Local footy: EDFL’s best 20 players ranked from 2010-2019
There’s no shortage of talent in the Essendon District Football League, so ranking the best 20 players of the past decade is an arduous task — but Luke D’Anello has had a crack. Did he get it right? Take our poll.
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The Essendon District Football League has been home for countless gun suburban players and ex-AFL talent over the last decade.
Our top-20 list from 2010-2019 includes four Reynolds medallists and seven Aberfeldie players.
To be eligible, players had to complete four seasons, meaning Reynolds medallists Zac Keogh and Will Martiniello (both Maribyrnong Park) and Barry Brooks (Craigieburn) missed out, along with Strathmore star Luke Jarrad.
Champions like Heath Ayres, Jackson Barling (both Maribyrnong Park) and Eric Kuret (Greenvale) also fell short of qualifying for inclusion.
Did we get it right? Vote in our poll down the bottom.
20. ASH ARROWSMITH (STRATHMORE, EAST KEILOR)
Some might see Arrowsmith as a controversial selection given he has spent part of the last decade in the EDFL’s second tier, Division 1. But he was a fine player for Strathmore in the top flight, featuring in the club’s 2014 premiership triumph and securing Team of the Year nods in 2012 and 2014. These days he is a dominant player across half-back for East Keilor, where he is a dual best-and-fairest winner (2017, 2018) and a three-time Team of the Year representative (2017, 2018, 2019).
19. JORDAN DOERING (STRATHMORE)
The former Carlton player delivered four consistent seasons at the start of the last decade after arriving at Strathmore in 2007, bagging 163 goals from 61 games during the selection period. He was also picked in the Team of the Year in three consecutive seasons (2010, 2011, 2012) and a member of the Mores’ 2011 premiership side.
18. LUKE DAVIS (ABERFELDIE)
Davis is a key member of the EDFL’s best defensive unit and a three-time premiership skipper (he was co-captain alongside Josh Cubillo in the club’s undefeated 2015 campaign). He was also named in the Team of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2017, 2018), which came as Abers won the ultimate prize in consecutive seasons for the first time in its history. Davis spent three years on Essendon’s list before landing at Aberfeldie and has delivered six seasons of quality performances.
17. ADDAM MARIC (GREENVALE)
The Greenvale skipper delivered one of the best individual seasons in EDFL history in 2017, bagging an incredible 71 goals from 21 games as a midfielder, including two hauls of nine majors. He finished third in the Reynolds Medal that year, won his club’s best-and-fairest and was named the rover in the Team of the Year. Maric also produced a superb 2015 – his first back at the Jets – taking best-and-fairest honours and earning Team of the Year selection. Injuries have hurt him in recent seasons, but the man with 31 AFL games to his name is unstoppable at his best and among the best kicks in the competition.
16. MATTHEW SMITH (GREENVALE)
The ever-consistent defender was deservedly handed Team of the Year honours four times in the decade and played a major role in Greenvale’s back-to-back premiership triumphs in 2012 and 2013. Smith was also a club best-and-fairest winner and EDFL interleague representative. He was very capable in the attacking forward 50m arc, kicking 25 goals in his last season at the Jets in 2016 and 103 from 134 games.
15. KYLE REIMERS (ABERFELDIE)
The former Essendon forward has completed six seasons at Aberfeldie, during which he has kicked 255 goals, played in two premierships (2015, 2017) and twice earned selection in the Team of the Year (2015, 2017). Reimers’ best season came in 2015 as he booted 71 goals in Abers’ perfect campaign before following up with 51 majors in 2016 and 50 in 2017. Remains a dangerous proposition in attack.
14. STEPHEN BREWER (GREENVALE)
The 2011 Port Melbourne VFL premiership player enjoyed an honour-filled five seasons in the EDFL, featuring in a flag in his first year at Greenvale in 2013. Whether using his superb foot skills across half-back or in the midfield, Brewer was deservedly regarded as one of the competition’s prime movers. He left the EDFL at the end of 2017 as a three-time Team of the Year member, four-time interleague representative and dual best-and-fairest winner.
13. DYLAN JOYCE (KEILOR)
One of the genuine stars of the competition but perhaps underrated. Joyce can impact games from defence, midfield or up forward and is a dual premiership player at Keilor, captaining the club’s 2016 triumph. In the past nine seasons, he has racked up 166 games and 160 goals to go with three Team-of-the-Year selections, two best and fairests and two EDFL interleague appearances. Master coach Mick McGuane rates him highly.
12. FORT CARUSO (NORTHERN SAINTS, GREENVALE)
Caruso is a workhorse who wills himself from contest to contest in the middle, boasts superb foot skills and hits the scoreboard. Fort and his brother Nat spent three years at Northern Saints before joining Greenvale in 2016. He has been named in the Team of the Year four times in the last decade (three Premier Division, one Division 1), is a four-time club best-and-fairest winner and a four-time EDFL representative. Caruso finished fourth in the Reynolds Medal in 2014 and won the Hutchison Medal in 2013.
11. RYAN ALLAN (ABERFELDIE)
Defences rarely win plaudits, but Aberfeldie boasts a backline which would rival any suburban club. Allan has been rated the EDFL’s leading full back for several seasons, helping his club’s stingy defence to quell opposition forward lines. Allan, who joined Abers in 2011, is a three-time premiership player, four-time Team of the Year member (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018) and has twice represented the EDFL in interleague contests.
