Competitions Essendon's top 25 since 1990

[boncer34]

So I'm bored and hungover and have had the idea that as a board we should attempt to create a Top 25 Essendon list since 1990. Which is based on who has played the best football since 1990, so someone like TD wouldn't make it based on him being a dual premiership captain because that happened in the 80's.

The way it will work is this thread will be open for lets say 3 weeks when we all get to submit our lists, argue, debate and discuss. Then at the end of the 3 weeks I'll take all the lists, whack em together and come up with a ultimate top 25.

The main reason I've gone since 1990 is a number of posters probably don't remember back that far whilst another lot remember further so I'm calling this a happy medium.

PS not rock solid on the details so if people would prefer a top 20 we can do that but once its locked in only complete lists will be included in the final calculation ie. Everyone's keen on top 50 but Doss decides to only do a 37 player list then it won't count.

Pps changed from 50 to 25. If your list is only 15 players it won't count, if your list is 53 players only first 25 count.

 

[Rack Watts]

50 is a lot, what about a best 22?

 

[Doss]

I'm guessing the main point here would be that it's a 'who played the best footy for Essendon since 1990' thing. If it was more 'include anyone that played for Essendon since 1990' then you bring TD, Madden and Timmy into the conversation, all of whom played their best football in the '80s.

 

[Doss]

50 is a lot, what about a best 22?

I see a best 22 as being quite different. That's a team that has to take structure into account.

I think boncer's more angling for a list.

 

[eth-dog]

1. James Hird
2. Gavin Wanganeen
3. Matthew Lloyd
4. Dustin Fletcher
5. Jobe Watson
6. Scott Lucas
7. Michael Long
8. Marc Mercuri
9. Jason Johnson
10. Mark Johnson
11. Sean Wellman
12. Cale Hooker
13. Brendan Goddard
14. Michael Hurley
15. Dyson Heppell
16. Darren Bewick
17. Adam Ramanauskas
18. Mark McVeigh
19. Gary O'Donnell
20. John Barnes
21. Adam McPhee
22. Brent Stanton

Honestly my hungover brain can't function right now so I can't remember many others.

 

[Runk]

I'm in Bright and my wife is doing a 21km Spartan race. I've got my two girls and the dog with me watching Offsiders. If there was ever a time where I had a chance to go through this list it is now. BUT as I said, Offsiders is on. Will get to it later

 

[boncer34]

50 is a lot, what about a best 22?

Nah. Screw team structure I'm after a list.

Like the champions of Essendon.

Shall we say 25? Lets say 25.

And yes Doss best football since 1990. I'll update the OP.

 

[boncer34]

1. James Hird
2. Gavin Wanganeen
3. Matthew Lloyd
4. Dustin Fletcher
5. Jobe Watson
6. Scott Lucas
7. Michael Long
8. Marc Mercuri
9. Jason Johnson
10. Mark Johnson
11. Sean Wellman
12. Cale Hooker
13. Brendan Goddard
14. Michael Hurley
15. Dyson Heppell
16. Darren Bewick
17. Adam Ramanauskas
18. Mark McVeigh
19. Gary O'Donnell
20. John Barnes
21. Adam McPhee
22. Brent Stanton

Honestly my hungover brain can't function right now so I can't remember many others.

John Barnes? Straight up point of difference there I suspect.

 

[Sooper]

Taking into consideration only the contributions from the players from 1990 onwards I've had a crack at the 50. First 13 was easy, then it got pretty bloody difficult. Not even sure I'm happy with the list yet, but will get the ball rolling at least and create some discussion:

1 Hird
2 Lloyd
3 Fletcher
4 Watson
5 Lucas
6 O'Donnell
7 Harvey
8 Mercuri
9 Wanganeen
10 Misiti
11 Long
12 Thompson
13 J. Johnson
14 Hardwick
15 Wellman
16 Bewick
17 Heppell
18 Stanton
19 M. Johnson
20 Salmon
21 Hooker
22 Hurley
23 Denham
24 Solomon
25 Barnard
26 Caracella
27 Alessio
28 Merrett
29 Zaharakis
30 McVeigh
31 Ryder
32 Young
33 Hille
34 Goddard
35 McPhee
36 Ezard
37 Rioli
38 Monfries
39 Ramanauskas
40 Wallis
41 Welsh
42 Winderlich
43 Myers
44 Heffernan
45 Blumfield
46 Carlisle
47 Baguley
48 Lovett-Murray
49 Hocking
50 Calthorpe

Players missing: Timmy Watson, Madden, TD, Cockatoo-Collins, Olarenshaw, Davey, Barnes etc.

