Analysis Michael Warner ranks Richmond’s top-20 players of the modern era, from 1987 to now

Jun 18, 2007
25,842
49,841
Top of the tree
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
#VICBIAS
1. Dusty
It has to be Dusty. I agree with Rayzor that without Trent as captain, we're still on 10 flags, but same goes if we didn't have Dusty. The player of his generation. Anyone who thinks Fyfe or Danger come within cooee is on crack. Carey is the only player I've seen as complete, commanding and compelling.

2. Richo
'Nuff said. Imagine him on the wing in this team - he'd win the Coleman.

3. Jack
Just so damn smart. I have never seen another player able to leap from out of position, leverage his body while in mid-air to shift his man out of the way and cradle the ball to ground. The one in my mind is the ridiculous mark against Chris Tarrant but he's done it so often it's a trademark. Matthew Knights-like vision and execution off either wing. A football genius.

4. Rance
Haters would tell me, "He doesn't play on anyone". "Mate," I'd retort, "he plays on everyone." And then I'd take them to a game, elbow them in the ribs every time he pulled a forward's (or a forward line's) pants down and they'd agree. Once he worked the game out, I've never seen a more dominant defender, capable of turning defence into attack in an instant, covering his own man and everyone else's too. The D50 was his domain - if the ball entered, he simply considered it his and went and got it. Fearless, ferocious, funny as *. A dream teammate. Only behind Jack because forwards are better and Jack had the game sussed from day one.

5. Cotch
Before he'd even played a game I was telling people he'd be our best since Maurice. A boy prodigy of rare brilliance but never brittleness. Flint-hard, his 2017 finals series was "Come with me, boys!" spine-tingling stuff. Shows how great the four above him are.

6. Knighter
No pace, no muscles, no right foot, just exquisite skills, underrated toughness and an understanding of time and space that made the game slow down around him. Rare vision.

7. Lids
Our most consistent player for a decade. Rarely played a bad game, and played many far better than just good. Tagged pretty much weekly from very early in his career, no matter where he played, and he could play anywhere. In my mind, the best half-back-flanker since McLeod. Super-quick, brilliant kick with either foot, vice-like hands above his head and one of the best handballers we've had. Never wasted the pill. If he didn't have the hips of a ballerina and could break a tackle, he might be right up there with Dusty. A prime Lids would shred it in our side.

8. Shedda
Like Knights and Jack, supreme vision, and for sheer audacity he might even surpass Jack. Brian Taylor's most insightful-ever comment (it's a small field) was to call Shane "The King of the Corridor". We defend by forcing teams wide and we slice them open by cutting back inside, and no one does that better than Sheds. John Stockton's hands with Allen Iverson's feet.

9. Flea
His whole career would have him higher. So tough, so skilled, such a one-man band for most of the 80s that I dubbed him the AB of Punt Road. Loved watching him tear it up for the Big V on the stage he deserved.

10. Brown
Put simply, he was the best player in the league in 2005. And then he broke his leg. Another genius, could make very good players look like mugs. If Richo and Brown were Batman and Robin, what would Jack and Brown have been? Mozart and Hendrix?

11. Grimey
"Nobody can do what Alex Rance does," is another thing I like to say, "except Dylan Grimes." I am a quotable muthaflippa.

12. Houli
He was one of our better finals performers even prior to 2017, but his two grand final performances elevate his status, especially the first one. Short doesn't break lines, Newman didn't, this bloke does. A proper rebounder who attacks with the ball - again, unlike those two.

13. Brodders
Tough, smart, ball-winning, goal-kicking, working-man's Greg Williams. My Mum's favourite player.

14. Lambert
Similar player to Brodders. Not as good a kick and didn't kick many goals, but won the hard ball and a great user by hand.

15. Dunc
Nathan Buckley still has nightmares this bloke is inside his pyjamas. "As Brave As A Kellaway" is another phrase I turned. Few have earned its use.

16. Dion
Gotta put him in. Would be in our top-3 September performers for consistency over the past three years. Carried our midfield for the first half of 2019.

