Lance Franklin named at No. 1 in Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson’s first Top 50

MARK Robinson says he’s the best player in the AFL but the fans have him at No.25. Cast your vote on every player in Robbo’s first Top 50.

AFL Grand Final 2014

“The midfielders win the medals, but a dominant centre half-forward wins the flag.’’

Leigh Matthews, September, 2014.

LANCE Franklin played a pretty dominant game in the 2014 Grand Final, but as it happened, he was let down by all those midfielders who supposedly win the medals.

The flag eluded Franklin, and that it went to his former club says more about the greatness of Hawthorn and the essence of “team” in Australian rules than it said about Franklin.

ROBBO’S TOP 50: CLICK TO SEE THE FULL LIST

TELL ROBBO WHAT YOU RECKON OF HIS PICKS IN THE LIVE CHAT BELOW

Never will it die that team is greater than any individual, but sometimes we ignore that amid the Buddy hype.

Yet Franklin is much more than swagger and theatre and social-page guff.

He is the most formidable forward since North Melbourne’s legendary Wayne Carey and it’s why he is my choice as the No. 1 footballer in the Top 50.

Lance Franklin in full flight during the NAB Challenge. Picture: Phil Hillyard

He is athletic, has speed, has strength to throw about opponents and the 50m arc is for lesser mortals to use as a guide, for 60m and 70m, as he showed last season, is not beyond him.

And he’s getting better — he’s started to mark overhead.

Franklin kicked 79.51 last year. It was his best return since 2011 (82.61) and third best behind the ridiculous 113.88 he kicked in 2008, when footy was much different.

In today’s game, where defensive strategies outnumber offensive thinking, where mids pile back, and where defenders drop off opponents, Franklin’s 79 goals was a terrific return.

Always have thought a good big player is better than good small player — which has been tested watching G Ablett — and it’s why Franklin is No. 1 and Jarryd Roughead and Tom Hawkins secure spots in the top 10.

Lance Franklin jostles for position against Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Roughead is arguably the most versatile big man the sport has seen and Hawkins, as a marking inside 50m target, is simply the best in the game.

The minds pick themselves: Ablett, Selwood, Fyfe, Pendlebury, Dangerfield, while Robbie Gray as a mid-forward was irresistible in 2014. He’s an old-fashioned ruck-rover resting on a forward flank, which means he can win he ball and kick goals.

Luke Hodge commands the final spot in the top 10 and I dare anyone to argue against that. The defence starts and ends with premiership captain and Norm Smith medallist.

Travis Boak is Hodge like, Sam Mitchell continues to be the architect between the arc for the two-time premiers, two youngsters — Rory Sloane and Dyson Heppell — are emerging stars, and Jobe Watson and Sydney’s Josh Kennedy are what Allan Jeans used to say of Gary Ayres, they are “good in heavy traffic”.

Nathan Fyfe in action during the NAB Challenge. Picture: Getty

My 50 is based around team and it’s why Josh Gibson and Harry Taylor among the top 20.

I’ve felt Gibson has been underrated for several years. He plays one on one and, yes, he can be beaten in the air at just 189cm. But he’s never not up for the fight. He complements his game with impeccable third-man timing, outstanding rebound when all the rage is attack off half-back, and in 10 games of 17 played last year, had 20 or more disposals. In the GF, he had 32. He is modern-day defender.

I could go with 30 midfielders and forwards to close it out, but that’s not how teams are computed and it’s unfair on players such as Grant Birchall (No. 41) who had almost 600 possessions off a back flank and who finished second in the Hawks best and fairest.

Mike Sheahan told me the most difficult number was No. 50 and the most difficult player for me to place was Cyril Rioli. It seemed fitting.

Originally published as Lance Franklin named at No. 1 in Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson’s first Top 50