Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

[1eyedog]

The Brian Royal thread got me thinking about who would be in my top 5 list of best Bulldog players, and why. This is a tougher question than I thought. If you had to name your best 5 players who would they be? Can you put 5 in order? There's only two constraints.

1. You've seen them play.
2. Their career must be finished.

I'll start;

1. Kelvin Templeton - he was such a freak. I only really saw 78-80 as a young kid but they were obviously his best years. He had an aura about him and was that player that made you heart rate go up a notch when he got near the ball. That player that when he got it a loud murmur of expectation echoed around the ground. An excellent reader of the play who timed his leads to perfection. A magnificent jumper at the ball and was often double and triple teamed.. Was also one of the most fluid kicks I have ever seen. So graceful in the air or when kicking through the ball. Between 1978 and 1980 he was basically as good as anyone who ever played.

2. Chris Grant - had many of KT's traits but was also creative at ground level and should really be at number 1 if not for my childhood bias. Magnificiently hard at the ball and a great flyer through the air early in his career before going back and becoming the best CHB in the comp (and was one of the first CHB to have a genuine defensive forwards played on them).

3. Brad Johnson - a fantastic young wingman before moving into the midfield and then eventually playing as a FF. Did not have a weakness. His AA Captain year at FF says it all. I can't remember a more influential 180cm player at FF than that year. Out of all our past players I regret Johnno not getting a flag the most.


4. Doug Hawkins - supremely gifted on both sides of his body and basically played dry weather footy on muck heaps. Was super tough and highly charismatic both on-field and off it. Like Johnno was a fantastic mark for his size and while not quick more than made up for it with speed of mind, awareness and skill.

5. Brian Royal - the toughest choice to make I could easily have chosen Scott West over him but for me Chocco was so dangerous both as a rover and as a small forward. Was a fantastic contributor in State of Origin and was as tough as he was skillfull.

Interesting that everyones choice is Grant or a KP player and not a midfielder. I'm not exactly sure how I left West and Beasley out.

[mjp]

1. You've seen them play.


Does it have to be 'LIVE'?

[1eyedog]

No but you must have lived through their era as a supporter to have a sense of the impact they had at the club (as opposed to hearing about how good they were for instance).

[GVGjr]

Great thread

1 - Bernie Quinlan
2 - Brad Johnson
3 - Chris Grant
4 - Kelvin Templeton
5 - Gary Dempsey

I might give this some more thought

[mjp]

That's fair - I can do that. Missed a couple of careers I reckon being on the other side of the country but have seen everyone from '84 onwards.

[Ozza]

1. Chris Grant
2. Brad Johnson
3. Scott West
4. Doug Hawkins
5. Dale Morris

[The Pie Man]

From 1985 onwards

1. Chris Grant
2. Brad Johnson
3. Scott West
4. Doug Hawkins
5. Simon Beasley

A few (like Brian Lake) stiff, but I opted for one club players ...except Hawk, but that season with Fitzroy doesn’t count

[The Pie Man]

1. Chris Grant
2. Brad Johnson
3. Scott West
4. Doug Hawkins
5. Dale Morris

I should’ve worked Dale in there

Was surprised though how many goals Beasley kicked 82-88.

[Hotdog60]

Well I put some thought into this one and it is hard because I range from 1970 to present.
But anyway here goes:

1. Chris Grant
2. Doug Hawkins
3. Scott West
4. Tony Liberatore
5. Brad Johnson

I went with players that played most or all of their time with the dogs. I'll forgive Dougie.
I could have filled this 5 with another 5 players but I went with the great man Grant who was at the club in turmoil and stuck fast and bled for the club and very unlucky not to have a Brownlow.
Then there's Doug who just oozed class and own the wing at the Kennel. Westy should have had more accolades outside of the club and was a true champion.
Libber was someone that just gave his all and left everything out on the park and no other player has won a best and fairest in 3 levels of football.
Johnno was a great clubman and who was more a on ball player who stared as a forward.

So many left out.....

[merantau]

1. Ted Whitten
2. Chris Grant
3. Brad Johnson
4. Kelvin Templeton
5. Doug Hawkins

If Bernie Quinlan had played his entire career with us I would have included him n

[jeemak]

I will count from 1990 onwards, as that was from when when I started understanding what was going on:

1. Chris Grant
2. Scott West
3. Brad Johnson
4. Robert Murphy
5. Scott Wynd


I left Hawk out because he was a bit beyond his best post 1990, and applied the one club player rule which meant Lake missed. It was really hard to choose after Johnno, we've had some really good players on that second tier below the best of the best.

Could easily have put Johnno above West.

