I‘ve been accused of being stuck in the 80s a few times in my life, but the most recent time came this morning when a mate called and told me that the site had too many 80s articles in this downtime, and not enough 90s.
Of course, he was a child of the 90s, so he would think that, but I looked back and thought for the first time in his life, he could be right.
As such I started perusing the “decade that delivered” according to AFL and started wondering about the guys who didn’t generate as many headlines – the defenders.
We had the names like Lockett, Ablett and Carey grabbing all the headlines, but some of the defensive presences were just as important in successful sides as those in front of goal or running through the middle.
So, I got around to breaking down the top defenders of that era, and ONLY for the decade starting in 1990 and ending in 1999. Anything the players accomplished outside that range does not count. Yeah, I understand fully that this disadvantages some of the players whose careers commenced mid-decade, and stretched well into the 2000s, but hey… maybe they can have their own list at some stage.
You could even do it yourself, right? Good luck with that.
But until you get off your backside and do it, it looks as though you will be stuck with my list of the 15 greatest defenders of the 1990s.
But am I just going to make it up based on what I think? While I am a complete bozo, I’m not bozo-enough to just throw a list together on a whim. I mean, any Bozo can do that – I am a special sort of bozo; one that likes to have a formula to back up my bozo-ness.
So, a formula was developed, and what you see below is a result of that formula. Is it perfect? I’m sure it isn’t, particularly if you have a favourite you feel has been hard done by. Happy to listen to your arguments as to why I’m wrong – I often am.
So, criteria?
Games played, seasons played, B&F finishes, Flags, and additional awards all calculated and weighted to provide a singular number that is supposed to represent their impact on the game.
Foolproof, right?
Foolish, more to the point.
I guess we’ll soon see.
One thing you’ll notice here – it’s pretty hard to make the list of best defenders on an unsuccessful team. Multiple flags result in players being awarded additional points, so the position of one player in particular are incredible, given that.
15 – Michael Mansfield – Geelong
This was one of the big surprises for me. Mansfield was one of the unsung Cats who made those around him better. When I think of those Geelong teams from the early to mid-90s, it’s names like Bairstow, Brownless, Ablett, Hocking and Stoneham that leap to mind.
The name of Michael Mansfield really doesn’t jump out, but his consistency over 94-95 is hard to overlook once you start digging. Outranking players like Bluey McGrath and Ken Hinkley in this ranking, Mansfield was a quiet achiever in the Geelong defence, but is probably best-described as a “glue guy”; a player that holds the defence together whilst others go about their business.
14 – Andrew McKay – Carlton
Incredibly unsung by all except Blues supporters, McKay provided a solid presence off half back for the Blues, making two All-Australian teams in the 90s, and adding two more in the early 2000s.
Reliable to a fault, McKay made the AA team on his first season with the Blues, which is an unbelievable feat in its own right. He was fined ten grand for warning bottom-ranked sides not to draft him prior to his debut, threatening to stay in South Australia if they took him. In the end, that turned out to be a shrewd move. Given the nature of things at the time, I doubt the $10K would have come from his pocket, and as a premiership defender, I am sure he’d look back at that decision and be thrilled he landed at Carlton.
He is probably one of the players that would be ranked higher if we didn’t have a cut off at 1999. His stretch of play from 99-01 was as good as any defender in the game.
13 – John Worsfold – West Coast
The first of a few Eagles to grace this list, Worsfold led the Eagles to two flags with a no-nonsense approach that left a trail of destruction in his wake.
Never one to allow the opportunity to put a forward on their backside, Worsfold ran in straight lines, and god help whoever was in his way. Big, small, star of nobody – it mattered not to Woosha as he body lined the footy and took anyone in the way with him.
You know you have a quality player when the team’s best and fairest award is named after him. Worsfold captained the Eagles through their first glorious stretch of success and whilst the name “Woosha” is self-explanatory, I heard a player from the 90s recently call him “Whispering Death”.
Now that’s a damn nickname!
