AFL ‘25: Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane name the 10 best players of the 21st century so far

Think naming the team of the century was hard? Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane have narrowed that down to 10 and determined the defining player of the 21st century. HAVE YOUR SAY.

Patrick Dangerfield is the raging bull, pawing the ground before exploding into the stoppage.

Scott Pendlebury is footy’s version of the matador, dancing and sidestepping his way out of mortal danger.

Sometimes the bull wins, sometimes the bull fighter hits his mark.

The brilliant 21st century entertainers are very different players with very similar legacies.

READ: MACCA AND RALPHY’S TEAM OF THE CENTURY SO FAR

Which one would you choose when assembling the top 10 players of the past 25 seasons - in order - in a list full of line ball decisions.

We went for Brownlow Medallist Dangerfield as the best current player of the past 25 years if only because of his eight All Australian trophies, his explosiveness, his long list of 20-plus goal seasons.

But feel free to disagree.

It is possible to make the case Gary Ablett doesn’t pale in comparison with Lance Franklin in any way.

He was a shock exclusion from the 2019 All Australian side which would have given him a record nine All Australian jumpers, and he could easily have four Brownlow Medals with a spot of luck.

But in a top four which felt like it had a gap on the rest - Franklin, Ablett Jr, Dustin Martin, Chris Judd - in the end Franklin’s resume was compelling as footy’s most dominant player of the past 2025 seasons.

Get angry if you want over the order but don’t forget to find a dose of gratitude - that we have witnessed Franklin (17 seasons), Ablett Jr (19 seasons), Dangerfield (17 seasons and counting) and Pendlebury (19 seasons, on track for the AFL games record) all play so much scintillating football in these past 25 seasons.