Murphy was a sensational footballer to watch, and I think was unlucky not to be All Australian in 2008 when he had a fantastic season forward which would have given him two in defence and one forward and been a mighty achievement.

Wynd gets in at five, but I don't really believe it more than I believe Libba or Morris should or somebody else for that matter.

It's much harder than it seems when you exclude eleven years of being a Bulldogs supporter, thus excluding the likes of Hawkins and Beasley.

[bornadog]

1. Chris Grant
2. Doug Hawkins
3. Kelvin Templeton
4. Scott West
5. Simon Beasley

[mjp]

1. Chris Grant - The best player from my favourite era of footy. Always the bridesmaid to Carey I guess but an amazing player.
2. Brad Johnson - Incredible talent. I will always wonder what we missed out on given how much time he spent as a forward...but then, his skills were just so unique...
3. Scott West - Would have been #1 on my list when he retired and to be honest I appreciate his style of game less now than I did then. Amazing consistency.
4. Doug Hawkins - My memories of Doug don't live on as they should. I only saw him live on a couple of occasions (and one was a frightful hiding) ... I guess I remember the kicking skills and the audaciousness (is that a word) of his ball handling but fail to remember his consistent impact on the game from a wing.
5. Matt Boyd - From the rookie list to the captaincy, AA selection in multiple positions including in our premiership year. We lost so much when he was forced into retirement.

I wanted to include Brian Harris/Lake but couldn't get him in there. Lindsay Gilbee's kicking and Daniel Cross' incredible courage were on my list of memories but they aren't top 5 players.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

1. Chris Grant - very classy and graceful, not sure anyone has replicated his style at his size.

2. Brad Johnson - match winning abilities puts him above West, just. Those years as a FF were remarkable, he torched plenty of quality defenders.

3. Scott West - consistency was second to none, but his hands were unbelievable. He would have loved playing in our 2016 side.

4. Nathan Brown - shame how he left and then how his career ended. His attitude was hard to like at times and I personally found him rude when I was a young kid which kinda sticks in the memory bank, BUT boy could he play. Good on the wing and even inside, better off half back and even better up forward. He could do it all.

5. Dale Morris - pound for pound his competitive streak is unmatched and he's the best defender I've ever seen. Great duels with Riewoldt while being able to smother the likes of Betts and McLeod says it all. Premiership hero too.

Special mentions to Luke Darcy and Bob.

[jeemak]

I often think about Johnno in terms of what we missed out on in lieu of him changing his game. Reckon he'd have probably commanded more All Australian gongs as captain than the solitary one he did. Six All Australian's and one as captain is an insane record nonetheless.

Grant should have had four All Australian's to his name, how he missed in 1996 is beyond me.

[jeemak]

1. Chris Grant - very classy and graceful, not sure anyone has replicated his style at his size.

2. Brad Johnson - match winning abilities puts him above West, just. Those years as a FF were remarkable, he torched plenty of quality defenders.

3. Scott West - consistency was second to none, but his hands were unbelievable. He would have loved playing in our 2016 side.

4. Nathan Brown - shame how he left and then how his career ended. His attitude was hard to like at times and I personally found him rude when I was a young kid which kinda sticks in the memory bank, BUT boy could he play. Good on the wing and even inside, better off half back and even better up forward. He could do it all.

5. Dale Morris - pound for pound his competitive streak is unmatched and he's the best defender I've ever seen. Great duels with Riewoldt while being able to smother the likes of Betts and McLeod says it all. Premiership hero too.

Special mentions to Luke Darcy and Bob.

Great call on Brown, left him out due to not being a one club player. Absolute freak of a player, and probably a better bloke by the looks of things than his image as a player suggests.

Darcy's an interesting one, reckon he lived in his head for a lot of his career (not to say up himself, more so just in his head instead of in the moment) and that meant he didn't blossom to the extent or as early as he could have. A great example of a big dude taking a while to get it together.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Great call on Brown, left him out due to not being a one club player. Absolute freak of a player, and probably a better bloke by the looks of things than his image as a player suggests.

Darcy's an interesting one, reckon he lived in his head for a lot of his career (not to say up himself, more so just in his head instead of in the moment) and that meant he didn't blossom to the extent or as early as he could have. A great example of a big dude taking a while to get it together.

On Brown, if he stayed and remained injury free there's every chance he could have overtaken West and Johnno. Big call, but he really was THAT good. Left foot, right foot, inside, outside, back/middle/forward - was genuinely a superstar. Heard it took him quite a while to recover mentally from how it all ended.

Darcy reminded me of an uncoordinated giraffe in the early years, but when it clicked he became so dominant as a ruck. Sadly we only caught a glimpse of his ability as a key forward but I suspect he would have dominated that too. The slow start and then the injuries robbed him of being a much bigger name in the game.

