He is widely considered one of the best to ever play the game, but former team-mate Sam Newman went a step further after the passing of AFL legend Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer.
Farmer died at the age of 84 on Wednesday.
The legendary ruckman won premierships with both East and West Perth before playing four seasons in the VFL with Geelong, where he also helped the Cats win the flag in 1963.
He earned three All-Australian nominations, won nine club best-and-fairest awards and was voted into the Geelong, West Perth, East Perth (post-war) and Indigenous teams of the century.
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Best known for his revolutionary use of the long handball, Farmer was also named the starting ruckman in the AFL Team of the Century in 1996.
Speaking on 3AW on Wednesday, Newman declared his beloved ex-team-mate the best player the code has ever produced.
“I played against a lot of great players but I played with the greatest,” Newman told 3AW.
“… I have no hesitation in saying that and there is fantastic players in every club.
“I played with Graham Farmer for four years, most of his (101) games that he played and to see him handle the adversity of playing top competition sport when he came over to this state past his prime.
“For him to leave the mark on the game he did, I learnt everything I knew about football, or know about football, by playing with him, not because he instructed me but just because I watched him.
“He had spirit and he had the mental capacity and the physical prowess to turn this game on its end.”
