16 votes in a brownlow isnt overrating.
You never lose your ability
For a short period you can certainly play well above your 'true' ability. It could be influenced by any number of tangible or intangible factors but sports history in general is rife with otherwise average players who have had their 5 minutes in the sun. Whatever they were, all of Merenda's planets lined up in 1996 and he had a good season. I am very happy to continue debating his consistency and output over his career as I stand by what I said. Here are some stats from his career (he was 19 years old in 1994):
Year Games Disp AveDisp Goals Tack Games>10Disp Games>1Goal
1994 2 3 1.5 1 0 0 0 Richmond
1995 20 107 5.3 4 16 2 1 Richmond
1996 22 414 18.8 21 26 18 3 Richmond
1997 16 188 11.7 18 18 9 6 Richmond
1998 10 117 11.7 16 16 6 4 Richmond
1999 3 12 4 2 3 0 0 Richmond
2000 2 12 6 0 2 0 0 Richmond
2001 19 221 11.6 21 48 11 5 West Coast
2002 7 69 9.8 5 12 4 1 West Coast
From this you can see that his 1996 season stood out head and shoulders above his output from any other season. Interesting to note his performance in his first year at West Coast after leaving Richmond because of 'terminal' injury problems. His output went straight back to what it was in his other full seasons except for '96. For a goal kicking forward/midfielder he didn't get enough of the ball or kick enough goals to be classed as great in any of these roles, again except for '96. There were heaps of rumours around in 2000 that he was using injury as an excuse to get out of the club and return home. I don't have any credible information as to the truth or otherwise of this but the figures above paint a damning story. I agree that injury most likely curtailed his ability and (eventually) career but I don't believe he was as good as many made out. Flashy and inconsistent.
