X_box_X's greatest 50 players since 2000

[Guardian Hawk]

Mitchell has been no where near as consistent as kerr.

What? Do you even football?

Kerr had his first elite year in 2005. He backed that up in 2006 and 2007. 2008 he was injury riddled and played just 11 games. Only 11 again in 2009, averaging less than 20 possessions. Worse the year after, 4 games. 2011 he was decent but by 2012 was very inconsistent - good 1 week, invisible the next. 2013 he retired after 10 games. Kerr was brilliant at his best but never showed it consistently once Judd and Cousins left, mainly due to injuries. 3 or 4 good seasons across a career is not consistent, whatever the reason.

Mitchell on the other hand won the B&F in 2006, 3rd in Brownlow in 2007, Captained premiership (and Hawks best mid) in 2008, B&F in 2009, injured but 28 pos per game in 2010, Runner up Brownlow, AA and B&F in 2011, runner up Brownlow and B&F in 2012, AA 2013, injuries in 2014 (still averaged 30 possessions if not counting injury, won the premiership and was 1 voted off the Norm Smith). That's not counting the year he was rising star, very good in 2005, etc.

Mitchell as definitely been more consistent.

 

[theasian]

Black > Cousins>Mitchell>Kerr

I'd have Black at around the best 4th best player since 2000 behind Ablett,Goodes & Judd and he'll definitely be the starting Centreman in any best team since 2000.

Cousins in the 5-10 range & Mitchell in the 10-15 range.

Kerr probably in the 35-45 range.

I'd have both Lappin & Goodwin ahead of Kerr.

He was a brilliant inside Mid but injuries derailed him.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Black > Cousins>Mitchell>Kerr

I'd have Black at around the best 4th best player since 2000 behind Ablett,Goodes & Judd and he'll definitely be the starting Centreman in any best team since 2000.

Cousins in the 5-10 range & Mitchell in the 10-15 range.

Kerr probably in the 35-45 range.

I'd have both Lappin & Goodwin ahead of Kerr.

He was a brilliant inside Mid but injuries derailed him.

As I said, Mitchell has to be top 10 for mine. Further justification:

Mitchell is #3 for Brownlow votes from 2000 (only Ablett and Judd ahead)
Mitchell is top 5 for Coaches votes (mostly from oppo coaches as Clarkson likes to 'share the load' with voting)
Mitchell is eq #3 for Best and Fairests (despite playing in a very strong triple premiership side)
Mitchell is #3 for clearances
Mitchell is #5 for posessions (higher on average and only 11 behind Ablett despite playing less games)
Mitchell is #5 for contested possessions (and yet is one of the best dual sided users the game has seen).

(Cousins is not top 15 in any category)

Other certainties (with Black and Mitchell) for top 10 for me are (in no order): Ablett, Judd, Scarlett, Cox, Riewoldt, Franklin and probably Goodes. Swan and Pavlich competing for the last place. Younger players like Pendlebury/Selwood will no doubt be there in a couple more seasons.

 

[X_box_X]

FWIW I don't want to reveal too much, but Kerr came in at 54th on my list.

Daniel Kerr: West Coast
220 games, 122 goals, 114 Brownlow votes (0.55 per game)
Position: Midfield
Premiership: 1 (2006)
All Australian: 1 (2007)

Players outside the top fifty don't get a write up.

 

[eaglesfan99]

FWIW I don't want to reveal too much, but Kerr came in at 54th on my list.

Daniel Kerr: West Coast
220 games, 122 goals, 114 Brownlow votes (0.55 per game)
Position: Midfield
Premiership: 1 (2006)
All Australian: 1 (2007)

Players outside the top fifty don't get a write up.

How did kerr finish behind cotchin?

 

[X_box_X]

How did kerr finish behind cotchin?

