AFL Team of the 21st Century (Rolling)

[RUNVS]

Not a question any of us can truly answer but given this is a rolling 21st century team I wonder which players in the current 21st century team will still be in the team in 2099.

Given it has almost been 25 years, or close enough to it, we can probably safely assume that 5 or 6 players in the current best 22 for the 21st century team will still be in that team in 77 years time.

 

[Fadge]

Not a question any of us can truly answer but given this is a rolling 21st century team I wonder which players in the current 21st century team will still be in the team in 2099.

Given it has almost been 25 years, or close enough to it, we can probably safely assume that 5 or 6 players in the current best 22 for the 21st century team will still be in that team in 77 years time.

Locks are:
GAJ
Buddy
Judd
Pendlebury
Hodge

I don't have the likes of Voss, Buckley, Mcleod and Hird in my team of the 21st century, as their records post 2000 don't stack up with the top 30 or so in that timeframe.

 

[RUNVS]

Locks are:
GAJ
Buddy
Judd
Pendlebury
Hodge

I don't have the likes of Voss, Buckley, Mcleod and Hird in my team of the 21st century, as their records post 2000 don't stack up with the top 30 or so in that timeframe.

I know a lot of people may not agree with this opinion but I am not so sure about Hodge and Pendlebury. To me, while both are great players, I rarely thought "wow we really need to stop Pendlebury" or even Hodge. They were really good but not the sort of players teams needed to plan around.

As a Sydney supporter I was always far more worried about Heritier Lumumba who always tore us a new one compared to Pendlebury.

 

[Mr Meow]

I know a lot of people may not agree with this opinion but I am not so sure about Hodge and Pendlebury. To me, while both are great players, I rarely thought "wow we really need to stop Pendlebury" or even Hodge. They were really good but not the sort of players teams needed to plan around.

As a Sydney supporter I was always far more worried about Heritier Lumumba who always tore us a new one compared to Pendlebury.

I wish Geelong planned around Hodge in 2008.

Pendlebury also carved us up several times.

 

[RUNVS]

I wish Geelong planned around Hodge in 2008.

Pendlebury also carved us up several times.

It is weird as I remember Swans playing Collingwood in that period and all the discussion on our board was how the hell do we stop Lumumba as he carved us up every time. Wasn't anywhere near as worried about Pendlebury.

 

[KissKiss]

Looking forward even 20 years (let alone the end of the century) from now I dont think Pendlebury will stack up. Playing in the midfield is the easiest to use awards to argue their case and there are going to be a bunch more multiple brownlow/coaches awards/AA/etc players. Pendlebury's longevity at the top is great but its probably not going to be any where enough for him to stay in this sort of team

 

[JackOutback]

I know a lot of people may not agree with this opinion but I am not so sure about Hodge and Pendlebury. To me, while both are great players, I rarely thought "wow we really need to stop Pendlebury" or even Hodge. They were really good but not the sort of players teams needed to plan around.

As a Sydney supporter I was always far more worried about Heritier Lumumba who always tore us a new one compared to Pendlebury.

Reckon Cousins carved up more opposition teams than Pendlebury, Dangerfield or Martin but he always seems to be just left out.

 

[Fadge]

Looking forward even 20 years (let alone the end of the century) from now I dont think Pendlebury will stack up. Playing in the midfield is the easiest to use awards to argue their case and there are going to be a bunch more multiple brownlow/coaches awards/AA/etc players. Pendlebury's longevity at the top is great but its probably not going to be any where enough for him to stay in this sort of team

Lachie Neale's a dual Brownlow Medalist.

Do you go with him or Pendlebury?

Hodge on a half back flank, Pendlebury as a mid rotation off the bench.

Pendlebury's legacy will increase when he stops playing. And longevity and leadership counts.

 

[RUNVS]

Lachie Neale's a dual Brownlow Medalist.

Do you go with him or Pendlebury?

Hodge on a half back flank, Pendlebury as a mid rotation off the bench.

Pendlebury's legacy will increase when he stops playing. And longevity and leadership counts.

The problem I have with Hodge and Pendlebury is they are not like Ablett Jnr, Judd or when he played for the Hawks and I wanted him to be stopped Buddy. Those guys, I have thought "this person can't be stopped" when they were in their prime, as in there was no way of stopping them from doing whatever they pleased. I never got that impression with Hodge and Pendlebury.

 

[Frewy]

Locks are:
GAJ
Buddy
Judd
Pendlebury
Hodge

I don't have the likes of Voss, Buckley, Mcleod and Hird in my team of the 21st century, as their records post 2000 don't stack up with the top 30 or so in that timeframe.

