Geelong - the greatest team of all?

[Dalphonso]

The depth of quality players that meld as a champion team, I'd say Geelong is the equal to any post WW2 team. Can't say more than that.

But remember of course we are only considering from 1990 when the AFL began.
Before that it was only predominantly Victorian sides.

 

[Buddy and Roughy]

Geelong circa 2004-2011 has now undoubtedly become one of the greatest teams of all time; alongside Collingwood of 1925-1930, Essendon 1946-1951, Melbourne 1954-1964, Richmond 1967-1975, Hawthorn 1983-1991 and Brisbane Lions 1999-2004.

In terms of the AFL era post 1989, its certainly between Brisbane 1999-2004 and Geelong 2004-2011. In Geelong's favour is longevity; 6 preliminary finals to 5, 7 finals campaigns to 6, 5 straight years of being a genuine premiership contender to 4- and all that is likely to increase next year. Geelong of course has also enjoyed the superior h&a record, but i think that's partly attributable to Geelong being a Victorian club (and thus less travel than Brisbane) and the Lions managing their lists to focus most heavily on September. Both clubs made 4 Grand Finals and won 3 premierships; but Brisbane were able to do so consecutively and in their fourth Grand Final, they were ultimately playing for a fourth straight flag, an astonishing situation. Geelong, however, is yet to defend a premiership. I would say Brisbane is still narrowly ahead (at the moment) of Geelong because of this achievement and because the great Brisbane teams were such complete sides without deficiencies; where as there has always been question marks on Geelong's key forwards.

If Geelong manages to win next year's premiership, they will become the greatest team of the AFL era and seriously contending with Melbourne of the 50's and Hawthorn of the 80's of the best era in history.

 

[GO EAGLES]

geelongs rise coinsides with the loss of home ground advantage for other teams in victoria.it is one of the greatest oversights in the history of australian sport. geelong are a great team but the home ground advantage allows them to rest players during the year. its amazing how people dont pick this.friggin amazing

 

[maryjames]

Yawn.. Yeah you would have to say one of the best no matter what..If we win another one the next two years then absolutely..

Won't happen but I don't give a stuff..

 

[Frank Grimes]

Well done Geelong for what they have achieved. Their last five years have been fantastic. This year everybody said they are too old and they are going to start the slide down the ladder (including me). But here they are as the premiers.

As far as being the greatest team of all they will be compared to the other great eras of other teams, but I can't say if they are the best or not. Of the last decade I think it's tough to split them from Brisbanes 3 in a row.

 

[smelly cat]

A Great team yes Better than the Lions???? Sorry no BUT they do play alot like the old Lions if that is a plus!!!

The lions were brilliant and three in a row is ridiculous but you are only as good as your competition, and sorry but when the 2002-3 runners up consist of superstars such as Licuria, Obree, Burns and Josh Fraser the three-peat loses a little of its sheen.

When you look at the teams that the Hawks beat in the 80's...now that was special! (I feel dirty for having said that)

 

[loyallion]

The lions were brilliant and three in a row is ridiculous but you are only as good as your competition, and sorry but when the 2002-3 runners up consist of superstars such as Licuria, Obree, Burns and Josh Fraser the three-peat loses a little of its sheen.

When you look at the teams that the Hawks beat in the 80's...now that was special! (I feel dirty for having said that)

Look its not like we are ever going to know for sure I mean, The only way we would find out is if the Lions at the best played the Cats at their best ( and thats never gonna happen) so.... 3 in a row is more impressive than 1 yr Premiers the next year not premiers etc etc IMO Both are/were great teams, Theres no arguing that.

 

[Dragz]

Greatest team of All? Purely subjective.

But I'd put it to you that the greatest teams all managed to win back to back premierships...

Still an awesome team though. Done so very well the last 5 years. Kudos!

 

[S for September]

Champion team. I only really realise how lucky I am today, to live through this era of brilliant Geelong football. So proud of the boys.

