Mike Sheahan's best teams of the past five decades

[Axe Man]

Link (http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-07-28/mike-sheahan-names-his-best-teams-of-the-past-five-decades)

1960s

B: J. James (Carl), V. Howell (StK), J. Schultz (Foots)
HB: B. Davis (Ess/NM), K. Murray (Fitz), D. Marshall (Geel)
C: J. Clarke (Ess), I. Stewart (StK/Rich), A. Lord (Geel)
HF: D. Baldock (StK), T. Whitten (Foots), G. Arthur (Haw)
F: G. Farmer (Geel), D. Wade (Geel), B. Goggin (Geel)
Foll: J. Nicholls (Carl), R. Barassi (Melb/Carl), R. Skilton (Sth Melb)

Int: K. Bartlett (Rich), K. Fraser (Ess), S. Silvagni snr (Carl), H. Mann (Melb)

Coach: J. Coleman

Captain: R. Barassi

1970s

B: J. Rantall (SM/NM/Fitz), D. Dench (NM), G. Southby (Carl)
HB: B. Doull (Carl), P. Knights (Haw), F. Bourke (Rich)
C: W. Schimmelbusch (NM), P. Bedford (SM/Carl), K. Greig (NM)
HF: M. Blight (NM), R. Hart (Rich), A. Jesaulenko (Carl/StK)
F: K. Bartlett (Rich), P. Hudson (Haw), P. McKenna (Coll/Carl)
Foll: L. Thompson (Coll/SM/Fitz), L. Matthews (Haw), B. Cable (NM)

Int: G. Wilson (Fitz), G. Dempsey (Foots/NM), W. Richardson (Coll), M. Tuck (Haw)

Coach: R. Barassi

Captain: W. Schimmelbusch

1980s

B: G. Ayres (Haw), C. Langford (Haw), C. Mew (Haw)
HB: P. Roos (Fitz/Syd), R. Glendinning (NM/WC), K. Hunter (Carl)
C: D. Hawkins (Foots/Fitz), G. Williams (Geel/Syd/Carl), R. Flower (Melb)
HF: T. Watson (Ess), D. Brereton (Haw/Syd/Coll), B. Quinlan (Foots/Fitz)
F: G. Ablett snr (Haw/Geel), J. Dunstall (Haw), L. Matthews (Haw)
Foll: S. Madden (Ess), G. Healy (Melb/Syd), D. Weightman (Rich)

Int: T. Daniher (SM/Ess), P. Daicos (Coll), G. Raines (Rich/Coll/Ess/BB), J. Platten (Haw)

Coach: A. Jeans

Captain: L. Matthews

1990s

B: G. Wanganeen (Ess/PA), S. Silvagni (Carl), B. Hart (Adel)
HB: G. McKenna (WC), G. Jakovich (WC), A. McLeod (Adel)
C: P. Matera (WC), G. Williams (Geel/Syd/Carl), C. Bradley (Carl)
HF: D. Jarman (Haw/Adel), W. Carey (NM/Adel), J. Hird (Ess)
F: G. Ablett snr (Haw/Geel), T. Lockett (StK/Syd), G. Hocking (Geel)
Foll: S. Rehn (Adel/Haw), P. Kelly (Syd), R. Harvey (StK)

Int: S. Kernahan (Carl), G. Brown (Coll), P. Salmon (Ess/Haw), C. Grant (Foots/WB)

Coach: D. Pagan

Captain: W. Carey

2000s

B: C. Johnson (Fitz/BL), M. Scarlett (Geel), D. Fletcher (Ess)
HB: L. Hodge (Haw), J. Leppitsch (BL), N. Lappin (BL)
C: N. Buckley (BB/Coll), M. Voss (BL), S. Black (BL)
HF: N. Riewoldt (StK), J. Brown (BL), B. Harvey (NM)
F: J. Akermanis (BL/WB), M. Lloyd (Ess), B. Johnson (WB)
Foll: D. Cox (WC), C. Judd (WC/Carl), G. Ablett jnr (Geel/GC)

Int: M. Pavlich (Fre), M. Ricciuto (Adel), S. Crawford (Haw), W. Tredrea (PA)

Coach: L. Matthews 

Captain: M. Voss

[Twodogs]

No Kelvin Templeton in either the '70s or the '80s make it a joke.

Come on Mike you can do much better than that.

[Twodogs]

I really dislike Gary Dempsey (him leaving was THE dog act of all time, never mind Griff or KT-Dempsey was the biggest turncoat ever) but to say that Len Thompson was a better player or ruckman than Dempsey is farcical.

[azabob]

Pleasantly surprised C Grant makes the 90's team.

[Go_Dogs]

A forward line with D Jarman, Carey, Ablett and Lockett would be hard to match up on, let alone the number of goals you could count on from the interchange bench. Whilst I'm 30 and don't know a huge amount about some of the players, the 80's forward line looks pretty impressive too.