12 – Ken Hinkley – Geelong
Hinkley reminded me a lot of a player we’ll see further down the list – Guy McKenna.
He was always in control of the action at half back, and combined with Barry Stoneham, and our number 15 in these rankings, Michael Mansfield to provide a solid core for the Cats to operate in defence.
I played a really rudimentary form of fantasy footy in the early 90s, and Hinkley was a must in defence. He would often intercept and hurt the opposition going the other way, and was the kind of player that every team was jealous of.
Calm, composed and with lovely delivery by foot, Hinkley was a complete half back flanker in a time when that position was slightly underrated.
11 – Mick Martyn – North Melbourne
There is a penchant amongst AFL fans to write off Mick Martyn as a throwback to a time when fullbacks were Gorillas who liked punching forwards in the back of the head as much as they liked spoiling the ball.
I’m not saying that Martyn didn’t like punching blokes in the back of the head, but he was so much more than that. He was a resolute defender who took immense pride in winning his one-on-one match-up, and keeping the best forward on the park quiet.
Martyn’s work on Gary Ablett Senior in the 1994 Preliminary Final was “almost” the perfect game. Keeping Ablett very quiet for the entire afternoon, Martyn watched an errant hack forward sail over his head and into the waiting arms of Ablett.
Right before the siren.
Keeping Ablett in check at this point in time was no easy task – was it ever? But Martyn had done a stellar job on the champ. To watch that ball sail through for a goal, catapulting Geelong into the Grand Final was heartbreaking, but should not detract from how good Martyn was on that day.
Or over his career.
10 – Ashley McIntosh – West Coast
This is a name you don’t often hear when talking about the best defenders in the game in the 90s. McIntosh had incredible closing speed, and as forward setups began to get more sophisticated, allowing blocks and patterns to work forwards open, it was players like McIntosh who made the adjustments first.
As teams oscillated between team forward structures and traditional one-on-one encounters, McIntosh was able to navigate both, providing the Eagles a defensive pillar to build around. His combination with players like Chris Waterman, John Worsfold and Glen Jakovich gave the Eagles a very settled defence, and one that brought many forward lines undone.
9 – Andrew McLeod – Adelaide
So the period we’re assessing is ten years. From 1990 to 1999.
Andrew McLeod made his debut in 1995, missing the entire first half of decade, and STILL made the top ten. Back-to-back Norm Smith Medals will do that.
McLeod was eventually moved into the midfield, but he did some of his best work in defence for the Crows, providing the class, as well as the run and carry that benefitted heavily from a couple of others on this list.
There may have been a couple before him, but he is the first player I remember being called a “Rolls Royce” as he took the ball and glided away from half back. How would you have liked to have been a half forward looking up and seeing this bloke with the footy running in your direction? No wonder Tony Modra was always smiling!
8 – Glenn Archer – North Melbourne
The Shinboner of the Century was the heart and soul of the Kangaroos in the 90s. Wayne Carey may have been the face of the club, but Glenn Archer was its beating heart, and never did hearts beat faster than when a forward was standing under a footy and he could hear the footsteps of Glenn Archer closing in on him.
Originally reluctant to join the Roos, and having to be coerced to make the trip to Arden Street to train with the Under 19s, Denis Pagan took this chubby kid and help him transform into one of the most feared and respected defenders in the game.
Not only did Arch win a Norm Smith on the grandest stage of them all, he also set a record in his career, with six Robert Rose awards for the most courageous player in the game. Two of these came in the 90s.
Archer had two All-Australian berths to his name in this decade, with positions in the team in 1996 and 1998 and continues to be one of the most popular Kangaroos of all time.
7 – Ben Hart – Adelaide
One of the most underrated defenders of the era, Ben Hart often took a back seat to players like Silvagni and Jakovich when pundits wax lyrical about the players they loved to watch in the 90s, but Ben hart was a tower of strength for Adelaide.
He was, however, highly rated by those in the know, as his three All-Australian selections in the 90s indicate, and he was adored internally at the Crows, with a Best and Fairest season in 1999.