17. Bowden
I remember watching a teen Joel kick 4 in a quarter against West Coast before breaking his collarbone in the same game and thinking we had a budding superstar. For years later he'd frustrate with his lackadaisical manner, but his 2001 (25 touches and a goal a game) and following 3-4 years at CHB were high quality. Supremely smart, superb ball user. One of the classiest players I've seen in yellow and black.

18. Vlastuin
Merv Keane is a great comparison and one I've made myself. Bulletproof by foot, perhaps the most reliable kick we've had in my 40 years of watching. Great overhead, reads the play superbly, and (almost) As Brave As A KellawayTM.

19. Freezer
Warrior. Leader. * all of him and what wasn't heart was guts. I have him in the back pocket of the best Tiger team of my time.

20. Lynch
I'm breaking rules for this bloke. We don't make the finals without him in 2019, let alone win the flag. A colossus.

Mentions to Foley (drops out for Lynch - if career not ruined would be well up this list), Gaspar, Hogg (only 10 players have kicked more goals for Richmond), Cameron, Cogs, Pickering, Mitchell, Ottens, Merenda, and of course Campbell, but I'm with Rayzor there. (Not on Holland though Ray, even if I do agree he had a good 2001. He then held us over a barrel and every other year was just shitful. * that guy.)
 
Last edited:
Nov 23, 2000
57,835
125,428
Country Victoria
AFL Club
Richmond
Feb 25, 2007
12,887
23,083
FNQ
AFL Club
Richmond
1. Dusty
It has to be Dusty. I agree with Rayzor that without Trent as captain, we're still on 10 flags, but same goes if we didn't have Dusty. The player of his generation. Anyone who thinks Fyfe or Danger come within cooee is on crack. Carey is the only player I've seen as complete, commanding and compelling.

2. Richo
'Nuff said. Imagine him on the wing in this team - he'd win the Coleman.

3. Jack
Just so damn smart. I have never seen another player able to leap from out of position, leverage his body while in mid-air to shift his man out of the way and cradle the ball to ground. The one in my mind is the ridiculous mark against Chris Tarrant but he's done it so often it's a trademark. Matthew Knights-like vision and execution off either wing. A football genius.

4. Rance
Haters would tell me, "He doesn't play on anyone". "Mate," I'd retort, "he plays on everyone." And then I'd take them to a game, elbow them in the ribs every time he pulled a forward's (or a forward line's) pants down and they'd agree. Once he worked the game out, I've never seen a more dominant defender, capable of turning defence into attack in an instant, covering his own man and everyone else's too. The D50 was his domain - if the ball entered, he simply considered it his and went and got it. Fearless, ferocious, funny as fu**. A dream teammate. Only behind Jack because forwards are better and Jack had the game sussed from day one.

5. Cotch
Before he'd even played a game I was telling people he'd be our best since Maurice. A boy prodigy of rare brilliance but never brittleness. Flint-hard, his 2017 finals series was "Come with me, boys!" spine-tingling stuff. Shows how great the four above him are.

6. Knighter
No pace, no muscles, no right foot, just exquisite skills, underrated toughness and an understanding of time and space that made the game slow down around him. Rare vision.

7. Lids
Our most consistent player for a decade. Rarely played a bad game, and played many far better than just good. Tagged pretty much weekly from very early in his career, no matter where he played, and he could play anywhere. In my mind, the best half-back-flanker since McLeod. Super-quick, brilliant kick with either foot, vice-like hands above his head and one of the best handballers we've had. Never wasted the pill. If he didn't have the hips of a ballerina and could break a tackle, he might be right up there with Dusty. A prime Lids would shred it in our side.

8. Shedda
Like Knights and Jack, supreme vision, and for sheer audacity he might even surpass Jack. Brian Taylor's most insightful-ever comment (it's a small field) was to call Shane "The King of the Corridor". We defend by forcing teams wide and we slice them open by cutting back inside, and no one does that better than Sheds. John Stockton's hands with Allen Iverson's feet.

