Best player you've ever seen?

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Best player and it’s not even close was Wayne Carey.

My favourite player, to watch and his footballing ability is always critically underrated when comparing to other greats of the game was Ben Cousins.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

10 best players in AFL era

10 Wayne Carey
9 Tony Lockett
8 Luke Hodge
7 Scott Pendlebury
6 Michael Voss
5 Dustin Martin
4 Andrew McLeod
3 Chris Judd
2 Gary Ablett jr
1 Lance Buddy Franklin

Pendlebury and Hodge do not belong on that list.

 

[crowman2]

Best player and it’s not even close was Wayne Carey.

My favourite player, to watch and his footballing ability is always critically underrated when comparing to other greats of the game was Ben Cousins.

I truly don’t think Carey was underrated against anyone in this poll alone if he isn’t placed first he is a close second

He was the best player I’ve ever seen never forget Adelaide trying to play three players on him and he still beat them and two of them were Ben hart and Nigel smart he was a freak

As for cousins, great player but more to do with his physical ability where as someone like Darren Jarman was as fit as diesel Williams but they had pure football ability they were freaks also

 

[Jascave]

Since I first started watching football in 1975:

Richmond: Dustin Martin
Overall Vic.: Gary Ablett snr.
Recruited from South Australia: Malcolm Blight
Overall SA: Barrie Robran/Russell Ebert
Recruited from West Australia: Peter Bosustow
Overall WA: Stephen Michael
Recruited from Tasmania: Michael Roach
Overall Tas: Peter Hudson

 

[speedpeck23]

Pendlebury and Hodge do not belong on that list.

?? Sour grapes....

 

[Chip Scab1]

?? Sour grapes....

Hodge doesn't not belong.

Dunstall, Franklin, Platten, Hodge, Dermie in my time of watching. Genuine freaks all of them.

 

[Mr Cannons]

My favourite Don in history. A good egg both on and off the field... so good, I'm not sure you deserved him.

Will never forget him at one end and Duck at the other kicking what 19 between them.

Football of the highest standard we're ever likely to see.

Me and my mates went to this game even though none of us followed either team because we knew it was going to be a belter, best game I’ve ever seen.
Carey 10 goals the best being a left foot banana from the boundary.
Lloyd 7 goals the best being the goal of the year.
Scores at the end were 158-132

 

[Robroy22]

Hodge doesn't not belong.

Dunstall, Franklin, Platten, Hodge, Dermie in my time of watching. Genuine freaks all of them.

You never saw Matthews?

 

[spenze]

Russell Ebert for me, guy was an absolute freak of a footballer. In a dominant side with really good players he stood out, head and shoulders above the rest.

For clarity, I supported the team he most often took to the cleaners but you couldn't help but be in awe of him.

The others in the convo are Carey, Ablett senior, Barry Robran and Stephen Michael, all brilliant in their own right

 

[RUNVS]

I do wonder sometime, especially in eras prior to the AFL when it was mostly a Victorian competition how that affected things.

Victoria had a small population 40 years ago, and as a result you needed to have a lot of players in teams who would not be of standard in the modern game due to a higher population and players coming from all states.

As a result it may have been easier for the top line players to look good when they were up against a lot more substandard players than we see in the modern game.

 

[Robroy22]

I do wonder sometime, especially in eras prior to the AFL when it was mostly a Victorian competition how that affected things.

Victoria had a small population 40 years ago, and as a result you needed to have a lot of players in teams who would not be of standard in the modern game due to a higher population and players coming from all states.

As a result it may have been easier for the top line players to look good when they were up against a lot more substandard players than we see in the modern game.

Or one might counter by saying that 40 years ago....footy and cricket were the sports played by most of the population....so you had to be extra skilled to reach the top?

 

[speedpeck23]

Hodge doesn't not belong.

Dunstall, Franklin, Platten, Hodge, Dermie in my time of watching. Genuine freaks all of them.

Yeh they were all incredible....my comment was a response to " ItsAllAboutMe" .....in my view Hodge and Pendlebury ...amazing players individually and also amazing on field leaders......critical to winning premierships for their clubs. Unfortunately Chris Judd couldn't do that for Carlton.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Hodge is a gun. He does belong.

 

[RUNVS]

Hodge is a gun. He does belong.

Hodge had a very good PR team

 

[Chip Scab1]

Hodge is a gun. He does belong.

Yeah 1 NS means you're good. 2 is ridiculous.

 

[Sttew]

Yeh they were all incredible....my comment was a response to " ItsAllAboutMe" .....in my view Hodge and Pendlebury ...amazing players individually and also amazing on field leaders......critical to winning premierships for their clubs. Unfortunately Chris Judd couldn't do that for Carlton.

So was Joel Selwood but I wouldn’t have him in overall top 10.

If you ranked top 10 captains in the modern game he’d be up there.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Is this live as a one-off or more a career over time thing?

That's the key disclaimer to these 'best player' type discussions and debates.

I mean, are we talking one game? One month? A season? A player's prime years? Or their entire career?