Hart is one of the players whose position would have been greatly enhanced had he started just a couple of years earlier, as he was playing brilliant football into the 2000s. I can remember when he debuted – scrawny at just 17 years old, but as his 18th birthday came and went, he was already a fixture in the Adelaide team.
He remains one of four players to reach 300 games for the club after being the first to achieve that milestone.
6 – Nigel Smart – Adelaide
Best remembered for his fire walk that went horribly wrong, Nigel Smart compiled a stellar career at the Adelaide Footy Club, en route to being named as an All-Australian three times in the 1990s, and over an eight-year span which indicates that it was not just a few good years for Smart – he was playing great footy for the majority of the decade..
Smart was surrounded by talent in the Crows’ defensive set up, but his ability to lockdown an opponent and rebound to set the Crows alight.
The Crows had one of the league’s most effective switching defences in the 90s, with both Smart and Ben Hart able to alternate between taking the best and second best defenders. They provided a devastating one-two punch for the Crows, and were an integral part of their back-to-back premierships in 97-98.
So, how does Smart push past Ben Hart into sixth? Well, I am also factoring in Brownlow votes here, and whilst the umps loved the work of Nigel, they didn’t really love that of Ben, and that is the difference between fifth and sixth spot. If we remove that one criteria, Hart leaps above Smart.
Such is life…
5 – Gavin Wanganeen – Essendon/Port Adelaide
Not many blokes win a Brownlow from the back pocket, do they? Not since the AFL actually came into existence in 1990, they haven’t. Maybe Akermanis in 2001, but unfortunately, that accolade wouldn’t count for him, given this is about the 90s, right?
But it counts for Wanganeen.
For those a little young, or a little forgetful, Wanganeen was a freak, and would often seem to contort his body into incredibly awkward positions in order to make a spoil or take an intercept mark. More than that, his run and carry out of defence was one of the springboards that set the Bombers in motion as they stormed to the 1993 premiership.
He moved forward late in his career, but his best came as a small defender, and that included three All-Australian selections in 1992, ’93 and ’95.
4 – Glen Jakovich – West Coast
This was a tough one.
From positions 4-2, we had an incredibly narrow margin separating all three players. In the end, Jakovich’s knee injury probably cost him second spot. He got back to his best in 2000, but that year isn’t counted here.
Jako is probably best remembered as the man who was most successfully curtailed the influence of Wayne Carey, although Carlton supporters will tell you that Silvagni had just as much success against ‘The King’.
Jakovich was a powerhouse, and was a pillar of strength in a West Coast defence that boasted some amazing talent – several of which make this top fifteen list. His two All-Australian blazers were complemented by four Best and Fairest awards – one in a premiership year, and his commitment to the task at hand was second to none. The way he was able to take the beating Wayne Carey gave him early in his career, receive the criticism from Mick Malthouse as a result, and then turn it all around to become one of the best centre-half-backs in the game is testament to his work ethic and competitive spirit.
3 – Guy McKenna – West Coast
I am such a huge fan of the way McKenna played the game. Always calm under pressure, always composed, and was a complete ironman when it came to his durability in the 90s.
McKenna played an incredible 220 games in the decade – the nest best was Mick Martyn with 206, but durability was one of several of his talents that aided the eagles to two flags in his time. He was a sweeper and interceptor before it was fashionable, and if those stats were available, he’d also probably lead the team, and perhaps the league in Rebound 50s.
McKenna was rewarded with three All-Australian selections in the 90s as his poise and excellent foot-skills were something that really stood out at the time.
Part of me was a little sad that Jakovich was rated at four, but when I realised that he would be sharing some of the credit for that powerful Eagles defence with McKenna, I felt a little better. McKenna was a star – he is just not celebrated in the same way.
2 – Paul Roos – Fitzroy/Sydney
Considering the bloke never won a flag, to be rated this high is testament to how important he was to the teams he played on.
Roos was a bit of a freak, and although you could argue he was the best player on a dying team in Fitzroy, his sustained success there, and in Sydney at the personal level were pretty hard to argue against.
