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Fine with his list, importantly he got #1 right, the rest is all just opinion.
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Matthew Lloyd's Top 30
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- Jul 29, 2008
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Every bit as good as Scarlett who's in there.
The list of full backs/key defenders with more than his 2 AA nods is long. Fletcher was good, but his longevity played a part in him being ranked higher than I think he should be.
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To have Bont below Ben Cousins is laughable. Bont is the first time in my 50 plus years of supporting the Dogs to be the best player in the competition and has been for 5 seasons now. He has been good since the day he started. He’s every bit as good as Hird/Buckley/Voss from 20 years ago but because he doesn’t play for a bigger club he hasn’t the media people promote him as much. But in 20 years he’ll be talked about like this generation talks about those older players. I get Carey and Ablett are a step above but not much.
He isn’t in here but the best I’ve ever seen is Dermott, who as the Centre Half Forward (most important position by far back in the day) for 5 premierships is monumental.
He isn’t in here but the best I’ve ever seen is Dermott, who as the Centre Half Forward (most important position by far back in the day) for 5 premierships is monumental.
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Lunchtime
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Fletcher was a good consistent defender. But I reckon defenders like Rance, McGovern and Scarlett are better in my opinion?
Once again my opinion, because sometimes its very difficult to split players - I have Rance, McGovern and Scarlett as the three equal best defenders from 2000 onwards. I have tried to split them but I can't. Those three are on equal footing I think.
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If Fletcher played 275 games, and retired in 2005, he'd be known as every bit as good as Scarlett.
The reality was that he was part of an average Dons squad for way too long, and people think of him as a meme who could kick the skin 75M. He could lock down talls and smalls, and start a scoring chain like no other who can do all three.
Chip Scab1
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A poor man's Mickey Martyn, let's be honest. Also didn't have to play on Lloyd which helped his record.
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Bont’s been a finals star. In retrospect many have him as the 2016 Norm Smith Medalist and in 2021 he kicked 3 big captains set shot goals and was on his way to a Norm Smith Medalist before they were over run by Melbourne. People often forget that the Bulldogs had a horrid month in hostile hotels in Tasmania, Queensland and then South Australia, they didn’t even feed them enough, or let them out to train. then the pre grand final bye of 2021 stopped their momentum and they were cooked. Bonts had 7 finals wins and was always a good player so hardly not a good finals player. Remember Buckley didn’t even win a flag.
Then he would have ended with 1 AA team selection.
He was a very good defender, but reality is over the course of his career other key defender were ranked higher than him at the time. In the 2000's onwards for example
Scarlett - 6 time AA
Glass - 4 time AA
McGovern - 5 time AA
Rance - 5 time AA
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I disagree.
Bontempelli is a massive step below the level of Carey or Ablett. Those guys busted apart matches on a weekly basis.
Is Bontempelli a better player than Dangerfield?
Carey 1993-2000 was a colossus. Compare that period of dominance to what Bontempelli's done and it's night and day.
Chip Scab1
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Agree but his Colossus Era was 1992-96, his 3rd shoulder Rd 1 in 1997 was the end of his overhead marking capacity. Still half a colossus, but not the full Monty.
7 players received coaches votes in the 2016 GF and none of them were Bont. Same with the 2016 PF but 8 players. He was equal BOG with 2 others in the 2016 SF and had no votes in the 2016 EF (7 others received votes).
Now obviously you can still play well without coaches votes and he was good (plus young). But there's no need to reframe it that he was dominant. 8 coaches votes from 4 finals in 2016 is 2 per game.
In total Bontempelli has had 26 coaches votes from 12 finals.
He has been starved of opportunities at times - a cluster early in his career and then once again at his peak. Take those 2 finals series out and he has really never played in big games.
2016 like I said he was equal BOG in the SF but didn't feature otherwise.
His 2021 run was the highlight of his finals career - receiving and 5, 2, 3 and 1 coaches vote in the 4 games. Not dominant, but very good.
Besides that there are a few losing EFs without much to note - 2022 was his best.
- Oct 30, 2014
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At 100% efficiency and some remarkable possessions and disposals.
00Stinger
100 - 7
Cool, should still be no where near the top 30 players
If that rule applies though do we put in Josh Gibson for winning 2 b&fs in premiership teams?
No, Fletch would've eaten him for breakfast.
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Played nothing alike rofl.
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It does raise an interesting question. Which player - current or previous - was the most similar to Fletcher? Lightning quick over 20m, tall and gangly frame, booming kick, excellent 1v1 defending and at intercepting?
H. Andrews ?
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It's hilarious, so much debate at the time around who is better Scarlett or Fletcher, and now we're comparing him to Glass and McGovern who he was significantly better than. Rance, Scarlett, Archer, Silvagni and Jackovich are the only ones I have seen, that would put on his level. Harris Andrews is getting there too.
Fletcher had a higher peak than any of those. His 2000 season was the most insane single season I've seen from a key defender.
It's like Hird, though people hate him because he's a Bomber.
He's easily a top 10 player of the last 30 years, and people won't put him top 25.
I feel like Robert Harvey is consistently understated in these modern lists.
Those old enough would remember in his era he was generally rated above Buckley, Hird, Voss etc... but as time goes on his status has definitely wained.
He wasn't a penetrating kick is about the only weakness he had. And he's still probably the hardest bloke to tackle ever
Those old enough would remember in his era he was generally rated above Buckley, Hird, Voss etc... but as time goes on his status has definitely wained.
He wasn't a penetrating kick is about the only weakness he had. And he's still probably the hardest bloke to tackle ever