Anyone keen to suggest which side would win out?

[The Doctor]

I really dislike Gary Dempsey (him leaving was THE dog act of all time, never mind Griff or KT-Dempsey was the biggest turncoat ever) but to say that Len Thompson was a better player or ruckman than Dempsey is farcical.

agree Dempsey over Thompson. He's still the best ruckman I've seen.

Also Platten over Weightman in the 80's team. Scott West over Kelly in the 90's team. I think there is a case for Barry Hall in the 00's team as well

[Ozza]

A forward line with D Jarman, Carey, Ablett and Lockett would be hard to match up on, let alone the number of goals you could count on from the interchange bench. Whilst I'm 30 and don't know a huge amount about some of the players, the 80's forward line looks pretty impressive too.

Anyone keen to suggest which side would win out?

Hard to judge one era/decade against another, as the standard and style of footy changes so the next decade always would run the previous decade off their feet. Plus by the 90s, the league was a truly national competition, whereas in the 80s there was still some real quality in the SANFL and WAFL - so I'd lean towards the 90s.

[Happy Days]

No Cousins = No buys

[Sedat]

No Kelvin Templeton in either the '70s or the '80s make it a joke.
Reckon he would have made either side if his career was exclusively in the one decade. He suffers because he was exceptional in a short period of time in both decades.

Tough, tough job but pretty fair effort by Mike.

[Greystache]

Reckon he would have made either side if his career was exclusively in the one decade. He suffers because he was exceptional in a short period of time in both decades.

Tough, tough job but pretty fair effort by Mike.

But so was Gary Ablett Junior and he put him in the 2000's. He really didn't have a good season until 2007.

[Sedat]

But so was Gary Ablett Junior and he put him in the 2000's. He really didn't have a good season until 2007.
Didn't say it was perfect ;)

[Ozza]

But so was Gary Ablett Junior and he put him in the 2000's. He really didn't have a good season until 2007.

Probably fair enough that little Gazza makes the team though...even if it wasn't until 2007 that he was exceptional. If any player is all of MVP 3 times, wins a brownlow, 3 x All Australian, 2 x premiership and 2 x B&F within that decade - its probably fair enough they get in the side!!

Mike's teams and lists are never short of stimulating discussion, which is good.

[craigsahibee]

No Kelvin Templeton in either the '70s or the '80s make it a joke.

Come on Mike you can do much better than that.

Royce Hart, Peter Hudson, Dermott Brereton and Jason Dunstall are the four players in KT's positions during the 70's and 80's. No shame in sitting just behind those blokes in the history of the game.

[Doc26]

I really don't like Mike's choice of ruckman for the 90's.

Although Shaun Rehn was a very fine ruckman and should be recognised as such, a significant period of time through the 90s was lost for him having being cut down with 3 ACLs. IMO this really effected his potential output. He played approx 118 games of 220 games (excl. finals).

My bias is no doubt showing here but Scott Wynd for mine was clearly the stand out ruckman of this decade. Brownlow Medalist in 1992, and the last ruckman to have achieved this honour before it became a midfielders award, and who I recall led many of the lead indicators at the time. A telling measure at the time was for a ruckman to lead the contested ball statistics.

Wyndy was also incredibly durable and courageous for his style of play. He played a total of 194 games throughout the 90s from ~220 games (excl. final appearances).

He was also Captain of our Club from 1994 through to 2000. From memory, North Melbourne and Footscray / WBFC participated in more finals matches than any other team throughout this decade and Wyndy for us was a driving force behind this largely successful decade.

Unfortunately for Wyndy's case, not having premierships under his belt (Rehn particpated in the 97 & 98 flags) skews the result far too heavily towards Rehn and for mine makes this a very dubious assessment.

And a further footnote: When it suits, Mike, inconsistently, can (in this case rightfully) find a place for Robbie Flower on the wing in his 80s team when Robbie was unfortunately left in a team that was never to experience any form of finals success.

[The Doctor]

I really don't like Mike's choice of ruckman for the 90's.

Although Shaun Rehn was a very fine ruckman and should be recognised as such, a significant period of time through the 90s was lost for him having being cut down with 3 ACLs. IMO this really effected his potential output. He played approx 118 games of 220 games (excl. finals).

My bias is no doubt showing here but Scott Wynd for mine was clearly the stand out ruckman of this decade. Brownlow Medalist in 1992, and the last ruckman to have achieved this honour before it became a midfielders award, and who I recall led many of the lead indicators at the time. A telling measure at the time was for a ruckman to lead the contested ball statistics.

Wyndy was also incredibly durable and courageous for his style of play. He played a total of 194 games throughout the 90s from ~220 games (excl. final appearances).

He was also Captain of our Club from 1994 through to 2000. From memory, North Melbourne and Footscray / WBFC participated in more finals matches than any other team throughout this decade and Wyndy for us was a driving force behind this largely successful decade.