Are we talking accolades, achievements and awards? Are we talking about a player's ability to influence outcomes, or just acts of individual brilliance?

Do finals and big games mean more than regular home and away games?

Does playing a shit team make a player's achievements more special? Or less if they don't win?


So I reckon you've got to break down the criteria a bit more...

The pure craft of football in his role - Lockett was the best.

The pure craft of football overall - Ablett Snr.

The best player (ability, influence, achievements) - Luke Hodge

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

To elaborate a bit further, I prefer the question to be...

Pretend you're playing a lunchtime game of footy at school, and like in the old days, everyone would line up along the fence and the two captain's would take turns in picking players.

You've got to also pretend that they're not playing against each other, and that in this hypothetical they're playing in their own era.

If it was for one game, I'd pick either Lockett, Carey or Ablett Snr. Probably Lockett.

If it was for an entire season, I'd have to actually really consider Dustin Martin as my first picked.

If it was for an entire career, it'd be Hodge.

 

[Sir_Loin]

Please. It’s Lethal >>> Dusty, and it’s really not an argument.



View attachment 2501646

I loved lethal. One of the best ever but his record does not even come close. He even said it. Anyway who cares it’s just a game.

 

[Gone Critical]

To elaborate a bit further, I prefer the question to be...

Pretend you're playing a lunchtime game of footy at school, and like in the old days, everyone would line up along the fence and the two captain's would take turns in picking players.

You've got to also pretend that they're not playing against each other, and that in this hypothetical they're playing in their own era.

If it was for one game, I'd pick either Lockett, Carey or Ablett Snr. Probably Lockett.

If it was for an entire season, I'd have to actually really consider Dustin Martin as my first picked.

If it was for an entire career, it'd be Hodge.

Hodge wouldn't be in the best 50 I have seen. A great leader and a very good player. Nick Maxwell a great leader and an average player. Leigh Matthews a good leader and a stand out influential player whose influence on the game was the greatest I have seen.

I agree with Sttew above. Selwood, Pendles, Hodge are club greats but they are not in the discussion for top 10 or even top 20 of all time. Of the three I would have

1. Pendles
2. Selwood
3. Hodge

in ranking the 3 with Pendles just going ahead of Selwood because of what he has done the last few seasons. Hodge a bit further back. Sam Mitchell would be up near Pendles and Selwood if we were looking for a recent Hawk and obviously Buddy better than all of them.

 

[Gone Critical]

I loved lethal. One of the best ever but his record does not even come close. He even said it. Anyway who cares it’s just a game.

I think Lethal is pretty much in agreement with his GOAT ranking judging by what he has sa8d over the years. Love Dusty but he is not near Lethal.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Dean Cox

Dean Cox

Age

44

Ht

203cm

Wt

107kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.9

4star

K

8.9

3star

HB

6.9

4star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.5

3star

G

0.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

13.0

4star

K

5.8

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.4

4star

G

0.0

1star

for me

It was just a guy who did EVERYTHING. Kicked on his left, kicked on his right, could take a contested mark, could take a mark on the lead, could pick the ball up from the ground, could win a hitout. He was never elite at anything... he just did everything

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Hodge wouldn't be in the best 50 I have seen. A great leader and a very good player. Nick Maxwell a great leader and an average player. Leigh Matthews a good leader and a stand out influential player whose influence on the game was the greatest I have seen.

I agree with Sttew above. Selwood, Pendles, Hodge are club greats but they are not in the discussion for top 10 or even top 20 of all time. Of the three I would have

1. Pendles
2. Selwood
3. Hodge

in ranking the 3 with Pendles just going ahead of Selwood because of what he has done the last few seasons. Hodge a bit further back. Sam Mitchell would be up near Pendles and Selwood if we were looking for a recent Hawk and obviously Buddy better than all of them.

You can't dismiss Hodge's actual ability though.

He was an elite footballer in each position he played.

As a mid, as a forward when needed, and as a defender (both as an attacking defender and a shutdown one).

He was better than the best multiple times when it mattered most.


If you add that to his leadership (on field and off field at a club level), his footy smarts and his physicality - I have him easily in my conversation as best ever players.

 

[Chip Scab1]

You can't dismiss Hodge's actual ability though.

He was an elite footballer in each position he played.

As a mid, as a forward when needed, and as a defender (both as an attacking defender and a shutdown one).

He was better than the best multiple times when it mattered most.


If you add that to his leadership (on field and off field at a club level), his footy smarts and his physicality - I have him easily in my conversation as best ever players.

Agree to an extent... but maybe Top 35 all time, doubt you'd get much support for him being any higher.

Absolute champion though.

 

[Sttew]

Agree to an extent... but maybe Top 35 all time, doubt you'd get much support for him being any higher.

Absolute champion though.

I guess 2 Norm Smiths possibly elevates Hodge, but he's nowhere near GAS or GAJ. Dusty is lauded by Richmond supporters as the greatest ever because of his 3 NS's