Mine is a little different too. I wasn't fortunate enough to see much of Robbie Flower in action, but Stephen Stretch is still my favourite - followed him over from West Torrens.

Over time I have loved watching:

Cameron Bruce pre-shoulder.

Nathan Brown  - never stopped trying.

Wrecker - his hit on Hird still brings a smile to my face.

Not so much as a player but a play - Nathan Carroll when he tackled Fraser Gehrig trying to run around him on the mark.

Adem Yze - especially in the forward line.

David Neitz -

Troy Broadbridge - don't now why - just liked the cut of his jib. 

Clint Bizzell

Jack Viney

I know it is sacrilege these days, but - Brock McLean especially his final vs the Saints in 2006. 

 

 

11 hours ago, binman said:

The thread about the best MFC team posters had seen live got me thinking. Specifically, that I've never really thought about demon players in terms of best (with one obvious exception) but rather who my favourite players are. Most of my favorite players are pretty good players but not necessarily the best.

So my question is who are posters' top 10 favourite players.

Mine in no order (except one obvious exception) is as follows:

1. Robbie

Greg Wells

Gary Hardeman

Nathan Jones

Jack Watts

Steven Icke

Garry Baker

Jeff Farmer

David Schwarz

Jimmy Stynes

 

With honorable mentions to: Spud Dullard, Andy Moir, Ray Biffen, Peter Giles, Steven Smith, Rhino Richards, Sugar Healy, Max Gawn, Laurie Fowler, Gerard Healy, Todd and jack Viney, Travis Johnstone, Glen Lovett, Alan Johnson, Steven Stretch, Jesse Hogan, Alan Jacovich, Brent Croswell, Neita, Yze, J Mac and Carl Ditteriich. Hell I could name another 50!

 

My top ten are

Ron Barassi

Robbie Flower

Jim Stynes

Sean Wight

Cameron Bruce

Jack Watts

Jeff Farmer

Max Gawn

Bob McKenzie

Don Williams

Special mention to Stuart Spencer and Stephen Tingay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackovich

Wiz

Lyon

Todd Viney

Shwartz

Tingay

Wrecker

Ingerson

Jones

Gawn

Heaps of fun reading through this, but but very tough to limit it to 10. 

Robbie Flower.

Brett Lovett.

David Schwartz.

Gary Hardeman. 

Stephen Tingay.

Alan Johnson

Greg Wells

Stan Alves

Liam Jurrah

Travis Johnstone

...apologies to Rod Grinter, Jeff Farmer and Allen Jakovich.

Wizard

Wells

Flower

Biffin

Lyon

Alan Johnson

Brayshaw

Ingerson

Whelan

Gawn

Help, I cant stop:

Healy, Hogan, Prymke, Seacamp, Tingay, Trengove, J Viney, Charles, Catoggio (hair humour), Spalding, Davey, L Fowler, Giles, Baker, G Lovett, Jetta, Yates, A MacDonald, Theo X, Callery, Oliver and Strawbs

 

 

I only started following the footy around 2010 so my list is all quite recent. In no particular order

Green

Jamar

Jurrah

Davey

Watts

Gawn

Wonaeamirri

Vince

Tyson

Jones

Watts

Jurrah

Arron Davey

Robbie Flower

Schwartz 

Tingay

Gawn

Hogan

Brad Green

Jakovitch

I hope that in a few year's time I will be able to include in a list of my top ten favourite players three or four or even more of our current younger players. In the meantime, for all those of my vintage, there's only one player who is a fair way ahead of Robbie Flower with daylight further to the next on the list - Ronald Dale Barassi who personified all that one looks for in a footballer, strength, skill, courage, leadership, honesty and football smarts (although I guess 52 years ago I would have said the one thing he lacked was loyalty but that's an issue of definition). Six time premiership player and a critical member of each of those teams over a decade in our golden years.