 

[boncer34]

Sooper I'm a jerk and changed it whilst you were compiling the list.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

My top 35...tough one

RK    Player      Games (W-D-L)      Goals      Seasons ↑    Debut      Last  
1    Hird, James    253 (147-5-101)    343    1992-2007    19y 47d    34y 209d
2    Fletcher, Dustin    400 (234-5-161)    71    1993-2015    17y 331d    40y 23d
3    Lloyd, Matthew    270 (155-2-113)    926    1995-2009    17y 83d    31y 135d
4    Wanganeen, Gavin    127 (73-3-51)    64    1991-1996    17y 287d    23y 95d
5    Watson, Jobe    200 (87-4-109)    111    2003-2015    18y 139d    30y 147d
6    Mercuri, Mark    207 (138-3-66)    242    1992-2004    18y 92d    30y 203d
7    Harvey, Mark    206 (132-3-71)    170    1984-1997    18y 315d    32y 81d
8    Long, Michael    190 (132-2-56)    143    1989-1993, 1995-2001    19y 181d    31y 356d
9    Lucas, Scott    270 (148-2-120)    471    1996-2009    18y 117d    31y 215d
10    Thompson, Mark    202 (129-3-70)    50    1983-1987, 1989-1996    19y 128d    32y 202d
11    Bewick, Darren    238 (153-1-84)    332    1988-2000    20y 225d    33y 12d
12    Wellman, Sean    178 (115-2-61)    25    1996-2004    21y 213d    29y 357d
13    Salmon, Paul    224 (132-3-89)    520    1983-1995, 2002    18y 66d    37y 236d
14    Misiti, Joe    236 (148-4-84)    94    1992-2004    17y 287d    29y 272d
16    Heppell, Dyson    106 (50-2-54)    33    2011-2015    18y 317d    23y 115d
17    Hurley, Michael    119 (55-3-61)    105    2009-2015    18y 301d    25y 97d
18    Hooker, Cale    133 (58-2-73)    28    2008-2015    19y 314d    26y 328d
19    Johnson, Jason    184 (104-2-78)    109    1997-2008    19y 188d    30y 219d
20    Ramanauskas, Adam    134 (84-1-49)    63    1999-2005, 2007-2008    18y 176d    27y 286d
21    Hardwick, Damien    153 (101-1-51)    13    1994-2001    21y 248d    29y 42d
22    Rioli, Dean    100 (64-1-35)    91    1999-2006    20y 325d    28y 98d
23    McVeigh, Mark    232 (111-4-117)    107    1999-2012    18y 58d    31y 121d
24    Stanton, Brent    248 (104-4-140)    156    2004-2015    17y 332d    29y 128d
25    ODonnell, Gary    243 (144-4-95)    88    1987-1998    22y 110d    33y 115d
26    Anderson, Greg    103 (67-0-36)    60    1988-1992    21y 324d    26y 100d
27    Daniher, Anthony    118 (74-1-43)    18    1987-1994    24y 66d    31y 196d
28    Caracella, Blake    126 (86-1-39)    151    1997-2002    20y 29d    25y 182d
29    Hibberd, Michael    84 (40-1-43)    11    2011-2015    21y 118d    25y 238d
30    Kickett, Derek    77 (47-1-29)    94    1990-1993    27y 176d    30y 347d
31    Lovett, Andrew    88 (30-1-57)    93    2005-2009    22y 150d    26y 297d
32    Merrett, Zach    59 (19-1-39)    22    2014-2016    18y 169d    20y 329d
33    Solomon, Dean    158 (92-1-65)    56    1998-2001, 2003-2006    18y 106d    26y 235d
34    Ryder, Patrick    170 (79-4-87)    117    2006-2014    18y 18d    26y 176d
35    McPhee, Adam    142 (59-1-82)    83    2003-2009    20y 174d    26y 333d

 

[Gumby2Hurley]

Thread needs more Richard Cole.