 

[Larry the Liquidator]

Hawthorn of the 80s and early 90s had a great run, but IMO it's hard to argue they are the greatest of all time when Essendon beat them in 2 out of 3 grand finals. It's a bit like the whole Federer/Nadal thing. People say Federer is the greatest of all time and debate about how he would beat champions from other eras, but the fact is, he continuously gets caned by a champion in his own era, Nadal. I think Nadal leads him 6-2 or 7-2 in grand slam finals. How then can Federer be regarded as the best ever when his biggest rival owns him in big finals? How can Hawthorn of that era be regarded as the best ever when its biggest rival got the better of it over 3 grand finals? The Hawks certainly had longevity at the top, but I think the bombers of 84 and 85 were better than any of the Hawks' teams of that era.

As for Brisbane early 2000s v Geelong late 2000s, sheesh toss a coin. On the one hand Brisbane had alot given to it to make it great. Geelong wasn't given any thing. No early draft pics, no extra salary cap extensions, nothing. On the other hand, Brisbane had to play interstate in each of its three flags and against the two most supported teams in Victoria. It had to beat the juggernaut that was the bombers of 2000/2001 to get its first flag whereas Geelong got the 119 against Port in its first flag. Brisbane certainly had the tougher challenge to get the first flag. Brisbane got the threepeat whereas Geelong, similar to the Hawks of the 80s, now have that longevity.

The one black mark hanging over Geelong is the 2008 grand final. Had they won that, there would be no denying they would be the greatest team of the modern era. But then Brisbane also lost a grand final.

As for personnel, I give the nod slightly in favour of Brisbane. Voss, Akermanis, Black, Lynch, Brown...just star studded and tough. Geelong too is full of great players, they lose Ablett but they get Hawkins.

Geelong certainly have the better record in terms of games won and lost.

So who would win IMO between Geelong and Brisbane? A draw I reckon. Play the game at the Gabba, Brisbane would win. Play it at Kardinia Park, Geelong would win. Play it at the G, a draw. Both teams are great, impossible to split them. The only one who can compare them with any authority is the current Geelong coach.

Well done Cats and congratulations, you were magnificent today.

 

[jonoman89]

Personally, i now rate Geelong 2007-2011 above Brisbane 2001-2004. They won their 3rd flag after losing the best player in the league and the best coach in the league.

Amazing effort. Best team since Hawthorn circa 1980s.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

i was gonna start this exact thread.

Geelong will finish this dynasty with 5 or 6 flags. Nothing surer

 

[pluga_4]

geelong certainly one of the greatest teams of all - no doubt.

if geelong had of won in 2008 alot of people would be thinking the melbourne team winning 5 in 6 years was gonna be possible.

 

[Coolangatta]

I'm a Brisbane supporter, but this Geelong side is the best team I've ever seen play. I think they're better than the 01-03 Lions were.

 

[Pure Pop]

Next lap around the fish bowl there will be another "best team you've ever seen"

 

[Mountain West]

To show how dominant Geelong has been the last 5 years, here are the records (Regular Season and Post-Season) of the 16 teams (Gold Coast only played one)and what they've done in the post-season.

1. Geelong - 105-20 (.840) - 4 Grand Finals - 3 Championships
2. Collingwood - 86-37-2 (.696) - 2 Grand Finals - 1 Championship
3. St. Kilda -76-41-4 (.645) - 2 Grand Finals
4. Hawthorn - 74-44-1 (.578) - 1 Grand Final - 1 Championship
5. Western Bulldogs - 65-52-2 (.554)
6. Sydney - 60-54-3 (.526)
T7. Adelaide - 56-58 (.491)
T7. North Melbourne - 56-58 (.491)
9. Carlton - 53-60-1 (.469)
10. West Coast - 49-66 (.426)
11. Essendon - 46-64-2 (.420)
12. Port Adelaide - 46-67 (.407) - 1 Grand Final
13. Brisbane - 44-65-3 (.406)
14. Fremantle - 45-67 (.402)
15. Richmond - 33-73-4 (.318)
16. Melbourne - 28-80-2 (.264)

 

[blues4flag]

Next lap around the fish bowl there will be another "best team you've ever seen"

Takes more than a lap to win 3 premierships and have the best winning %age ever over 5 consecutive seasons.