9. Flea
His whole career would have him higher. So tough, so skilled, such a one-man band for most of the 80s that I dubbed him the AB of Punt Road. Loved watching him tear it up for the Big V on the stage he deserved.

10. Brown
Put simply, he was the best player in the league in 2005. And then he broke his leg. Another genius, could make very good players look like mugs. If Richo and Brown were Batman and Robin, what would Jack and Brown have been? Mozart and Hendrix?

11. Grimey
"Nobody can do what Alex Rance does," is another thing I like to say, "except Dylan Grimes." I am a quotable muthaflippa.

12. Houli
He was one of our better finals performers even prior to 2017, but his two grand final performances elevate his status, especially the first one. Short doesn't break lines, Newman didn't, this bloke does. A proper rebounder who attacks with the ball - again, unlike those two.

13. Brodders
Tough, smart, ball-winning, goal-kicking, working-man's Greg Williams. My Mum's favourite player.

14. Lambert
Similar player to Brodders. Not as good a kick and didn't kick many goals, but won the hard ball and a great user by hand.

15. Dunc
Nathan Buckley still has nightmares this bloke is inside his pyjamas. "As Brave As A Kellaway" is another phrase I turned. Few have earned its use.

16. Dion
Gotta put him in. Would be in our top-3 September performers for consistency over the past three years. Carried our midfield for the first half of 2019.

17. Bowden
I remember watching a teen Joel kick 4 in a quarter against West Coast before breaking his collarbone in the same game and thinking we had a budding superstar. For years later he'd frustrate with his lackadaisical manner, but his 2001 (25 touches and a goal a game) and following 3-4 years at CHB were high quality. Supremely smart, superb ball user. One of the classiest players I've seen in yellow and black.

18. Vlastuin
Merv Keane is a great comparison and one I've made myself. Bulletproof by foot, perhaps the most reliable kick we've had in my 40 years of watching. Great overhead, reads the play superbly, and (almost) As Brave As A KellawayTM.

19. Freezer
Warrior. Leader. fu** all of him and what wasn't heart was guts. I have him in the back pocket of the best Tiger team of my time.

20. Lynch
I'm breaking rules for this bloke. We don't make the finals without him in 2019, let alone win the flag. A colossus.

Mentions to Foley (drops out for Lynch - if career not ruined would be well up this list), Gaspar, Hogg (only 10 players have kicked more goals for Richmond), Cameron, Cogs, Pickering, Mitchell, Ottens, Merenda, and of course Campbell, but I'm with Rayzor there. (Not on Holland though Ray, even if I do agree he had a good 2001. He then held us over a barrel and every other year was just shitful. fu** that guy.)

That was a cracking read, RatD, glad I wasn't snacking, would have had a very messy screen with that many LOL moments. Could nearly quote and comment on every line, Buckley's pyjamas, LMFAO. :thumbsu:

I always felt pretty sorry for Holland, finally found his position after a career as whipping boy, accolades and respect from all directions and then he does his knee, was never the same afterwards. We were so damn ugly internally back then I don't hold grudges against the blokes who chose to leave, if you weren't anointed into the clique it would have been impossible to enjoy being there.

Just another reason I ranked Trent 'No More Cliques Ever Again' Cotchin right at the top.
 
Jun 18, 2007
25,842
49,841
Top of the tree
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
#VICBIAS
That was a cracking read, RatD, glad I wasn't snacking, would have had a very messy screen with that many LOL moments. Could nearly quote and comment on every line, Buckley's pyjamas, LMFAO. :thumbsu:

I always felt pretty sorry for Holland, finally found his position after a career as whipping boy, accolades and respect from all directions and then he does his knee, was never the same afterwards. We were so damn ugly internally back then I don't hold grudges against the blokes who chose to leave, if you weren't anointed into the clique it would have been impossible to enjoy being there.

Just another reason I ranked Trent 'No More Cliques Ever Again' Cotchin right at the top.
Cheers mate, really enjoyed yours too.
 

