Cats top 10 players since 2000

[dangerwood]

I always rated Chappy higher than SJ.

I think I'd go Chappy over SJ. Wouldn't go to war over it. Stevie J was brilliant but there were times he bit off more than he could chew (and sometimes too frequently). Chappy at his best rarely made a mistake and executed with such skill under high pressure, was so damaging.

 

[Lingsface]

Dangerfield has now played nine seasons of top quality football with Geelong, and is a monty to go on next year. That's a longer period of elite play than, say, Bartel.

Yes that’s why he is top 5 for sure it’s just so hard to position him in front of Selwood and Hawkins. Selwood played in 6 grand finals for us over about 16 years and in the most successful period of our clubs history. Hawkins led the goal kicking in 11 of those seasons and was about 2 goals off in another season. Danger is worthy of being any place in the top 5 though I wouldn’t argue with 1-5

 

[Commando]

I always rated Chappy higher than SJ.

SJ ceiling higher but Chapman probably produced more highly consistent games

 

[iameviljez]

Yes that’s why he is top 5 for sure it’s just so hard to position him in front of Selwood and Hawkins. Selwood played in 6 grand finals for us over about 16 years and in the most successful period of our clubs history. Hawkins led the goal kicking in 11 of those seasons and was about 2 goals off in another season. Danger is worthy of being any place in the top 5 though I wouldn’t argue with 1-5

He's the third-best player I have ever seen pull on the hoops. His 2016 season was up there with GAJ 2007-10 and Ablett Sr 1993 for mine.

 

[Commando]

He's the third-best player I have ever seen pull on the hoops. His 2016 season was up there with GAJ 2007-10 and Ablett Sr 1993 for mine.

Danger 2017 as well
Unlucky to not win another Brownlow and if you compare stats with Dusty's (wonder) season they are basically the same, except for team success

 

[PhatBoy]

Johnson averaged 20 touches and 1.8 goals a game as a Cat. And those averages essentially stayed the same in finals (dropped to 1.7 for goals).

He didn’t play as ‘tough’ as others but it doesn’t diminish his contribution and the fact is that along with Bartel and Chapman himself he was our most reliable finals performer the whole time they were playing, even allowing for his quiet 2009. Hit and miss he could be, but he had a habit of hitting when he needed to

 

[Hoops]

It hard to compare Ablett's 4 years as the best or close to in the AFL whilst at Geelong, to Dangerfield's 6 or so years as Geelongs best player, or Selwood's overall 355 game career.

 

[Mangy Carl]

9 out of 10 the same. I'd have Chappy before Cameron though.. Cameron has not played enough yet..

 

[Biggy_Boy]

I think I'd go Chappy over SJ. Wouldn't go to war over it. Stevie J was brilliant but there were times he bit off more than he could chew (and sometimes too frequently). Chappy at his best rarely made a mistake and executed with such skill under high pressure, was so damaging.

Yeah, I'm the same. Slight preference for Chappy but put them around the same mark. In a lot of ways they were complementary type players. Chappy was a workhorse, ultra-reliable player who was adept at both playing forward and being a dangerous, clutch goalscorer as well as working through the midfield racking up big numbers and having a considerable influence. He was excellent in a lot of big, clutch games and moments and hard as a cat's head. During our period of domination, he was a player who could go in and stand alongside a midfield boasting Ablett, Bartel, Selwood, Corey, Ling, etc. and get plenty of the ball, or could go forward and kick multiple goals.

SJ was more creative and skillful, and with that he could pull off some amazing feats with goal scoring and general kicking, but he was also prone to making mistakes by trying to pull things off and it coming undone. He didn't go through the midfield for as long as Chapman did, but when he played predominately there in 2013 he almost won a Brownlow. Also a clutch player with a good record in big, close games, but probably also a few more forgettable or non-impactful performances in those games than Chapman.

