Getting from Round 1, 1897 to Round 18, 2020 in the fewest number of players

[blackers]

Ok, I was bored today so I decided to find how many players it takes to cover the entire VFL/AFL history, from the first round the 1897 season to the end of the 2020 season. The rules (which I just made up) are:

• the first player must have played in round 1, 1897;
• the last player must have played in round 18, 2020;
• each player must have played either with or against the next player in the chain in a match - they can't just have been on a club's list at the same time.

My solution is:

1. Joe McShane (Geelong) played in R1, 1897
2. Who played against Vic Cumberland (St Kilda) in R15, 1898
3. Who played against Gordon Coventry (Collingwood) in R15, 1920
4. Who played against Dick Reynolds (Essendon) in R8, 1937
5. Who played with Jack Clarke (Essendon) in the 1951 GF
6. Who played against Kevin Bartlett (Richmond) in R1, 1967
7. Who played against Paul Roos (Fitzroy) in R11, 1983
8. Who played against Brent Harvey
   Brent Harvey

   Age

   45

   Ht

   167cm

   Wt

   75kg

   Pos.

   Fwd

   Career

   Season

   Last 5

   D

   21.3

   5star

   K

   13.2

   5star

   HB

   8.2

   5star

   M

   3.9

   4star

   T

   2.1

   4star

   G

   1.2

   4star

   No current season stats available

   D

   6.0

   2star

   K

   3.0

   1star

   HB

   3.0

   3star

   M

   1.2

   2star

   T

   0.6

   3star

   G

   0.6

   3star

   (Nth Melb) in R8, 1998
9. Who played against Clayton Oliver
   13

   Clayton Oliver

   Age

   26

   Ht

   189cm

   Wt

   88kg

   Pos.

   Mid

   Career

   Season

   Last 5

   D

   27.8

   5star

   K

   9.5

   4star

   HB

   18.4

   5star

   M

   3.2

   3star

   T

   6.3

   5star

   CL

   6.3

   5star

   D

   25.1

   5star

   K

   11.1

   4star

   HB

   14.0

   5star

   M

   3.6

   4star

   T

   5.6

   5star

   CL

   5.9

   5star

   D

   19.2

   5star

   K

   4.6

   2star

   HB

   14.6

   5star

   M

   2.0

   3star

   T

   4.4

   5star

   CL

   3.8

   5star

   (Melbourne) in R3, 2016
10. Who played in R18, 2020.

Bit of a short jump to get from 1 to 2, but the Vic Cumberland express train to the 1920s was irresistible! There were a few players I could have chosen, but McShane played 123 games (despite debuting at 28 years old) so seemed like a worthy starting point.

Obviously there are also any number of players who could go in at 9-10, but amongst the 18 year olds Harvey played against in 2016, I chose Oliver because he seems the most likely to keep this chain going for the longest (Jacob Weitering

23

Jacob Weitering

Age

26

Ht

195cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.8

4star

K

9.1

4star

HB

4.7

3star

M

5.6

5star

T

1.3

3star

MG

189.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

16.8

4star

K

10.8

4star

HB

6.0

4star

M

6.0

5star

T

0.8

3star

MG

263.4

4star

would be the other obvious candidate).

I'm sure someone can do better?

 

[HairyO]

Surely have Michael Tuck in there then to Fletcher or Harvey via 1 player, then Burgoyne.

Before Tuck maybe John Nicholls, then back to Ted Whitten, Jack Dyer, then I dont know. Probably your picks.
......
Tuck, Wanganeen, Burgoyne gets from 1972 to 2020 in only 2 teams.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Attempt 1 - Not bad, not bad. Surely I can do better

1. Chris Kiernan 1897 Rd 1-1911 Rd 4
2. Wels Eicke 1911 Rd 4-1926 Rd 13
3. Reg Hickey 1926 Rd 13-1939 Rd 15
4. Dick Reynolds 1939 Rd 15-1950 Rd 13
5. Ron Clegg 1950 Rd 13-1960 Rd 7
6. Sergio Silvagni 1960 Rd 7-1971 Rd 12
7. Keith Greg 1971 Rd 12-1985 Rd 5
8. Gary Ablett Snr 1985 Rd 5-1996 Rd 18
9. Andrew McLeod

