Top 20 Past Players you've seen in your life time?

Remove this Banner Ad

PowerfulPies2023

Club Legend
Oct 5, 2023
1,443
1,188
AFL Club
Collingwood
Too hard But here it goes

G Ablett
Carey
D Williams
Matera
Jackovich
Silvagni
R Harvey
Hird
Lockett
Voss
Riccuito
P Kelly
Mckenna
Buckley
McLeod
Wanganeen
Dunstall
Stynes
Koutifides
Judd

Interchange - Archer Tredrea Collins


Not the Cockatoo type
 
Where's Buddy?

Didn't you hear? He's making a come back.


MOMMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!!!!
 
I go back to when i was an ankle biter: I'll list as i saw them.
R Hart
P Hudson
J Greening
B Doull
M Blight
L Matthews
S Madden
T Lockett
J Dunstall
G Ablett snr
G Williams
W Carey
P Matera
J Hird
G Ablett jnr
L Hodge
J Selwood
S Pendlebury
N Fyfe
D Martin

I could list another 20 easily...
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Too hard But here it goes

G Ablett
Carey
D Williams
Matera
Jackovich
Silvagni
R Harvey
Hird
Lockett
Voss
Riccuito
P Kelly
Mckenna
Buckley
McLeod
Wanganeen
Dunstall
Stynes
Koutifides
Judd

Interchange - Archer Tredrea Collins


Not the Cockatoo type
The most brilliant on their day...

1 Ablett senior
2 Carey
3 Franklin
4 Lockett
5 Koutafides
6 Ablett junior
7 Modra
8 Hird
9 McLeod
10 Goodes
11 D Martin
12 Buckley
13 D Jarman
14 Peter Matera
15 Bontempelli
16 Dunstall
17 Wanganeen
18 Daicos senior
19 Ricciuto
20 Pendlebury

No doubt missed someone obvious.
 
Last edited:
Pretty hard to rank them down to twenty.

The stars when I first started watching were Blight and Quilan, versatile, brilliantly skilled and massive kicks. I dont see Matthews as the GOAT but thats a me problem. He wasn't discussed as the best player going around, except maybe 78/79.

My top three are Ablett Snr, Carey and Lockett, the gods of the 80s and 90s.

After them the debate was Hird (the most brilliant) vs Voss (the best leader and crunch timer) vs Buckley (the most consistent, he had less bad games than Hird had bad seasons).

More recently guys like Judd and the Bont stand head and shoulders.

I don't like Dunstall but he's possibly the second best FF of all time. His Hawthorn side had Platten (best rover IMHO) and Brereton (of you never saw him, imagine a guy as annoying as Ginnivan and Sicily combined, a skilled and brutal matchwinner and almost as good a big game player as Dusty).

I guess that's 13. They were all worth the price of admission to go and see. Not sure I can come up with another 7 clear greats. Possibly Simon Madden, best ruck i ever saw.

Dusty as I say is the GOAT big game player. Dangerfield and Pendles have set such a high standard for a long time. Akermanis was a brilliant rover. Cousins and Kerr, as brilliant as they were, coodabeen even more. But there's plenty more worthy of a mention.
 
Some 90s/00s I enjoyed watching... (not best players but I liked them)

Tony Modra
Simon Black
Matt Clape'
Sav Rocca
Ron McKeown
Peter Daicos
Darren Bewick
Gary Ablett Snr
Paul Hudson
Andy Lovell
Wayne Carey
Warren Tredrea
Richo
Stuart Loewe
Plugger
Mark Bayes
Danny Del Re




On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
I can't help but think there is a lot of childhood biases in a lot of these lists as players from the 90's just seem better because a lot of us were kids in the 90's.

I find it unrealistic though that basically the top 10 players of the last 33 years were all players who mostly played in the 90's.
 
I can't help but think there is a lot of childhood biases in a lot of these lists as players from the 90's just seem better because a lot of us were kids in the 90's.

I find it unrealistic though that basically the top 10 players of the last 33 years were all players who mostly played in the 90's.
Make your own list...

It's really posters personal preferences.

There is no right answers.
 
Make your own list...

It's really posters personal preferences.

There is no right answers.

From the players I have really seen, and I am mostly exclusing the 90's as I was young and very much a casual fan then so I only really saw Swans players regularly.

1. Ablett Jnr
2. Buddy
3. Judd
4. Scarlett
5. Rance
6. McLoud
7. Goodes
8. Cox
9. Buckley
10. Gawn
11. Voss
12. Hird
13. Richardson
14, Pavlich
15. Kennedy (West Coast)
16. Martin
17. Dangerfield
18. Fyfe
19. Cousins
20. Pendlebury
 
I only saw the tail ends of Matthews and KB's careers, so am excluding them.

In order:
1. G. Ablett Snr
2. Carey
3. Lockett
4. G. Ablett Jnr
5. Franklin
6. Judd
7. G. Williams
8. Voss
9. Hird
10. Pendlebury
11. Selwood
12. Buckley
13. Dunstall
14. Riccuito
15. P. Daicos
16. Goodes
17. Black
18. Pavlich
19. Hodge
20. Bontempelli

Bont will likely move up the ladder as his career progresses;

Koutifides' best was very close to THE best, but didn't have the longevity.

The interesting question for me is when does Nick Daicos enter this list, and where in the Top 5 will he sit once his career is done?
 
I only saw the tail ends of Matthews and KB's careers, so am excluding them.

