The team of the century

[dickballsack]

Comprehension seems to be lacking in this thread. OP pointed out a survey that nominated the 2000 Essendon team as the best TEAM of the century. It's ok to dispute that but every single poster disagreeing with it has done so based on the CLUBS lack of sustained success which is totally irrelevant to the topic. This article has awarded them the best TEAM of the century. A team only exists for one season so the measurement is based on that.

 

[ferrisb]

I think the most dominant single seasons from 2000 were:

Essendon in 2000
Geelong 2008
Collingwood 2011?

Only one of those was a premier, so you have to say Essendon was the most dominant single season team.

Would they beat all other premiership sides head-to-head? Intriguing but impossible to answer hypothetical.

If we're sticking to the article and OP premise then Essendon 2000...

 

[Art Corvelay]

That 2011 Collingwood team would be #1... if it weren't for losing the bloody Grand Final.

 

[Frank Gallagher]

I think the most dominant single seasons from 2000 were:

Essendon in 2000
Geelong 2008
Collingwood 2011?

Only one of those was a premier, so you have to say Essendon was the most dominant single season team.

Would they beat all other premiership sides head-to-head? Intriguing but impossible to answer hypothetical.

If we're sticking to the article and OP premise then Essendon 2000...

Depends how you look at it, Collingwood 2011 lost twice to the eventual premier, the first time was from an officially admitted umpire error and the second time was a dead rubber (HaA season).

 

[Walter H White]

That 2011 Collingwood team would be #1... if it weren't for losing the bloody Grand Final.

Yeah, I agree. If it weren't for losing that bloody grand final ... by 38 points, and that other game by 96 points, oh, and that other game by a goal. Did I mention they were all to the same team?

 

[Luv_our_club]

They didn't cheat the cap, they were just given a higher cap than most other teams to "equalise" the competition in their favour - like the swans.

Respect to any Essendon fan giving advice on cap cheating.

Not a compliment.

 

[Luv_our_club]

Essendon 2000 team..... as described by Ricky Nixon below:

“I registered the domain names www.jameshird.com.au and www.matthewlloyd.com.au, sold the domain names to Essendon for $250,000 each …. Salary Cap problem gone,” he said.

https://www.zerohanger.com/ricky-nixon-explains-rorted-salary-cap-9852/

 

[Dom PC]

If Brisbane were so unbelievably dominant - how come they never won a minor premiership? Sure they won the games when they mattered most but their H&A performances just don't meet their hype and memory.

Brisbane had a 20 game winning streak, pretty sure that equals or beats Essendon of 2000 winning streak. They also went undefeated for a ridiculous number of games at home - i think Geelong beat their record, but all their blockbuster games were played at the MCG, so there is a bit of a * on their record.

Brisbane never played for top spot, top 4 was only ever their goal. They knew it was a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Dom PC]

Again, it's pretty straightforward. The best team from a single year.

Except Brisbane could pick the same starting 22 from 2001 in 2003. So in effect they were the same team...

 

[99cents]

Sure you're not confusing them with the 2011 Pies?

That were 'vinced' three times in a season by the same side?

 

[bombersfan4000]

Again, it's pretty straightforward. The best team from a single year.

Given the fact it was also the best h&a season on record as well! The bombers lost one game only just by the dogs.

 

[bombersfan4000]

And the Brisbane team beat the Bombers in the 2001 final which was close to the Bombers 2000 side- who beat the "world beaters" Melbourne in that grand final....
If The 2000 was so good why did Brisbane beat them??? You would think the best ever side would win more than one flag or at least beat a good side (sorry for the Melbourne disrespect,but they weren't exactly a power house side who were regular contenders)

In 2001 Essendon we're depleted by injuries

 

[Doss]

Bruce's commentary at the end of the 2000 grand final would sum it up, I think.

"You can argue forever about who the best teams are, but this is the best season we've seen"

If that's the measure one uses, then it's pretty hard to mount a case against Essendon 2000. That they failed to salute in 1999 and 2001 and then the Sheedy stuff ups that led to the team being dismantled after 2001 ultimately doesn't change how good that 2000 season was.

Closest season I've seen to that would be Geelong 2008. Collingwood up to Round 23 in 2011 (before they got thumped by Geelong in the last round) would also be very close.

 

[HairyO]

AFL Media is going all out for the Essendon forgiveness.

Everywhere you look its the Essendon good guys.

Its a dumb article and a premise which benefits single win clubs... because multiple winners will see their votes split.