[jeemak]

On Brown, if he stayed and remained injury free there's every chance he could have overtaken West and Johnno. Big call, but he really was THAT good. Left foot, right foot, inside, outside, back/middle/forward - was genuinely a superstar. Heard it took him quite a while to recover mentally from how it all ended.

Darcy reminded me of an uncoordinated giraffe in the early years, but when it clicked he became so dominant as a ruck. Sadly we only caught a glimpse of his ability as a key forward but I suspect he would have dominated that too. The slow start and then the injuries robbed him of being a much bigger name in the game.

Possibly. The Friday night he broke his leg almost led me to calling my coach and telling him I wasn't playing the next day. At that stage of the season he was flying, best player in the competition.

[westbulldog]

1. Ted Whitten
2. Chris Grant
3. Brad Johnson
4. John Schultz
5. Dale Morris

[comrade]

1. Grant - my all time favourite player.
2. Johnno - such a quality player over a long long time
3. West - one of the most underrated ever
4. Bont - can do things no one else can
5. Lake - at his best, he was a monster and made it look easy in defence

[mjp]

1. Grant - my all time favourite player.
2. Johnno - such a quality player over a long long time
3. West - one of the most underrated ever
4. Bont - can do things no one else can
5. Lake - at his best, he was a monster and made it look easy in defence

Ummm. He is still playing isn't he! So Lake goes to 4 and number 5 is....

[comrade]

Ummm. He is still playing isn't he! So Lake goes to 4 and number 5 is....

Oh, I missed that. I wondered why Bont was on the nose in this thread!

Has to be Dale Morris.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So I'm really from 1980 on

1. Chris Grant
2. Brad Johnson
3. Doug Hawkins
4. Dale Morris
5. Scott West

Apologies to KT who was my first football idol. But I only really saw 1 awesome season from him, before his injury and subsequent trade.

[Bulldog4life]

Had to miss such a lot of players out as I have seen the cream of the crop from the 1960's onwards.

1. Ted Whitten...what can I say what hasn't been said. The only Mr. Football in the history of the game. Sums Ted up.

2. Simon Beasley. Champion full forward. His goal average of 3.7 per game over his eight years puts him in the top 20 averages of all time in VFL/AFL football.

3. Brad Johnson. A true champion for the club. His full forward role was outstanding for his height.. Saw his first game and last game.

4. John Schultz played ruck in a very very tough era. He won the Brownlow Medal in 1960 only 21 years old. He was Footscray's best and fairest player five times (1960, 1962, 1964–66) and played for Victoria 21 times. Played as a amateur all his career.

5. Chris Grant. A magnificent player for us forward and back. Saw his first practice game for us at Skinner reserve. He was terrific in that game.

Apologies to Bissett, Templeton and Quinlan who went to other clubs as well as the Hawk, Westy and Libba who were 6, 7 & 8.

[bornadog]

So I'm really from 1980 on

1. Chris Grant
2. Brad Johnson
3. Doug Hawkins
4. Dale Morris
5. Scott West

Apologies to KT who was my first football idol. But I only really saw 1 awesome season from him, before his injury and subsequent trade.

I didn't include Brad Johnson because I missed seeing the bulk of his career and only really saw him playing in the forward pocket.

I chose Simon Beasley instead because he was a great FF, and infact kicked more goals in the 1980s than any other player.

I haven't seen a FF in the RWB, since him, kick so many bags of 9, 10, 11 goals plus

[Grantysghost]

My first memories are either 80 or 81.

Since then my top 5 would be:

1. Doug Hawkins
2. Chris Grant
3. Scott West
4. Dale Morris
5. Ryan Griffen.

1 and 2 I could barely split. Is it too early to have McNeil at 6?

[Bulldog4life]

I didn't include Brad Johnson because I missed seeing the bulk of his career and only really saw him playing in the forward pocket.

I chose Simon Beasley instead because he was a great FF, and infact kicked more goals in the 1980s than any other player.

I haven't seen a FF in the RWB, since him, kick so many bags of 9, 10, 11 goals

Don't forget the 12's too BAD.

[bornadog]

Don't forget the 12's too BAD.

Yes I should have added a plus after the 11 :)

[Bulldog4life]

Yes I should have added a plus after the 11 :)

Yep. Kicked 12 goals in 3 games. His career only ended because of a back injury too.

[Twodogs]

1. Kelvin Templeton
clear daylight

2. Doug Hawkins
3. Chris Grant
4. Brad Johnson
5. Tony Liberatore

Tomorrow it still would have been KT at one but Quinlan, West, Dempsey and Beasley could have been next. The day after that it could be Darcy, Wynd, Griffin and Morris or Murphy, Foster, Brown and Cameron. It's always Templeton at #1 though, that's undisputable.

