Mick McGuane on why Geelong is the best team of the modern era
This year’s four preliminary finalists have been the dominant clubs since the turn of the century. Mick McGuane outlines which has been the best and what sets each apart from the rest.
I believe there are five key pillars which make a successful football club.
Stability, culture, innovation, development/recruitment and leadership.
Geelong, Hawthorn, Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions have got these aspects right more often than not over the past 25 years, which has made them four of the AFL’s most successful clubs of the era.
If the Cats, Hawks or Lions go on to win this year’s premiership, it would be their fifth in 25 years and crown them as the undisputed best club of the era.
Here are some of the reasons why this year’s preliminary finalists have been so successful.
FOUR OF THE BEST CLUBS OF THE ERA (2001-25)
1. GEELONG
Premierships (4): 2007, 2009, 2011, 2022
Grand Final Appearances (6): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2020, 2022
Preliminary Final Appearances (15): 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Finals Appearances (19): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Across the past 26 seasons, Geelong has only had two senior coaches and has had one man as a constant leading its recruiting department.
Coaches Mark Thompson and Chris Scott have each steered their sides to two premierships.
And while coaches often receive plenty of credit, you have also got to tip your hat to Stephen Wells.
An integral part of the club’s recruiting team since 1984, Wells hasn’t missed many shots.
The best draft pick the club has had in the past 25 years was the No. 7 selection it used on Joel Selwood in 2006, who went on to play in all four premierships of the era including captaining the last of those in his last game in 2022.
Under the partnership of Wells and Thompson, the Cats clearly had a strategy to recruit good and coachable young players – often from country areas – who they could then develop within the club’s strong culture.
Once they got them in the door, Geelong kept them, too.
Prior to Thompson’s arrival, there were only 19 players in Geelong’s history to have played 200 or more games for the club.
Under Thompson’s tenure there were 17 players recruited who reached that milestone, including modern-day legends like Selwood, Matthew Scarlett, Cameron Ling, Paul Chapman, Steve Johnson, Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright and Tom Hawkins.
Wells plucked Enright out of Kimba in South Australia at pick 47, while Paul Chapman was a No. 31 pick in the same draft in 1999.
Thompson was an innovator, as well, who completely reinvented his team’s game plan after almost being sacked at the end of 2006.
Initially, he wanted to place an emphasis on a defensive game style considering Geelong in the nineties loved a shootout mentality. After six years in charge and a need for change and a willingness to challenge the “unattractive” style Sydney had brought to the competition, Thompson adopted a new ‘fun, run and gun’ method, that outnumbered the opposition at contest.
Ultimately this adjustment not only saved him his job but took the Cats to the next three grand finals.
Scott has brought his own approach as coach but one thing hasn’t changed – Geelong has remained an impatient club which refuses to bottom-out.
From the top down, they are united and always know where they’re at.
Wells has found more gems – like Mark Blicavs (2012 rookie draft) and Tom Stewart (pick 40 in 2016) – and luring experienced players like Patrick Dangerfield and Jeremy Cameron proved masterstrokes.
Isaac Smith was another player from another club who went on to win the Norm Smith Medal in the 2022 premiership.
To feature in finals in 19 of the past 25 seasons is a remarkable feat.
2. HAWTHORN
Premierships (4): 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015
Grand Final Appearances (5): 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Preliminary Final Appearances (8): 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2025
Finals Appearances (13): 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2024, 2025
Hawthorn finished second-last on the ladder with four wins in 2004 after sacking Peter Schwab with five games to go.
Then interim chief executive Jason Dunstall appointed Alastair Clarkson as the club’s next coach and the rest is history.
The Hawks built their dynasty with a two-stage list management strategy.
The first stage was focused on the draft, with the club securing Jarryd Roughead (pick 2), Lance Franklin (pick 5) and Jordan Lewis (pick 7) in the 2004 national draft, joining Luke Hodge (pick 1) from three years earlier.
The second phase of the strategy saw Hawthorn become a destination club for mature-age recruits.
Josh Gibson, Ben McEvoy, Brian Lake, Shaun Burgoyne, Jack Gunston and James Frawley were all recruited from other clubs and played integral roles in the premiership three-peat of 2013-15.
Lake had played 197 games for the Bulldogs without tasting ultimate success.
Across three years at Hawthorn he played 54 games, won three premierships and secured a Norm Smith Medal in 2013.
Burgoyne’s knees were supposedly stuffed after 157 games for Port Adelaide, but he went on to play 250 games in brown and gold including three premierships.