Locks: G Ablett - Mid - 3 x AFLCA, 8 x AA, 5 x AFLPA, 2 x Flags, 6 x CC, 3 x CGK - Headed a new franchise at GC.

70/30: D Martin - Flank or Int - 1 x AFLCA, 4 x AA, 1 x AFLPA, 3 x NS/GAM, 3 x Flags, 2 x CC - Greatest season, 3 x Final sweeps.
50/50: L Franklin - FF or pocket - 8 x AA, 2 x Flags, 4 x CM, 13 x CGK - Most goals since 2000 so far, close to 500 at two clubs.
30/70: M Voss - Mid or Int (C or VC) - 1 x Charlie, 5 x AA, 2 x AFLPA, 3 x Flags, 3 x CC - 4 x ALFPA best captain, 3-Peat Captain
20/80: Any number of non-key position players - C Enright, A McLeod, L Hodge etc.

I see a lot of love for Pendles which is warranted and I'd have him ahead of Judd, but there will probably be four or five with equal or better resumes by 2099 including players considered the greatest their club has produced and I'll use my Bont and Dangerfield as comparative examples even though they are all likely to be surpassed by players we are yet to witness, but the jury is still out and they have time.

S Pendlebury - Int - 1 x AFLCA, 6 x AA, 1 x NS, 2 x Flags, 5 x CC - Most disposals so far, likely 400+ games, greatest Pie modern era.
M Bontempelli - Int - 1 x AFLCA, 5 x AA, 2 x AFLPA, 1 x Flag, 5 x CC - 50-70% through his career, likely greatest Dog modern era.
P Dangerfield - Int - 1 x AFLCA, 8 x AA, 1 x GAM, 1 x AFLPA, 1 x Flag, 4 x CC - Back end of career, likely 350+ games.

For the record I think it is safe to say that we are likely to see a lot more players going 350 to 400 plus games, so it will be interesting to see how longevity and games play into things as they no doubt change fixturing in the years to come.

 

[RichLeMonde]

Pendlebury has to start on the ground ahead of Martin. We are talking about a Team of the Century not a Team of 3 years.

How many times was Pendlebury named to his actual playing position in the AA team? Oh, that’s right. None

 

[South of the Yarra]

How many times was Pendlebury named to his actual playing position in the AA team? Oh, that’s right. None

How many times was Martin actually named in the All Australian team? Oh yeah that’s right. Doesn’t cut it with the greats of this century.

 

[EDFL follower]

I know a lot of people may not agree with this opinion but I am not so sure about Hodge and Pendlebury. To me, while both are great players, I rarely thought "wow we really need to stop Pendlebury" or even Hodge. They were really good but not the sort of players teams needed to plan around.

As a Sydney supporter I was always far more worried about Heritier Lumumba who always tore us a new one compared to Pendlebury.

Knock it off

 

[Fadge]

How many times was Pendlebury named to his actual playing position in the AA team? Oh, that’s right. None

Not sure why a Dusty fanboi would be bringing up AA representation.

If that were the basis for this team, 4 timer Martin would be nowhere near it.

 

[Lingsface]

C Johnson Scarlett Stewart
McLeod Rance Hodge
Goodes Voss Fyfe
Hird Reiwoldt Martin
Akermanis Franklin B Johnson

Cox Judd Ablett

Dangerfield Pavlich Bontompelli Neale

 

[RichLeMonde]

Not sure why a Dusty fanboi would be bringing up AA representation.

If that were the basis for this team, 4 timer Martin would be nowhere near it.

So you think every single person in this thread who has started Martin on the ground instead of Pendlebury is a ‘Dusty fanboy’? You’re a weird unit Fadge

 

[Fadge]

So you think every single person in this thread who has started Martin on the ground instead of Pendlebury is a ‘Dusty fanboy’? You’re a weird unit Fadge

I'm not the one who referenced AA guernseys/positions when questioning a player's position in the team.

I prefer to reference top 3 placings in their club best and fairest....

That makes Pendlebury the GOAT...

 

[Nuggets73]

C Johnson Scarlett Stewart
McLeod Rance Hodge
Goodes Voss Fyfe
Hird Reiwoldt Martin
Akermanis Franklin B Johnson

Cox Judd Ablett

Dangerfield Pavlich Bontompelli Neale

Chris Johnson is hugely underrated, one of the best back pockets I've seen - good to see him included
Stewart over Enright? I highly rate Stewart, but I think Enright's body of work is superior to Stewart at this point
Love Goodsey on the wing, reckon that was his best position - the link between defence and attack

 

[RUNVS]

I'm not the one who referenced AA guernseys/positions when questioning a player's position in the team.