IMO, Kerr's lack of individual awards counted against him slightly. Only one All Australian and no best and fairests. It was obviously quite close between the two. Ten positions (44 v 54) is not a hell of a lot. Cotchin's golden period of 2012-2014 was superior to Kerr's golden period of 2005-2007, IMO. With midfielders, I also consider who gets tagged more often. With Kerr being the third best midfielder at the Eagles, he wasn't tagged as much as Cotchin has been, who is the Tigers' number one midfielder. Kerr with an average of 4.65 clearances and 2.96 inside fifties are key components of attacking midfielders, and while those numbers are quite decent, Cotchin eclipsed him with averages of 4.73 and 3.68 respectively. Cotchin also with a tackling average of 3.58 compared to Kerr 2.99.

As I said, it was close, but you asked the question, and I have done my best to answer it.

 

[Lemma]

Didn't Kerr finish second in the brownlow behind Cousins?

 

[SterlingArcher]

Wonder where Aka will fit in.

229 games, 329 goals, 1x Brownlow, 3x Premierships, 3x AA, 1x B&F, 2x club leading goalkicker

7-15?

 

[X_box_X]

35
Corey Enright: Geelong *
288 games, 62 goals, 22 Brownlow votes
Position: Back Pocket
Premiership: 3 (2007, 2009, 2011)
Best and Fairest: 2 (2009, 2011)
All Australian: 5 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013).
Considered by many to be the best small defender in this period, the 187cm and 91kg Geelong star is highly rated by his team (evidenced by two Best and Fairest awards), and the media (evidenced by his five All Australians). In winning multiple Club Best and Fairest Medals in Premiership years, Enright joins an elite list to have achieved this spectacular honour, including Leigh Matthews, Kevin Bartlett, Jason Dunstall, Simon Black, Michael Voss, and Gary Ablett Junior. He averages 21.03 disposals and 5.18 marks, which are fantastic averages for a player of his position.

34
Brendon Goddard: St. Kilda, Essendon *
247 games, 139 goals, 74 Brownlow votes (0.32 per game)
Position: Utility
Best and Fairest: 1 (2013)
All Australian: 2 (2009, 2010)
Selected with the number one pick in the 2002 National Draft, the Saints got a bargain. He is only one of two players from that draft in my list. Standing at 189cm and weighing in at 94kg, Goddard is the perfect height for a utility player. Despite having only won one Best and Fairest and being awarded with two All Australian honours, Goddard's skill, smarts and strength make him an extremely tough match up and a warranted inclusion in my list. He averages 21.88 disposals, 6.28 marks, 2.67 rebounds from fifty, 3.17 forward fifty entries and 2.04 clearances. He was considered very unlucky not to have won the Norm Smith Medal in 2010.

33
Steve Johnson: Geelong *
233 games, 422 goals, 106 Brownlow votes (0.45 per game)
Position: Midfield, Half Forward Flank
Premiership: 3 (2007, 2009, 2011)
Norm Smith Medal: 1 (2007)
All Australian: 3 (2007, 2008, 2010)
Selected by Geelong with pick 24 in the 2001 National Draft, it took the 189cm and 87kg forward a while to reach elite status. After being suspended by his club for the opening five matches of 2007 after he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly, Johnson returned to the side in round six against Richmond, a game in which Geelong won by 157 points. His 2007 season is perhaps one of the greatest feel good stories of this period. He appeared to be skating on thin ice at the beginning of the season, but he went on to average 18.6 disposals and 2.45 goals, which included playing in only one loss, gaining All Australian selection, and winning the Norm Smith Medal for his 23 disposal, four goal effort in a convincing 119 point Grand Final victory over Port Adelaide. There isn't much Johnson can't do. In recent years, he has worked extremely hard on his fitness (which used to be a criticism of his game), which has seen him move into the midfield and dominate. In 2013, he averaged an impressive 28.74 disposals, which smashed his previous season average by more than six disposals. He continued those impressive numbers in 2014 by averaging 25.78 disposals. During this period, he has averaged 19.46 disposals, 1.81 goals, 5.47 marks, 3.84 inside fifties and 2.04 clearances per game. Throughout his career, one thing that really stands out about Johnson's game is his uncanny knack of making the difficult look easy and the easy look difficult.