 

[Rack Watts]

Nah. Screw team structure I'm after a list.

Like the champions of Essendon.

Shall we say 25? Lets say 25.

And yes Doss best football since 1990. I'll update the OP.

Yeah 25 is a little less daunting, I'll throw up my list tonight.

 

[Blind Turn]

In the timeframe given:

1/ Hird
2/ Lloyd
3/ Fletcher
4/ Jobe
5/ Long
6/ Mercuri
7/ Wanganeen
8/ Harvey
9/ Lucas
10/ Misiti
11/ O'Donnell
12/ J Johnson
13/ Salmon
14/ Wellman
15/ Thompson
16/ Bewick
17/ Heppell
18/ Hooker
19/ Hurley
20/ Hardwick
21/ Goddard
22/ Z Merrett
23/ Kickett
24/ Stanton
25/ M Johnson

Best since I've been watching (around 1980) and taking into account career at other clubs and a substantial contribution to EFC:

1/ Hird
2/ T Watson
3/ S Madden
4/ Lloyd
5/ Wanganeen
6/ Fletcher
7/ T Daniher
8/ Salmon
9/ J Watson
10/ Long
11/ Mercuri
12/ Goddard
13/ Harvey
14/ Lucas
15/ Neagle
16/ Misiti
17/ Thompson
18/ VanDerHaar
19/ Baker
20/ O'Donnell
21/ J Johnson
22/ Wellman
23/ Bewick
24/ N Daniher
25/ Heppell

(Coz I had the time to do it)

 

[Bunk Moreland]

50 is too many for my lazy arse

1. Hird
2. Lloyd
3. Fletcher
4. Lucas
5. Watson J
6. Wanganeen
7. Long M
8. Bewick
9. Mercuri
10. Salmon
11. Hooker
12. Hurley
13. Thompson
14. O'Donnell
15. Wellman
16. Heppell
17. Misiti
18. Ryder
19. Hardwick
20. Hille
21. Johnson J
22. Goddard
23. Stanton
24. Harvey M
25. Kickett

 

[scanlon]

needs more McGrath

 

[Bunk Moreland]

needs more McGrath

Corey was no. 26 on my list

 

[boncer34]

So definitely a 25 list now guys.

 

[qwertyboy]

1: James Hird
2: Matthew Lloyd
3: Dustin Fletcher
4: Jobe Watson
5: Gavin Wanganeen
6: Scott Lucas
7: Mark Mercuri
8: Jason Johnson
9: Gary ODonell
10: Darren Bewick
11: Michael Long
12: Mark Thompson
13: Paul Salmon
14: Joe Misiti
15: Mark McVeigh
16: Steven Allesio
17: Mark Johnson
18: Damien Hardwick
19: Mark Harvey
20: Brent Stanton
21: Dyson Heppell
22: David Hille
23: Adam McPhee
24: Adam Ramanauskas
25: Dean Rioli

 

[Blind Turn]

1: James Hird
2: Matthew Lloyd
3: Dustin Fletcher
4: Jobe Watson
5: Gavin Wanganeen
6: Scott Lucas
7: Mark Mercuri
8: Jason Johnson
9: Gary ODonell
10: Darren Bewick
11: Michael Long
12: Mark Thompson
13: Paul Salmon
14: Joe Misiti
15: Mark McVeigh
16: Steven Allesio
17: Mark Johnson
18: Damien Hardwick
19: Mark Harvey
20: Brent Stanton
21: Dyson Heppell
22: David Hille
23: Adam McPhee
24: Adam Ramanauskas
25: Dean Rioli

Wellman a glaring omission. Was a fantastic player for us.

 

[efcboy]

1. James Hird
2. Gavin Wanganeen
3. Matthew Lloyd
4. Dustin Fletcher
5. Jobe Watson
6. Scott Lucas
7. Michael Long
8. Marc Mercuri
9. Jason Johnson
10. Mark Johnson
11. Sean Wellman
12. Cale Hooker
13. Brendan Goddard
14. Michael Hurley
15. Dyson Heppell
16. Darren Bewick
17. Adam Ramanauskas
18. Mark McVeigh
19. Gary O'Donnell
20. John Barnes
21. Adam McPhee
22. Brent Stanton

Honestly my hungover brain can't function right now so I can't remember many others.