Grrr

Brownlow Medallist
Aug 16, 2009
11,550
26,229
mildura
AFL Club
Richmond
1. Dusty
It has to be Dusty. I agree with Rayzor that without Trent as captain, we're still on 10 flags, but same goes if we didn't have Dusty. The player of his generation. Anyone who thinks Fyfe or Danger come within cooee is on crack. Carey is the only player I've seen as complete, commanding and compelling.

2. Richo
'Nuff said. Imagine him on the wing in this team - he'd win the Coleman.

3. Jack
Just so damn smart. I have never seen another player able to leap from out of position, leverage his body while in mid-air to shift his man out of the way and cradle the ball to ground. The one in my mind is the ridiculous mark against Chris Tarrant but he's done it so often it's a trademark. Matthew Knights-like vision and execution off either wing. A football genius.

4. Rance
Haters would tell me, "He doesn't play on anyone". "Mate," I'd retort, "he plays on everyone." And then I'd take them to a game, elbow them in the ribs every time he pulled a forward's (or a forward line's) pants down and they'd agree. Once he worked the game out, I've never seen a more dominant defender, capable of turning defence into attack in an instant, covering his own man and everyone else's too. The D50 was his domain - if the ball entered, he simply considered it his and went and got it. Fearless, ferocious, funny as fu**. A dream teammate. Only behind Jack because forwards are better and Jack had the game sussed from day one.

5. Cotch
Before he'd even played a game I was telling people he'd be our best since Maurice. A boy prodigy of rare brilliance but never brittleness. Flint-hard, his 2017 finals series was "Come with me, boys!" spine-tingling stuff. Shows how great the four above him are.

6. Knighter
No pace, no muscles, no right foot, just exquisite skills, underrated toughness and an understanding of time and space that made the game slow down around him. Rare vision.

7. Lids
Our most consistent player for a decade. Rarely played a bad game, and played many far better than just good. Tagged pretty much weekly from very early in his career, no matter where he played, and he could play anywhere. In my mind, the best half-back-flanker since McLeod. Super-quick, brilliant kick with either foot, vice-like hands above his head and one of the best handballers we've had. Never wasted the pill. If he didn't have the hips of a ballerina and could break a tackle, he might be right up there with Dusty. A prime Lids would shred it in our side.

8. Shedda
Like Knights and Jack, supreme vision, and for sheer audacity he might even surpass Jack. Brian Taylor's most insightful-ever comment (it's a small field) was to call Shane "The King of the Corridor". We defend by forcing teams wide and we slice them open by cutting back inside, and no one does that better than Sheds. John Stockton's hands with Allen Iverson's feet.

9. Flea
His whole career would have him higher. So tough, so skilled, such a one-man band for most of the 80s that I dubbed him the AB of Punt Road. Loved watching him tear it up for the Big V on the stage he deserved.

10. Brown
Put simply, he was the best player in the league in 2005. And then he broke his leg. Another genius, could make very good players look like mugs. If Richo and Brown were Batman and Robin, what would Jack and Brown have been? Mozart and Hendrix?

11. Grimey
"Nobody can do what Alex Rance does," is another thing I like to say, "except Dylan Grimes." I am a quotable muthaflippa.

12. Houli
He was one of our better finals performers even prior to 2017, but his two grand final performances elevate his status, especially the first one. Short doesn't break lines, Newman didn't, this bloke does. A proper rebounder who attacks with the ball - again, unlike those two.

13. Brodders
Tough, smart, ball-winning, goal-kicking, working-man's Greg Williams. My Mum's favourite player.

14. Lambert
Similar player to Brodders. Not as good a kick and didn't kick many goals, but won the hard ball and a great user by hand.

15. Dunc
Nathan Buckley still has nightmares this bloke is inside his pyjamas. "As Brave As A Kellaway" is another phrase I turned. Few have earned its use.

16. Dion
Gotta put him in. Would be in our top-3 September performers for consistency over the past three years. Carried our midfield for the first half of 2019.

