Top 10 Captains since the Turn of the Century

[Fadge]

There has been a lot of discussion about the best players since the turn of the century over the off season, and many of us rate Leadership as a highly important attribute when ranking these players.

Which led me to thinking... Who have been the best playing leaders since the turn of the century?

To qualify, the player must have been a club captain for a period of time, but leadership outside of their captaincy term should also be taken into consideration.

Here are my Top 10:
1. Michael Voss (Brisbane Captain 2001 - 2006)
2. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn Captain 2011 - 2016)
3. Joel Selwood (Geelong Captain 2012 - 2022)
4. Trent Cotchin (Richmond Captain 2013 - 2021)
5. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood Captain 2014 - 2022)
6. Max Gawn (Melbourne Captain 2020 - Present)
7. Nick Riewoldt (St. Kilda Captain 2005, 2007, 2009 - 2016)
8. Jonathon Brown (Brisbane Captain 2007 - 2013)
9. Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle Captain 2007 - 2015)
10. Mark Riccuito (Adelaide Captain 2001 - 2007)

Others considered - Darren Glass, Callan Ward, Lenny Hayes, Chris Grant, Marcus Bontempelli, Chris Judd, Patrick Cripps, Shane Crawford, Nathan Buckley, James Hird, Warren Tredrea, Brad Johnson, Toby Greene, Adam Goodes, Travis Boak, Nick Maxwell, Tom Harley, Nathan Fyfe, Gary Ablett Jnr, Sam Mitchell, David Neitz.

Give me your top 10, and periodically I'll provide an updated cumulative view of the best captains since the turn of the century according to the BigFooty brainstrust!

Cumulative votes as a 6pm on 7th February:

 

[GWT6]

Nick Maxwell in the top few, if not number one.

Was not overly blessed with talent like a lot of the other names on the list.

He stood down as captain at the end of each season and unanimously reselected each year. Was a great on-field leader. His impact on Collingwood winning a premiership is sverly underated.

 

[NetworkNerd]

Selwood over cotchin....

 

[RUNVS]

Brett Kirk deserves to be there.

 

[hawkman]

Brett Kirk deserves to be there.

Loses 10 spots for this

 

[RUNVS]

Loses 10 spots for this

He was an amazing captain though

 

[schmuttt]

There has been a lot of discussion about the best players since the turn of the century over the off season, and many of us rate Leadership as a highly important attribute when ranking these players.

Which led me to thinking... Who have been the best playing leaders since the turn of the century?

To qualify, the player must have been a club captain for a period of time, but leadership outside of their captaincy term should also be taken into consideration.

Here are my Top 10:
1. Michael Voss (Brisbane Captain 2001 - 2006)
2. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn Captain 2011 - 2016)
3. Joel Selwood (Geelong Captain 2012 - 2022)
4. Trent Cotchin (Richmond Captain 2013 - 2021)
5. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood Captain 2014 - 2022)
6. Max Gawn (Melbourne Captain 2020 - Present)
7. Nick Riewoldt (St. Kilda Captain 2005, 2007, 2009 - 2016)
8. Jonathon Brown (Brisbane Captain 2007 - 2013)
9. Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle Captain 2007 - 2015)
10. Mark Riccuito (Adelaide Captain 2001 - 2007)

Others considered - Darren Glass, Callan Ward, Lenny Hayes, Chris Grant, Marcus Bontempelli, Chris Judd, Patrick Cripps, Shane Crawford, Nathan Buckley, James Hird, Warren Tredrea, Brad Johnson, Toby Greene, Adam Goodes, Travis Boak, Nick Maxwell, Tom Harley, Nathan Fyfe, Gary Ablett Jnr, Sam Mitchell, David Neitz.

Give me your top 10, and periodically I'll provide an updated cumulative view of the best captains since the turn of the century according to the BigFooty brainstrust!

What made you put Gawn so high out of curiosity? I think he is a good captain but I'm surprised to see a neutral rate him that highly.

 

[Fadge]

What made you put Gawn so high out of curiosity? I think he is a good captain but I'm surprised to see a neutral rate him that highly.

I just love skippers who can put their teams on their backs and say 'come with me boys, we're winning this game', and he's done it a lot with this Melbourne team, culminating in the 2021 flag.

Great player and leader.

 

[schmuttt]

I just love skippers who can put their teams on their backs and say 'come with me boys, we're winning this game', and he's done it a lot with this Melbourne team, culminating in the 2021 flag.

