final huddle before going into battle, as the last few words were being spoken, I would often find myself mentally ticking off the teammates who you knew would never let you down while glancing at those who you hoped were switched on and ready to play.
For this reason I've always felt strongly that, when in doubt, always select the player who has a crack every time he plays, regardless of the limitations in his game.
Getting the selection balance right between your highly-skilled creative runner and your hard-nosed competitor is a lot harder than it seems.
For an extended part of the 2003 season, Jordan McMahon was regularly selected ahead of Daniel Cross.
As a highly skilled, high draft pick, McMahon's best reached a level much higher than most could achieve.
He was an elite runner with an incredible change of pace and a devastating left foot that could unravel even the best oppositions.
The main problem for Jordan and the Bulldogs was the gap between his best and his worst efforts.
He was capable of delivering a best-on-ground 9/10 performance one week only to follow it seven days later with a 1/10.
It's not unfair to say that Jordan's off-field preparation was also inconsistent - something his teammates were acutely aware of.
The allure of turning Jordan McMahon into a 200-game AFL star warranted perseverance and justified his selection, up to a point, but it eventually became hard to ignore the efforts of a fanatically professional Daniel Cross, who forced his way into the side and has never looked back since.
Leigh Brown's consistency rewarded him with a premiership last year ahead of Josh Fraser. In the end Josh failed the ultimate test: that of his teammates looking around the huddle before the first bounce and knowing what sort of performance they were going to get from him.
Essendon's Paddy Ryder finds himself at a very similar junction in his career, having played 110 games over six seasons.
For a player capable of laying 13 tackles in the ruck on his way to winning the Anzac Day Medal in 2009, he often gives the impression that he'd rather be doing something else.
We could be misinterpreting a laid back nature for a lack of effort, in the same way the great Australian cricketer Mark Waugh was criticised for his laconic style; but Ryder's inconsistent form would indicate that a different approach is needed.
It's an interesting dilemma for James Hird and the Essendon coaches: do you go with Ryder, who has the ability to win you the game, or with young Tom Bellchambers, who looks as though he'll give you everything he has?
For most players it takes a few years to find the formula that enables them to become consistent AFL footballers.
The real challenge comes in still doing the job for the team on the days when your legs feel like concrete and your lungs are burning five minutes into the first quarter.
Champions almost never play a bad game, while other tantalise but never quite get there.
When doing your footy tips this week, go through the 22 players on each side and put a tick next to those you know, with 100 per cent certainty, what you're going to get from them.
You'll be amazed how often the team that wins has the most players who consistently try in the mould of Daniel Cross, regardless of their ability.
