On 12/03/2023 at 09:23, picket fence said:

1 Robert Alan Flower

2 Clarry Choo Choo

3 Ronald Dale Barrassi

4 The Ox

5 Neil Stanley Alves

Sums it all up. 

The best 5 players of my lifetime (20 years) would be:

1. Gawn

2. Oliver

3. Petracca

4. Neitz

5. Yze

 

Certainly not ‘of all time’ but in my time (early 80’s)…. 

1 - Robbie Flower. that guy was sublime

2 - Adem Yze. Loved the way he moved and was glued to the tv every time he took a shot!

3 - Jim. What a Titan of a human being was that man.

4 - Clarry. Should probably be number 1 based on his game right now. He will be this clubs champion of champions in decades to come.

5 - Ox. Almost his ‘era’ of being that one talent that changes the competition.

 

 

My lifetime:

1. Ox - as talented as any we've had.

2. Stynes - played through pain barrier multiple times

3. Clarry - You know the story

4. Yze - Just pure silk

5. Max - Heroics personified 

Based on who I’ve seen 

1. Flower

2. Ox

3. Clarry

4. Trac

5. Max

Honorable mentions to Stynes, Hardeman, Neitz, Farmer and Jakovich

Obviously too hard to limit to 5 but my go would be

1. Ron Barassi - he just was footy

2. Robby Flower - pure graceful skill

3. David Neitz - just so good at both ends

4. Jeff Farmer - a reason to go to the footy

5. Clayton Oliver - like others have said, will surpass all

Special mention to Hassa Mann because his wife taught me in PS and our family had business dealings with him.

Clarry

The Ox

The Wizard 

Tingay

Neitz

Jimmy

  On 12/03/2023 at 11:20, Billy said:

Clarry

The Ox

The Wizard 

Tingay

Neitz

Jimmy

Good call on Tingay mate. I was considering him as well. 
Being a young teenager during his playing days, I was drawn to him due to his physique. I reckon he was one of the more likely to resonate with young Demon supporters like myself at the time. 

It’s too hard just having 5 options after seeing a GF year. 
The ‘21 Season was magnificent, even if we were locked inside. 
Flower, R. 
Jakovich, A. 
The Wizard. 
Stynes, J. 
Wilson, B. 

All Legends without Success 

Gawn, M. 
Oliver, C. 
Petracca, C. 
Viney, J.

The V8 Midfield 
 

 

  On 12/03/2023 at 12:05, Sir Why You Little said:

It’s too hard just having 5 options after seeing a GF year. 
The ‘21 Season was magnificent, even if we were locked inside. 
Flower, R. 
Jakovich, A. 
The Wizard. 
Stynes, J. 
Wilson, B. 

All Legends without Success 

Gawn, M. 
Oliver, C. 
Petracca, C. 
Viney, J.

The V8 Midfield 
 

 

What happened to Jankovich? He was so good but out of footy so fast... Injury prone?

  On 12/03/2023 at 12:15, ElDiablo14 said:

What happened to Jankovich? He was so good but out of footy so fast... Injury prone?

He had back problems before coming to Victoria. 
If he had stayed fit in the 94 Season I seriously believe we could have won the GF

He was an absolute Freak

  On 12/03/2023 at 12:15, ElDiablo14 said:

What happened to Jankovich? He was so good but out of footy so fast... Injury prone?

He suffered from back injuries.  He went to work on fishing boats in the Gulf of Carpentaria where the beer, wild women and fishing is.  He came back the next year and was drafted by the Bullies but only played a handful of games.

  On 12/03/2023 at 12:15, ElDiablo14 said:

What happened to Jankovich? He was so good but out of footy so fast... Injury prone?

He had back problems before coming to Victoria. 
If he had stayed fit in the 94 Season I seriously believe we could have won the GF

He was an absolute Freak

In my long lifetime, and after (perhaps) one too many glasses of Shiraz:

1.  Robbie (RIP) -  for those who didn’t see him play, you (sadly) missed something very, very special!  He was pure magic on the field, and revered by all footy fans, regardless of their allegiances.   Deserves a ‘stand alone’ chapter in the history books of our sport.  It’s an absolute travesty that he didn’t win a Charlie!

2.  RDB -  inspirational player and leader of our great Club, in (perhaps) the most dominant era of any VFL / AFL team.  Shared the title of ‘Mr Football’ with the great Ted Whitten.  Say no more!

3.  Clarrie - only part way through an outstanding career that we’ve all witnessed first hand.  The envy of every other team in the AFL …….. the type of player who makes a good team great!  No need to elaborate further, I’m sure!

4.   Shwarta -  There have been plenty of great CHFs in my time (Hart, Walls, Brereton & Carey to mention a few) but none of them could hold a candle to ‘the Ox’ pre multiple knee recos.  He could have been anything!

5.  Jimmy (RIP) - an icon of our Club and our game, based on where he came from, what he achieved on the field, and who he was off the field (RIP).
 

  On 12/03/2023 at 12:24, Sir Why You Little said:

He had back problems before coming to Victoria. 
If he had stayed fit in the 94 Season I seriously believe we could have won the GF

He was an absolute Freak

Did he play alongside Farmer at all?

