Which is the best team of the 21st century?

[RUNVS]

Thank you to all the people in the other thread who made their respective teams of the 21st century as I would not have been able to do that on my own.

So the general question here is which team is the best, so which team do you think would go out and win as a team?

I am going to give everyone 4 selections, and I am going to ask, please please please do not select your own team even if you genuinely think they are the best, though of course you can argue for your own team in the discussion.

Here are the teams, but if there is something wrong with any of them, any obvious mistakes or if you think a team needs some tweaking feel very free to say so and I will change them up.

Adelaide
B: Doughty, Rutten, Johncock
HB: Smith, Talia, McLeod
C: Sloane, Ricciuto, Edwards
HF: Goodwin, Jenkins, Burton
F: Betts, Walker, Welsh
Foll: Jacobs, Dangerfield, Thompson
Int: Douglas, Dawson, Laird, Cameron

Brisbane
B: Johnson, Michael, Andrews
HB: Rich, Leppitsch, White
C: Lappin, Voss (c), McCluggage
HF: Akermanis, Brown, Zorko
F: Cameron, Lynch, Bradshaw
Foll: Martin, Black, Neale
Int: Power, Beams, Adcock, M. Ashcroft

Carlton
B: Saad, Weitering, Docherty
HB: Lappin, Jamison, Simpson
C: Kouta, Walsh, Camporale
HF: Walker, McKay, Marc Murphy
F: Betts, Curnow, Fevola
Foll: Kreuzer, Judd, Cripps
Int: Ratten, Whitnall, Waite, Gibbs

Collingwood
B: Maynard, Prestigiacomo, Clement
HB: Maxwell, Moore, H.Shaw
C: Sidebottom, Buckley, Thomas
HF: De Goey, Mihocek, Elliot
F: L.Davis, T.Cloke, Didak
Foll: Jolly, Swan, Pendlebury
Int: B.Johnson, Burns, Dacios, Tarrant

Essendon
B: McVeigh Hurley Fletcher
HB: Solomon Wellman Goddard
C: Heppell J. Johnson Caracella
HF: Hird Daniher Mercuri
FF: Stringer Lloyd AMT
Foll: Ryder Watson Merrett
Int: Hille, Misiti, Stanton, Hooker

Fremantle
FB: L.Ryan, Pearce, M.Johnson
HB: Hayden, McPharlin, Duffield
C: B.Hill, Mundy, S.Hill
HF: Walters, Pavlich, Ballantyne
FF: Mayne, Longmuir, Farmer
Foll: Sandilands, Fyfe, Bell
Int: Darcy, Grover, Neale, Hasleby

Geelong
B: Enright, Scarlett, Milburn
HB: Stewart, Taylor, Mackie
C: Duncan, Dangerfield, Kelly
HF: Bartel, Cameron, Miers
F: Johnson, Hawkins, Chapman
Foll: Ottens, Selwood, Ablett
Int: Blicavs, Guthrie, Stokes, Corey

Gold Coast
B: Collins, May, Lemmens
HB: Harbrow, Ballard, Powell
C: Anderson, Swallow, Ellis
HF: Ainsworth, Lynch, Holman
F: Sexton, King, Bennell
Foll: Witts, Miller, Ablett Jnr
Int: Day, Rischitelli, Weller, Prestia

GWS
B: Shaw, Davis, Haynes
HB: Whitfield, Taylor, Williams
C: Kelly, Ward, Scully
HF: Greene, Cameron, Johnson
F: Daniels, Hogan, Himmelberg
Foll: Mumford, Coniglio, Steele
Int: Treloar, Shiel, Green, Finlayson

Hawthorn
B: Gibson, Lake, Burgoyne
HB: Birchall, Croad, Hodge
C: Hill, S.Mitchell, I.Smith
HF: Gunston, Roughead, Williams
F: Breust, Franklin, Rioli
Foll: Everitt, Lewis, Crawford
Int: McEvoy, Puopolo, Guerra, T.Mitchell