I prefer to reference top 3 placings in their club best and fairest....

That makes Pendlebury the GOAT...

Maybe. I just know that Jake Lloyd has won the Swans B&F before and in no season has Lloyd been the Swans best player.

 

[Back One Out]

C Johnson Scarlett Stewart
McLeod Rance Hodge
Goodes Voss Fyfe
Hird Reiwoldt Martin
Akermanis Franklin B Johnson

Cox Judd Ablett

Dangerfield Pavlich Bontompelli Neale

Why have you picked Chris Johnson and Tom Stewart in your backline, but not Corey Enright?



Here's a dozen mids I would rather have as my 4th bench-warmer instead of Lachie Neale

Sam Mitchell
Simon Black
Mark Ricciuto
Joel Selwood
Dane Swan
Josh Kennedy
Jimmy Bartel
Stevie Johnson
Brent Harvey
Ben Cousins
Patrick Cripps
Trent Cotchin

 

[dropbear101]

Reckon Cousins carved up more opposition teams than Pendlebury, Dangerfield or Martin but he always seems to be just left out.

freo supporter here.

credit where credit's due, cousins was a nightmare to deal with. Any player who gut runs that much, means they will receive possessions in space.

plus the gut running means he can coexist with other superstars who relie upon cotenseted posssions. they also seem to be mid forward focused. a good team needs defense as well. as evidence, cosusins co-existed with a stacked midfield of kerr, judd, cox, embley, fletcher, braun, chick.

 

[no. 4]

I will probably miss someone but my initial thoughts are:
Enright Scarlett Stewart
McLeod Taylor S. Burgoyne
Goodes S. Mitchell Fyfe
Martin N. Reiwoldt S. Johnson
Milne Franklin B. Johnson
Cox Judd Ablett Jnr
Hodge Hird J. Brown Pavlich
Some close calls being Boomer Harvey, Pendlebury, Cousins, J. Kennedy from WCE and Rance.

 

[Rustin Cohle]

Give me Breust over Milne every day of the week.

 

[dropbear101]

i also feel like fyfe will lose his place in the team. his start to the 2015 season was otherworldly. 29 brownlow votes in essentially 13 games is downright ridiculous. thats on track for a 50 brownlow vote season before his injury.


fyfe career is in someway more defined by his injuries. if you consider his career.
2010 - debut season goes well
2011 - picks up a concussion which affects him for the year. where he is on record saying he was out on the field seeing multiple balls often.
2012 - dislocates shoulder
2013 - largely healthy but still misses games. best player in a grand final team. but misses 4 shots on goal. if he kicks them we would have won
2014 - largely healthy but had a preseason injury and misses games during the year. 2nd in brownlow
2015 - hariline fractures which turn into a broken leg. wins brownlow.
2016 - broken leg
2017 - comeback from injury year
2018 - back to his best leading the brownlow halfway through the year but rip his hamstring from the bone and misses half the year
2019 - had that elbow injury. does a soft tissue injury. wins brownlow.
2020 - pings his hamstring (never the same i reckon)
2021- present, persistent hamstring and shoulder injuries. and a broken foot.

as a consequense to all this. he's slowly lost his athleticism. i remember he used to be top 3 in our 2km time trial. this allowed him to be an effective defensive runner. but as his ability to train declined he became only a purely offensive runner. simply to prevent injuries.

he never really got to develop his forward craft. he could have been a way better forward.

he never got to develop his kicking as much as he would have liked (or freo fans).

literally lost years of his prime in which he could have won another brownlow or two.


fyfes story may actually be what could have been. strange to say about a guy who won 2 brownlows. and if he kicks 4 in a GF. probs wins a normsmith as well.

 

[Frewy]

Pav has to be in there.

id also question Gawn over Cox or Sandilands tbh

Agreed with Pavlich he is the best utility in the modern era. If he is up against Goodes for the same spot different question, but I consider Goodes position a specialist 2nd ruck or mobile ruck.

Cox vs Gawn was tough, but Gawn's AFLCA and two club champion awards gives him the edge for sure. Sandilands is a rung below.

I think the ceiling will be 2.15 m for a ruckman that can still move enough (Wilt Chamberlain) so there is a slight possibility Gawn (2.09 m) could stay in the 21st Team of the century, but I'd expect we will see a 2.11 m (Mason Cox) to 2.15 cm (Wilt) ruck take the mantle by 2099.

The saying you ain't seen nothing yet comes to mind.