17. Bowden
I remember watching a teen Joel kick 4 in a quarter against West Coast before breaking his collarbone in the same game and thinking we had a budding superstar. For years later he'd frustrate with his lackadaisical manner, but his 2001 (25 touches and a goal a game) and following 3-4 years at CHB were high quality. Supremely smart, superb ball user. One of the classiest players I've seen in yellow and black.

18. Vlastuin
Merv Keane is a great comparison and one I've made myself. Bulletproof by foot, perhaps the most reliable kick we've had in my 40 years of watching. Great overhead, reads the play superbly, and (almost) As Brave As A KellawayTM.

19. Freezer
Warrior. Leader. fu** all of him and what wasn't heart was guts. I have him in the back pocket of the best Tiger team of my time.

20. Lynch
I'm breaking rules for this bloke. We don't make the finals without him in 2019, let alone win the flag. A colossus.

Mentions to Foley (drops out for Lynch - if career not ruined would be well up this list), Gaspar, Hogg (only 10 players have kicked more goals for Richmond), Cameron, Cogs, Pickering, Mitchell, Ottens, Merenda, and of course Campbell, but I'm with Rayzor there. (Not on Holland though Ray, even if I do agree he had a good 2001. He then held us over a barrel and every other year was just shitful. fu** that guy.)
Great summary....


although I don't agree on Campbell.
 
May 8, 2007
10,578
14,813
vic
AFL Club
Richmond
I have a few controversial opinions on Richmond players - I won't do a Top-20, but I'll just outline my more extreme ideas.


Matthew Knights gets over-rated by many on this board (he was obviously still a a champion). He looked a better player than he was actually effective. Wayne Campbell was a better player (although not much in it). Both just maybe make the Top-10. Having said that, Knights' 1995 prelim is probably the best individual game I've seen by a Tiger - certainly in the discussion.

Gaspar was a great full-back. One-on-one as good as Rance (Rance is great in many more ways - rebounding, intercepting etc).

Riewoldt > Richo. Both Top 5. Hmmmm - let me think. Actually, I can't split them. I guess it means that I rate Jack a little bit higher than most, and Richo a little bit lower.

Nick Daffy gets forgotten a bit - at his peak he was our best small forward since KB. When he went into more the midfield, he wasn't as good (alythough he still won a B&F). He's close to Top-20. He'd improve our current side.

If Kane Johnson can get mentioned for playing 116 games, then Mark Coughlan was every bit as effective in 93 games. I'd put Shane Tuck in that conversation also well (although if Cogs had stayed fit - well...😭).

Shane Edwards is a definite inclusion.
 

This Is Anfield

Cancelled
30k Posts 10k Posts Podcaster
Feb 25, 2014
32,084
70,155
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Liverpool, England, Furies
I have a few controversial opinions on Richmond players - I won't do a Top-20, but I'll just outline my more extreme ideas.


Matthew Knights gets over-rated by many on this board (he was obviously still a a champion). He looked a better player than he was actually effective. Wayne Campbell was a better player (although not much in it). Both just maybe make the Top-10. Having said that, Knights' 1995 prelim is probably the best individual game I've seen by a Tiger - certainly in the discussion.

Gaspar was a great full-back. One-on-one as good as Rance (Rance is great in many more ways - rebounding, intercepting etc).

Riewoldt > Richo. Both Top 5. Hmmmm - let me think. Actually, I can't split them. I guess it means that I rate Jack a little bit higher than most, and Richo a little bit lower.

Nick Daffy gets forgotten a bit - at his peak he was our best small forward since KB. When he went into more the midfield, he wasn't as good (alythough he still won a B&F). He's close to Top-20. He'd improve our current side.

If Kane Johnson can get mentioned for playing 116 games, then Mark Coughlan was every bit as effective in 93 games. I'd put Shane Tuck in that conversation also well (although if Cogs had stayed fit - well...😭).