I'd be adding Paul Salmon - was very good in the early 90s - remember him kicking 10 goals against the cats. Damien Hardwick was far better than McVeigh. Peter Somerville was an under-rated ruckman as was David Hille. Paddy Ryder could get a look in as well. Sean Denham was a good player in the 90s. Rick Olarenshaw was awesome in the early to mid 90s and calthorpe was handy as well. Zaharakis is a Crichton medal winner who deserves his place for mine. As it turned out I couldn't fit them all in.

Zac Merrett and Joe Daniher will be there soon.

1. James Hird
2. Gavin Wanganeen
3. Matthew Lloyd
4. Dustin Fletcher
5. Jobe Watson
6. Scott Lucas
7. Michael Long
8. Marc Mercuri
9. Jason Johnson
10. Mark Johnson
11. Sean Wellman
12. Cale Hooker
13. Brendan Goddard
14. Michael Hurley
15. Dyson Heppell
16. Darren Bewick
17. Adam Ramanauskas
18. Paul Salmon
19. Gary O'Donnell
20. Damien Hardwick
21. Mark Harvey
22. Brent Stanton
23. Sean Denham
24. Joe Misiti
25. David Zaharakis

I'd shuffle the order around but these are the 25 I'm going with.

 

[citizen-erased]

1. M.Lloyd
2. J.Hird
3. D.Fletcher
4. M.Mercuri
5. J.Watson
6. J.Johnson
7. G.Wanganeen
8. J.Misiti
9. S.Lucas
10. S.Madden
11. T.Watson
12. S.Wellman
13. M.Hurley
14. Z.Merrett (flame all you want, kids a f'n superstar already)
15. P.Ryder (pains me)
16. D.Heppell
17. B.Goddard
18. M.Johnson
19. M.Long
20. C.Hooker
21. B.Stanton
22. D.Bewick
23. B.Caracella
24. G.O'Donnell
25.D.Rioli (on his day)

 

[ghostdog]

1. James Hird
2. Gavin Wanganeen
3. Matthew Lloyd
4. Dustin Fletcher
5. Jobe Watson
6. Scott Lucas
7. Michael Long
8. Marc Mercuri
9. Jason Johnson
10. Mark Johnson
11. Sean Wellman
12. Cale Hooker
13. Brendan Goddard
14. Michael Hurley
15. Dyson Heppell
16. Darren Bewick
17. Adam Ramanauskas
18. Mark McVeigh
19. Gary O'Donnell
20. John Barnes
21. Adam McPhee
22. Brent Stanton

Honestly my hungover brain can't function right now so I can't remember many others.

You what?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

50 is too many for my lazy arse

1. Hird
2. Lloyd
3. Fletcher
4. Lucas
5. Watson J
6. Wanganeen
7. Long M
8. Bewick
9. Mercuri
10. Salmon
11. Hooker
12. Hurley
13. Thompson
14. O'Donnell
15. Wellman
16. Heppell
17. Misiti
18. Ryder
19. Hardwick
20. Hille
21. Johnson J
22. Goddard
23. Stanton
24. Harvey M
25. Kickett

One thing I notice is of the list of 25, you could really only call Watson, Long, O'Donnell, Heppell, Misiti, JJ and Stants genuine mids.

7 seems low in today's midfield-dominated game.

My guess without having a clue would be the more successful clubs would have far more mids in there.

 

[coastalpipeline]

1. James Hird
2. Gavin Wanganeen
3. Matthew Lloyd
4. Dustin Fletcher
5. Jobe Watson
6. Scott Lucas
7. Michael Long
8. Marc Mercuri
9. Jason Johnson
10. Mark Johnson
11. Sean Wellman
12. Cale Hooker
13. Brendan Goddard
14. Michael Hurley
15. Dyson Heppell
16. Darren Bewick
17. Adam Ramanauskas
18. Mark McVeigh
19. Gary O'Donnell
20. John Barnes
21. Adam McPhee
22. Brent Stanton

Honestly my hungover brain can't function right now so I can't remember many others.

Derrick Kickett
Joe Misiti
Steve Alessio before the kidney op
Paul Salmon before going to Hawthorn.

Would easilly replace
Mcphee
Barnes
Ramma
And your pick on other.