Best player of the modern era?

[Hannabal]

Out of interest, and a question directed to our more long lived forum members, was there much of a difference between 1975 and 1990 in terms of tactics and evolution of the game as there has been between 2004 and 2018?

I could be wrong but it almost seemed like for a long period of time in the 60's, 70's and 80's the game did not actually change that much, but since becoming fully professional, with much more sophisticated coaches it has created a tactical arms race that did not exist in the past.

Don't lump the 80s in with the 60s and 70s.

The 80s was like walking on the moon compared to the two previous decades.

 

[Hannabal]

Judd's 01 - 06. Different level to everyone else.

Absolutely.

Judd's very best was better than Ablett's, or any other mid I've seen in the AFL era.

 

[Wargreymon90]

Ablett and franklin easily

 

[HTT]

The purest form of the game began developing in the late 60's. By the 1970's you had a fast, play on running game with emphasis on long kicking, handball and positional play with one on one contests being a feature. It culminated with one of the greatest games ever in the 1989 Grand Final. It was magnificent, the golden age of Australian rules Football. The air of excitement and atmosphere at local suburban grounds with 20-30k packed into these local grounds is incomparable, not even 90k at the MCG these days matches it. The 1990's was the transitional phase under the AFL banner, suburban grounds disappeared, sanitization of the rules began and the game has been diluted each year since 2000, any resemblance to the game that was played 20 years ago is purely coincidental. Players such as Wayne Carey, Tony Lockett, Gary Ablett snr could not play the game today! Insane isn't it?

“Football was at its best when I was younger and less jaded”

 

[RUNVS]

Despite playing injured practically all season in 2018, so much so he could barely run and he did not train at all, Buddy still averaged 100 supercoach points per game.

 

[JCHolmes]

Yeh Judds Normie in 05 was really something. 7 gazelle like clearances and then lightning runs in the first quarter, or something. Cousins just won the brownlow, Kerr runner up and then this Judd guy was all "nah im still the best boys", in 10 mins of footy. Poll has it correct. The modern big 3 in GAJ, Judd, Buddy.

 

[Forward Press]

The modern big 3 in GAJ, Judd, Buddy.

There will always be argument over who was better and some will try and make a case for others (often with a hint of bias), but I think those three are the clear top three of the players who had all of their careers post 2000.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Judd's 01 - 06. Different level to everyone else.

He was an umps favourite and the Brownlow medallists of that time were:
2001 - Akermanis
2002 - Black and Ricciuto
2003 - Ricciuto, Buckley and Goodes
2004 - Judd
2005 - Cousins
2006 - Goodes

 

[Macpotata]

He was an umps favourite and the Brownlow medallists of that time were:
2001 - Akermanis
2002 - Black and Ricciuto
2003 - Ricciuto, Buckley and Goodes
2004 - Judd
2005 - Cousins
2006 - Goodes

2002 was just Black. You may have jumped the gun for 2003.

 

[Pessimistic]

Voted Vickery as a proxy for carey

 

[captain blood 17]

Akermanis for mine. Absolute freak. Could do it all.

 

[Scary_Foot_9]

He was an umps favourite and the Brownlow medallists of that time were:
2001 - Akermanis
2002 - Black and Ricciuto
2003 - Ricciuto, Buckley and Goodes
2004 - Judd
2005 - Cousins
2006 - Goodes

Don't know what exactly that proves. Black and Goodes would have had way more Brownlow votes than him over that stretch (from memory he was rubbed once or twice so was ineligible anyway). Keith Griegg had two Brownlows, Leigh Matthews had none. Who was considered the better player of their era? No slight on Griegg he was obviously a brilliant footballer but to count Brownlows isn't the best way of judging these things.

At his best during the early to middle 2000's Judd was one of the most dominant contested possession winners on the inside and could absolutely kill you on the spread/outside. His and WC's midfield dominance fundamentally changed the way the game was played in terms of bringing more players around the ball to limit damage. As good as Voss/Hird/Ablett//Franklin are/have been I don't think anyone of them were as impactful as Judd at his best.

When his career is up I might come round to the notion that Ablett is superior due to his longevity and excelling across multiple game styles, types and structures, but I'm not there yet. He did have five years at the start of his career where he was a decent player and flashed but not do anything special (whereas Judd from Day 1 to his final game got what he could out of himself).

Due to his Carlton years with his permanent grimace as he trundled on with that staggered running gait everyone's really forgotten the player he was. He was something else with WCE.

 

[Philth]

Yeh Judds Normie in 05 was really something. 7 gazelle like clearances and then lightning runs in the first quarter, or something. Cousins just won the brownlow, Kerr runner up and then this Judd guy was all "nah im still the best boys", in 10 mins of footy. Poll has it correct. The modern big 3 in GAJ, Judd, Buddy.

I've always been a big Cousins fan, and thought he was the equal of Judd.

Not a lot of love for Cuz in this thread, as you're an Eagles fan I'd be interested in a Judd/Cousins comparison?

 

[JCHolmes]

I've always been a big Cousins fan, and thought he was the equal of Judd.

Not a lot of love for Cuz in this thread, as you're an Eagles fan I'd be interested in a Judd/Cousins comparison?

