AFL 25: Josh Barnes names his Melbourne team of the century so far

The Demons missed finals for 11 years running from 2007-2017 because, simply, they didn’t have many good players. Josh Barnes picks his team of the century avoiding those forgettable years.

To put it simply, Melbourne missed the finals for 11 years running the middle of the 25 years of this century because the Demons didn’t have many good players.

When compiling a best team in the red and blue from the last quarter-century, there is a hole from that barren run of 2007-2017 when the Dees didn’t sniff September action.

The floodgates opened after that and Melbourne famously washed away its premiership drought with the 2021 flag, off the back of a dominant midfield and defence.

And it is that winning team and the side that made a grand final in 2000 that makes up almost all of the best 23 of the 21st century.

That made picking recent stars Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, Steven May, Jake Lever, Angus Brayshaw and Christian Salem pretty easy.

No wonder Melbourne made the top-four three years in a row with that midfield.

Gawn may well be the best ruck of this century so far, Oliver may be Melbourne’s best player in the past 50 years, Petracca is better then both of them at his best and Viney is a heartbeat of the team.

Unsurprisingly, slotting better players into the team as the 2010s wore on led to better results.

While Viney doesn’t play on the wing, he got the nod there over Brayshaw as a way to get him deservedly into the starting 18.

Then you have the elder statesmen, most of which played in the 2000 grand final under Neale Daniher.

Cameron Bruce was a star in the mid-2000s and had to break into the midfield, while Brad Green David Neitz, Russell Robertson, Adem Yze, James McDonald and Jeff White picked themselves.

Now Melbourne president Brad Green in his playing days.

In that bridge era where the club battled, James Frawley and Aaron Davey did enough to get the nod here, while Neville Jetta and Nathan Jones saw some of the glory days even if they didn’t play in the flag.

Davey’s impact on football in the late 2000s shouldn’t go understated.

Along with Cyril Rioli, Davey’s pressure play revolutionised the small forward role and his laser left foot was awesome.

Travis Johnstone just nudged out Tom McDonald in defence, with Johnstone’s brilliant run in the 2000s forgotten by some.

Kysaiah Pickett’s 106 games only just got him in, but he has averaged 38.5 goals a season over the last four years in a tough era for small forwards, so he had to be picked.

Ten members of Melbourne’s 2021 flag are in their team of the century. Picture: Michael Klein

Jeff Farmer’s incredible 76-goal 2000 season saw him get on the shortlist, but he only played 34 games for the Dees in the 2000s.

Shane Woewodin played just 69 games for the red and the blue in the 2000s but won a Brownlow Medal and had a very good 2002 year before being pushed out to Collingwood, so he scraped into the side.

Brock McLean, Jared Rivers, Brent Moloney and Bernie Vince were all considered but their quality was stretched out at multiple clubs.

Neale Daniher may be the most loved man in football – and in Victoria – right now but his tenure falls just short of Simon Goodwin, given Goodwin won that breakthrough premiership.

Likewise, Gawn had to be the captain.