Top 5 in my time (born '81, following with some appreciation from '87...) 

1. Max Gawn 

2. David Neitz

3. Clayton Oliver

4. Christian Petracca 

5. Steve May 

Honourable mentions: 

• Jim Stynes
• Garry Lyon
• David Shwarz
• Allen Jakovich 
• Nathan Jones

Robbie F only left out because I just didn't see enough of him at an age where I could properly appreciate him, but the highlights and reading is amazing!

Flower. The only reason most Dees fans bothered going to the football in that period.

Wonderful footballer and person.

Best player: Flower

Most influential player: Barassi

The player I most went to the G to watch: Liam Jurrah

The best player I ever saw in red and blue: Robbie Flower

The best career in red and blue: David Neitz

Most entertaining MFC player: Allan Jakovich. Honorable mention: Mark Jackson

Edited May 24, 20241 yr by Moonshadow

1 hour ago, Moonshadow said:

The player I most went to the G to watch: Liam Jurrah

The best player I ever saw in red and blue: Robbie Flower

The best career in red and blue: David Neitz

Most entertaining MFC player: Allan Jakovich. Honorable mention: Mark Jackson

You had me 'til that last name 🤮

1.Grinter

2.RDB

3.Flower

1. Flower
2. Lyon
3. Oliver
4. Neitz
5. Gawn

Depends on your criteria I guess, but Norm Smith not getting a look in?

Champion player and probably the best coach of all time, with a combined 10 flags in both roles (all for Melbourne)

A year or so ago there was a thread along the the lines of “Your 5 Greatest Demons”. My mum came up through the glory years and she and her twin sister would get on the train and go to watch the Dees nearly every Saturday. So I asked for her 5 greatest.

After a few days consideration she said it was too hard. Whenever she thought of one player she’d be reminded of other great players from that team. She said Barassi’s determination & will to win set him apart but his skills weren’t up to a lot of the other greats. As a young lass she wanted to marry Laurie Mithen. Some of the names she brought up included Don Williams, Noel McMahen, Stuey Spencer & “Doc” Roet.

She did have a clear # 1 and 2 though. Robbie at 1 and Clarrie at 2. Robbie she says is self explanatory for anyone who watched him play. She reckons Clarrie can do things no one else she’s seen can do. She’s amazed by his hands.

Foe me it’s Flower & Schwarz of those I’ve seen. Historically, for impact on the club I’d go Norm Smith whose playing career often seems overshadowed by his coaching. His protege Ron Barrassi as well.

On 23/05/2024 at 19:54, Deelectable said:

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. 

That’s not true. There is plenty of skill in leadership and toughness it’s not all talent on its own. Was Robbie  as good a Capt as Maxy No was he as tough as Neiter probably for his size and weight. 

So all things make a player great including talent skill etc. 

It’s a package that’s what makes it so difficult. 

What a great positive topic !!!

I suppose defining "greatest" means some strange interplay between skill, influence, fan favourite, and club devotion. I'm going to use my Dees-mad mother (dec.)as an additional reference point to my own experiences and observations. To save myself all the angst of rating them in order, I will put my top 5 in chronological order:

1. Norm Smith

2. Ron Barassi 

3. Robbie Flower

4. Max Gawn

5. Clayton Oliver

Shwartz almost makes it. Would have been anything without injury.

Stynes was a freak and changed the ruck role into being midfielders as well.

Petracca is by far the best match winner, big moments player I have seen at the Dees.

Stuey Spencer - Mum reckoned he could play in any era and excel.

And just for the hell of it - MFC Freaks of nature: Farmer, Jakovich, Stynes & Jurrah.

And last - Lyon and Brian Wilson are much better footballers than people give them credit for.

On 24/05/2024 at 16:12, Witches Hat said:

Flower. The only reason most Dees fans bothered going to the football in that period.

Wonderful footballer and person.