Shane Edwards is a definite inclusion.
Nothing controversial there from my point of you... it's all subjective.
Like Knights, Daffy and Naish could be in there on the strength of the third quarter of the 1995 semi alone!
Still the best non Grand Final win ever.
 
Feb 6, 2019
2,910
6,793
Murfreesboro, TENN
AFL Club
Richmond
Righto, here's my crack at it -
1 - Dustin Martin. Don't argue.
2 - Jack Reiwoldt - easily the smartest footballer I have seen at the club (and the best forward).
3 - Matthew Richardson - Freak athlete/footballer. Could do the sublime then make you rage all in the space of a couple of minutes. But a wonderful footballer and clubman.
4 - Matthew Knights. Pure silk as a footballer. Skilled. Courageous. Devastating left foot. And great in tight.
5 - Trent Cotchin. Always been a gun talent, but now has the leadership aspect nailed as well. Hard as nails. He's our Luke Hodge.
6 - Alex Rance - Best defender I have ever seen at the club. That simple. Gun/freak.
7 - Wayne Campbell - Fantastic footballer. Mr Consistent. When we were s**t, he was still racking it up. And some of the knockers should watch his work from 94 onwards again. He definitely put in. Gun.
8 - Dale Weightman - I am giving this guy respect and love. He stuck with us and was making state teams while we were on deaths door and winning spoons. Premiership player and legend.
9 - Paul Broderick - Up there with one of the best trades we ever did. Absolute tough as nails machine. Pissed Yellow and Black. Fantastic skills and wonderful in close. Could kick a handy goal as well.
10 - Nick Vlaustin - Been a jet since day one. Versatile player. Super consistent.
11 - Duncan Kellaway - Would go close to being our best stopper ever. There's a reason they called him the human glove and his matches on Buckley were worth the price of admission alone. Arguable the toughest player i have seen (pound for pound).
12 - Bowden - I kind of reckon he was an unfulfilled talent in a way. But, then the guy was an AA CHB for 2 years as well playing undersized. Swing player and very smooth mover.
13 - Dylan Grimes - Fantastic, consistent defender. Plays big or small. Doesn't just beat his opponent. Kills them. What's not to like?
14 - Bachar Houli - been a wonderfully consistent footballer for us. Quick, skilled and underrated on the courage stakes. I can't think of too many half back flankers that have been tagged in games, yet he is one such is his ability.
15 - Tony Free - cruelly cut down by injury. Freezer was another hard at it footballer. Enjoyed watching him.
16 - Brett Delidio - great skills. Great footballer. Played some awesome footy for us when we were hopeless.
17 - Brendon Gale - Big Chief - played as a CHF/FF, then defender then took over the ruck role. Was a very mobile and consistent performer was our Benny. Heart and soul club man.
18 - Nick Daffy - People forget that this guy was the best HFF in the comp for a few years. Could slot them from anywhere. Dangerous and quick. We screwed him over when we tried to make him a midfielder. Gun. Would make todays current team IMO.
19 - Jeff Hogg - A great forward who could also play defence. Could seriously play.
20 - Shaun Grigg - Behind Jack - was our second smartest footballer. Ran all day and was very well skilled and a handy shot at goal. Another Mr Consistent.


Dig the love for Jeff Hogg. Truly was a remarkable player and as the opinion went at the time, 'if only we had two of him'. One to plonk at full back and the other at full forward. Was our best option as both for a long, long time. Sad seeing him cruelled by injury in the end.
 