Clarkson brought an innovative mindset in the coaches’ box, too, introducing game-day philosophies from other sports which were key to the success.
The famous ‘Clarko’s Cluster’ was just one example of how he moved the needle, while he also developed a group which had a hard edge that saw them became known as the “unsociable Hawks”.
It was ‘star factor’ which separated the Hawks as well though, between the likes of Franklin, Hodge, Roughead, Cyril Rioli and Sam Mitchell.
Mitchell was coached by Clarkson for 12 of his 16 years at the top level, before succeeding him in the hot seat at the end of 2021.
He has steered the club back to finals the past two seasons, bringing his own strategic slant on the game and a still ruthless – but slightly softened – approach.
Mitchell has been heavily involved in list management and players want to play for him because they believe he can help make them better, which he has a history of doing.
3. BRISBANE LIONS
Premierships (4): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2024
Grand Final Appearances (6): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2023, 2024
Preliminary Final Appearances (9): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Finals Appearances (12): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
The past 25 years have been bookended by great success for the Lions.
But we can’t forget that there was a significant lull in the years in-between.
Coach Leigh Matthews – a revered figure in the game with an aura about him – delivered a premiership three-peat just after the turn of the millennium and took Brisbane to a fourth Grand Final in as many years in 2004.
But Matthews didn’t do it alone.
On the field, captain Michael Voss acted as a direct extension of his coach.
Voss also led a powerful midfield group which also included Simon Black, Shaun Hart, Nigel Lappin and at times, the controversial but very skilful Jason Akermanis.
That was part of a strong spine which had Justin Leppitsch and Mal Michael down back and Jonathan Brown and Alastair Lynch spearheading the forward line.
Voss eventually took the coaching reigns from Matthews, before Leppitsch also had a stint.
But neither of those club champions quite worked out in the coaching space.
The Lions went 3-19 in Leppitsch’s final season in 2016, with their ability to defend clearly not up to scratch.
Chris Fagan started from the very bottom when he took over in 2017, with the Lions finishing last on the ladder.
But there was a steady climb from that point, on the back of bringing in quality assistant coaches and fixing their contested ball work and defensive fragility.
Fagan brought a ‘godfather’ persona – characterised by compassion, empathy, and trust – which has gone a long way with his young group.
He has also been able to squeeze plenty out of the more senior players, like former small forward and midfielder Dayne Zorko who is the most damaging halfback in the game at age 36.
The Lions’ rise has seen them become a destination club once again, with Charlie Cameron (2017), Lachie Neale (2018), Joe Daniher (2020) and Josh Dunkley (2022) just a few such examples.
All four played key roles in the 2024 premiership push.
4. COLLINGWOOD
Premierships (2): 2010, 2023
Grand Final Appearances (6): 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2023
Preliminary Final Appearances (12): 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025
Finals Appearances (16): 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025
The Magpies have won the least premierships of any club on this list.
However, they have had the equal-most Grand Final appearances and the second-most overall finals appearances, with significant heartbreak being mixed in with ultimate success.
In charge from 2000 to 2011, coach Mick Malthouse was brought in to be Mr Fix-It and did just that.
He got his sides to grand finals in 2002 and 2003, despite having a raft of nondescript names.
Players like Carl Steinfort, Steven McKee, Jarrod Molloy, Rupert Betheras, Glenn Freeborn and Ryan Lonie aren’t discussed often in football circles these days but were all part of a 2002 side which fell only nine points short of Brisbane in the decider.
One of Malthouse’s great strengths as coach was his ability to manage a diverse group of strong personalities.
He allowed players like Heath Shaw, Chris Tarrant, Ben Johnson, Alan Didak and Dane Swan to retain their personality but stay within the train tracks of a team philosophy at the same time.
Malthouse also innovated, pioneering the rise of player rotations in a move inspired by ice hockey.
More rotations allowed players to play at a higher intensity and with greater freshness and Collingwood trained and rehearsed it.
A succession plan saw Nathan Buckley rake over from Malthouse at the end of 2011 and he fell agonisingly short of a premiership in 2018.
Since 2022, Craig McRae has brought a fresh approach with his relaxed style which has seen the side reach three preliminary finals in four years and secure one premiership.
Veterans like club games record holder Scott Pendlebury and his sidekick Steele Sidebottom have continued to lead the charge, along with star father-son selections from previous eras in Darcy Moore, Nick Daicos and Josh Daicos.
The Magpies would have loved another flag or two during this era, but they’ve at least continually put themselves in the frame.
Originally published as Mick McGuane on why Geelong is the best team of the modern era
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