our best team ever

[perko]

If you sit down and pick the best Hawthorn team ever - as one does at this time of year when nothing much is happening - how many current day players get a game?

I reckon Gibbo is now worthy of a spot in defence. I saw Kennedy, Collins, Parkin, Langford etc and I reckon he's better than them.

Hodge is on a back flank, Mitchell is in the centre and Burgoyne and Lewis get runs on the bench. Sadly, I had to name Franklin on a forward flank.

The biggest problem is the ruck. Scott, Tuck, Matthews must pick themselves, but who is number two ruckman? Salmon? I can't put him in this team, despite being the only ruckman since Scott to win our B&F.


Gibson Moore Ayres
Hodge Mew Knights
Pritchard Mitchell Crawford
Franklin Brereton Buckenara
Platten Hudson Dunstall

R: Scott Tuck Matthews

Bench: Jarman Arthur Lewis Burgoyne

Brendan Edwards and Chris Langford are stiff, Dipper less so. Never saw Bohan or Austen. Ian Law was honest but not good enough for this. Nor was Roy Simmonds. Jarman may be considered lucky, but he was a freak. Hopefully, somebody like Roughead, Rioli or Hill will step up and push him out.

 

[Randy Campbell]

The best ever Hawthorn team has not been born yet.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Never saw Hudson Snr so have omitted him but from my era...

FF: Platten - Dunstall - Franklin
HF: Jarman - Brereton - Buckenara
Ce: Dipper - Mitchell - Crawford
HB: Hodge - Knights - Ayres
FB: Collins - Langford - Moore

Ru: Salmon
RR: Tuck
Ro: Matthews

I/C: Scott, Mew + last two spots are too hard

 

[WaxHawk]

Never saw Hudson Snr so have omitted him but from my era...

FF: Platten - Dunstall - Franklin
HF: Jarman - Brereton - Buckenara
Ce: Dipper - Mitchell - Crawford
HB: Hodge - Knights - Ayres
FB: Collins - Langford - Moore

Ru: Salmon
RR: Tuck
Ro: Matthews

I/C: Scott, Mew + last two spots are too hard

Pretty close if you aren't considering Hudson and Arthur.
Scott>>>>Salmon
I'd have Kennedy Jnr over Jarman
Eade, Greene and Pritchard to join Mew on the bench (although you are right in that it is very hard)

Also for the OP - Langford over Gibson and t is not really close.

 

[parsons nose]

I would expect Roughie to displace Dermie at careers end. Hill for Pritchard if he keeps tracking on the same curve. Gunston for Buckenara by careers end and Bruest in there too assuming he continues with the same output. I wouldn't be considering Lewis, prior to last season he was a servicable player and little more.

 

[Procrastinator35]

If you sit down and pick the best Hawthorn team ever - as one does at this time of year when nothing much is happening - how many current day players get a game?

I reckon Gibbo is now worthy of a spot in defence. I saw Kennedy, Collins, Parkin, Langford etc and I reckon he's better than them.

Hodge is on a back flank, Mitchell is in the centre and Burgoyne and Lewis get runs on the bench. Sadly, I had to name Franklin on a forward flank.

The biggest problem is the ruck. Scott, Tuck, Matthews must pick themselves, but who is number two ruckman? Salmon? I can't put him in this team, despite being the only ruckman since Scott to win our B&F.


Gibson Moore Ayres
Hodge Mew Knights
Pritchard Mitchell Crawford
Franklin Brereton Buckenara
Platten Hudson Dunstall

R: Scott Tuck Matthews

Bench: Jarman Arthur Lewis Burgoyne

Brendan Edwards and Chris Langford are stiff, Dipper less so. Never saw Bohan or Austen. Ian Law was honest but not good enough for this. Nor was Roy Simmonds. Jarman may be considered lucky, but he was a freak. Hopefully, somebody like Roughead, Rioli or Hill will step up and push him out.

Definitely want to argue the case with you about Gibson over Langford....Gibbo, as good as he has been these past 5 seasons, has only just notched 100 games for us & 2 Flags....Whereas Superman played 16 seasons for over 300 games & 4 flags & was the best full back of his era.

The only other one is Pritchard ahead of Dipper....Pritchard was a very good player to be sure, but Dipper was the consummate big game finals player....The footy he played between 1984-1987 was at a level to which Pritchard could never match, much less aspire to....There were 3 blokes the Cats targeted in the 89 GF & they were all our big game match-winners: Derm, The Rat & Dipper....Leaving Pritchard & Anderson to play as they liked.....That says it all really!

It's hard not to like your bench though.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

Langford was that much better than Gibson It is actually offensive.

