Came across this video randomly, thought others might enjoy it also:

 

Robbie ... obviously.

Sadly he played at a time when the Demons were deplorable.

Even sadder was his premature death.

4 minutes ago, Winners at last said:

Robbie ... obviously.

Sadly he played at a time when the Demons were deplorable.

Even sadder was his premature death.

They had Ron Barrassi at number 1.

Hard to argue with his record and all.

Had really good things to say about Robbie though.

6 minutes ago, Winners at last said:

Robbie ... obviously.

Sadly he played at a time when the Demons were deplorable.

Even sadder was his premature death.

Flower is clearly the best I have seen. But I didn't see either Barassi play in his prime or Norm Smith play at all.  

I was only a kid but I remember RDB .... It was a vastly different game then.

For mine Robbie and Neitz were the greatest of former players but there are couple of today's Demons who may go on to top them for the 'greatest ever' accolade.

We should revisit this topic in a few years.

Flower then daylight. 

1. RDB

2. Tulip

3. Maxy

RDB

Tulip

Allen jakovich: honourable Mention 

Imagine if we had Flower now. Unstoppable, Gary!

 

Robbie.

Edited May 23, 2024May 23 by Superunknown

I can only remember from the 90s onwards so my early favourites were Jakovic, Stynes and ... Darren Bennett. My earliest football memory from my first live game was him having a shot from 50 out and the ball landing/hitting on the top of the post.

Then it was Neitz, Schwartz and Farmer for the Daniher era. Special mention to Matty Whelan.

Watts and Jurrah during the dark years. So much potential just at the wrong time with no support or development pathway.

More recently the obvious ones like Trac, Clarry and Max are going to obviously be in the ballpark of greatest ever.  Fritta is also a favourite of this era.

If I have to choose one, it's probably recency bias but Gawn for everything he has done in helping turn the club around both onfield and off, and the only (men's) demon to hold up the premiership cup in my lifetime, would have to be the greatest for me.

Also special mention to Daisy Pearce - she is the clear leader for our women's team.

Edited May 23, 2024May 23 by mpc

Had Robbie had the luxury of playing in the teams of RBD's era he would be just about the greatest.  Vividly recall David Parkin, after a 40 disposal game for Flower representing Victoria, stating that he was just about the best player he ever coached. RDB very good player but his leadership and toughness were his greatest qualities,  not his skill. 

23 minutes ago, Superunknown said:

Imagine if we had Flower now. Unstoppable, Gary!

 

Robbie.

We could even play him in position. How good would that be!

6 minutes ago, Deemist said:

We could even play him in position. How good would that be!

He played against Malcolm Blight at full back one day at the MCG!!

I saw Flower come on the ground @ Victoria Park as 19th /20th man in the Reserves. Comments made were " Lookit the Shiela" as he had "athletic glasses"    10 minutes later he got the ball , showed it to half the Collinwood side and the comments were "kill the shiela" My favourite moment. .........He was silk !!!

Barassi was brutal, but lifted sides through shear will,like nobody except for Maximus.

With my eyes Robbie.

From my ears hearing RDB.

 

Robbie Flower.  He was special   

Could kick 50 metres plus on left and right foot 

Could run and bounce and handball and run past and evade two tackles and then kick a goal 

Could twist and turn and spin and weave through opponents whilst dodging elbows and knees trying to bring him down 

Could rise and lift and reach for a mark either on the wing or in the firward line to kick a team lifting goal 

only seen footy from the 80s onwards, but i'll go with max gawn - premiership skipper and the greatest ruckman of all time

Depends on your h criteria.  On pure skill and talent Flower.  No one has come close to him. 

Even older people (Knowledgable footballer) here I have spoken to were in awe of his skill when they watched him play for Victoria in WA.  He was a class above everyone else.  

More sadly was his early passing as he was such a great guy.  Used to like the chats with him by Peter Russel Clark on his show, when he was always visiting Robbie in his store.

As others have said, if you want sheer force of personality for success, RDB is the clear stand out, even better than anyone else that have led the Dees. 

 

RDB clearly the winner.

Warne Smith - Captain, 2 Brown lows & a Premiership has to be 2nd.

Robbie the best I've seen followed by Lyon.  

Norm (10 flags as player/coach)

RDB

Robbie

Mueller (reading the book 125 year history of MFC Mueller was ranked by Hobbs/Palmer as 7th in a list of best 50 VFL players in last year's 1933-1983 - big game player who arguable won the 48 flag off his own boot)

La Fontaine

Chadwick

Warne-Smith

Neitz

Max

*Checker for his impact on the club though not as a player

Edited May 23, 2024May 23 by Dr. Gonzo

Upon retirement, it’ll be Max

RDB and Robbie are clearly at the head of the pack in my lifetime, although we are incredibly lucky to have CP5, Max and Clarry, all of whom may be in the conversation.

Can I mention David Schwarz, who if he had not been injured and have maintained his 1994 form would be right up there.

Reading this (thank you, everyone!) I just had the pleasant rush of imagining all of these playing together in some 'Bang!Bang!Bang!'-level-and-more-type passages.

Imagine that game's list of goal scorers...

Though that makes me also think: like the Brownlow, etc, no backs? Can this thread have a 'backliner sub-thread'?

I'll start with G. Hardeman. With recency bias providing S. May. And, from the pre-me vault, J. Beckwith.

19 hours ago, layzie said:

1. RDB

2. Tulip

3. Maxy

This seems a bit of the vibe for me, but a little hard to answer given how the game has changed and also due to the fact i was born in 84, so i don't really remember anything pre early 90s. 

3 hours ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Though that makes me also think: like the Brownlow, etc, no backs? Can this thread have a 'backliner sub-thread'?

I'll start with G. Hardeman. With recency bias providing S. May. And, from the pre-me vault, J. Beckwith.

David Neitz was every bit as good a backman as he was a forward & I will always have a soft spot for Sean Wight. Could easily throw Steven Smith in there, too, though Neitz would be the only one of those who could even be mentioned in the "greatest Demon of all time" debate.

Edited May 24, 2024May 24 by Checker Mate