Ok if i have to lol nah all g. Could go on all day.

Cuz was a heart and soul player of the eagles. A great on field leader, fan fave, wasnt the tallest wasnt the quickest but had class all over him, un tackleable in his own way. Worked as hard on a footy field as we are ever likley to see. His creative handball very underated.

Juddy was pure brilliance, so fast, so much acceleration, couldnt be touched let alone taken down in any tackle, just a gamebreaker. He could hold his own in the air aswell. At his peak as freakish and fast and as you could see.

Both of them could do left and right foot full pace. Cuz better on his left tho. Both could do contested situations well, juddy alot better here. Both goal scoring mids. Both great all time crumbers and as such could go rest as small forwards. Both untaggable and very consistent.

Not many people can go past Judd on peak purple patch football, playing in the centre. A level even Cuz just never got to imo.

 

[Forward Press]

I've always been a big Cousins fan, and thought he was the equal of Judd.

Not a lot of love for Cuz in this thread, as you're an Eagles fan I'd be interested in a Judd/Cousins comparison?

His off-field exploits are well known but on-field he bled blue and gold. As JCHolmes pointed out not the tallest or the quickest but knew how to find the ball and use it well.

But probably more importantly he ran and ran all day until he vomited his guts out on the interchange bench. You could never question whether he still had something left in the tank at the final siren.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Ok if i have to lol nah all g. Could go on all day.

Cuz was a heart and soul player of the eagles. A great on field leader, fan fave, wasnt the tallest wasnt the quickest but had class all over him, un tackleable in his own way. Worked as hard on a footy field as we are ever likley to see. His creative handball very underated.

Juddy was pure brilliance, so fast, so much acceleration, couldnt be touched let alone taken down in any tackle, just a gamebreaker. He could hold his own in the air aswell. At his peak as freakish and fast and as you could see.

Both of them could do left and right foot full pace. Cuz better on his left tho. Both could do contested situations well, juddy alot better here. Both goal scoring mids. Both great all time crumbers and as such could go rest as small forwards. Both untaggable and very consistent.

Not many people can go past Judd on peak purple patch football, playing in the centre. A level even Cuz just never got to imo.

Judd could hold his own in the air???

I think I recall him taking one decent contested mark.

 

[Wallaby]

At his absolute best - Judd with no injuries.

First player I'd pick - Franklin. Because the nearest players to Judd are pretty close (Jnr, Fyfe, Voss - there's a list). If you want a Key Forward, Franklin is miles ahead of his competition.

 

[Pessimistic]

Yeh Judds Normie in 05 was really something. 7 gazelle like clearances and then lightning runs in the first quarter, or something. Cousins just won the brownlow, Kerr runner up and then this Judd guy was all "nah im still the best boys", in 10 mins of footy. Poll has it correct. The modern big 3 in GAJ, Judd, Buddy.

What year did Judd start the year with three straigt “Judd, 3 votes” then Sewell sat him on his arse and he got donuts after that?

 

[Pessimistic]

Just seems to be so pointless when the few years beforehand produced Carey, Lockett, Dunstall etc

 

[KermitJagger]

This essentially boils down to people arguing over peak vs longevity. Ablett has clearly been the best player for a longer period of time than anyone else on the list. Judd may have had a more damaging and dynamic peak, but Ablett has outlasted him and is still playing serviceable footy.

Love him or hate him though, Lance Franklin will take that mantle in the next few years. He will go down as the last 1000 goal kicker in an era where 5 goals is a big day out, he may do that this year depending on how the rule changes pan out. He has equalled the record for the most AA selections, and is more likely to break it than not considering how few challengers there are for KPF positions.

He may break the record for the most Coleman Medals, having already equalled it. He's an 11 time club leading goalkicker. He has a tremendous record and he's different, unique and mould breaking in every way. He's such a genetic freak, when he was younger he could have been chucked in the midfield and won a Brownlow medal.

I don't even like Buddy, this is all said very begrudgingly - but he has Judd's freak athleticism and dynamic play, with Ablett's consistency, all wrapped up in a 200cm key forward.

 

[Socrates2]

The more one interacts with someone a pattern starts emerging about their cognitive abilities.

There's one reason and one reason only that I referenced Judd's stats. It was because you were querying his longevity. So, I had to demonstrate that he wasn't just a Koutoufides, who you referenced. This is why it was important to show the range of years in which he excelled.

You'll note I didn't reference his stats/years in my first post. It only became necessary when a dolt engaged me.

So Jobe Watson a convicted drug cheat gets in before Rance?

 

[Socrates2]

1/Franklin
2/Ablett
3/Rance
4/Judd
5/Nick Riewoldt

 

[Hannabal]

So Jobe Watson a convicted drug cheat gets in before Rance?

I have no idea what you're talking about or why you referenced my post.

Are you sane ?

 

[Socrates2]

I have no idea what you're talking about or why you referenced my post.

Are you sane ?

Sorry boss, I thought you were the OP I was on the wrong page.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

1/Franklin
2/Ablett
3/Rance
4/Judd
5/Nick Riewoldt

You realise that Rance isn't even in the top few key defenders of the modern era, right?