 

[Hawk Hawkins]

No Zac Dawson?

 

[moginie]

perko did you see John Peck play? To me, that sorts out our second ruck problem.

 

[parsons nose]

Langford was that much better than Gibson It is actually offensive.

That SOS was given the nod ahead of him as the fullback in the team of the century, will go down as one of footballs great injustices.

 

[Brant]

That SOS was given the nod ahead of him as the fullback in the team of the century, will go down as one of footballs great injustices.

Was it the only way to get a Carltank player on the list?

Genuine question - haven't checked who is on the Team.

 

[Sydney Kicker]

I would expect Roughie to displace Dermie at careers end. Hill for Pritchard if he keeps tracking on the same curve. Gunston for Buckenara by careers end and Bruest in there too assuming he continues with the same output. I wouldn't be considering Lewis, prior to last season he was a servicable player and little more.

For Roughead to displace Brereton he would need to step up a fair bit further. Although he had a good finals this year you would always choose Brereton for the big games. That goal after he got smashed by Yeats is as good as a Coleman medal in my estimation.

Agree with others that Dipper and Langford must be in the team. I hope that Breust and Gunston are thereabouts by the time they retire. Could only mean more premierships in the next 10 years.

 

[parsons nose]

Was it the only way to get a Carltank player on the list?

Genuine question - haven't checked who is on the Team.

Nope. In fact they're grossly over represented with no fewer than five reps.
Makes the silvagni selection even more puzzling.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Was it the only way to get a Carltank player on the list?

Genuine question - haven't checked who is on the Team.

Nah....Doull, Nicholls & Jezza....3 blokes who actually warranted inclusion!...It's on page 618 of the 2015 AFL Record, Season Guide: Here's the team.

B. B.Smith (Geel) S.Silvagni (JOKE) J. Nicholls (Carl)
H.B. B. Doull (Carl) T. Whitten (JOKE) K.Murray (Fitz)
C. K. Greig (Nth) I. Stewart (St.K, Rich) F. Bourke (Rich)
H.F A. Jesaulenko (Carl) R. Hart (Rich) D. Reynolds (Ess)
F. L. Matthews (Haw) J. Coleman (Ess) H. Bunton (Fitz)
R. G. Farmer (Geel) R. Barassi (Melb) B. Skilton (STH)

Int> G. Ablett Snr (Geel), J. Dyer (Rich) G.Williams (HUGE JOKE)

Coach: Norm Smith (Melb)

There are at least 20 players better than Greg Williams who should be in that team ahead of him on that list.

All of Dench, Southby & Kel Moore were miles better than Souvlaki: The holding, scrapping, cheating, try-hard want-to be!

Whitten at CHB is an epic joke....Bloke was a thug, pure & simple, which is why no one went near him!....Knights should be in ahead of him easily, on pure talent alone, much as Hart is at CHF>

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

That SOS was given the nod ahead of him as the fullback in the team of the century, will go down as one of footballs great injustices.

Always felt that bemusing too. Purely based on his social status, family name and trophy wife. Silvagni was just a scragger that the umps protected.

 

[parsons nose]

For Roughead to displace Brereton he would need to step up a fair bit further. Although he had a good finals this year you would always choose Brereton for the big games. That goal after he got smashed by Yeats is as good as a Coleman medal in my estimation.

Agree with others that Dipper and Langford must be in the team. I hope that Breust and Gunston are thereabouts by the time they retire. Could only mean more premierships in the next 10 years.

It's an interesting discussion point. Undoubtably Dermie has had more epic moments. But he also had more lean periods too. Particularly as his career wore on and injury started taking their toll.

Roughies career has been the inverse of Dermotts. Slow start but gradually improving to the point where is widely considered as the second best key position player in the comp, behind Franklin (some would rather Rough to Buddy).

Aside from consistency the other aspect of his game that shades Dermie is his versatility. Not sure how Derm would have gone in the ruck or ruck roving. Plus he (Roughie) has recently developed a hard edge to his game, giving him that extra ingredient of menace.

 

[Sydney Kicker]

It's an interesting discussion point. Undoubtably Dermie has had more epic moments. But he also had more lean periods too. Particularly as his career wore on and injury started taking their toll.

Roughies career has been the inverse of Dermotts. Slow start but gradually improving to the point where is widely considered as the second best key position player in the comp, behind Franklin (some would rather Rough to Buddy).

Aside from consistency the other aspect of his game that shades Dermie is his versatility. Not sure how Derm would have gone in the ruck or ruck roving. Plus he (Roughie) has recently developed a hard edge to his game, giving him that extra ingredient of menace.

