Toast Top 5 BRISBANE Lions (IYO?)

[knaf]

Favourites:

1 Joe

2 Chris Johnson

3 Black

4 Darryl White

5 Charlie

Joe is really the Chris Fagan/Brisbane Lions gift to the AFL over the last five years. Who but Fages could have managed the beautiful, flawed, unique and engaging Joe in the game and playing well for so long. All true AFL fans should have loved the Joe Show.

 

[Elixuh]

Todd was going to like this but fumbled his phone as he went to pick it up.

Poor Todd would simultaneously look like the most and least dangerous player on the ground

 

[lionshine]

1. Adam Spackman
2. Lenny Clark
3. Josh Dyson
4. Sean Yoshiura
5. Kieran King

Special mentions to Marcus Allan, Daniel Dzufer, Luke Forsyth, Will Hamill, Leigh Ryswyk & Scott Clouston

 

[Section 5]

A few playing at present may make my list when they retire.

1 - Voss
2 - Black
3 - Brown
4 - Aker
5 - Power

Of the colours which i loved the commentators calls at the time

1 - Black
2 - Brown
3 - White
4 - Green Josh (not Brent who played only 2 games)
5 - ??

 

[Elixuh]

I started supporting in 2011. So from the players I’ve seen…

1 Neale
2 Black
3 Zorko
4 Brown
5 Andrews & Daniher

Special mention to Llane Spandermann.

 

[Mr Ripper]

Best
Voss - Probably on the fringe of Hof Legend selection, anyway; gotta wonder what his standing as a player might have been without the broken leg and degenerative knee.
Neale - Diesel Williams without the same ability to "defend himself" against taggers.
Black - To be good enough to perform a duet with Voss and not be overshadowed, you have to be pretty bloody good.
Brown - When fit, as dominant a key forward as there's ever been. One of my biggest disappointments as a supporter was JB not staying on the park in '06.
Jason - Couldn't stand the bloke, but one of the most electrifying offensive talents to have ever played the game

Faves
Drummo - great fellow and an even greater left foot.
Power - Reckon there was about two or three seasons there where he didn't fumble or duff a kick. Almost a decade's worth of B&F podium finishes proof of his talent and durability. Outstanding human being too.
Merrett (Strawbs) - Heart as big as Phar Lap and gave his absolute all for this club every time he crossed the white line. Might have bumped him up a spot or two for the shout-out during his retirement speech.
Lester - Fantastic person, fantastic clubman, rewarded with a premiership. Satisfying.
Beau McDonald - Awkward, low-possession, but important enough for Mick to place a target on his back in a Grand Final. Another terrific bloke and, of course, Sidey's nephew.

Faves to watch (mainly ressies)
Cupido - I've never seen a more smooth-moving, aesthetically pleasing athlete in any endeavour. Eyegasmic every (infrequent) time he mustered the energy to do anything on a football field.
Proud - won't go into his off-field activities. Genuine throwback to the hard men of the 70s with his physical play.
Retzy - great football brain, great trier, great hands, great leadership qualities. Shocking timing with his knee injury. Big shout-out to Hawk if you're still reading this forum.
Cal Bartlett - Another victim of a dodgy knee reco (god this club was shit back in that era). Never regained that explosiveness that was his great selling point as an underager. Still, provided so many highlights in the NEAFL. You could see the talent was still there. Big shout out to Soupy if you're still reading this forum.
Matty Eagles - Bit undersold talent-wise on account of the gimmicky way he was recruited. A best-on in a NEAFL Grand Final and a near best-on in another when he played a heroic last quarter with a busted rotator cuff. One of my fave footy moments when he floated that goal through in his AFL debut.

Apologies to the countless players who've brought me such joy watching over the years and I've overlooked here, especially Polks.

 

[Bucking Beads]

1. Voss
2. Black
3. Brown
4. Neale
5. Zorko

No explanation needed.

 

[martinson]

1. Adam Spackman
2. Lenny Clark
3. Josh Dyson
4. Sean Yoshiura
5. Kieran King

Special mentions to Marcus Allan, Daniel Dzufer, Luke Forsyth, Will Hamill, Leigh Ryswyk & Scott Clouston

Extraordinary memory.