Melbourne
FB: Lever, May, Hibberd
HB: Salem, Rivers, Brayshaw
C: Green, Oliver, Bruce
HF: Petracca, Robertson, Yze
FF: Fritsch, Neitz, Davey
FOL: Gawn, Viney, Woewoddin
IC: Jones, McDonald, K.Pickett, White

North Melbourne
B: Firrito, Tarrant, Rawlings
HB: Archer, Thompson, King
C: Simpson, Swallow, Higgins
HF: Wells, Petrie, Grant
F: Thomas, Larkey, Brown
Foll: Goldstein, Cunnington, Harvey
Int: Stevens, Ziebell, Simpkin, Sheezel

Port Adelaide
B: Wanganeen, Jonas, Kingsley
HB: Cassisi, Cornes, Houston
C: Cornes, Wines, Burgoyne
HF: Gray, Tredrea, Westhoff
F: Dew, Schulz, Wingard
Foll: Primus, Boak Francou
Int: Lade, Ebert, Burgoyne, Wilson

Richmond
B: Bowden, Gaspar, Grimes
HB: Houli, Rance, Newman
C: Grigg, Johnson, Campbell
HF: Deledio, Richardson, Lambert
F: Edwards, Riewoldt, Brown
Foll: Nankervis, Martin, Cotchin
Int: Vlastuin, Astbury, Prestia, Short

St Kilda
B: Baker, Hudghton, Dempster
HB: Goddard, Fisher, Sinclair
C: Montagna, Hayes, Dal Santo
HF: Ball, Riewoldt, Steele
F: Milne, Gehrig, Schneider
Foll: Marshall, Harvey, Steven
Int: Wilkie, Geary, Ross, A Jones

Sydney
B: Smith, Richards, Roberts-Thompson
HB: McVeigh, C.Bolton, Kennelly
C: Goodes, Jack, Hannebery
HF: Papley, Franklin, Davis
F: O'Loughlin, Hall, O'Keefe
Foll: Ball, Kennedy, Kirk
Int: Parker, Malceski, J.Bolton, Rampe

Western Bulldogs
B: Morris, Lake, Wood
HF: Murphy, Grant, Gilbee
C: Griffen, Cooney, West
HF: Johnson, Naughton, Hahn
F: Giansiracusa, Hall, Akermanis
Fol: Darcy, Bontempelli, Liberatore
Int: M Boyd, Hargrave, Cross, R Smith

West Coast
B: Wirrpanda, Glass, Sheppard
HB: Hurn, McGovern, Waters
C: Gaff, Cousins, Kerr
HF: Cripps, Darling, Embley
F: Matera, Kennedy, LeCras
Foll: Cox, Judd, Shuey
Int: Naitanui, Priddis, Yeo, Braun

Both Gold Coast and GWS have a significant disadvantage here so I am not expecting them to go well in this poll but I am very curious about the others.

Remember you have 4 votes in the poll and please do not vote for your own club.

 

[RUNVS]

For my 4 in no particular order I am going to have to go

Geelong - Hard to go passed them to be honest. Amazing defence, amazing midfield. Only slight knock, and it is only slight is I think there are better forward lines out there, but that is a pretty small knock.

Hawthorn - Amazing forward line, and amazing midfield. Both would be extremely hard to stop. Only small knocks, their rucks division is a little weak and their defence a tiny bit undersized, but a team would need to actually get the ball there in order to exploit that and that would be tough.

Brisbane - A little tougher here I will admit but their forward line consisting of Lynch, Brown, Aker, Brayshaw and so on would be super hard to stop. They may not have the depth of quality in their midfield as a few other clubs but they do have a few stars there. Their defence is very good as well.

West Coast - They have not been so good recently but that best 22 of the 21st century is filled with quality. Amazing midfield, a very strong forward line and a strong defence as well. Not sure how they would do against Geelong's best 22, but I feel like they would give it a crack.

