Just a thought Guys. A great deal of discussion on this Forum tends to centre around the compilation & review of our best 22 current team. I believe an interesting measure of how we are travelling is to compare the side that represented us in the fateful 2000 Grand Final v The Bombers. For example how many of the 2000 side would still be considered for the "Best22". Eg Nietz, Farmer, Schwarz etc

Just a thought Guys. A great deal of discussion on this Forum tends to centre around the compilation & review of our best 22 current team. I believe an interesting measure of how we are travelling is to compare the side that represented us in the fateful 2000 Grand Final v The Bombers. For example how many of the 2000 side would still be considered for the "Best22". Eg Nietz, Farmer, Schwarz etc

I bet the Wizard would have loved to have played alongside Jurrah, Wonaeamirri, Jetta and Davey!

I watched the 94 Round 24 game last night. Took me a week to get around to to watching as I had watched Sundays game about 6 times!!

Found myself comparing the 94 side to the current one also. The game is played so differently to 94 which is quite noticeable. Our backline on that day, IMO I would have no hesitation in an entire swap for our current defence.

The 2000 side? The defence alone that year, IMO was damn good. Love Ingerson who was so under rated and has continued to bleed red & blue.

Well this was the team for 2000 Grand Final

Melbourne

B: Daniel Ward - Anthony Ingerson - Alistair Nicholson

HB: Peter Walsh - Matthew Collins - Steven Febey

C: Adem Yze - Shane Woewodin - Anthony McDonald

HF: Brad Green - David Schwarz - Stephen Powell

F: Russell Robertson - David Neitz © - Jeff Farmer

Foll: Jeff White - Guy Rigoni - Andrew Leoncelli

Int: Brent Grgic - Travis Johnstone - Ben Beams - Troy Simmonds

Coach: Neale Daniher

Edited July 30, 201015 yr by No16

Missing Bruce of course.

And junior.

Tough to compare because there weren't a lot of young faces in that side!? 2000 definitely ahead on experience, but I'd say with the core group we have now.....this team seems as though it could be a hell of a lot better.

Matty Collins was an under rated type. Liked him.

I was sitting in the very back row of the Southern Stand for the GF. When Powell kicked his goal I was telling all the Essendon fans they would choke like 99.

Sadly, this did not eventuate!

Will never forget the Prelim Final night. Went back to what was then the Ox's pub in Port Melb where plenty of other dees fans headed and it was one hell of a night, ended up sharing cabs with fellow supporters into Crown and continuing the party.

I think we were all aware of the task ahead the next week and celebrated that night. Leading up to the Prelim there was no one else that was going to stop us in the form we were in, except for that damn red & black mob.

Matty Collins was an under rated type. Liked him.

I was sitting in the very back row of the Southern Stand for the GF. When Powell kicked his goal I was telling all the Essendon fans they would choke like 99.

Sadly, this did not eventuate!

Will never forget the Prelim Final night. Went back to what was then the Ox's pub in Port Melb where plenty of other dees fans headed and it was one hell of a night, ended up sharing cabs with fellow supporters into Crown and continuing the party.

I think we were all aware of the task ahead the next week and celebrated that night. Leading up to the Prelim there was no one else that was going to stop us in the form we were in, except for that damn red & black mob.

Yes i remember putting in a huge one at the Ox's Pub that night we beat North to get in.

You are right, as for me i celebrated like it was a GF because i knew those Essendon Pricks would be unstoppable the next week.

Any player from 2000 would only play about 30 minutes now before being exhausted. But it was a solid side-should have done more in the following 3 years.

Well this was the team for 2000 Grand Final

Melbourne

B: Daniel Ward - Anthony Ingerson - Alistair Nicholson

HB: Peter Walsh - Matthew Collins - Steven Febey

C: Adem Yze - Shane Woewodin - Anthony McDonald

HF: Brad Green - David Schwarz - Stephen Powell

F: Russell Robertson - David Neitz © - Jeff Farmer

Foll: Jeff White - Guy Rigoni - Andrew Leoncelli

Int: Brent Grgic - Travis Johnstone - Ben Beams - Troy Simmonds

Coach: Neale Daniher

Of that 2000 side I believe the following players would play in our best current 22(based on what they have achieved not on potential):

INs.

Ingerson for Warnock/Rivers

Walsh for Bartram

Febey for Rivers/Joel Macdonald

Yze for Morton

Woewodin for Moloney/Jones

Green still in best 22

Schwarz for Watts/Dunn

Neitz for Petterd/Dunn

Farmer for Bennell

White for PJ

Leoncelli for Moloney/Jones

Johnstone for Bail???

Edited July 30, 201015 yr by big tuna

White for PJ

I would still take White over Jamer, he was a great player.

I would also take White over PJ

Good post TB.

Thanks, but we don't need any trolls on this site.

Edited July 30, 201015 yr by eth38

Too hard at this stage of the current 22's development.

Would you look at the 2000 GF team at the top of their careers (Schwarz in 1994) or on the state of their careers in 2000?

At their top there would be very little argument over Neitz, Schwarz, Robbo, Ingerson, Yze, Farmer, White, Powell. The rest are either too young or you could mount an argument (eg. if Jurrah was around in 2000 he would have played but is he currently better than those that did play? It's arguable. Same goes for a lot of them).

And the big question is, will one of the current players be better than one of the former when/if they have the same experience. You're trying to compare our knowledge of say Yze who play 271 games versus say Cale Morton who has played less than 50.

I think the other way of looking at it would be how many of the current group, at their current stage of development, may have got a look in if they had been around in 2000. Of the 22 that played against the Swans, minus Green who played in 2000, I would say definites would be Flash (pick any midfielder), Bruce (any one who argues that point can't win as he would have played bar injury), Garland (wouldn't mind seeing him spoiling say Lucas), Sylvia (walk up start), Frawley would replace Nico (much prefer him playing on Hird!), Jamar over Simmonds.

It's players from 2000 versus the current lineup? What is so hard to understand about that?

Base the past players on their form as of 2000, and current players as of right now, don't even bother thinking about potential.

If we had David Neitz of 2000 in our side now, we would be playing finals. And going for the GF next year.

If we had David Neitz of 2000 in our side now, we would be playing finals. And going for the GF next year.

If we had D. Schwartz circa 1994 we'd be close to the top of the ladder right now.

If we had D. Schwartz circa 1994 we'd be close to the top of the ladder right now.

He was unbelievably good that year. Over the past month I have seen replays of his game against Geelong at Kardinia Park and against Swans at SCG... FMD he could take a great over-head mark and just knew where the goals were.