Unfortunately for Wyndy's case, not having premierships under his belt (Rehn particpated in the 97 & 98 flags) skews the result far too heavily towards Rehn and for mine makes this a very dubious assessment.

It's a fair contest Rehn vs Wynd but I think Mike got this one right. Both super players but Rehn was hugely influential in their premiership run. I also think Rehn got on top of Wynd in the 2nd half of the preliminary final of 97 and helped steer the game away from us, unfortunately.

[Doc26]

It's a fair contest Rehn vs Wynd but I think Mike got this one right. Both super players but Rehn was hugely influential in their premiership run. I also think Rehn got on top of Wynd in the 2nd half of the preliminary final of 97 and helped steer the game away from us, unfortunately.

He did indeed influence key moments for them in their 97 and 98 finals. A very fine ruckman.

[bornadog]

He did indeed influence key moments for them in their 97 and 98 finals. A very fine ruckman.

Even so, I agree with you, Wynd was better and more consistent over a longer period of time.

[Axe Man]

Jim Stynes is another with claims for the 1990s ruckman spot and Paul Salmon made it on the bench with the ability to play forward that the other 3 didn't have. I don't think there is any clear standout for the position, you could make an argument for all of them.

[Doc26]

Jim Stynes is another with claims for the 1990s ruckman spot and Paul Salmon made it on the bench with the ability to play forward that the other 3 didn't have. I don't think there is any clear standout for the position, you could make an argument for all of them.

Yes and as a Bulldog supporter who was there through all the highs and lows of the 90s and had the pleasure to watch Scotty give us his everything in everyone of his Melbourne based games I'm more than happy to fly the flag and argue his case above others.

If we don't do it, rest assured it won't be coming from our opposition or the blinkered (non Bulldog) media scribes who struggle to recognise our existence.

[bornadog]

Yes and as a Bulldog supporter who was there through all the highs and lows of the 90s and had the pleasure to watch Scotty give us his everything in everyone of his Melbourne based games I'm more than happy to fly the flag and argue his case above others.

If we don't do it, rest assured it won't be coming from our opposition or the blinkered (non Bulldog) media scribes who struggle to recognise our existence.

He was the last ruckman to get a Brownlow medal as well.

[LostDoggy]

I think from a Bulldogs perspective, Mike got it right.

I would definitely have Chris Grant as 90s CHB ahead of Jakovich (much more complete player), but he's in the 22 so fair enough. Very pleased John Schulz got a 60s Guernsey, many non-Bulldog would've overlooked him.

No-one is gonna completely agree but for mine the 2 glaring omissions are:

- (90s) Glen Archer (voted shineboner of the century at his own club). I would have him ahead of either Hart or McKenna, who were good defenders but lacked Archer's physicality. Amazingly Sheahan has Pagan/Carey as Cap/Coach of the decade but no other Roos at all despite their 8 prelim/GF decade.

- (00s) Adam Goodes; 2 Brownlows in variety of roles makes him a must. His achievements next to Luke Hodge's prior to 2010 make it a no brainer, particularly when you consider that this team (unlike all the others) has no 2nd ruckman and Goodes won a Brownlow in that position.

I would also have Jim Stynes as the 90s ruckman ahead of either Rehn or Salmon for his achievements and his revolutionising of the role. Far more influential in my opinion.

[Twodogs]

Agree with Archer and two Brownlows and Premierships make it hard to argue Goodes's inclusion.

[Bulldog4life]

In the 1960's team a good argument could be for the inclusion of John Jillard on the half back flank instead of Dennis Marshall who played with Geelong for only 5 years and played only 85 games

Our doggies half back John played 189 games from 1958 to 1970 Both players won their Club's Best & Fairest awards
John Jillard was named in Footscray team of the century Marshall was not named in Geelon's team of the century not even as an emergency
They were equally as good as each other but for longevity I think Jillard should be in well ahead of Marshall

[jeemak]

PP - I actually think that if Chris Grant was able to play the majority of his career settled at CHB we'd have had the best CHB of all time on our hands, and a much quicker transition towards the game springing attack from defence like we see now than what we did. He was that good in that position it wasn't funny.

Alas, he dominated every position he played and now doesn't feature in Sheehan's best players of the decades. What a harsh result.

[Twodogs]

Probably fair enough that little Gazza makes the team though...even if it wasn't until 2007 that he was exceptional. If any player is all of MVP 3 times, wins a brownlow, 3 x All Australian, 2 x premiership and 2 x B&F within that decade - its probably fair enough they get in the side!!

Mike's teams and lists are never short of stimulating discussion, which is good.

No Coleman medals or century goal kicking though. I reckon Templeton gets overlooked a lot and it's up to us to point him out.

And strictly speaking-the decade being between 71-80-KT got his two Colemans, century goalkicking, AAs, Brownlow, B+Fs in the one decade.

He's been stiffed.