Roos notched four of his seven All-Australian blazers in the 90s, and added three of his five Best and Fairest awards in that period as well.
He held down the centre-half-back at both the Lions and the Swans, playing nine of the possible ten seasons in the decade. Roos could very well have held a place in the list of the best defenders of the 80s as well. In hindsight… a pretty bloody good career.
1 – Stephen Silvagni – Carlton
I’ve heard the arguments against him. He was a koala in the way he hung onto the big forwards – it was permitted at the time. He had big bags kicked on him by the best forwards in the game – that’s why they were the best forwards in the game.
However, in a period where three of the six 1000-goal kickers roamed the forward 50, the presence of Stephen Silvagni was something that would create a highlight match-up, each and every time he came up against Lockett, Dunstall or Ablett.
Lockett, Dunstall and Wayne Carey have all labelled SoS as their toughest opponent, whilst Ablett doesn’t really speak publicly, so it’s pretty hard to get anything out of him. There are very good reasons they’re so adamant that he is great, and the numbers more than back them up.
For the record, Dunstall and Silvagni clashed 11 times in the 90s. Dunstall’s goal average was 3.27 goals in those games. His career average is 4.66
Silvagni played on Lockett eight times in the 90s and Plugger averaged 3.12 goals. His career average is 4.84.
Gary Ablett and SoS lined up against each other eight times in the 90s as well. Gazza averaged 3.44 goals per game against the full back of the century. His career average is 4.16 goals per game.
And then there’s Carey. The King and Silvagni crossed paths 12 times in the 90s. Carey’s goal average is 1.50 per game. His career stats are 2.67 goals per game. Silvagni held him to one goal or less on eight occasions.
So, if you’re looking for something to latch onto about Silvagni having big bags kicked against him, you may want to reconsider your stance. He had two Best and Fairest awards in the 90s and lazy five All-Australian berths, as well as holding the great Gary Ablett goalless in the biggest game of the decade for the Blues.
I’m not one to blow the trumpet of Carlton players, usually, but if you fail to recognise just how good Silvagni was in this decade, it’s more a reflection of you than it is of him. The man was a star.
QUESTIONS
So, where the hell is Dustin Fletcher?
Hmmm, good question. I was all ready to have him entrenched in the top ten, but given this is stat and success-based, Fletcher was rather devoid of accolades in the 1990s. I’m not making this up – no best and fairest awards, no All-Australian selections and one flag means that whilst ‘Fletch’ was still very good, he was not being recognised for his play at this stage.
Fletcher’s two All-Australian blazers and one Crichton Medal all came in the 2000s, so could I possibly argue that his best actually came post-1999? I’d like to think so, as not having him make the top 15 of the 90s is kind of irking me.
He was also hampered by starting his career in 1993, which left three years on the table at the start of the decade. Although this didn’t seem to worry Andrew McLeod, did it?
Who were close to the top 15?
Tim McGrath, Chris Langford, Sean Wellman, Ken Hinkley, Michael Sexton, Peter Dean, Chris Waterman, Marcus Ashcroft and Gary Pert were all in contention for a spot in the final 15. Maybe I should have rounded it out to 20? That way Fletcher would have snuck in (at 18 for those playing at home).
Is too much emphasis placed on premierships in this ranking?
Possibly, but only as much as gaining an AA berth, or a B&F win.
And really, can there ever be too much emphasis placed on the reason the game is played?
The way I look at anything like this always goes back to success. You cannot be one of the greatest at anything without success, and apart from Paul Roos, who is the outlier here, every player in the top ten has tasted premiership glory. They’re not defenders in teams just making up the numbers – they’re right in the mix, as part of the best teams in the land. Even Michael Mansfield played in three Grand Finals.
This ranking, and the following rankings like it for forwards and mids will reward success. I don’t like rewarding failure.
So, that’s it, and at the conclusion of the positional rankings, we’re going to head into the dangerous territory of the overall top 20 players of the 90s. No doubt there will be some conjecture about that, but as always, I am more than happy to chat about it.
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