 

[Zhesty]

1. Voss
2. Black
3. Brown
4. Neale
5. Aker

 

[lionshine]

Extraordinary memory.

For some reason these sorts of names jump to mind when thinking of random ex players before guys who played a fair bit of senior footy e.g. Sherman, Selwood, Moody or Collier

 

[buttermuffs]

. Voss
. Neale
. Black
. Brown
[emoji6]. Zorko

The mention of AFLW in the criteria got me thinking. Realistically there’s not many options at all since so many players left during each set of expansion teams. The one name I think that could be in the 5 - 10 category right now is Ally Anderson with AA’s, B&F, and Club B&F’s. If she wins another couple club best and fairest and another blazer or two I’d be comfortable putting here tied fifth with Zorko.

 

[buttermuffs]

. Voss
. Neale
. Black
. Brown
[emoji6]. Zorko

The mention of AFLW in the criteria got me thinking. Realistically there’s not many options at all since so many players left during each set of expansion teams. The one name I think that could be in the 5 - 10 category right now is Ally Anderson with AA’s, B&F, and Club B&F’s. If she wins another couple club best and fairest and another blazer or two I’d be comfortable putting here tied fifth with Zorko.

Does anyone know why the numbers in my post auto format to emojis? Really annoying.

 

[knaf]

Before we forget, for 2024
1. Fort
2. Joyce
3. Sharpe
4. Reville
5. Prior
Special mention to DevRobbo, who didn’t get a game but was emergency a number of times. And Smith and Brain who have their careers in front of them.

 

[Denno]

Snip (for size - not content)

Bravo Rip - great post. You put it better than I could have - particularly the Top 5. My 2c:

• 100% agree with you on Brown. People forget that '06 (partial) season. I agree with you - it was the most dominant stretch I've seen from a key forward. It's a shame he couldn't get through the season - leading the Brownlow when he went down from memory. Also a shame that he never saw 6/6/6 while he was playing. Plenty of times 2 defenders would line up on him - literally. Hard to comprehend these days.
• Aka - his skills are still criminally undersold, to this day. His Youtube highlights are still hard to top (in terms of freak goals). It's such a shame that foot skills are seemingly lower down the order of priority for junior development (compared to years past). I also think it's one of the undersold skills our midfield through the threepeat had - they could all be pushed to their opposite side, and not bat an eyelid.
• Drummond - totally agree also. That draw against Richmond in 2007 was something else (I went back and had a look at the stats - 227 SC points to put it in context). His skills were next level, and that game stands out.
• Merrett - another who had a couple of seasons cut short when playing at an elite level. Reckon he could have been All-Oz FB if he had've seen the season out in at least one of them. Another fwd to backman success story.
• Cupido - you nailed it. Think I said it back then (when he left) - he was next in line to become a gun for us. Wasted talent.
• Proud - interesting you mention him. I too thought he was on the verge of "making it", but he never seemed to put it together completely.

My additional favs to watch (obviously more related to the seniors!):

• Brad Boyd - smooth mover who paid the price for playing through injury at Fitzroy. Back was stuffed before he got to the Lions. That Rd 1 game in '99 was a reminder of him at his best.
• Karnezis - just had that "something special" about him. Shame it didn't amount to something more substantial.
• Headland - that '02 season was phenomenal. Loved watching him that year. He got tagged in the GF by Steinfort from memory - sorta says something about how well he was travelling! Guess it also shows "going home" isn't all it's cracked up to be......
• Bradshaw - probably my #1. To this day I still have a soft spot for traditional lead/mark full forwards. He had such a simple, yet effective, kick, and a vice like grip. I'm glad he's seemingly patched things up with Voss and the club, after the messy end to his career at the Lions. Would have been a real shame otherwise.

 

[Gadzorks]

My favourites not best since 2010

Ooh ahhh ash mcgrath. So understated.

Daniel Merrit. Fond memories of him standing over opposition players screaming at them.

Rhan hooper. Ran like the wind

Charlie Cameron. How do you move in so many directing at the same time that quickly?

Ryan Lester. Fabulous story.