10. JOSH CUBILLO (ABERFELDIE)
Universally respected as a quality leader and with his status as one of the competition’s star midfielders not in question, Cubillo has been a fine performer for Aberfeldie for the past seven seasons. He is a triple premiership player (he was co-captain of the 2015 triumph), a three-time member of the Team of the Year, dual club best-and-fairest and EDFL representative. Cubillo was joint runner-up in the 2015 Reynolds Medal behind premiership teammate Mark Lynch. A great of the competition.
9. LUKE FOSTER (PASCOE VALE)
Foster could have been higher on this list had his association with the EDFL lasted longer than four seasons. He arrived at Pascoe Vale from Western Australia in 2016 and established himself as the standout centre half-back of the decade before retiring at the end of the 2019 campaign. Foster claimed the Panthers’ best-and-fairest in 2016, finished second in the Reynolds Medal in the same season and was named in the Team of the Year three times. His ability to intercept mark, spoil and supreme reading of the play made him a champion of the competition.
8. MARK LYNCH (ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS, ABERFELDIE)
Lynch was the only player to claim the EDFL’s highest individual accolade twice during the decade – and he did it with two different clubs. The midfielder was first crowned a Reynolds medallist in 2012 when he was at Essendon Doutta Stars before becoming a two-time winner in Aberfeldie’s drought-breaking premiership year of 2015. Lynch has the ability to influence games through his hard running and ability to find the footy and win the contested ball. Lynch also scored Team-of-the-Year honours three times in five seasons.
7. JOSH TOY (ABERFELDIE)
Another standout Aberfeldie defender, Toy deserves all the praise which comes his way. After Toy’s 200th game in June last year, Abers coach Adam Potter described him as an “exceptional person” and “great leader”. Watch Toy control the back half with his superb foot skills and you’ll understand why. After a heart condition cut his AFL career short, Toy has played 122 games in seven seasons at suburban level, been involved in three premierships and is a dual best-and-fairest at a club which has contested the past seven grand finals. Throw in Team-of-the-Year nods in the past five seasons, and you have a genuine star any club would love to have.
6. PATRICK ROSE (AVONDALE HEIGHTS)
The former Western Bulldogs rookie and VFL star kicked 390 goals from 2013-17, and terrorised several defenders in the process. Rose bagged 106 goals from 19 games in his first season at Avondale Heights in 2013 and piled on 82 the following year as he teamed up with Dean Galea to form the competition’s most lethal forward duo. Rose was named in the Team of the Year four times, was the Reynolds Medal runner-up in 2013, the EDFL’s leading goalkicker twice and played interleague on three occasions.
5. DEAN GALEA (AVONDALE HEIGHTS, KEILOR)
Galea has been named at full forward in the EDFL’s Team of the Year in five of the past six seasons – the exception came in 2015 when he was selected at centre half-forward. After a decorated VFL career, Galea has continued to give defenders sleepless nights while playing for Avondale Heights and Keilor, kicking 403 goals from 113 goals. Galea reached the 100-goal milestone on grand final day for Keilor in 2016, contributing six in the triumph over Aberfleldie to finish the season with 101 majors. The dual premiership player has topped the EDFL’s goalkicking charts five times in six years, won two best-and-fairest awards and made four representative appearances. Galea is a superb mark and accurate kick for goal, and no one in the EDFL puts more fear into opposition defences.
4. KANE BARBUTO (KEILOR)
The Keilor skipper is the EDFL’s pre-eminent player and fresh from a remarkable 2019 season, where he was a runaway winner of the Reynolds Medal, premiership captain and awarded Reg Rose medallist for the best player in the grand final after racking up 28 touches and three goals. In a perfect season for the gun midfielder, Barbuto also won the Blues’ best-and-fairest award for a second time. He has also been selected in the Team of the Year on five occasions. One rival coach described Barbuto as an “outstanding leader”, adding “he’s just so consistent. There’s no separation between good and bad for him.”
3. ADAM IACOBUCCI (STRATHMORE)
The hard-running midfielder is as fit as any player in the competition and hasn’t missed a game since 2017. In eight years at Strathmore, Iacobucci has built an eye-popping resume and could have even been higher on this list. The former Collingwood player has won Strathmore’s best-and-fairest award a remarkable five times and been named in the Premier Division Team of the Year on six occasions. He was a member of the Mores’ last flag in 2014 and represented the EDFL twice, racking up 143 games and 59 goals. The 34-year-old is not slowing down, either, and could play well into this decade.
2. LUKE BLACKWELL (ABERFELDIE)
Blackwell is ranked ahead of fellow gun midfielder Iacobucci for the No. 2 position because of his proven ability as a big-game performer. No other player claimed the Reg Rose Medal twice in the past 10 years, with the former Carlton player achieving the feat in consecutive seasons (2017, 2018) as Aberfeldie won back-to-back flags. A smooth mover, prolific ball winner and neat user of the ball, Blackwell was the complete player at suburban level before announcing his retirement at the end of 2019. He leaves the EDFL as a Reynolds Medal winner (2016), three-time premiership player, three-time best-and-fairest and four-time Team of the Year member over just 91 games in five seasons.
1. ANDREW BROWNE (KEILOR)
Browne faced some stiff competition for the No. 1 spot, but the impact the former AFL big man had on the EDFL over six seasons was unmatched. The league’s premier ruckman dominated the centre square, averaged almost a goal a game and glided across ovals in Melbourne’s north west like a midfielder. He claimed the Reynolds Medal in his first season at Keilor in 2013, was runner-up the following year and left in 2018 a dual best-and-fairest winner. He proved his ability to deliver under pressure when he collected the Reg Rose Medal for best on ground in the 2016 grand final. There were also four Team-of-the-Year nods and two representative appearances. The complete player.
EDFL PLAYERS HAPPY TO PLAY FOR NOTHING