32
Darren Glass: West Coast
270 games, 8 goals, 12 Brownlow votes
Position: Full Back
Premiership: 1 (2006)
Best and Fairest: 3 (2007, 2009, 2011)
All Australian: 4 (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012)
The former West Coast captain had a brilliant career. He slots into position 32 in my list, the second highest rating for a Full Back. Having the title as "the glove", he has won a premiership, three Best and Fairests and four All Australians. West Coast got themselves a bargain by picking up Glass (cautiously with a glove) by selecting him at eleventh overall in the 1999 National Draft. There are no stats that detail how important he was to the West Coast team, so you're going to have to let those individual honours convince you he belongs in this list.

31
Jimmy Bartel: Geelong *
272 games, 191 goals, 114 Brownlow votes (0.42 per game)
Position: Utility
Premiership: 3 (2007, 2009, 2011)
Norm Smith Medal: 1 (2011)
Brownlow Medal: 1 (2007)
All Australian: 2 (2007, 2008)
The 187cm and 89kg star has an impressive array of attributes in his arsenal. He has courage, strength, skill, fitness, discipline and a will to succeed. With three premierships, a Brownlow Medal, a Norm Smith Medal and two All Australian awards, Bartel rose to prominence in 2004 when he took a courageous mark running back with the flight of the ball at Etihad Stadium against the Bulldogs, which was ironically on the same day Nick Riewoldt took a very similar mark at the SCG. Apart from goals, the three most popular stats in this sport are disposals, marks and tackles. To highlight his consistency at an elite level, I will reveal only his lowest season averages in those categories since 2004. 19.6 disposals (2004), 5.1 marks (2012) and 3.5 tackles (2013). Considering those are his lowest returns, they are still impressive numbers. His best figures are 28.1 disposals (2008), 6.6 marks (2006) and 6.1 tackles (2012). I consider Bartel to be the best pound for pound mark of this period.

 

[eaglesfan99]

Didn't Kerr finish second in the brownlow behind Cousins?

Yep.

 

[theasian]

While I appreciate the work of the OP and I'm quite pleased he's come up with this list, i'm pretty sure he won't mind some criticism of his selections too.

Cotchin over Kerr is head scratching and Fevola is placed too low. He certainly should be placed higher than Roughead.

Also feel the Geelong trio are a bit low. I would have them in the 20s.

 

[X_box_X]

Cotchin over Kerr is head scratching .

Head scratching is a bit rough. It's close, one way or the other. Did you read my reasons? You can't ignore the evidence I provided, and I am yet to read anything here that suggests I have it wrong.

 

[eaglesfan99]

Head scratching is a bit rough. It's close, one way or the other. Did you read my reasons? You can't ignore the evidence I provided, and I am yet to read anything here that suggests I have it wrong.

Kerrs 2004-2007 was better then cotchins 2012-2014 Kerr could easily have two brownlows.

 

[theasian]

Head scratching is a bit rough. It's close, one way or the other. Did you read my reasons? You can't ignore the evidence I provided, and I am yet to read anything here that suggests I have it wrong.

Just that Cotchin was considered a elite Mid only from around 2011 onwards, only for 4 years and only his 2012 was outstanding Kerr had three absolute monster seasons from 2005 to 2007 and his first season in 2002 was very good too. Also he is easily in the top 5 for his role (inside distributor) for Mids who played during the era.

Honestly when i was considering the possible players who would be on your list the only Richmond player I considered was Richo.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

I reckon the OP is doing a great job so far (regardless of whether I'd be doing the order slightly differently or not). The quality of the last 5 show what a tough job this is as those players have been/are all champions and there is still 30 players to go! Well done mate.