 

[TheUnicorn]

Geelong 1st with Hawthorn a close 2nd.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

For my 4 in no particular order I am going to have to go

Geelong - Hard to go passed them to be honest. Amazing defence, amazing midfield. Only slight knock, and it is only slight is I think there are better forward lines out there, but that is a pretty small knock.

Hawthorn - Amazing forward line, and amazing midfield. Both would be extremely hard to stop. Only small knocks, their rucks division is a little weak and their defence a tiny bit undersized, but a team would need to actually get the ball there in order to exploit that and that would be tough.

Brisbane - A little tougher here I will admit but their forward line consisting of Lynch, Brown, Aker, Brayshaw and so on would be super hard to stop. They may not have the depth of quality in their midfield as a few other clubs but they do have a few stars there. Their defence is very good as well.

West Coast - They have not been so good recently but that best 22 of the 21st century is filled with quality. Amazing midfield, a very strong forward line and a strong defence as well. Not sure how they would do against Geelong's best 22, but I feel like they would give it a crack.

Funnily enough your two critiques of the Hawthorn side would be solved if we were to pick what I think is our best team (consistent with all the other proposed teams from your other thread) as I argued in that thread before seeing this.

If you put (AA CHB) Croad at CHB (with Lake at full back) and have one or both of Sicily and Gibson as 3rd tall/rebounders, the backline is definately not undersized. Put (3xAA) Peter Everitt into 1st ruck with McEvoy as back up and the ruck division is one of the strongest.

 

[Engimal v3]

Voted North

 

[RUNVS]

Funnily enough your two critiques of the Hawthorn side would be solved if we were to pick what I think is our best team (consistent with all the other proposed teams from your other thread) as I argued in that thread before seeing this.

If you put (AA CHB) Croad at CHB (with Lake at full back) and have one or both of Sicily and Gibson as 3rd tall/rebounders, the backline is definately not undersized. Put (3xAA) Peter Everitt into 1st ruck with McEvoy as back up and the ruck division is one of the strongest.

I am guessing Hale gets bumped off the bench?

 

[Gavin Excell]

Tigers

 

[Guardian Hawk]

I am guessing Hale gets bumped off the bench?

Yes, I think so.

Croad in for Guerra resolves the size/structure issue and is the right selection anyway. I'd also have Sewell in for Puopolo on the bench as an obvious upgrade but didn't mention here as it doesn't address the critiques mentioned.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Tigers

It's actually surprising how strong it is (for a side that largely struggled for the first 3 quarters of the time period in question).

It's only their midfield (especially outside mids) that (whilst still very good) isn't quite as strong as the best of the best here.

 

[Meteoric Rise]

Tigers

Lol, it took us requisitioning 3 flags from you for you to finally admit the truth.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Funnily enough your two critiques of the Hawthorn side would be solved if we were to pick what I think is our best team (consistent with all the other proposed teams from your other thread) as I argued in that thread before seeing this.

If you put (AA CHB) Croad at CHB (with Lake at full back) and have one or both of Sicily and Gibson as 3rd tall/rebounders, the backline is definately not undersized. Put (3xAA) Peter Everitt into 1st ruck with McEvoy as back up and the ruck division is one of the strongest.

Would Sicily make the team?

 

[RichLeMonde]

Geelong by the length of 2 Flemington straights.

West Coast, Brisbane and Port all have outstanding teams, a shade better than Sydney for mine, due to midfield depth.

Hawthorn and Collingwood also excellent, but not quite as star studded in their bottom few, which maybe suggests how outstanding they have been as teams, in terms of their systems and coaching.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Would Sicily make the team?

I think so. The advantage of Sicily is he can play tall and small (and can be used as a swing man back, forward and even through the middle if you needed).

Even with Croad, Lake and Gibson - Sicily could almost be used as a pure rebounder (with aerial capability).

A bit like Blicavs in offering flexibility but being a "must pick".

 

[kreuze_missile]

please please please do not select your own team even if you genuinely think they are the best

Noted, and ignored.