You make some fair points - consistency v higher peak, versatility v specialization and the value of hardness/match defining moments which I rate very highly. I've gone for the guy (in my opinion) who I think will be more likely to win you a GF, but that said I still think Roughead is one of the best going round. The hard edge you mention - demonstrated when he smashed Hannebury in the GF was close to the best moment of the game for me. Perhaps that is the sort of inspirational team lifting play that will make him Dermies equal in my eyes if he does it a few more times.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Learning to throw his weight around has been a definite sticking point with Roughead....He just seems to lack that inner mongrel, which Derm had in spades.

The kind of psychological, intimidating aggression that Derm enacted on the footy field, in big games, at big moments, is just something inherent & doesn't appear to be a part of Roughy's make-up....Though the hit on Hannebery was a real beauty, it seemed more a pay-back on Roughead's behalf immediately following the knee to the head he copped from Richards, when he marked above him just a minute prior to that incident.....Unfortunately, it usually takes an act of aggression against Roughy first, to spur him to the level of aggression that he exhibited against Hannebery.

 

[grumbleguts]

If you sit down and pick the best Hawthorn team ever - as one does at this time of year when nothing much is happening - how many current day players get a game?

I reckon Gibbo is now worthy of a spot in defence. I saw Kennedy, Collins, Parkin, Langford etc and I reckon he's better than them.

Hodge is on a back flank, Mitchell is in the centre and Burgoyne and Lewis get runs on the bench. Sadly, I had to name Franklin on a forward flank.

The biggest problem is the ruck. Scott, Tuck, Matthews must pick themselves, but who is number two ruckman? Salmon? I can't put him in this team, despite being the only ruckman since Scott to win our B&F.


Gibson Moore Ayres
Hodge Mew Knights
Pritchard Mitchell Crawford
Franklin Brereton Buckenara
Platten Hudson Dunstall

R: Scott Tuck Matthews

Bench: Jarman Arthur Lewis Burgoyne

Brendan Edwards and Chris Langford are stiff, Dipper less so. Never saw Bohan or Austen. Ian Law was honest but not good enough for this. Nor was Roy Simmonds. Jarman may be considered lucky, but he was a freak. Hopefully, somebody like Roughead, Rioli or Hill will step up and push him out.

It appears we have the same surname. Related mayhap?

 

[Hawkas1988]

Langford was that much better than Gibson It is actually offensive.

Gibbo ahead of Langford is ridiculous. I love Gibbo and he has been great for us. Langford has played in 200 more games for us and was the rock in our defense for the majority of his career. Also besides the extra games and premierships, he was simply the better player.

 

[Agent Smith]

perko did you see John Peck play? To me, that sorts out our second ruck problem.

To solve a number of issues in this thread, we could even look at Roughie as second ruck. Let's face it, with the forward line as listed, I think we can afford to shift the big red back into the fwd/ruck role...

 

[JoeHawk]

Enjoying this topic. What a tantalising thought to have such a team make up. And I've been fortunate enough to see and remember the glory days of the 80's and shades of the late 70's and IMHO not many sides can boast the calibre of players that we as Hawks supporters have been blessed to follow and witness.

Perko apart from Gibbo over Langford I think you've pretty much got it spot on.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Learning to throw his weight around has been a definite sticking point with Roughead....He just seems to lack that inner mongrel, which Derm had in spades.

The kind of psychological, intimidating aggression that Derm enacted on the footy field, in big games, at big moments, is just something inherent & doesn't appear to be a part of Roughy's make-up....Though the hit on Hannebery was a real beauty, it seemed more a pay-back on Roughead's behalf immediately following the knee to the head he copped from Richards, when he marked above him just a minute prior to that incident.....Unfortunately, it usually takes an act of aggression against Roughy first, to spur him to the level of aggression that he exhibited against Hannebery.

Agreed. Derm like Hodge was also able to influence games when the ball wasn't in his hands and was Hodge-esque at directing traffic and coaching on the field during the game.

 

[Sydney Kicker]

Agreed. Derm like Hodge was also able to influence games when the ball wasn't in his hands and was Hodge-esque at directing traffic and coaching on the field during the game.

If he was playing now, I was thinking about what Brereton might have done to halt the Kennett curse. We seemed to be going into too many of those post 2008 games afraid to lose rather than daring to win. Of course Geelong was a great side and the bounce of the ball went their way more than once but you would have to think Dermie would have changed the equation by having a go at Chapman or running through the Geelong huddle or just by kicking goals and firing up the whole team when the game was there to be won.

 

[B&GBlood]

Dermie is still way ahead of Rough imo. He dragged us over the line many times more than the big Rough has. Love Rough heaps but Derm is a legend for a reason.