Dig the love for Jeff Hogg. Truly was a remarkable player and as the opinion went at the time, 'if only we had two of him'. One to plonk at full back and the other at full forward. Was our best option as both for a long, long time. Sad seeing him cruelled by injury in the end.

back was shot off memory? And you’re right. Was our best option at both ends, but we only had one of him :(
 

Ceehook

Club Legend
Oct 3, 2017
1,325
3,550
AFL Club
Richmond
lids was a beautiful footballer. need to give him his due. jet. How would he have gone in a gun team.
Lids would have been a very very different proposition if starting his career in 2016/17
our side our game plan and our culture
Richo would have been difficult in any era for a coach to manage and blend into a side but his talent , his sheer desire and his physical attributes would have made him a great player in any era
 

Vassp

Premiership Player
Jun 30, 2018
4,680
7,850
AFL Club
Richmond
Professional stat whore who spent the vast majority of his career working out how he could get his '25+ possession tick' by chipping 10m dumb and slow to nowhere. By pack skirting and using his 'leadership' to demand the ball, so he could go on to do nothing with it. No footballer was more adversely affected by the change to the 15m kick-mark rule, 10m to nowhere was his bread and butter. Was a very good player in his early days when he ran his guts out for Northey, then went on to become our biggest liability for 5 times as long as he was an asset to the club.



Professional stat whore who you'd hold up as the ultimate example of a midfielder who refused to get fit enough to play the role, or a defender who got constant ball but barely broke a line in his entire career. So much talent, so little application. Dumped to the VFL by the first coach who had the guts to call it like it is. Earned a great living cheating the club and its supporters.



Professional stat whore who masqueraded as a 'rebounder', but literally never actually rebounded. He point blank refused to even attempt breaking lines with run or by foot. Spent his entire career (bar one game where the coach called him out and he played a blinder) putting no genuine desire into his football, just going through the motions directing the ball slow and sideways to nowhere.



His attitude to 'leading the club' was best exemplified by him inviting the entire team over for a huge party two weeks before season start, then going on to get so blind drunk he got arrested for pissing on the wall of the local police station (had no idea where he was). Played one genuinely great season in 2004, then settled down into the 'Richmond Culture' of the era where football was just a way to earn a buck. Body was shot in later years (that's where partying like he did gets you), gave us 25% of what his contract cost us.

-------------------------------

The four blokes above are the epitome of why we were the joke of the league in those days. Anyone who includes them in a 'best players' list just has absolutely NFI what a successful football club culture looks like. If Hardwick (or any of the greats who coached through the eras concerned for that matter) was asked off the record what he thought, I have no doubt he'd concur.

Who would I include instead?

I'd start by basing the selection criteria not strictly on years of service, but impact and contribution to our brief periods of minor success.

Cameron and Ottens were shining lights in how and why we went so far in 2001, I'd much rather include both than the four cheating footballers above, regardless of time served. Brown, Charles and Coughlan are prime examples of others who made a huge difference in brief careers, much rather include any of them.

Hogg was a bona fide elite player second only to Richo as a long-time servant in the key forward role.

Tuck and Jackson literally carried the side on their backs and gave their heart and soul for the club over long and massively underrated careers, much rather include them and blokes like Andy Kellaway, Broderick, Bond and Rogers who never failed to give their absolute best for the club.

It's no coincidence that we started becoming a genuinely successful club only after the four 'club leaders' above and their massively negative influence were no longer stinking up the place.

this is pretty much spot on......l lived those years at the footy and man was l pissed off.
those 4 guys wouldn’t get a game today, and to be fair half on that list that have retired wouldn’t get game In today’s team.
only players to make this years team (at their prime) would be...

nathan Brown.
Richo.
lidds.
 
Feb 25, 2007
12,887
23,083
FNQ
AFL Club
Richmond
this is pretty much spot on......l lived those years at the footy and man was l pissed off.

It's a scar that can fade with time, but it's still a scar, drove me half mad watching it.

Trying our arses off and being beaten by a more skilled side I could cop and still be proud of the effort, but deliberately not even trying to win, just playing for self-preservation with the stat whore routine, that kind of behaviour deserves to get called out forever IMO.


Shame about the restriction Mark 'General'Lee played for 5 years in that period!

Champion. I figured it was bending the criteria too far to include The General.
 
His back sure was shot ... and before he went to Fitzroy.
Amazing deal to get Broderick and Michael and matt Dundas for Hoggy, who was shot!

did’t we get Elliot as well in that deal? I thought it was 4 players for Hogg (Which was off the charts when you think about it).
 
Back