 

[RUNVS]

Funnily enough your two critiques of the Hawthorn side would be solved if we were to pick what I think is our best team (consistent with all the other proposed teams from your other thread) as I argued in that thread before seeing this.

If you put (AA CHB) Croad at CHB (with Lake at full back) and have one or both of Sicily and Gibson as 3rd tall/rebounders, the backline is definately not undersized. Put (3xAA) Peter Everitt into 1st ruck with McEvoy as back up and the ruck division is one of the strongest.

Modified.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Modified.

Thanks.

Now just need Out: Guerra, Puopolo (good servants but just role players) IN: Sicily, Sewell (captain, AA's, BnF's, etc) on the bench and it is completely fixed

 

[Mr Meow]

Hawthorn, Brisbane, West Coast and Sydney for me - in that order.

Hawthorn's speaks for itself and their '08 side never got the recognition it deserved, but the names included from that side completely belong there.

Brisbane's does rely on a lot of players who played a LOT of years in the 90's, but am taking that side at face value nonetheless. The dynasty side gets some extra firepower in the forward line, versatility and depth in midfield and maintains its strong defence + Andrews/Rich for some added interception/rebound.

West Coast have their forward weapons added to their mouth watering '05/'06 era midfield that is somehow made stronger still. And a really great defence.

Sydney's forwardline is mouth watering and combining the best players of their underrated flag winning midfields would have them competitive there even if the star power might not compare to some other names.

Close enough are Collingwood and Richmond but there's a few positions I'd change for starters. The earlier era Melbourne players would actually address any issues of the modern side too and is probably a dark horse.

The fact that most people can't even pick a team outside of their own (and I include Geelong supporters in this - undoubtedly this becomes tit for tat too) as per OP's instructions is fairly laughable but predictable.

 

[RichLeMonde]

It's actually surprising how strong it is (for a side that largely struggled for the first 3 quarters of the time period in question).

It's only their midfield (especially outside mids) that (whilst still very good) isn't quite as strong as the best of the best here.

I think the team listed by the OP would be better with Lynch in as a key forward (with Riewoldt), moving Richo to the wing, amd getting rid of Grigg. Also would bring in Shai Bolton and get rid of Astbury. That would bring in some outside speed and run

 

[Mr Meow]

I think the team listed by the OP would be better with Lynch in as a key forward (with Riewoldt), moving Richo to the wing, amd getting rid of Grigg. Also would bring in Shai Bolton and get rid of Astbury. That would bring in some outside speed and run

Lynch, Riewoldt and Richardson could easily fit in the same forward line. Like you said Richo would just roam outside of 50 a lot.

Big mistake including Astbury over Bolton for team balance - I mentioned that when the original was posted.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I think objectively it'd be Hawthorn and Geelong, because they're the only two who won 4 premierships, this century.

 

[RichLeMonde]

Not sure if they’re in the top 4, but Dees definitely an outstanding team, when their 2021 team is topped up with forwards like Neitz, Farmer, Bruce, Green etc

 

[Mr Meow]

RUNVS how on Earth is LRT in there ahead of Leo Barry

Leo Barry

Age

46

Ht

184cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.8

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

5.6

4star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

4.4

1star

K

2.6

1star

HB

1.8

2star

M

0.8

1star

T

1.2

3star

, a two time AA? That's a big upgrade and better for team balance.

 

[Mr Meow]

Not sure if they’re in the top 4, but Dees definitely an outstanding team, when their 2021 team is topped up with forwards like Neitz, Farmer, Bruce, Green etc

Farmer technically played one season for Melbourne in the 21st century (2001; 2000 obviously still being the 20th century) so has to be excluded but I agree otherwise. Players like Yze, Green and Bruce were by no means mugs either for the flanks/outside mids or rotating through stoppages. Woewodin and Jones at their best added plenty of class and grunt respectively too.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Cats and Hawks both with the 4 flags.
Cats probably edge them out with consistency in competing most years.

 

[Feraligatr]

Personally I went with
Cats
Hawks
Lions
Eagles.