Andrew Mcleod

Age

47

Ht

181cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.8

5star

K

13.1

5star

HB

6.7

4star

M

3.1

3star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

10.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.6

4star

1996 Rd 18-2010 Rd 16
10. Gary Ablett Jnr 2010 Rd 16-2020 GF

Nup

 

[Dirty Bird]

Lets try and find players in the other direction

1. Bill Proudfoot 1897 Rd 1-1898 Rd 17
2. Vic Cumberland 1898 17-1920 Rd 15
3. Gordon Coventry 1920 Rd 15-1933 Rd 4
4. Jack Dyer 1933 Rd 4-1941 Rd 1
5. Lou Richards 1941 Rd 1-1955 Rd 7
6. Kevin Murray 1955 Rd 7-1974 Rd 19
7. Simon Madden 1974 Rd 19-1991 Rd 4
8. Mark Bickley

Mark Bickley

Age

54

Ht

178cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.4

5star

K

11.7

4star

HB

7.8

5star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.7

4star

No current season stats available

D

21.2

5star

K

11.0

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

3.2

4star

T

3.8

5star

1991 Rd 4-2002 Rd 2
9. Gary Ablett Jnr 2002 Rd 2-2020 GF

 

[Dirty Bird]

I think that might be the most effective route from Jack Dyer onwards. But if someone can find a path that covered 1897-1933 in 2 players rather than 3 you might get it down to 8.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Round 1 1897 to Round 2 2021

1. Jack Leith = Round 1 1897 - Round 7 1906
2. Dick Lee = Round 7 1906 - Round 3 1917
3. Charles Pannam = Round 3 1917 - Round 1 1928
4. Alby Morrison = Round 1 1928 - Round 2 1942
5. Bill Hutchison = Round 2 1942 - Round 6 1951
6. Jack Clarke = Round 6 1951 - Round 12 1964
7. Brian Mynott = Round 12 1964 - Round 2 1975
8. Trevor Barker = Round 2 1975 - Round 9 1986
9. Stewart Loewe = Round 9 1986 - Round 3 2002
10. Shaun Burgoyne = Round 3 2002 - Round 2 2021

 

[Lemon Boi]

Great idea blackers.
Here’s what I got:

1. Teddy Rankin debuted in Round 1 1897, played against
2. Wels Eicke in Round 15 1909, played against
3. Peter Reville in Round 3 1925, played against
4. Chris Lambert in Round 9 1939, played against
5. Ted Whitten in Semi Final 1951, played with
6. Bernie Quinlan in 1969 & 1970, played against
7. Craig Bradley in Round 4 1986, played against
8. Shaun Burgoyne in Round 4 2002, who’s still playing

I don’t think you could get less than eight, but there are certainly multiple avenues with eight players.

 

[freddy mercury]

Ok, I was bored today so I decided to find how many players it takes to cover the entire VFL/AFL history, from the first round the 1897 season to the end of the 2020 season. The rules (which I just made up) are:

• the first player must have played in round 1, 1897;
• the last player must have played in round 18, 2020;
• each player must have played either with or against the next player in the chain in a match - they can't just have been on a club's list at the same time.

My solution is:

1. Joe McShane (Geelong) played in R1, 1897
2. Who played against Vic Cumberland (St Kilda) in R15, 1898
3. Who played against Gordon Coventry (Collingwood) in R15, 1920
4. Who played against Dick Reynolds (Essendon) in R8, 1937
5. Who played with Jack Clarke (Essendon) in the 1951 GF
6. Who played against Kevin Bartlett (Richmond) in R1, 1967
7. Who played against Paul Roos (Fitzroy) in R11, 1983
8. Who played against Brent Harvey (Nth Melb) in R8, 1998
9. Who played against Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) in R3, 2016
10. Who played in R18, 2020.

Bit of a short jump to get from 1 to 2, but the Vic Cumberland express train to the 1920s was irresistible! There were a few players I could have chosen, but McShane played 123 games (despite debuting at 28 years old) so seemed like a worthy starting point.

Obviously there are also any number of players who could go in at 9-10, but amongst the 18 year olds Harvey played against in 2016, I chose Oliver because he seems the most likely to keep this chain going for the longest (Jacob Weitering would be the other obvious candidate).

I'm sure someone can do better?

Busy few days?

 

[Ron The Bear]

I don’t think you could get less than eight, but there are certainly multiple avenues with eight players.

About 10 years ago there was a similar thread about linking players who had played in the same round, and the minimum was 8. Very unlikely that the number would've shrunk with time.