I can imagine how great a fwd line of Lyon, Farmer and Jakovich would be! and then throw in Neitz.

  On 12/03/2023 at 12:30, ElDiablo14 said:

Did he play alongside Farmer at all?

I can imagine how great a fwd line of Lyon, Farmer and Jakovich would be! and then throw in Neitz.

No Jako arrived before the 91 Season and finished midway through 94

The Wiz was drafted at the end of that Season. 
They should have played a few years together but Allen couldn’t go on. 
It was sad seeing him at the dogs, he couldn’t bend down. 

Flower, Jakovich and Jurrah

The 3 footballers I remember who were good enough to make me wanna go to games rain, hail or shine

Apologies to the Wiz and Lyon

Edited March 12, 20232 yr by Stiff Arm

My five best are:

 

1. Barassi

2. Stynes

3. Flower

4. (a) Dixon

5. Gawn

5. (a) Lyon 

In no particular order and with very poor maths:

Hassa Mann

Ron Barassi

Robbie Flower

Jim Stynes

Max Gawn

Brian Dixon

Stan Alves

Matt Whelan

Clarrie Oliver

1. Flower.

2. Lyon.

3. Farmer.

4. Schwarz.

5. May.

Emg: Tracc, Spalding, Charles, Ingersoll, Whelan, Fritta.

  On 12/03/2023 at 13:50, dee-tox said:

1. Flower.

2. Lyon.

3. Farmer.

4. Schwarz.

5. May.

Emg: Tracc, Spalding, Charles, Ingersoll, Whelan, Fritta.

Sean Charles was another one in ‘94

Superb skills when he was “on”

Since I’ve started watching in the mid 80’s

1. Schwartz - is the beating heart of this club. 

2. oliver - if he were to finish today will go down as the best MFC player since the 50’s. 

3. Neitz - top 5 captain in MFC history 

4. max - top 5 ruckman in vfl/afl history 

5. Jakovich - Showman

Edited March 12, 20232 yr by bandicoot

Jakovich, what a star.

BARASSI

B.DIXON

H.MANN

J.STYNES.

R. FLOWER

D.SCHWARTZ

A.JAKOVICH

C.OLIVER

G.LYON

J.FARMER

A.DAVEY.

G.HARDEMANN

S.ALVES

TOMORROW'S LIST, I.E.10 YEARS ON, WILL INCLUDE GAWN, PETRACCA, HOPEFULLY KOZZIE.

WHAT'S THIS 5 NUMBER? I BIN WATCHING SINCE THE 1958 GRAND FINAL...

 

I am going to struggle to do simply 5.

 

But I will do 5 for my time during my younger years and 5 for more recent times.

 

My younger years would include the following:

 

1) David Neitz (our leading goal kicker and games record holder, he was also a great Captain and a force to be reckoned with as the Hawk's Luke McCabe found out!)

2) David Schwarz (amazingly talented and could of been one of the greatest Centre Half Forwards ever if it wasn't for his knee injuries, was still a wonderful player and I have a soft spot for "The Ox" who overcame the odds.)

3) Garry Lyon (people forget how accurate his goal kicking was, his 10 goals against the Bulldogs were amazing and he was an inspirational Captain too.)

4) Jeff Farmer (the "Wizard" was incredible. People used to go to the footy just to watch him play. I remember how much excitement he produced. The 9 goals in a half against the Magpies will always be a highlight. Just a shame he moved back to WA to play for the Dockers.)

5) Adem Yze (Who else remembers the crowd cry of "Oooozzzzze" when he got the ball? Adem Yze was such a silky and smooth player. He kicked many freakish goals in his time as well.)

Of course, Robbie Flower gets an honourable mention but I sadly never got to see him play live as I was too young.

Jimmy Stynes and Jeff White were also very close to being in my list as well as Allen Jakovich.

 

In recent times it would be the following:

1) Christian Petracca (a Premiership player, and a Norm Smith medal winner, he is an incredible player to watch and has inspired many young kids who barrack for the Demons to have the number #5 on their jumpers.)

2) Clayton Oliver (to think that "Clarrie" is still only 25 and has already won multiple Best & Fairests for the Demons. A Premiership player too and is still probably only a 1/3 of the way through his incredible career.)

3) Max Gawn (probably in the conversation as one of the best ruckmen in the AFL in recent times. After suffering knee injuries early in his career he turned his career around and has become a Premiership Captain for the Demons breaking our 57 year Flag drought. His 5 goal performance against the Cats in the 2021 Preliminary Final really was unbelievable!)

4) Aaron Davey (the "Flash" was an amazing player for the Demons. He changed the way small forwards played the game with his speed and defensive tackling to keep defenders on their toes. Kicked some simply amazing goals for the Demons and was a genuine match winner for us.)

5) Nathan Jones (our second 300+ game player and the heart and soul of the Demons during our darkest times. He would fight and scrap in our midfield when we were getting belted on a regular basis. A Captain and a three time Best & Fairest winner at the Demons. His contributions and influence in changing our culture to a successful one should never be forgotten.)

 

Jack Viney  gets an honourable mention here and I am hoping to include Kozzy Pickett on this list in the near future.

Anyway, these are my two top 5s over the last 35+ years.

Edited March 13, 20232 yr by Supreme_Demon