Both hard players with big egos and tempers, but SJ was more prone to aggravation from taggers/scraggers and the back half of his time with us was littered with regrettable MRO incidents.

 

[dangerwood]

Yeah, I'm the same. Slight preference for Chappy but put them around the same mark. In a lot of ways they were complementary type players. Chappy was a workhorse, ultra-reliable player who was adept at both playing forward and being a dangerous, clutch goalscorer as well as working through the midfield racking up big numbers and having a considerable influence. He was excellent in a lot of big, clutch games and moments and hard as a cat's head. During our period of domination, he was a player who could go in and stand alongside a midfield boasting Ablett, Bartel, Selwood, Corey, Ling, etc. and get plenty of the ball, or could go forward and kick multiple goals.

SJ was more creative and skillful, and with that he could pull off some amazing feats with goal scoring and general kicking, but he was also prone to making mistakes by trying to pull things off and it coming undone. He didn't go through the midfield for as long as Chapman did, but when he played predominately there in 2013 he almost won a Brownlow. Also a clutch player with a good record in big, close games, but probably also a few more forgettable or non-impactful performances in those games than Chapman.

Both hard players with big egos and tempers, but SJ was more prone to aggravation from taggers/scraggers and the back half of his time with us was littered with regrettable MRO incidents.

It's funny that the two players that you could potentially debate in this top 10 are Chappy and Johnno and those two clashed with each other a fair bit.

 

[iameviljez]

It's funny that the two players that you could potentially debate in this top 10 are Chappy and Johnno and those two clashed with each other a fair bit.

I reckon they clashed with each other for exactly the same reason, deep down, why they are so hard to split.

SJ had levels of talent that Chappy could only dream of, but as a result, didn't develop his work ethic and team ethos till crisis pretty much hit him in 2007.

Chappy had to make every post a winner, and always play the percentages, but couldn't pull off the kind of risks that SJ made work on a regular basis. For what it's worth, IMO Chappy is the only player at Geelong to have played four really good Grand Finals from '07 to '11 (honorable mention Bartel and Corey, maybe).

For mine, SJ comes through on the back of his fantastic 2013 season. But I'm happy to have both.

 

[dangerwood]

There were times I thought Chappy was our most important player. Can't recall off the top of my head exactly when but there were periods when Gaz wasn't as damaging.

We wouldn't have won 2009 without him, he was only just 2nd to Stevie J in 2007 Norm Smith. He was good in both the 2007 and 2009 finals series.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Robbo must have been sober when he put that together - solid effort
Difficult task but here's mine :
Ablett
Selwood
Dangerfield
Bartel
Hawkins
Scarlett
Enright
Taylor
Chapman
Stewart

HM's - SJ , Cameron, Corey and Lawson Humphries ( in 8 years time !)

 

[Biggy_Boy]

There were times I thought Chappy was our most important player. Can't recall off the top of my head exactly when but there were periods when Gaz wasn't as damaging.

We wouldn't have won 2009 without him, he was only just 2nd to Stevie J in 2007 Norm Smith. He was good in both the 2007 and 2009 finals series.

Also good in the 2011 GF. There was a point in that game where Pies had the upper-hand and it looked like the game was slipping. It was Chapman, along with probably Selwood and Bartel, who kept it from blowing out and becoming much uglier with his contested work in the midfield, providing a sprinboard for us to turn the game around.

 

[Lingsface]

Lingy is a little under appreciated, I don’t think he gets in but he is pushing that 10th spot as well prior to our break out was runner up beat and fairest 2 years and then won the best and fairest 2004, All Australian in 2007 and then 2008 and 2009 one of the best finals players, premiership captain 2011.

His last season he came in at 4th in the best and fairest and that was his 9th time I think in the top 4.
2008 was his 7th year straight in the top 4.

