- Jul 3, 2001
- 22,472
- 9,395
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
- Other Teams
- Heat, Victory, Man Utd, Redskins
Ranking the Forwards
1. Port
Tredrea
Cornes
Burgoyne
Burgoyne
Pickett
Dew
Clearly the most exciting forward line in the competition, the Power has class both in the air and when the ball hits the deck in the forward 50. Tredrea is the key target, his physicality compliments an athletic leading game which makes him very hard to match up on. Whilst not the best kick for goal, he can still kick a bag. He also gives off his fair share too. Cornes is the unconventional Full Forward of the side and once again he great on the lead and his marking is first class. However like Tredrea he prefers to give off more goals than kick them, so effectively they have two Centre Half Forwards. I’d hate to see a natural Full Forward play for this side! P Burgoyne looks like being groomed as a midfielder but in the pocket he is extremely dangerous. A good mark for his size and extremely quick and skilful, he’s quite simply too good for most back pockets. S Burgoyne is much of the same, but looks more flexible at either end of the ground with his advantage in height. He looks to have the most potential of the two. Byron Pickett was a bargain pickup for the Power, explosive, strong and capable of the long bomb or miraculous goal. Dew was almost a forgotten man in 2003, but like Pickett kicks plenty of goals from a range of distances. With him fit and firing in 04, the Power once again look to have the most formidable front 6 in the competition.
2. Brisbane
Lynch
Brown
Bradshaw
Akermanis
McRae
Brennan
With such a supreme midfield Brisbane’s forwards are often the forgotten heroes in victory.
Lynch is the strongest forward in the game, and his leading and goalkicking accuracy have not waned in his twilight years. As many people have said before, he seems to be getting better the longer he goes. His pupil Jonny Brown doesn’t lack anything in the size or strength department either. He is still a young player who has simply modeled his game on Carey and it is so far so good. A consistent, quality season from him and things start to look even scarier up at the Gabba. Bradshaw has remodeled his career in defence however with such a strong backline already, he can afford to move forward and act as the all important 3rd marking option to really stretch opposing backlines. McRae is one of the most underrated crumbing forwards in the league, he has excellent running ability and an eye for goal, not to mention years of experience at Lynchs feet. With McGrath coming through the ranks he also has some healthy competition for his spot. Finally the enigma that is Brennan sits on the fringes waiting for his chance. Still extremely raw, he has undoubted potential and may be the man to fill Lynchs shoes when he finishes up. I think he may be a backman though just quietly.
3. Essendon
Lloyd
Bolton
Cupido
Solomon
Ramanauskas
Mercuri
The Bombers edge out the Pies - just - by virtue of having the best forward in the league – Matthew Lloyd. Lloyds record speaks for itself, quite simply in a game that no longer relies on large contributions from full forwards he still continues to set the standard year in year out with both amount of goals and accuracy and in my opinion he is Essendons best and most important player. Supporting him at Centre Half Forward is Bolton, a young player still learning the caper but not one to take a backward step. He is very much a role player and not your high marking target. He may just be warming this position until Richards develops a bit more. Cupido is the cream on the cake and when he is on, he is on. Like many smaller forwards he battles with consistency and sometimes concentration but the talent is there to have a great career at Windy Hill. Solomon has surprised me with his adaptability to play a number of roles and I think he plays the forward flank role very well. He is more skilled than he looks and his attack on the ball is first rate. Ramanuaskas is another who plays a flank exceptionally well, which I expect more of as he eases into his return into football. Class is the best way to describe his game, very good skills, aerobic capacity and football brain. Mercuri is the final piece at the feet of Lloyd and although he is a shadow of his former self, hes a very handy player for the opposition to ‘forget about’. Knows where the goals are, great skills, experience.