 

[kickazz]

Comprehension seems to be lacking in this thread. OP pointed out a survey that nominated the 2000 Essendon team as the best TEAM of the century. It's ok to dispute that but every single poster disagreeing with it has done so based on the CLUBS lack of sustained success which is totally irrelevant to the topic. This article has awarded them the best TEAM of the century. A team only exists for one season so the measurement is based on that.

Well summed up

 

[beta_condition]

What a load of crap, the Brisbane teams are by far the best, they would win the flag now. Voss, Acker, Black, Power still the most unstoppable mid force, the whole team is loaded with stars in every position....

Yet couldn't win a minor premiership, so much for unstoppable and stars in every position.

 

[threesixpio]

Interesting how many Bombers fans suggest that Hawthorn posters discussing the threepeat are relying upon a distant history

Yet here we are clapping 17 years later

Great team though. The game where they came back 60 odd points down at three quarter time was the one I recall. Who was that against?

I also recall living in Far North Fitzroy the following year and enjoying the Bomber loss in the GF.

TEAM OF THE 2000

 

[kickazz]

AFL Media is going all out for the Essendon forgiveness.

Everywhere you look its the Essendon good guys.

Its a dumb article and a premise which benefits single win clubs... because multiple winners will see their votes split.

One of the dumber posts of the thread.
For the fiftieth time, it's individual seasons being compared, by data and (supposedly, at least in the context of the exercise) impartial journalists. This isn't an exercise in getting teams' cheer squads to vote for their favourite year.

 

[kickazz]

Interesting how many Bombers fans suggest that Hawthorn posters discussing the threepeat are relying upon a distant history

Yet here we are clapping 17 years later

Great team though. The game where they came back 60 odd points down at three quarter time was the one I recall. Who was that against?

I also recall living in Far North Fitzroy the following year and enjoying the Bomber loss in the GF.

TEAM OF THE 2000

We must have missed the rule saying that threads praising teams other that Hawthorn are not allowed, least the previous little snowflakes melt.

 

[HairyO]

One of the dumber posts of the thread.
For the fiftieth time, it's individual seasons being compared, by data and (supposedly, at least in the context of the exercise) impartial journalists. This isn't an exercise in getting teams' cheer squads to vote for their favourite year.

Impartial journos.... nice one.

So they took the data overseas and had it analysed by independent experts?

 

[threesixpio]

We must have missed the rule saying that threads praising teams other that Hawthorn are not allowed, least the previous little snowflakes melt.

I like that rule

 

[PhatBoy]

So your argument is "they won the games that mattered" but didn't win the others... so they aren't that good...
Nice work mate, just keep pushing along the stereotype that Collingwood supporters are uneducated and have no clue..:

It's a legitimate argument. It's one thing to win finals, obviously that is what every side aims to achieve - but what sort of reflection is that when you only get to play 3, sometimes 4 of them per year?

Brisbane in all 3 years were a great side, no doubt, but it was built around simply getting the job done however they could when they had to.

Chances are if you throw all these teams into a regular season with one another, they'll perform reasonably but probably won't win as many games as Essendon 2000, Geelong 2007/11, or Collingwood 2010.

 

[kickazz]

Bruce's commentary at the end of the 2000 grand final would sum it up, I think.

"You can argue forever about who the best teams are, but this is the best season we've seen"

If that's the measure one uses, then it's pretty hard to mount a case against Essendon 2000. That they failed to salute in 1999 and 2001 and then the Sheedy stuff ups that led to the team being dismantled after 2001 ultimately doesn't change how good that 2000 season was.

Closest season I've seen to that would be Geelong 2008. Collingwood up to Round 23 in 2011 (before they got thumped by Geelong in the last round) would also be very close.

And I hate to be one of those "you had to be there" people, but, well, you had to be there.

The stats speak to the results essendon got. But watching them, they were awesome, in the traditional meaning of that word.
If you dared turn the ball over at half back (or anywhere) there just came this ominous wave of bombers ready to punish you. And when you had the ball, their pressure was like nothing we'd seen, surpassed only by the swans later that decade. Matthew Lloyd never dropped a mark.
Mid year I was convinced they'd go through undefeated easily. The one game they lost was arguably the most tactically intriguing in history up until that point. When I got home from the pub my housemate said "geez, you should see what the Bulldogs are doing in this game, they might even end up winning it"

 

[Papa G]

One stat that they haven't factored in is the quality of the opposition in any particular year.

 

[threesixpio]

One stat that they haven't factored in is the quality of the opposition in any particular year.

That's why Brissie in 2001 should be given some cred.