Flower for me too. Along with Gaz snr they were the ones that you would know, that even if they were having a quiet day, would do something that no other player could do at some point... and then there were days when they were on.

Must have been 84 or 85... before we became a good team... I was at a game at the Western oval right behind the Geelong end goals, right on the fence. We had a free about 50 or 60 out and every man and his dog was in the goal square. Not Flower. He stood behind the point post about half way to the fence. As the kick came into the square he loped in, and then as the ball began to fall sped up and took it at the highest point. He must have been 5 back when he left the ground, but in front and a foot higher than everyone else when he took it. Bang! Goal! He just knew it was going to go there, and how he was going to get it. Truly magical.

It's a damn shame that so much of his sublime skill was never captured on camera.

Best is always subjective, but Flower did things a great footballer shouldn't be able to do, let alone a skinny kid in glasses, and, at least in my eyes, he seemed to do it every week.

 

6 hours ago, Maldonboy38 said:

 

And last - Lyon and Brian Wilson are much better footballers than people give them credit for.

Agree with both.

Not quite at the GOAT level, but geez Lyon could turn a game with a handful of touches. A super great player I am lucky to have seen.

Wilson was so good. Not flashy, but didn't lose contests and never wasted a possession. Different players in many ways, but he gave me the same feeling I get when Salem has the ball these days - the ball is going to where it needs to be, and everything will be well.

On 24/05/2024 at 09:46, Dr. Gonzo said:

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

fanning must have been pretty special too. left vfl too young as well

19 hours ago, Maldonboy38 said:

I suppose defining "greatest" means some strange interplay between skill, influence, fan favourite, and club devotion. I'm going to use my Dees-mad mother (dec.)as an additional reference point to my own experiences and observations. To save myself all the angst of rating them in order, I will put my top 5 in chronological order:

1. Norm Smith

2. Ron Barassi 

3. Robbie Flower

4. Max Gawn

5. Clayton Oliver

Shwartz almost makes it. Would have been anything without injury.

Stynes was a freak and changed the ruck role into being midfielders as well.

Petracca is by far the best match winner, big moments player I have seen at the Dees.

Stuey Spencer - Mum reckoned he could play in any era and excel.

And just for the hell of it - MFC Freaks of nature: Farmer, Jakovich, Stynes & Jurrah.

And last - Lyon and Brian Wilson are much better footballers than people give them credit for.

If this is the criteria, I reckon Walking Civil War should make it on to most people's lists. Her levels of devotion more than compensate for any deficiencies in other areas. 

"Greatest of all time" is a ludicrous concept because no-one has seen all the candidates play and there is no comparable film footage.

Warne-Smith, La Fontaine, Mueller, Spencer etc - no-one alive really knows.

"Best you have seen" is the only viable concept and it's just a personal subjective judgement anyway.

13 minutes ago, old55 said:

"Greatest of all time" is a ludicrous concept because no-one has seen all the candidates play and there is no comparable film footage.

Warne-Smith, La Fontaine, Mueller, Spencer etc - no-one alive really knows.

"Best you have seen" is the only viable concept and it's just a personal subjective judgement anyway.

And on that ‘ludicrous’ theme, the game has changed so much over the decades and even in recent years.  

Football that was played in the sixties (that is as far back I can go) is almost a totally different game to what is played today. 

And then to try and nominate (and objectively justify) the best of all time!…….good luck 

Can you guess whom I would nominate? 

The Wizard?

11 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

The Wizard?

...or one of the Johnsons?

On 24/05/2024 at 12:22, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

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.

*Bump* given today's news...

3 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

If this is the criteria, I reckon Walking Civil War should make it on to most people's lists. Her levels of devotion more than compensate for any deficiencies in other areas. 

Nice call, LDVC. Edit to '@' her?

I'll just leave this here.
40mins of poetry.
And didn't we love him.
 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2024Jun 1 by Fork 'em

Just found a clip I hadn't seen before.