The end of the first quarter of the century is approaching. How near do we think the team is to commensurately being a quarter filled? How many have already demonstrated they are of the calibre of the 28 members of the 20th century's team? Can we find 7?

M.Gawn must be a lock.

D.Neitz is probably a lock.

Does N.Jones also get in on weight of numbers and stick-with-it-ness, Gary-Hardeman-like?

Did we lose C.Petracca too early? His 212 games does compare with G.Wells' 224 and S.Alves' 226, though.

K.Pickett is on track.

After that, are any of the following 'up there' - Bruce, Davey, Green, J.McDonald, Robertson, J.Viney, White, Yze?

Are any of our current 'youth' prospective?

As to the coach, I hope the next 3 quarter centuries deliver someone to surpass, by a significant distance, the current front-runner, S.Goodwin!

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

Are any of our current 'youth' prospective?

LUKER!!!

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

As to the coach, I hope the next 3 quarter centuries deliver someone to surpass, by a significant distance, the current front-runner, S.Goodwin!

According to some (looking directly at you, Fence), Goody wouldn’t even make water-boy.

Our 21st century has been marked by a great many players who were very good for a long time but only touched real greatness for relatively short periods.

Picking some out from the Daniher era is easy - Robertson, Johnstone, Yze, White, Green, Bruce, McDonald, Woewodin and Davey might even have played a game together as a group except for those last two not quite overlapping.

All of them could be in All-Australian contention in their better seasons, but none of them were in that range consistently.

Now of course we have had two really dominant players move on from the club and we'll be left to wonder if they will really be 'Demons' of the 21st century. Do people still think of Callan Ward as a Bulldog?

Gawn is the best ruck of the modern era, and Pickett is now at a level where he will be in the conversation as best 'small forward plus midfielder' every season.

Then it is up to the kids. Will 2028 be the dynasty-starting premiership?

if yr after 7 nominations to challenge those in the current greatest mfc side side, i would argue that there's cases to be made for the following...

1. david neitz

2. james mcdonald

3. aaron davey

4. max gawn

5. christian petracca

6. clayton oliver

7. steven may

the only 'locks' in there at the moment would be neitz and gawn, with trac and claz the next obvious 'ins', while i think davey has a super strong case to make

i would hope that by the time that his career is completed, regardless of when his time in red and blue finishes (as we know that contracts mean bupkis), that kozi pickett will be a lock for a spot too

5 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

the only 'locks' in there at the moment would be neitz and gawn, with trac and claz the next obvious 'ins', while i think davey has a super strong case to make

Flash is the number 1 lock for me. He revolutionised part of the modern game in my opinion by bringing forward pressure to the game like no other player that I had seen in 30 years of watching footy (at the time). His debut season in 2004 (before his hammy) was electric and gave me the most joy in watching the Dees since '87.

Cyril Rioli strangely got all the cred from the media for his forward pressure acts and tackling when Flash was doing it years before him.

OLIVER EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK

5 minutes ago, dice said:

Cyril Rioli strangely got all the cred from the media for his forward pressure acts and tackling when Flash was doing it years before him.

4x premiership player vs an outstanding performer in a poor side in the last half of his afl career; if davey had had the team success that cyril brought to his side then i suspect he'd be held in high regard

dingley were good, and on the way up prior to him joining them, but getting cyril ahead of their 2008 premiership changed their side remarkably

and cyril was always primarily a 'forward' whereas aaron became a wing, a half-back, a midfielder...

B: Jetta, May, Lever

HB: Brown, Rivers, Whelan

C: Brayshaw, Oliver, Langdon

HF: Petracca, Schwarz, Yze

F: Fritsch, Neitz, Davey

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Jones

IC: Salem, Bruce, J.McDonald, K.Pickett, Green

EMERG: Robertson, T.McDonald, Rivers

fwiw, here's the current team of the century:

if it is generally agreed that gawn and neitz are 'locks' to come into the starting 18, let alone the broad squad of 28 that we named, then i would argue that - by dint of games played alone - tiger and big bob are first 'outs' of the emergencies, with chadwick and lock out of the 24 and into emergencies

hardeman and cordner to the pine with neitz at chb - although it seems crazy to have our record goal kicker and only coleman medallist at chb, where he started his career but not where he finished it - and gawn into the ruck?