[mjp]

Is it too early to have McNeil at 6?

It's probably too early to have him at #1.

I think rating him as #6 of your life-time would be fine though...halfway through the 3rd I had him top 10 (EASY) but he slid a little with that fumble on the wing in the last.

[Jeanette54]

1. Ted Whitten
2. Chris Grant
3. Garry Dempsey
4. Doug Hawkins
5. Brad Johnson

Having named my fiive I have to add the two Libba's, who were/are the engine room of the sides that they played in.

[jeemak]

1. Kelvin Templeton
clear daylight

2. Doug Hawkins
3. Chris Grant
4. Brad Johnson
5. Tony Liberatore

Tomorrow it still would have been KT at one but Quinlan, West, Dempsey and Beasley could have been next. The day after that it could be Darcy, Wynd, Griffin and Morris or Murphy, Foster, Brown and Cameron. It's always Templeton at #1 though, that's undisputable.

Well this is a surprise.

[The Doctor]

1. Templeton
2. Grant
3. Dempsey
4. Johnson
5. Royal

Apologies to Quinlan, Foster, Hawkins, Hardie, West & Morris

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

1. Whitten
2. Schultz
3. Hawkins
4. Templeton
5. Bisset

[Mofra]

Was surprised though how many goals Beasley kicked 82-88.
Beasley kicked more goals than any other VFL/AFL player during the 80s.

[Mofra]

Grant
Johnson
Hawkins
West
Beasley

If I did that list on a different day I might get different players. Wynd and Hardie might even get a run out of biased sentimentality, although I was a massive tits Kennedy fan as a kid.

[bornadog]

Grant
Johnson
Hawkins
West
Beasley

If I did that list on a different day I might get different players. Wynd and Hardie might even get a run out of biased sentimentality, although I was a massive tits Kennedy fan as a kid.

Yeah me too. One of our greatest players was Dempsey, best ruckman I have ever seen and I should have had him in.

[1eyedog]

1. Kelvin Templeton
clear daylight

2. Doug Hawkins
3. Chris Grant
4. Brad Johnson
5. Tony Liberatore

Tomorrow it still would have been KT at one but Quinlan, West, Dempsey and Beasley could have been next. The day after that it could be Darcy, Wynd, Griffin and Morris or Murphy, Foster, Brown and Cameron. It's always Templeton at #1 though, that's undisputable.

He was that good.

[bulldogsfight]

Hawkins
Dempsey
Templeton
West
Wynd

[SonofScray]

To this criteria:

C GRANT
B JOHNSON
D HAWKINS
S WEST
B LAKE

[bornadog]

1. Whitten
2. Schultz
3. Hawkins
4. Templeton
5. Bisset

All legends of the club.

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Hawkins
Dempsey
Templeton
West
Wynd

No Grant?

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Following on the radio (rarely tv) through the 70's so my list is from the early '80's. Otherwise Demps (6 b&f's and the most brownlow votes) and KT would have featured.

Granty
Westy
The Hawk
Libba
Johnno

Apologies to Beazer, Choco, Boydy, Big Scotty and Mark Cullen.

[AshMac]

Been a bulldogs member since 81, can only really remember footy from late 80’s

1. Granty
2. Johnno
3. West
4. Moz
5. Bob Murphy

[EasternWest]

Grant
Johnson
West
Morris - would have died for our team
Boyd - would have died AND killed for our team

[strebla]

Followed since 82 and rarely saw KT play sadly and as has been said this is so very hard but i'll do my best.
1 Dougie, just marvelled at the boy from my home suburb so he gets the nod.
2 Chris Grant, saw him from his very first game and always amazed by his skill and fairness.
3.BJ just an out and out star wherever he played just loved the bloke.
4. Beaser really just a stand out year after year his 8 in the rain @ the MCG stands out as one of the best individual games in my memory.
5 Tony McGuiness just really and out and out star who i loved to watch.

[Jam Donuts]

Great thread

1 - Bernie Quinlan
2 - Brad Johnson
3 - Chris Grant
4 - Kelvin Templeton
5 - Gary Dempsey

I might give this some more thought

I am hesitant to have Bernie so high on the list, he was a good player for us but when he went to Fitzroy he played like we all hoped that he would for us, he is indeed a champion but mainly at Fitzroy, Kelvin was a better play for us, in my humble opinion.

[Jam Donuts]

1. Ted Whitten
2. Chris Grant
3. Brad Johnson
4. Kelvin Templeton
5. Doug Hawkins

If Bernie Quinlan had played his entire career with us I would have included him n

This is a great list