Ironically, the fact that he remains to this day so far ahead of the rest of the field (and this is not meant to denigrate some of our better players over the years) is one of the reasons why the club hasn't tasted the ultimate in success since he wore the # 31 guernsey.

17 hours ago, Vogon Poetry said:

I don't usually do these but some of mine deserve recognition.  Also I've done mine in order to put meaning and difficulty into it.  Unlike Pro I haven't put any of our youngsters in as I reckon a player needs to stand the test of time.

1.  Robert Flower.  Anyone who needs an explanation why didn't see him play at his prime in our horror years.

2.  David Neitz.  What a man.  Games, captain and goals record holder I think.  A fantastic leader who just did it all.  Two time all Australian.  Turned down money from the club he was entitled to because of our financial situation.  Only beaten by Flower.

3.  Junior McDonald.  AA midfielder in our worst period.  Brave, respected, small and a true leader.

4.  Steven Stretch.  Sadly more remembered for deciding not to spend the night in hospital for a meaningless display of courage and play out the game.  Graceful, fast, beautiful kick, great overhead, two time B&F and could find it and did it over a long period. If you want to know how good this guy was just watch the 1987 finals.

5.  Alan Johnson.  Fantastic player both in the midfield in his youth and in the back pocket as he got older.

6.  Brett Lovett.  For all the reasons mentioned.  Unfashionable but impassable in the backline.  Just a team player.

7.  David Schwarz.  Injury denied us of our Wayne Carey  His '94 final series was just unbelievable. A bitterly sad day when he did his first knee.  Devastating the second.

8.  Greg Wells.  Along with Flower was a shining light in the dark days of the '70's and just played so well. Was a terrific overhead mark for his size and a prolific kick winner.

9.  Gary Hardeman.  Springs in his step, great to watch, a fantastic highlight reel with his high marking. Broke two of my ribs playing indoor cricket some years later!  What's not to like?

10.  Steven Tingay. At his best an AA midfielder who provided dash and excitement.

Apologies to Alan Jakovich who had it all but didn't do it for long enough and Jeff Farmer for his excitement but he ran out on us.  There are others but when it comes to all time favourites you can't think of a bad thing when you think of them and sadly some were, from time to time,  just more interested in themselves than the team.  Finally Rhino Richards was so close but I'm not really sure why.

Good memories all round and although this has been done before it never loses its interest.

* Our horror years, or the  - decadus horribilis pre Roosus - was a much less competitive era than the one Robbie Flower played in.

14 hours ago, ProDee said:

Sadly, I don't have "great" memories of too many.  Good, but not great.  How could I ?

I liked Ricky "Steamboat" Jackson, Obst, Icke, Ingerson, Green, Yze, Yeater and countless others.  What about Brett Lovett and those handballs ?  Not to mention Glenn 'hamstring" Lovett was a very good player who couldn't get his body right.  I saw Chopper Lovell train at the G when he was a 16 year old a year before he came over fron Tasmania.  He became good, but not great.  Adrian Battiston was a ripping bloke who I got to know.  

I had high hopes for Lally.  Sean Charles too.  How good could Warren Dean have been ?  What about Schwarz in '94 ?  Kevin Dyson's right leg and those 60 metre drop punts ?   The legacy Jacovich could have left.  Darren Bennett's last quarter heroics at Windy Hill.  Seddon was meant to be a star from Tasmania that every club was chasing.  What about Glen Swann, Darren Cuthbertson and their highlight games ?  Young potential stars in Reynolds, O'Brien and O'Sullivan ?  Vardy from Adelaide and the early days of Byron.  Jeff White for a while ?  And then there was big Carl.  But alas, it wasn't to be.

I pick Hogan, Petracca, and Oliver on hope as much as anything.  I'd throw in Viney, Brayshaw, and Hunt too, but it would look a bit silly; and it's just based on that word again, hope.

If we win a flag only Flower would remain from my original list.  

The rest will be premiership players.