Great player and leader.

Yeah, I'd think as a captain in terms of carrying the team with on-field performance he is definitely one of the best in the league. Not sure how his leadership intangibles and off field measure up (Although it is hard to judge off-field leadership as an outsider).

 

[Trav 20]

Not sure how his leadership intangibles and off field measure up (Although it is hard to judge off-field leadership as an outsider).

How would you know ? I agree with your comments in brackets.

One player, or captain can't control the behaviour of 44.

Breaking through a supposed ''curse'', being the only player in the club's history to win a game after the siren, and an incredibly significant one at that, is pretty monumental.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

There has been a lot of discussion about the best players since the turn of the century over the off season, and many of us rate Leadership as a highly important attribute when ranking these players.

Which led me to thinking... Who have been the best playing leaders since the turn of the century?

To qualify, the player must have been a club captain for a period of time, but leadership outside of their captaincy term should also be taken into consideration.

Here are my Top 10:
1. Michael Voss (Brisbane Captain 2001 - 2006)
2. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn Captain 2011 - 2016)
3. Joel Selwood (Geelong Captain 2012 - 2022)
4. Trent Cotchin (Richmond Captain 2013 - 2021)
5. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood Captain 2014 - 2022)
6. Max Gawn (Melbourne Captain 2020 - Present)
7. Nick Riewoldt (St. Kilda Captain 2005, 2007, 2009 - 2016)
8. Jonathon Brown (Brisbane Captain 2007 - 2013)
9. Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle Captain 2007 - 2015)
10. Mark Riccuito (Adelaide Captain 2001 - 2007)

Others considered - Darren Glass, Callan Ward, Lenny Hayes, Chris Grant, Marcus Bontempelli, Chris Judd, Patrick Cripps, Shane Crawford, Nathan Buckley, James Hird, Warren Tredrea, Brad Johnson, Toby Greene, Adam Goodes, Travis Boak, Nick Maxwell, Tom Harley, Nathan Fyfe, Gary Ablett Jnr, Sam Mitchell, David Neitz.

Give me your top 10, and periodically I'll provide an updated cumulative view of the best captains since the turn of the century according to the BigFooty brainstrust!

I think your top 2 is spot on, but the rest is quite questionable. Tom Harley should be in the top 5 since 2001, incredible leader. Not sure why you put Johnathan Brown 8th on your list, Brisbane were abysmal during his tenure as captain. Matthew Primus should get a small shout out, his 2001-2002 period was enormous as captain. And I think Buckley would be well above Ruccuito as a captain.

 

[Fadge]

I think your top 2 is spot on, but the rest is quite questionable. Tom Harley should be in the top 5 since 2001, incredible leader. Not sure why you put Johnathan Brown 8th on your list, Brisbane were abysmal during his tenure as captain. Matthew Primus should get a small shout out, his 2001-2002 period was enormous as captain. And I think Buckley would be well above Ruccuito as a captain.

Great.

Feel free to share your top 10...

 

[Aristotle Pickett]

Pendulberry should be around 9 or 10.

 

[Cyclops]

How would you know ? I agree with your comments in brackets.

One player, or captain can't control the behaviour of 44.

Breaking through a supposed ''curse'', being the only player in the club's history to win a game after the siren, and an incredibly significant one at that, is pretty monumental.

Maxwell gets credit as a captain for unifying our 2008-2014ish side which included the Rat Pack, and he did that with strong leadership support from Malthouse and McGuire.

I get the feeling Gawn has less support, and at least as volatile a group, so I feel (as an outsider) he looks to be a good leader.

Goodwin runs a strong gameplan but doesn't project "war leader" vibes like the older ideal of a coach. I think the knock on him is based mostly on rumour and maybe he's the messiah inside the change rooms, but Gawn is such a likeable figure and seems to exhibit leadership: taking in Clarry, facing up consistently, projecting honesty.

People try to make light of Melbourne's flag as a COVID special as if Melbourbe snuck one. They were affected the same as anyone and adjusted better. Maybe the shorter quarters favoured a powerful direct style, but likely clear leadership helped them adapt effectively too.

 

[janty]

Brett Kirk deserves to be there.

And Jarryn Geary.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Selwood over cotchin....

Nah, it's fair. Cat supporters will naturally agree and Tiger supporters will make a good case for the reverse, but that's just our love for our respective man. I would see a lot of neutrals leaning towards Joel over Trent and can fully appreciate that stance.