 

[intangible]

look you can paint a fence a thousand colours and statistics can prove anything, break down the individuals in the squads you mention in the same breath and compare....

i felt sick when wellingham hit the post i thought karma was going to get us....

at the end of the day its about respect from the fraternity that is the afl not us mug supporters - to hear aker (as big a mouth he can be) state that he thought the kittens did more to lose than win those many years ago says alot about the teams potential which has beared fruit...

I think walls summed it up when he said that they have been the best team to watch... we can all live with....

 

[Rockford]

Geelong circa 2004-2011 has now undoubtedly become one of the greatest teams of all time; alongside Collingwood of 1925-1930, Essendon 1946-1951, Melbourne 1954-1964, Richmond 1967-1975, Hawthorn 1983-1991 and Brisbane Lions 1999-2004.

In terms of the AFL era post 1989, its certainly between Brisbane 1999-2004 and Geelong 2004-2011. In Geelong's favour is longevity; 6 preliminary finals to 5, 7 finals campaigns to 6, 5 straight years of being a genuine premiership contender to 4- and all that is likely to increase next year. Geelong of course has also enjoyed the superior h&a record, but i think that's partly attributable to Geelong being a Victorian club (and thus less travel than Brisbane) and the Lions managing their lists to focus most heavily on September. Both clubs made 4 Grand Finals and won 3 premierships; but Brisbane were able to do so consecutively and in their fourth Grand Final, they were ultimately playing for a fourth straight flag, an astonishing situation. Geelong, however, is yet to defend a premiership. I would say Brisbane is still narrowly ahead (at the moment) of Geelong because of this achievement and because the great Brisbane teams were such complete sides without deficiencies; where as there has always been question marks on Geelong's key forwards.

If Geelong manages to win next year's premiership, they will become the greatest team of the AFL era and seriously contending with Melbourne of the 50's and Hawthorn of the 80's of the best era in history.

I think you took everything into account except for the concessions that the Lions were handed which allowed them to build the list that won them 3 in a row.

 

[Naatho]

It takes a might effort being in the top 4 for over 5 years. Playing 4 grand finals winning 3. Prelim last year. They lost maybe 20 odd games in those 5 years. Mighty effort to stay hungry. Brisbane dropped off but Geelong are still going strong.

 

[loyallion]

I think you took everything into account except for the concessions that the Lions were handed which allowed them to build the list that won them 3 in a row.

Seriously dude don't even bring this up....


Your team is a great team

The Lions were a great team Can't people just leave it at that???

 

[loyallion]

It takes a might effort being in the top 4 for over 5 years. Playing 4 grand finals winning 3. Prelim last year. They lost maybe 20 odd games in those 5 years. Mighty effort to stay hungry. Brisbane dropped off but Geelong are still going strong.

Brisbane were at it for 8 Seasons they Just didn't make it the first few attempts... But either did Geelong it means nothing really

 

[Rockford]

Your team is a great team

The Lions were a great team Can't people just leave it at that???

Yeah, personally, I do leave it at that. I'm just happy that my 7-11 Cats are being recognised as one of the greats, let alone being compared to the 3peat Lions or the Hawks of the 80s.

 

[DO IT TO IT]

lions were great but they didn't beat teams of the caliber that geelong has. the teams brisbane beat went 51-24 while the teams geelong beat went 61-14. considerably stronger opposition.

 

[RedLegs#5]

I think the general consensus is Brisbane > Geelong...just (that's excluding the opinions of Geelong and Brisbane supporters as they're biased). If Geelong can win back to back next year this same conversation will be very interesting (can't see any reason why they can't either).

Personally I still think 3 in a row is the benchmark to beat.

Well done to the Cats though...who knows when this dominance will stop? (hopefully very soon )