 

I think it's easy to have favourite players in poor years/teams.  Robbie and Junior are examples.  I don't remember Junior much before Bailey's years but he was a beacon then and just so admirable.  I enjoyed that.  It's succeeding in hard environments I like and that makes him a "favourite".  Favourites is little to do with "best" although they are linked.  How can Jurrah be a favourite with what he's done since he left? Favourites have got to be people you admire.

Lyon was a great player but a jerk of a bloke.  I was his player sponsor once and he was just rude.  I put in a lot of money for me at the time and was lucky enough to get him.  He made it obvious he didn't want anything to do with the "sponsorship".  He attended one function during the year, said hello and excused himself saying he'd be back.  No, never saw him again. My sponsorship bought me literally about 10 seconds of contact. He'd never be a favourite of mine but it doesn't stop him being a great player and captain.  As Biff says, hard not to have him in the "best" ten.

1 hour ago, Vogon Poetry said:

I think it's easy to have favourite players in poor years/teams.  Robbie and Junior are examples.  I don't remember Junior much before Bailey's years but he was a beacon then and just so admirable.  I enjoyed that.  It's succeeding in hard environments I like and that makes him a "favourite".  Favourites is little to do with "best" although they are linked.  How can Jurrah be a favourite with what he's done since he left? Favourites have got to be people you admire.

Lyon was a great player but a jerk of a bloke.  I was his player sponsor once and he was just rude.  I put in a lot of money for me at the time and was lucky enough to get him.  He made it obvious he didn't want anything to do with the "sponsorship".  He attended one function during the year, said hello and excused himself saying he'd be back.  No, never saw him again. My sponsorship bought me literally about 10 seconds of contact. He'd never be a favourite of mine but it doesn't stop him being a great player and captain.  As Biff says, hard not to have him in the "best" ten.

You were a Walshy fan from memory.

Once again, not a great player, but I seem to recall you liking him.  As you say, "favourites" are a different dynamic. 

That said, my memory might be dim.

11 minutes ago, ProDee said:

You were a Walshy fan from memory.

Once again, not a great player, but I seem to recall you liking him.  As you say, "favourites" are a different dynamic. 

That said, my memory might be dim.

Yes, good get. Loved Walshy. But as you say, just a player. 

This topic requires such a personal and subjective choice that all choices are correct. In particular, I agree with both Whispering and Vogon for the reasons they provided although my own choices are different.

There is a story about Robbie that sums up why, unlike Whispering, I believe that Robbie should be considered a favourite at least the equal of RDB. Robbie had all the qualities listed for RDB as well as determination and persistence (so did RDB) as well as the singular, incomparable and eye catching beauty and grace of his game.

In his first final against NM in 1987, early in the first quarter, Robbie flew over the pack in the goal square, marked the ball and kicked a goal. As we cheered, a voice in the crowd yelled out "I can go home now, that's all I wanted to see". The Demon supporters in the crowd understood immediately.

I bet no one ever said that about RDB. That makes them equal.

1 hour ago, tiers said:

This topic requires such a personal and subjective choice that all choices are correct. In particular, I agree with both Whispering and Vogon for the reasons they provided although my own choices are different.

There is a story about Robbie that sums up why, unlike Whispering, I believe that Robbie should be considered a favourite at least the equal of RDB. Robbie had all the qualities listed for RDB as well as determination and persistence (so did RDB) as well as the singular, incomparable and eye catching beauty and grace of his game.

In his first final against NM in 1987, early in the first quarter, Robbie flew over the pack in the goal square, marked the ball and kicked a goal. As we cheered, a voice in the crowd yelled out "I can go home now, that's all I wanted to see". The Demon supporters in the crowd understood immediately.

I bet no one ever said that about RDB. That makes them equal.

Also Robbie was a one club player. 

1 hour ago, tiers said:

This topic requires such a personal and subjective choice that all choices are correct. In particular, I agree with both Whispering and Vogon for the reasons they provided although my own choices are different.