 

[PhatBoy]

Not to labor the point re. PC/SJ because I love both of them but in acknowledging Chapman’s ‘hardness’ I think there was an understated toughness to Johnson that didn’t necessarily manifest itself through contested footy etc but through his arrogance, his mental toughness, his sledging and the way he would really get in the face of the opposition.

 

[Seeds]

Tried to find a way to get Blicavs in but came up short. Robbo’s nailed it, which is frustrating because, Robbo

Other players outside top 10 ahead of blicavs.

Milburn
Mackie
Graham
King
Ottens
Riccardi
Lonergan
Taylor
Chapman
Stengle
Harley
Corey
Ling
Kelly

 

[Seeds]

Hard to disagree with robo here ... broken clocks and all.

In order starting with the best.

1. Ablett
2. Dangerfield
3. Cameron
4. Scarlett
5. Hawkins
6. S. Johnson
7. Selwood
8. Stewart
9. Chapman.
10. Bartel

Just missing: enright, Ottens

 

[Seeds]

Not to labor the point re. PC/SJ because I love both of them but in acknowledging Chapman’s ‘hardness’ I think there was an understated toughness to Johnson that didn’t necessarily manifest itself through contested footy etc but through his arrogance, his mental toughness, his sledging and the way he would really get in the face of the opposition.

Johnson, like chapman, had a habit of pulling out the big plays when the game was tight or slipping away from us. He had mental toughness in spades.

 

[supahoops]

Other players outside top 10 ahead of blicavs.

Milburn
Mackie
Graham
King
Ottens
Riccardi
Lonergan
Taylor
Chapman
Stengle
Harley
Corey
Ling
Kelly

Your opinion, I don’t share it. Harley, Lonergan, seriously..?

 

[Seeds]

SJ ceiling higher but Chapman probably produced more highly consistent games

Yeah i would disagree with that. Sj just got injured more. Injuries cost sj at least two more all australians.

Chapman didnt produce the consistency of sj in 2013-2014.

Chapman didnt reach the height of sj in the first half of 2009 before sj got injured. Sj was arguably the equal best player in the game in the first half of the season with ablett and riewoldt. And yet his injury prevented him from even achieving all australian.

 

[sleep]

Hard to disagree with robo here ... broken clocks and all.

In order starting with the best.

1. Ablett
2. Dangerfield
3. Cameron
4. Scarlett
5. Hawkins
6. S. Johnson
7. Selwood
8. Stewart
9. Chapman.
10. Bartel

Just missing: enright, Ottens

Jimmy @ 10 - staggering.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

You have to say that you naturally do get biased by players who are still playing

Allways rated Selwood the best , even called him at times Geelongs greatest ever player thats how important he was to the Cats . And you think of that brilliant/enjoyable 11 game winning streak against the horrible Hawks , in a few of those games , Geel were well down at h/time , and it was Sellwood who inspired the Cats in the 3rd qtr with some outstanding individual play

Dangerfield has been absolutely sensational for Geel over a long period of time - everything at a thousand miles an hour , at every contest hes like a bull at a gate , he gives everything , i have thoroughly enjoyed watching him play for Geel

Equal 1st , cant split them Selwood/ Dangerfield

Ablett comes in next , one small part of his game i didnt like , he would be on the defensive side at the centre bounce and he would continually wanting that handpass at every opportunity

 

[Commando]

Yeah i would disagree with that. Sj just got injured more. Injuries cost sj at least two more all australians.

Chapman didnt produce the consistency of sj in 2013-2014.

Chapman didnt reach the height of sj in the first half of 2009 before sj got injured. Sj was arguably the equal best player in the game in the first half of the season with ablett and riewoldt. And yet his injury prevented him from even achieving all australian.

This actually sounds like you do agree though..

 

[PhatBoy]

Other players outside top 10 ahead of blicavs.

Milburn
Mackie
Graham
King
Ottens
Riccardi
Lonergan
Taylor
Chapman
Stengle
Harley
Corey
Ling
Kelly

Yeah, no.