 

[Donakebab]

Head scratching is a bit rough. It's close, one way or the other. Did you read my reasons? You can't ignore the evidence I provided, and I am yet to read anything here that suggests I have it wrong.

Not only was Kerr's peak better, his late career form in finals was fantastic. Easily the Eagles best player in both the 2011 and 2012 finals series. Definitely should be ahead of Cotchin at this stage of his career.

 

[Surkin]

Good job on the list but Cotchin over Kerr is mind boggling. Cothin would be lucky to be top 100, let alone top 50.

Thinking ahead I'd have my top 3 as Ablett, Judd, Riewoldt.

 

[The GOAT]

Really good list so far. Cotchin v Kerr is very close, no problem with Cotchin edging him out

 

[X_box_X]

30
Jobe Watson: Essendon *
188 games, 105 goals, 106 Brownlow votes (0.56 per game)
Position: Midfield
Brownlow Medal: 1 (2012)
Best and Fairest: 3 (2009, 2010, 2012)
All Australian: 2 (2012, 2013)
After being selected in the 2002 National Draft, the son of a gun took a while to feel comfortable at AFL level. In his first three seasons, he managed a return of only 12 games, with a poor average of ten disposals per game. This was mainly due to the fact he was played out of position by his former coach Kevin Sheedy, who introduced him to top level footy playing at Full Forward. Testament to Watson's willingness to work hard, there has been no better example of a player in this list who has improved more. Not only has he cemented a spot in Essendon's midfield since 2006, he has continued to work on his weaknesses and improve his strengths. He has actually gone from a poor kick of the footy to a good kick of the footy, a skill that not many players are able to achieve. Standing at an imposing 191cm and weighing 95kg, the midfield giant is extremely strong, skillful, smart, fit and provides fantastic leadership. He has averaged 24.72 disposals, 3.78 tackles, 2.98 forward fifty entries and an impressive 5.2 clearances per game in this period. His 2012 season was one of the best individual seasons by any player this millennium. He averaged career highs in disposals (29), goals (0.91), tackles (4.77), forward fifties (4.27), and clearances (7).

29
Paul Chapman: Geelong, Essendon *
271 games, 358 goals, 86 Brownlow votes (0.32 per game)
Position: Midfield, Half Forward Flank
Premiership: 3 (2007, 2009, 2011)
Norm Smith Medal: 1 (2009)
Best and Fairest: 1 (2006)
All Australian: 2 (2009, 2010)
The bald headed midfield and forward maestro was selected by Geelong in the 1999 National Draft, a bargain at selection 31. Happy Chappy is one player in my list whose personal achievements aren't that outstanding, despite him appearing inside the top 30, but he is a player who I personally rate extremely highly and the fact he played for a champion team is the reason why he didn't win as many Best and Fairest awards as he otherwise would have at an average team in this period. The solidly built champion only stands at 179cm, but the strength he produces in one on one contests, both at ground level and in the air, makes him a very difficult match up. He is a strong mark, deadly kick for goal, finds space well (due to a high fitness level), and throws his body around, allowing him to win contested possessions. He is one of the smartest players around goal since 2000. He averages 19.9 disposals, 4.81 marks, 1.32 goals, 3.52 tackles, 4.02 forward fifty entries and 2.39 clearances. When you consider he has finished quite a few of his 271 games on the bench (usually due to straining or tearing a hamstring), those stats are quite impressive for only a part time midfielder. A personal favourite stat of mine is players who record totals of 4+ goals and 20+ disposals in the same game. Chapman has achieved this 12 times in his career, which ranks him with the elite.