There is a story about Robbie that sums up why, unlike Whispering, I believe that Robbie should be considered a favourite at least the equal of RDB. Robbie had all the qualities listed for RDB as well as determination and persistence (so did RDB) as well as the singular, incomparable and eye catching beauty and grace of his game.

In his first final against NM in 1987, early in the first quarter, Robbie flew over the pack in the goal square, marked the ball and kicked a goal. As we cheered, a voice in the crowd yelled out "I can go home now, that's all I wanted to see". The Demon supporters in the crowd understood immediately.

I bet no one ever said that about RDB. That makes them equal.

The game you're referring to came in the twilight of Robbie's career - game number 270 (of 272) after nearly 15 seasons and his first final. The club's first in 23 years.

On the other hand, RDB played in his first grand final in his second season and his first premiership a year later whilst still a teenager and then he played in five more.

There was never a need during RDB's career for a spectator to make a comment like that which spoke for the different circumstances under which the two played. If the essence of the game at the elite level is winning premierships then that of itself puts Barassi well in front because his efforts not only got us there but he was often the match winner in the most important game of the year.

That's not fair to our Robbie. Comparing two players from different eras on the basis of team results is neither fitting nor appropriate.

Premierships should not be the measure - consider Kevin Murray, Bob Skilton and Bob Murphy who would vie for favourite player status at Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Footscray respectively. 

The criterion for this thread was favourite, not best or most successful or most dominant. Robbie was just as much a favourite in his time as RDB was in his time.

 

1 hour ago, Whispering_Jack said:

The game you're referring to came in the twilight of Robbie's career - game number 270 (of 272) after nearly 15 seasons and his first final. The club's first in 23 years.

On the other hand, RDB played in his first grand final in his second season and his first premiership a year later whilst still a teenager and then he played in five more.

There was never a need during RDB's career for a spectator to make a comment like that which spoke for the different circumstances under which the two played. If the essence of the game at the elite level is winning premierships then that of itself puts Barassi well in front because his efforts not only got us there but he was often the match winner in the most important game of the year.

Barassi played some BOGs in grand finals,  '59 was one of them where Barassi single handedly turned the game with two speccies and two goals in minutes: "This was one of the best second quarters ever seen at a Grand Final ... it was was the human dynamo, Barassi - the hero of many a final game who snatched the lead for the demons. No praise can be too high for this great team player. He pulled down a beauty out of the sky to kick the Demons' seventh goal and then kicked another goal on the run  to give them a nine point lead."(p151, Barassi by Peter Lalor). Flower may have been a more highly skilled footballer but Barassi was peerless as a game turner and team motivator. He transformed matches by instigating breakaway plays, setting up the loose man and chain handballing. My two MFC heroes, nonetheless. 

1 hour ago, tiers said:

That's not fair to our Robbie. Comparing two players from different eras on the basis of team results is neither fitting nor appropriate.

Premierships should not be the measure - consider Kevin Murray, Bob Skilton and Bob Murphy who would vie for favourite player status at Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Footscray respectively. 

The criterion for this thread was favourite, not best or most successful or most dominant. Robbie was just as much a favourite in his time as RDB was in his time.

 

Agree that Robbie was a favourite and one of mine as well but in the end the fantastic memories of RDB and all the pleasure he gave to the Demon fans of the day holds a special place on my memory.

1 Allen Jakovich - the most entertaining player I've ever seen bar none! Absolutely loved this guy was the reason I loved going to the footy 91-94 - was shattered when he left

2 Jeff Farmer - well, ditto above. He was every bit as entertaining as Jako and his 98 and 2000 seasons were just phenomenal 

3 David Schwarz - absolutely shattered when he did his knees his 94 season was close to impeccable especially the r24-SF fortnight 

4 Garry Lyon - my childhood hero, was THE Melbourne player during the Northey years

 5 Stephen Tingay - from the moment he burst onto the scene as a teenager kicking the winning goal against the Roy's I loved this guy. Built and played like a machine unfortunately like all those above his body let him down