Cotch was very young when he got the gig and took quite a while to grow into the role, whereas Selwood seemed like a more readymade leader and enjoyed success a lot earlier in his career. That enabled him to set a realistic bar for his teammates which included unconditional commitment and subsequent September pay-off.

Both men were uber tough and fearless to the point of repeatedly jeopardising their own self-preservation on the field. Both garnered massive respect from their troops for their onfield exploits.

I've read the Cotchin autobiography but not the Selwood one, so I probably have a much greater insight into what makes Trent such a magnificent leader within his club, but I'm sure there's also many nuances to Selwood's captaincy role off the field that I'm not aware of.

One thing's for sure, simply being compared to Joel Selwood as a captain and leader of men and being in that conversation should be of the greatest compliments to any other captain, Hodge and Cotchin being two of them.

That said, I'm more than content seeing Michael Voss at number 1. He is unsurpassed in my lifetime. He's the Clive Lloyd of AFL footy to me.

 

[schmuttt]

Maxwell gets credit as a captain for unifying our 2008-2014ish side which included the Rat Pack, and he did that with strong leadership support from Malthouse and McGuire.

I get the feeling Gawn has less support, and at least as volatile a group, so I feel (as an outsider) he looks to be a good leader.

Goodwin runs a strong gameplan but doesn't project "war leader" vibes like the older ideal of a coach. I think the knock on him is based mostly on rumour and maybe he's the messiah inside the change rooms, but Gawn is such a likeable figure and seems to exhibit leadership: taking in Clarry, facing up consistently, projecting honesty.

People try to make light of Melbourne's flag as a COVID special as if Melbourbe snuck one. They were affected the same as anyone and adjusted better. Maybe the shorter quarters favoured a powerful direct style, but likely clear leadership helped them adapt effectively too.

2021 didn't have shortened quarters.

 

[bradfisher14]

I just love skippers who can put their teams on their backs and say 'come with me boys, we're winning this game', and he's done it a lot with this Melbourne team, culminating in the 2021 flag.

Great player and leader.

Sounds like you'd be a fan of this guy called Chris Judd who used to captain a couple of clubs. Maybe you should check him out.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Sounds like you'd be a fan of this guy called Chris Judd who used to captain a couple of clubs. Maybe you should check him out.

Also a premiership captain unlike a few on the top 10 list provided by the OP

 

[Trav 20]

Maxwell gets credit as a captain for unifying our 2008-2014ish side which included the Rat Pack, and he did that with strong leadership support from Malthouse and McGuire.

I get the feeling Gawn has less support, and at least as volatile a group, so I feel (as an outsider) he looks to be a good leader.

Goodwin runs a strong gameplan but doesn't project "war leader" vibes like the older ideal of a coach. I think the knock on him is based mostly on rumour and maybe he's the messiah inside the change rooms, but Gawn is such a likeable figure and seems to exhibit leadership: taking in Clarry, facing up consistently, projecting honesty.

People try to make light of Melbourne's flag as a COVID special as if Melbourbe snuck one. They were affected the same as anyone and adjusted better. Maybe the shorter quarters favoured a powerful direct style, but likely clear leadership helped them adapt effectively too.

As Schmuttt has mentioned, Richmond's 2020 is the only year with short quarters. 2021 was back to normal.

I agree with the bulk of your post.

 

[The 747]

Hard to rank these because a lot of what a captain does is not visible to the footy fan.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Hodge, Voss, Selwood and Cotchin are the clear top four.

They were leaders on and off the field, and the first three in particular were hard, tough, uncompromising big game players.

Cotchin came across as a classy consumate professional.


Edit: good shout with Maxwell; to the posters that mentioned him.

 

[Pistol Night]

Pendulberry should be around 9 or 10.

Who?

 

[Fadge]

Sounds like you'd be a fan of this guy called Chris Judd who used to captain a couple of clubs. Maybe you should check him out.

Yep.

He's in the mix, but top 10 tough to crack.

He had a pretty handy midfield group at West Coast in Cousins, Kerr and Cox, and peaked at an Elimination Final win at Carlton.

Note, I also excluded Buckley from my top 10, who carried his team further. Just didn't rate his leadership as highly as others.

 

[PenfoldsFan]

Voss
Hodge
Selwood
Cotchin
Maxwell
Harley
Pendlebury
Buckley
Goodes
RIcciuto