Yet, we are only going to be going by hearsay, and reading articles...Hey guys, if it really the 'best players of all time' you might need to do some historical research.
The first responder had 3 players who played in the first 43 years of the league (ie before WW2) and 17 who played in the 66 years after. The second responder had 2-18.
It takea a bit of research to look up the records of the great players from pre-ww2 - but just because they don't have a youtube compilation doesn't mean they weren't champions.
Just for starters, look up Albert Thurgood, George Todd, Dick Lee, Vic Thorp, Harry Vallance, Jack Titus, Allan La Fontaine..... All have reputations as good or better than some of the names posted here.
I don't blame you - after the disgrace of the AFL/VFL Team of The Century that included exactly 2 pre-ww2 players, I guess our opinions are controlled by the media reps who played in the 60s-70s.
Id prefer to nominate the players I have seen play, or at least seen some footage of. I wouldnt be nominating players from pre wwII, for that reason.