6 David Neitz - loved the way he bullied opposition defenders. From his early years at CHB to his club record games/goals he was a true MFC legend

7 Darren Bennett - i have an affinity for full forwards and this guy was the first one we had since I started watching footy in 1987. Could roost the ball a country mile and had a massive reach too. Went on to become a Hall of Famer with the San Diego Chargers in the NFL where he revolutionised the punt

8 Liam Jurrah - even a more short lived career than Jakovich but this guy was just miraculous. Could seemingly do anything on the field, unfortunately he joined the club at the wrong time and his personal issues were too much for him to overcome. One of the more incredible and subsequently sad stories the footy world has seen

9 Jim Stynes - his mate Garry Lyon often said he is THE best footy story and I tend to agree. Adventure, heartbreak, redemption and tragedy the guy was will power personified. His work on the field overtaken by his work off it with the Reach. Saved the club in it's darkest hour.

10 could throw a blanket over a bunch of others, Obst, Yze, Johnstone chief amongst them. Viney, Gawn and Hogan from the younger brigade. 

Unfortunately I'm too young for Robbie, I was 5 when he retired but I still have memories of r22 1987 and that classic finals campaign 

Brad Miller and Steven Armstrong are my number one - met them when I was 8 and they were 18 hadn't played a game but just loved them (very handsome men). Did a lot for me, called me on my under12's grand final as Steven and Brad asked to come but they played the night before and had recovery. Asked me to dance at the b&f. Things like that mean so much to a kid and even now I'm still very grateful.

Next up, David Neitz! When I was 3 I had my first picture with him and took one every year until I hit 18 then we had a alcohol Bev together at one of the b&f and he couldn't believe how time flew!

loved Lyon! Had a fight with his eldest son who pushed in front of me at a Melbourne clinic. Said girls should even play footy so I punched him in the face haha (was the demon in me)

Nathan Jones - loves the club like I do and is loyal. Not skilful but passionate and that's what I love.

farmer!

I haven't really had any other favs

D. Cuthbertson- Epping best export and a stellar start to his football life with the Dee's! he help us bury the Shin boners too!

P. Prymke  - Champ of a defender marred by injury

S. Odwyer- I loved the big Gingers aggression and the frees he made the opposition player earn.

D. Kowal- Best plodder I've seen! We lost strawb for this dude.... 

P. Hopgood- I like Paul for having a David Boon like physique, but none of his sporting prowess.

C. Lamb- This guy could play, but his high flying spoil he put on in defence that had him land on his head stuffed him.

C. Nettlebeck - This poor sod should have been a cook with the amount wooden spoons he collected!

J. Shannahan- This was the steal of the century! The Aint's are still reeling over this one. The best player to pull on the number 1 Dees jumper

S. Chisholm- I a few bleak years this man was a bright light for the Demons. He brought home countless Grand Final Sprint victories for the Dees fans to savour

C. Smoker- I just like his name!!! So did big Rex Hunt.

1 hour ago, armstrong35 said:

Nathan Jones - loves the club like I do and is loyal. Not skilful but passionate and that's what I love

How could i forget the skipper. Number 10 with a bullet he's been the heart and soul of the club through its worst decade, the only reason I turned up to a lot of games in recent years 

Bit younger so haven't seen as many but 

1. Jeff white

2. Jeff farmer 

3.aaron davey

4. Cam bruce

5. David Schwartz 

6. Todd viney

7. Jack viney

8. Jayden hunt

9. Max gawn

10. Nev Jetta 

Can't believe anyone could omit Robbie from their list!!

Well, perhaps the young uns who didn't see him play have an excuse.

I loved Garry Lyon as a player. But as a bloke ... hmm. So I guess that's why not many posters have not included him in their lists.

 

I have enjoyed the read from all posters there are a lot of players that I have loved watching over the years and between you all you have covered them. A lot of very talented wonderful players that bring back very fond memories!!! Go Dee's!!!