AFL 25: Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane name the Team of the Century so far
It’s been 25 full seasons of the AFL since the turn of the century – so who makes the cut in the best 23? Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane took on the almost-impossible task of deciding.
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It’s been 25 full seasons of the AFL since the turn of the century so it’s time to take stock on what happened, who was influential and who has shaped our great game. To kick our special anniversary series off, it’s the best team of the 21st century so far.
The man who has coached more games than any other in AFL history always said reputations were defined in September.
Mick Malthouse claims you could win or lose all credibility under what another premiership coach Denis Pagan called the rolling spotlight of September scrutiny.
Assembling the greatest team in the past 25 years is sheer lunacy given the stunning array of talent on offer.
Take a quick glance at the Brownlow, Norm Smith and Coleman medallists left on the sidelines if you want certifiable proof.
As one of the dozens of AFL legends canvassed as part of assembling this team said of the difficulty given the egos and luminaries involved: “I certainly wouldn’t be doing it.”
But having committed to the unenviable task, and being willing to put on flak jackets for the criticism that will naturally follow, we kept coming back to a common theme which provided a tie-break between induction and exclusion, even by the narrowest of margins.
These titans of the 21st century have provided some of the greatest finals moments we have seen.
Their home-and-away deeds made them All-Australian stars who racked up best-and-fairest awards named in honour of the champions of their own clubs.
Yet it was their finals achievements which put them in rarefied air – 13 of them are multiple premiership players.
Think Michael Voss’s 2001 grand final sealer or staggering to his feet after Scott Burns’ brutal best effort a year later, Luke Hodge going where angels fear to tread with rib issues in the 2008 upset, Adam Goodes turning the 2012 contest with a busted PCL, Patrick Dangerfield’s 10 Norm Smith Medal votes in 2022 after so many failed finals attempts.
Flags alone do not guarantee inclusion in this best side of the past 25 seasons but those who got it done while all about them were losing their heads in huge September contests often won that tie-breaking vote.
Nick Riewoldt and Matthew Pavlich were the two players selected in a team of 23 who didn’t play in a premiership, but more often than not they strapped their teams on their back and almost took them to the promised land.
Their extraordinary resumes – with a dozen All-Australian jumpers and 1418 goals between them – saw them edge out Jonathan Brown, Tom Hawkins and Jack Riewoldt for the two remaining key forward roles after Matthew Lloyd and the incomparable Lance Franklin were automatic inclusions.
Jack Riewoldt and Hawkins not in this side?
Simply preposterous for many, and yet there is an even more telling example of how tough it is to make this team of current and future Hall of Famers.
On the sidelines are a pair of dual Brownlow medallists in Nat Fyfe and Patrick Cripps.
For a short period Fyfe was the game’s pre-eminent star, with those two Brownlow Medals (2015, 2019) and two Leigh Matthews Medals (2014, 2015), not to mention his rock-star status.
Lachie Neale arguably left Fremantle to get out of Fyfe’s shadow, and he wins the coin toss despite a less eye-catching style, given two Brownlow Medals, six best-and-fairests and four All-Australian awards in an off-season where he could so easily have been the reigning Norm Smith Medallist.
Co-premiership captain Neale might have been pipped by Will Ashcroft for last year’s “Normie” but he won the “Gazza” – the Gary Ayres Medal for the year’s best finals player.
One great judge labels him the cleanest player he has seen this century (Gary Ablett Jr might disagree) and if not for Patrick Cripps’ contentious Brownlow eligibility in 2022, Neale would have joined Bobby Skilton, Haydn Bunton Jr., Dick Reynolds and Ian Stewart as three-time winners of footy’s most prestigious individual honour.
Enough said!
So many of these players are walk-up starts – the best three key backs are Matthew Scarlett, Jeremy McGovern and Alex Rance, who all boast at least five All Australian jumpers.
The luminaries are obvious – Ablett Jr, Franklin, Voss, Lloyd, Martin, Judd.
As one of the games’ stars suggested this week, 18 of these players are impossible to overlook and the rest come down to team balance or personal preference.
You can’t have 15 midfielders, as much as that might have solved a few sleeping nights.
So what is the criteria – at least 150 games in the 25-season window (just knocking out superstars James Hird and Nathan Buckley in terms of eligibility).
And a mix of performances across that period, factoring in impact on the game, finals performances, personal and team achievements, longevity, leadership, durability, X-factor and importance to their team.
The arguments came thick and fast.
Sam Mitchell and Joel Selwood were the two combative warriors through the rivalry of the “Kennett Curse” era and both ended their careers with four legacy-defining flags.
And yet Mitchell misses out (just) with Selwood’s leadership (as the longest-serving captain in AFL history) and on-field presence narrowly giving him the nudge.
Right or wrong? You be the judge. Sorry Mitch!
Similarly, you could make the case that Mitchell’s career included more impressive and consistent games than the man he handed the captaincy to in Luke Hodge.
It is very possible to make the case he was a better player.
And yet in an era with a million incredible inside mids Mitchell just misses and Hodge slots seamlessly into half back and is a worthy inclusion given two Norm Smiths and a finals presence you could spot from the moon.
Eagles premiership great Dean Cox was the prototype for the 21st century ruckman but gets rolled by Max Gawn.
How stiff was he?
One more All-Australian blazer – seven to six – and one more best-and-fairest – two to one – helps the Melbourne ruckman state his case. But Gawn’s footprint as a premiership captain (and five goals in the 2021 preliminary final) elevates him into the side.
Cox was a better kick but instead of slotting onto the bench misses out given the presence of Adam Goodes, who won one of his two Brownlows as a ruckman.
There are game-changers in this side – Andrew McLeod as the ultimate weapon off half-back, Franklin doing what no one believed a tall forward was capable of, Scarlett as a rock-solid key back who became the first line of attack (not to mention possessing the most famous toe-poke in footy history).
Then there is Cyril Rioli, whose spot is as contested as anyone else.
He beats out the AFL games record holder (Brent Harvey – who was an absolute star!), a four-time goal of the year winner with 640 goals (Eddie Betts), as well the super talented Johnson boys (Steve and Brad).
Yet would any modern premiership coach – let alone this team’s coach in Alastair Clarkson – go into battle in the 21st century without Rioli at his disposal.
He has the All-Australian resume – three nods – but also those magical moments as he and Stuart Dew conspired to rock Geelong in that seismic 2008 grand final upset before a Norm Smith Medal win to cap the premiership three-peat.
How could you not want that in the front half?
So let the debate begin after a quarter century of magical football that has delighted and enthralled.
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