4. Collingwood
Tarrant
Rocca
Didak
O'Bree
Lockyer
Davis
5. Adelaide
Carey
Welsh
Stevens
Burton
Bode
Burns
6. Sydney
Hall
Doyle
Davis
O'Loughlin
Schneider
O'Keefe
7. St Kilda
Gehrig
Riewoldt
Hamill
Goddard
Guerra
Milne
8. Richmond
Richardson
Ottens
Brown
Rogers
Rodan
Krakour
9. West Coast
McDougall
Gaspar
Matera
Embley
Sampi
Chick
10. Fremantle
Longmuir
Polak
Farmer
Medhurst
Waterhouse
Schammer
11.Hawthorn
Thompson
Holland
Brown
Barker
Barlow
Ladson
12. Kangaroos
Rocca
Petrie
McKernan
Jones
Harding
Wells
13. Melbourne
Neitz
Robertson
Green
Jolly
Walsh
Armstrong
14.Carlton
Fevola
Whitnall
Houlihan
Morrell
Fisher
McGrath
15. Geelong
Kingsley
McCarthy
Riccardi
Chapman
Mooney
Johnson
16. Bulldogs
Rawlings
Bandy
Giansiracusa
Koops
Garlick
Eagleton
1. Port
Tredrea
Cornes
Burgoyne
Burgoyne
Pickett
Dew
Clearly the most exciting forward line in the competition, the Power has class both in the air and when the ball hits the deck in the forward 50. Tredrea is the key target, his physicality compliments an athletic leading game which makes him very hard to match up on. Whilst not the best kick for goal, he can still kick a bag. He also gives off his fair share too. Cornes is the unconventional Full Forward of the side and once again he great on the lead and his marking is first class. However like Tredrea he prefers to give off more goals than kick them, so effectively they have two Centre Half Forwards. I’d hate to see a natural Full Forward play for this side! P Burgoyne looks like being groomed as a midfielder but in the pocket he is extremely dangerous. A good mark for his size and extremely quick and skilful, he’s quite simply too good for most back pockets. S Burgoyne is much of the same, but looks more flexible at either end of the ground with his advantage in height. He looks to have the most potential of the two. Byron Pickett was a bargain pickup for the Power, explosive, strong and capable of the long bomb or miraculous goal. Dew was almost a forgotten man in 2003, but like Pickett kicks plenty of goals from a range of distances. With him fit and firing in 04, the Power once again look to have the most formidable front 6 in the competition.
2. Brisbane
Lynch
Brown
Bradshaw
Akermanis
McRae
Brennan
With such a supreme midfield Brisbane’s forwards are often the forgotten heroes in victory.
Lynch is the strongest forward in the game, and his leading and goalkicking accuracy have not waned in his twilight years. As many people have said before, he seems to be getting better the longer he goes. His pupil Jonny Brown doesn’t lack anything in the size or strength department either. He is still a young player who has simply modeled his game on Carey and it is so far so good. A consistent, quality season from him and things start to look even scarier up at the Gabba. Bradshaw has remodeled his career in defence however with such a strong backline already, he can afford to move forward and act as the all important 3rd marking option to really stretch opposing backlines. McRae is one of the most underrated crumbing forwards in the league, he has excellent running ability and an eye for goal, not to mention years of experience at Lynchs feet. With McGrath coming through the ranks he also has some healthy competition for his spot. Finally the enigma that is Brennan sits on the fringes waiting for his chance. Still extremely raw, he has undoubted potential and may be the man to fill Lynchs shoes when he finishes up. I think he may be a backman though just quietly.
3. Essendon
Lloyd
Bolton
Cupido
Solomon
Ramanauskas
Mercuri
The Bombers edge out the Pies - just - by virtue of having the best forward in the league – Matthew Lloyd. Lloyds record speaks for itself, quite simply in a game that no longer relies on large contributions from full forwards he still continues to set the standard year in year out with both amount of goals and accuracy and in my opinion he is Essendons best and most important player. Supporting him at Centre Half Forward is Bolton, a young player still learning the caper but not one to take a backward step. He is very much a role player and not your high marking target. He may just be warming this position until Richards develops a bit more. Cupido is the cream on the cake and when he is on, he is on. Like many smaller forwards he battles with consistency and sometimes concentration but the talent is there to have a great career at Windy Hill. Solomon has surprised me with his adaptability to play a number of roles and I think he plays the forward flank role very well. He is more skilled than he looks and his attack on the ball is first rate. Ramanuaskas is another who plays a flank exceptionally well, which I expect more of as he eases into his return into football. Class is the best way to describe his game, very good skills, aerobic capacity and football brain. Mercuri is the final piece at the feet of Lloyd and although he is a shadow of his former self, hes a very handy player for the opposition to ‘forget about’. Knows where the goals are, great skills, experience.
4. Collingwood
Tarrant
Rocca
Didak
O'Bree
Lockyer
Davis
5. Adelaide
Carey
Welsh
Stevens
Burton
Bode
Burns
6. Sydney
Hall
Doyle
Davis
O'Loughlin
Schneider
O'Keefe
7. St Kilda
Gehrig
Riewoldt
Hamill
Goddard
Guerra
Milne
8. Richmond
Richardson
Ottens
Brown
Rogers
Rodan
Krakour
9. West Coast
McDougall
Gaspar
Matera
Embley
Sampi
Chick
10. Fremantle
Longmuir
Polak
Farmer
Medhurst
Waterhouse
Schammer
11.Hawthorn
Thompson
Holland
Brown
Barker
Barlow
Ladson
12. Kangaroos
Rocca
Petrie
McKernan
Jones
Harding
Wells
13. Melbourne
Neitz
Robertson
Green
Jolly
Walsh
Armstrong
14.Carlton
Fevola
Whitnall
Houlihan
Morrell
Fisher
McGrath
15. Geelong
Kingsley
McCarthy
Riccardi
Chapman
Mooney
Johnson
16. Bulldogs
Rawlings
Bandy
Giansiracusa
Koops
Garlick
Eagleton