In order:
1. G. Ablett Snr
2. Carey
3. Lockett
4. G. Ablett Jnr
5. Franklin
6. Judd
7. G. Williams
8. Voss
9. Hird
10. Pendlebury
11. Selwood
12. Buckley
13. Dunstall
14. Riccuito
15. P. Daicos
16. Goodes
17. Black
18. Pavlich
19. Hodge
20. Bontempelli

Bont will likely move up the ladder as his career progresses;

Koutifides' best was very close to THE best, but didn't have the longevity.

The interesting question for me is when does Nick Daicos enter this list, and where in the Top 5 will he sit once his career is done?

7th most successful footballer in his family is the best footballer Fadge has seen in his sorry arsed lifetime. :tearsofjoy:
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

My shortlist, recognising as well this is PAST players...

Adelaide
Ricciuto, McLeod

Brisbane
Voss

Collingwood
Buckley, Daicos

Carlton
Southby, Doull, Jesaulenko

Essendon
S Madden, T Watson

Fremantle
Pavlich

Fitzroy
Roos, Quinlan

Footscray
Dempsey - several very close to nomination eg Hawkins, Grant

Geelong
Ablett Jnr, Ablett Snr

Gold Coast
Nil

GWS
Nil

Hawthorn
Matthews, Hudson, Franklin, so many extremely close to nomination eg Knights, Hodge, Cyril

Melbourne
Flower

North Melbourne
Carey, Cable, Blight, Glendinning

Port Adelaide
Nil

Richmond
Hart, Bartlett, Richardson, M Rioli, Rance

St Kilda
Lockett, Harvey, N Riewoldt

Sydney
Goodes, Skilton(never saw him play live, seen plenty of footage and he played in my lifetime)

West Coast
P Matera, Jakovich, Judd, Cousins, Cox


39 players there, may have forgotten a couple. May try to narrow it down in a later post.
 
Last edited:
Make your own list...

It's really posters personal preferences.

There is no right answers.
But there are wrong answers ;)

No love for Shane Kerrison or Anthony Rock.

I mean if were ranking best efforts we personally saw its a very different list.

I saw Gilbert McAdam and Darren Cuthbertson cut Collingwood to shreds. Our best weren't nearly good enough on those days.

Obviously Ablett 89 GF. Modras debut, pre season game vs Richmond, 8 goals and he looked 7 feet tall. I think some if them were on Leys though.

I recall Brereton 1985, unbelievable solo defiance. Winmar played a number if colossal games I saw, he and Lockett carried the Saints for years. Lockett played a very pure selfish FF role, almost always worth watching.

In the late 90s when the Pies were hopeless Buckley carried the whole club. He had a couple of games vs North (Pagans brutal side) where he kicked 3 or 4 from the midfield, 40 possessions, all the goal assists.

I took my Eagle nephew to see lowly WCE one night at Docklands, we were joking about how many goals his favourite forward would kick. He said 8, I said 10. It was Mark Le Cras, he kicked 12.
 
A nomination for Pav as he is criminally underrated
Seasons to ave 17 disposals 3 goals
Carey 6
Pav 3
Buddy 3
Rooboy 1
Brown 1
Tredders 0
People forget how good of fwd he is.
He was too good and was used in midfield and defence in the seasons the ball wasn’t getting fwd.

2005-2008 Pav averaged
3 goals 17d 8 marks per a game
In a team with less than 50% winning record
 
Turned 40 this year - Started going to the Footy as a 6 year old in 1989 (Was at the GF)

1. G Ablett Snr
2. Lockett
3. Carey
4. G. Ablett Jnr
5. Franklin
6. Voss
7. Judd
8. Buckley
9. J. Selwood
10. Scarlett
11. Dunstall
12. Pavlich
13. P. Daicos
14. Lloyd
15. Mcleod
16. Pendelbury
17 Peter Matera
18. G. Jackovich
19. R. Harvey
20. B. Harvey
 
Acknowledging this is a 'Past Players' thread, many posters have taken the liberty of including current players whose body of work has them placed in their top 20 in their lifetime.

And of those who have done so, we have a Pendlebury:Martin ratio of 7:4.

About what I'd expect, but it might surprise some of the boisterous Richmond posters who struggle to watch non-Richmond games...
 
Some 90s/00s I enjoyed watching... (not best players but I liked them)

Tony Modra
Simon Black
Matt Clape'
Sav Rocca
Ron McKeown
Peter Daicos
Darren Bewick
Gary Ablett Snr
Paul Hudson
Andy Lovell
Wayne Carey
Warren Tredrea
Richo
Stuart Loewe
Plugger
Mark Bayes
Danny Del Re




On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
Good list. I remember some big games by the unheralded ones or not so known or remembered by many.

Clape's 7 goals against the Crows in 95 at the G
Bewick's 9 against the Catters on that Wednesday Night Game. Centenary game or something.
Paul Hudson - Gun. Kicked many a bag and 6 against the Pies in a low scoring affair back in 92.
Tredrea who was a super star but came of age snaring 8 against the Blues in 98.
Andy Lovell once booted 8 against the Tige's in 93 I think. A Lovett got 8 as well.
Bayes booted 8 goals. He could play forward or back.
Del Re - Stellar 92 season. I'm a big Danny Del Re fan.

Love the spearheads. Loved the goal getters.
 
Luke Hodge. Legend.


Too many to name and think through. He would have been in my top 20. How about that banana goal against WCE in the 2015 GF? From 50 lol.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top