7 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

fwiw, here's the current team of the century:

if it is generally agreed that gawn and neitz are 'locks' to come into the starting 18, let alone the broad squad of 28 that we named, then i would argue that - by dint of games played alone - tiger and big bob are first 'outs' of the emergencies, with chadwick and lock out of the 24 and into emergencies

hardeman and cordner to the pine with neitz at chb - although it seems crazy to have our record goal kicker and only coleman medallist at chb, where he started his career but not where he finished it - and gawn into the ruck?

Wouldn't it be a totally different team for 2000 onwards?

Thanks, @WERRIDEE; your patented 'rolling squad' is a useful addition to the discussion. I trust you'll be around to maintain it through to 2100? (Meanwhile, btw, you need another interchange and emergency) I'll take the liberty of using it in a follow-up post to highlight Definites, Probables and Possibles as identified by feedback so far.

I sincerely hope at least 21, and preferably a few more, of those names have dropped out by then! Otherwise this century will have been a distressingly pale comparison with much of the last for MFC!

Thanks, @whatwhat say what for posting the 20th century's team, particularly to aid the 'calibre comparison' in my OP. Werridee's right that this century's team would be a fresh one, not a roll-on from the last (though perhaps, come 2058, the Club might pick a Bicentennial Team?)

The posted 20th century team also highlights the skew towards our golden era (and not-so-golden eras), to the TV era that began then and has been 'recording' ever since. By this stage last century, assessed 3/4 of it later, only Chadwick and Warne-Smith had qualified. And in the next 'quarter', only Cordner, La Fontaine, Lock, Meuller and Smith were added. Would an electronic age then have provided evidence for more? There should be no such problems in 2100.

5 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

B: Jetta, May, Lever

HB: Brown, Rivers, Whelan

C: Brayshaw, Oliver, Langdon

HF: Petracca, Schwarz, Yze

F: Fritsch, NEITZ, Davey

FOLL: GAWN, Viney, Jones

IC: Salem, Bruce, J.McDonald, K.Pickett, Green

EMERG: Robertson, T.McDonald, Rivers

DEFINITES Probables Possibles

Add J.White to the IC, and Johnstone or Woewodin to the Emerg.

Edited December 13, 2025Dec 13 by Timothy Reddan-A'Blew

8 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

DEFINITES Probables Possibles

Add J.White to the IC, and Johnstone or Woewodin to the Emerg.

Yeah I forgot Johnstone and Farmer.

3 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

Yeah I forgot Johnstone and Farmer.

I'll have another go.

B: Jetta, May, Lever

HB: Brown, Rivers, Whelan

C: Brayshaw, Oliver, Langdon

HF: Petracca, Schwarz, K.Pickett

F: Fritsch, Neitz, Davey

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Jones

IC: Yze, Green, J.McDonald, Farmer, J.White

EMERG: Robertson, Bruce, Johnstone

It's everyone to their own bag but I would prefer Farmer in Frittas possie.

10 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

I'll have another go.

B: Jetta, May, Lever

HB: Brown, Rivers, Whelan

C: Brayshaw, Oliver, Langdon

HF: Petracca, Schwarz, K.Pickett

F: Fritsch, Neitz, Davey

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Jones

IC: Yze, Green, J.McDonald, Farmer, J.White

EMERG: Robertson, Bruce, Johnstone

Clarifying for readers and contributors, the topic is the team of the whole of the 21st century, as 2100's selectors might see it, not the team just of its first quarter. My reference to the latter was just as a notable milestone of the century, as an excuse to think about the former.

But Werridee's team provides a 'roller' towards the end objective (don't forget that extra I/C and Emerg. required, W!)

12 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

I'll have another go.

B: Jetta, May, Lever

HB: Brown, Rivers, Whelan

C: Brayshaw, Oliver, Langdon

HF: Petracca, Schwarz, K.Pickett

F: Fritsch, Neitz, Davey

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Jones

IC: Yze, Green, J.McDonald, Farmer, J.White

EMERG: Robertson, Bruce, Johnstone

i loved dogga but there's no way he'd be picked ahead of salem on the half back flank

controversial, putting wizard on the pine... i guess he can kick ten or so after he comes on at half time?

mine...

B: Jetta - May - Lever
HB: Davey - T. McDonald - Salem
C: Brayshaw - Petracca - Langdon
HF: Fritsch - Schwarz - K. Pickett
F: Robertson - Neitz - Farmer
Foll: Gawn - Oliver - Viney
I/c: Jones - Johnstone - Green - J. McDonald - White
Emerg: Rivers - Bruce - Whelan