28
Dane Swan: Collingwood *
236 games, 190 goals, 169 Brownlow votes (0.72 per game)
Position: Midfield
Premiership: 1 (2010)
Brownlow Medal: 1 (2011)
Best and Fairest: 3 (2008, 2009, 2010)
League MVP: 1 (2010)
All Australian: 5 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
AFLPA MVP: 1 (2010)
The son of Williamstown and Port Melbourne champion Billy, Dane possesses elite talent compared to his father. The Pies got an absolute bargain when they drafted him with selection 58 in the 2001 Draft. Standing at 185cm and weighing 93kg, the strong-bodied Collingwood midfielder looks like the British Ink Museum and moves like a penguin. But boy oh boy can the bloke run. And run hard. The territory he covers to accumulate possession after possessions is phenomenal, and actually goes far and beyond the level of elite for this category. Much like Watson, Swan made an extremely slow start to his AFL career, managing only three games in his first two seasons at the club, and only 27 out of a possible 44 in the two seasons after that, showing he was considered a fringe player. His average of only 14 disposals per game in his first four season supports this. But when he finally got going in 2006, wow was he impressive. Despite only averaging 23.19 disposals in 2006, he averaged a career high eight marks per game. In Swan's golden period between 2007 and 2011, he produced staggering averages of 30.76, 31.54, 31.67, 34.52 and 31.17 disposals in his 119 total games in those five seasons. Only one player in the history of the game has averaged 30+ disposals in five consecutive years, and that player will be appear in my list at some stage. The main criticism with Swan's game is his disposal effectiveness, which I agree is rather average, and the main reason why he is rated only at 28 (plus the fact he was poor in his first four seasons). But with Swan, it's death by a thousand cuts, and when you rack up so much of the ball, eventually you're going to pump your opponent into submission.

27
Jason Akermanis: Brisbane, Bulldogs
229 games, 329 goals, 87 Brownlow votes (0.38 per game)
Position: Midfield, Half Forward Flank
Premiership: 3 (2001, 2002, 2003)
Brownlow Medal: 1 (2001)
Best and Fairest: 1 (2005)
All Australian: 3 (2001, 2002, 2004)
With a mouth the size of Lunar Park and an ego that would rival the great Muhammad Ali, the 177cm and 85kg Akermanis was the perfect example of someone who would walk the walk. The former Brisbane Lions champion and Western Bulldogs pesticide had a lethal combination of pin point left and right foot kicking and explosive pace. Left foot, right foot, his kicking was perfection. Despite not wanting to admit it, whenever I watched him I got on an erection. Season after season he broke heavy tags, and it's no wonder why he's a veteran of three flags. The extremely controversial player managed to be sacked by his two clubs, due largely to his flamboyant performances in the media. In 2002, he famously reported he would quit the Brisbane Lions and play Rugby if the Lions picked up former Kangaroos champion Wayne Carey. Other examples of some of his hard-hitting and not so politically correct controversies included leaking information during Grand Final week of 2003 that star teammate Nigel Lappin had broken ribs, accusing former Eagles midfielder Michael Braun of taking performance enhancing drugs (2007), reporting homosexuals in footy should remain in the closest because the AFL isn't ready for them (2010), leaking confidential team information to the public in his last season at the Bulldogs (2010), and while former Demons champion Jim Stynes was on his death bed, he accused the Irishman of being a nasty man and, days after dying, Akermanis stated that Stynes doesn't deserve a state funeral. Despite that controversial side, there's no disputing the fact he was a champion player for a long period. He averaged 19.1 disposals, 1.44 goals, 5.08 forward fifty entires, 2.56 clearances and 1.27 running bounces per game in this period. He recorded 4+ goals and 20+ disposal games on 14 occasions.

26
Brad Johnson: Western Bulldogs
240 games, 467 goals, 61 Brownlow votes
Position: Midfield, Full Forward
Best and Fairest: 2 (2002, 2006)
All Australian: 5 (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007)
My favourite player of all time was always going to appear in my list. The former champion from Whitten Oval stood at 182cm and weighed in at 87kg, and dominated games both in the midfield and up forward. Known as "The Smiling Assassin" due to his easy going, friendly nature and constant cheesy grin, he consistently tore teams to shreds and was one of the most durable players in the history of the game. Between 2000 and 2008, he missed only four games, playing 225 of a possible 229 games. In his final season, old age finally caught up with him, as he managed only 15 games out of 25. There's no doubt Brad Johnson is the King of recording 4+ goals and 20+ disposal games. Since 2000, he has recorded those totals in a phenomenal 27 games, a record since Leigh Matthews retired. In this period, he averaged 20.47 disposals, 1.9 goals, 6.61 marks, 3.64 forward fifty entries and 1.7 running bounces. Added to Johnson's five All Australian honours is the added bonus of him being captain of the 2006 side.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

He he, I was waiting for Johnno to come up. Now, I expect people to say he is rated too highly when in actuality, he was a brilliant and underrated player that deserves to be in the vicinity of where you have placed him.

 

[theasian]

No Problem with Brad Johnson's rating. 25-30 the right range. Perhaps could have been rated a little higher.

However quite surprised that Akermanis is rated only 27th. I thought he would be in the 10-15 range.


Still holding a grudge for what he told about the doggies senior players?

He was definitely the best High Half Forward during the 00s .

It also seems you will be rating Boomer Harvey higher than both Akermanis and Brad Johnson.
Not too sure about that.


I'm also guessing Scot West will be in the 15-20 range.

It will be interesting to see what Geelong supporters think of Chappy being rated higher than Bartel & Enright.

Was it because he was a big game player? However the same can be said of Bartel

 

[Fyfetheknife]

Some excellent players already. The top 10 will be very impressive. Wonder where Pav will slot in.

 

[X_box_X]

No Problem with Brad Johnson's rating. 25-30 the right range. Perhaps could have been rated a little higher.

However quite surprised that Akermanis is rated only 27th. I thought he would be in the 10-15 range.


Still holding a grudge for what he told about the doggies senior players?

He was definitely the best High Half Forward during the 00s .

It also seems you will be rating Boomer Harvey higher than both Akermanis and Brad Johnson.
Not too sure about that.


I'm also guessing Scot West will be in the 15-20 range.

It will be interesting to see what Geelong supporters think of Chappy being rated higher than Bartel & Enright.

Was it because he was a big game player? However the same can be said of Bartel

West was already in my list mate.

Very fair about Aker, but he didn't run both ways which is why he wasn't higher on my list.

Chappy and Bartel both above Enright cause of the big games, definitely. The players who hurt you more on the scoreboard are usually going to be rated highly on lists, compared to someone like Enright who was rated highly within the Geelong inner sanctum. At the end of the day, there is nothing between them all, and you aren't going to get a unanimous decision when trying to rate all the Geelong champs of this era in order.

 

[HTPunter]

Some excellent players already. The top 10 will be very impressive. Wonder where Pav will slot in.

I tried to do my top 25 using X_box_X 's 26-50 list.

I had 26 players to fit in.

Will be intriguing to see who is there, and if there are any ones I missed.

 

[X_box_X]

I really do welcome and enjoy the criticism, so feel free to keep it coming.

Trent Cotchin, you're taking the piss?

How did kerr finish behind cotchin?

Cotchin over Kerr is head scratching

Not only was Kerr's peak better, his late career form in finals was fantastic. Easily the Eagles best player in both the 2011 and 2012 finals series. Definitely should be ahead of Cotchin at this stage of his career.

Good job on the list but Cotchin over Kerr is mind boggling. Cothin would be lucky to be top 100, let alone top 50.

Interesting thoughts here by the majority of members responding to this thread. I feel I have made the correct decision and I am comfortable with it.

I am looking to make this an annual event, where I will be making adjustments to my list based on the previous season's achievements. I may even adjust players who have been retired for a number of years if I feel I haven't rated them correctly. One player I feel I may have rated too low, and it was mentioned by a couple of posters is Fevola. There's no doubt a lack of big games (finals) counted against him, and I think that's unfair. I feel I have to admit I got his ranking slightly wrong and there are players I have rated above him who I shouldn't have. I'm satisfied he is the only player I am not comfortable with where I rated him.