Is this the most talented list you've seen in your lifetime?

[Mofra]

Honestly, is it?

There are a lot of variables left - our best 22 is really just a crapshoot at this stage and there are probably 35 guys who will push for positions - but I can't recall a time where the last 5 spots in the best 22 are so contested by genuinely talented players.

When guys like Macrae & Hunter - who would arguably be our best two potentials in other eras - are being outshone by other talented kids like Stringer & Bonti it is cause for genuine excitement.

The Eade era had locked in back six with Morris-Lake-Hargrave-Gilbee-Williams-Harbrow at their peak the best defensive unit I've seen in Bulldog colours but were let down elsewhere, particularly the lack of a genuine KPF team.
Other eras we always seemed to be a position or two short but post 2015 draft we now genuinely have claims to filling every spot on the field and having depth in that position, albeit in some parts with developing players.

[Twodogs]

For all out talent, 1985 still floats my boat. The best spine, the best rover, one of the best ruckman, a mean lean backline that hated having goals kicked against it, Beasley out of the goalsquare kicking the ton, Jimmy Sewell marking everything at CHF Bamblett cleaning up anything he mised. Wallis in the middle, Dougie on the wing. That team had it all.

What this list has better than any other list I've seen is a better bottom six on the list and in the 22. I can't even figure out a best 22, let alone who the bottom six are.

[FrediKanoute]

For all out talent, 1985 still floats my boat. The best spine, the best rover, one of the best ruckman, a mean lean backline that hated having goals kicked against it, Beasley out of the goalsquare kicking the ton, Jimmy Sewell marking everything at CHF Bamblett cleaning up anything he mised. Wallis in the middle, Dougie on the wing. That team had it all.

What this list has better than any other list I've seen is a better bottom six on the list and in the 22. I can't even figure out a best 22, let alone who the bottom six are.

Agree......1985 how that list never achieved more than 1 Prelim is beyond me.

[bornadog]

This team has the best potential to have sustained success over a number of years, and the good thing is they are all young (nearly all)

If the recruits of 2015 prove they are capable of playing AFL, then yes I would agree with OP. Until then, Twodogs is spot on with 1985. Unfortunately the 1985 team couldn't be sustained, it was a once off.

[Ghost Dog]

Doesn't take a lot of Mr Sheen to polish our silverware. Here's hoping we make an extension to the trophy cabinet soon.

[LostDoggy]

Potentially the best squad I can remember. So many possible up and coming stars. Bontempelli,stringer, Libba, McRae & hunter to name a few.

[Twodogs]

Potentially the best squad I can remember. So many possible up and coming stars. Bontempelli,stringer, Libba, McRae & hunter to name a few.

One thing this list has going for it that only a couple of other lists has had is Bontempelli is on it.

[merantau]

One thing this list has going for it that only a couple of other lists has had is Bontempelli is on it.

Thanks for posting link to the Ogilvies.
Les Kew Ming (ex North Melb) who went to Echuca) is mentioned a couple of times. His grandparents came over from China during the gold rushes.He was by all accounts a very fine player. An early edition of the Guiness Book of Records noted that in 1928 he bare footed a 74 yard torpedo at the Echuca Showgrounds. I've met two old timers in Bendigo who saw Kew Ming play and they confirm he was a beautiful kick. There is a "Kew Ming Lane" on the outskirts of Ararat.

[Twodogs]

Thanks for posting link to the Ogilvies.
Les Kew Ming (ex North Melb) who went to Echuca) is mentioned a couple of times. His grandparents came over from China during the gold rushes.He was by all accounts a very fine player. An early edition of the Guiness Book of Records noted that in 1928 he bare footed a 74 yard torpedo at the Echuca Showgrounds. I've met two old timers in Bendigo who saw Kew Ming play and they confirm he was a beautiful kick. There is a "Kew Ming Lane" on the outskirts of Ararat.

Thanks for the info on Les Kew Ming Meranau. Do you know which club in Bendigo he played for?

[merantau]

Thanks for the info on Les Kew Ming Meranau. Do you know which club in Bendigo he played for?

TD, I'm not sure that he played for a Bendigo club but he definitely played on the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo because I used to host trivia nights in Bendigo and as an intro, before the real comp began, I would ask the audience my favourite trivia question of all time. And bugger me if Mina Pocock, who was in her late 80s at the time, piped up and said, "Oh, that'd be Kew Ming. He was a lovely kick. I can still see him dashing down the wing at the QEO. Lovely head of black hair ..."
I nearly fell over! To think there was someone who not only knew the answer but had actually seen him play! Ray Turner, who was a great Bendigo sportsman also knew of Kew Ming and I think he said he played a season for Kerang. I will ask at the Chinese Museum if they have any info.

[boydogs]

Interesting choice of words with "talented". A little different to best, most depth, most balanced, most promising, hardest working etc.

The 1997 side came across as blue collar workers up for the fight. The 2009 side was electric with attacking play and high scoring. I would have to say 2009 is the clubhouse leader for proven talent.

The current list shows promise, is well balanced and has good depth, but the most remarkable thing about it is the similarity in age between the group. Many of them will peak together, which could produce a side beyond any we have ever seen

[bulldogtragic]

The kids I watched at the WO in the early and mid 1990's onwards were pretty good.

West, Grant, Johnson, West. Older players like Hawkins, Wynd, Romero, Libba, Hudson & Super. Good honest sorts like Southern, Osborne and kids towards the end like Judas Brown and the 1999 crop.

This talent is pound for pound as good. When we think of the list for next year, think one more year ahead. Say Minson, Boyd and two or three others go off the primary for 2017. Add in another decent free agent, first rounder, favourable trade and some cash to splash about - if we can keep this core group together, Libba, Koby and/or Smith get back to fitness and form, Roughy finds his best role and natural development through next year, and Tom Boyd, Stringer & Bonts becoming the three best players in the AFL then the question of this thread is an easier question for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.

[Ghost Dog]

One of the biggest dangers we face is these kids getting ahead of themselves.
The coaching team is going to have to put in place measures to make sure they don't ski along on talent
and I don't know how they do that but it's great we have guys like Jed Adcock to guide them.

You can be the best team in the comp and still not get there. Geelong 2008.

[craigsahibee]

There is no doubt that this crop has the "potential" to be the best. Dangerous word that, and it will be up to the coaching staff to keep them in check. When Libba, Wallis, Stringer, Hunter, Macrae, Boyd, Bontempelli, Wood, Roughead, Dahlhaus, etc hit that 24 - 28 year old age bracket, look out. We will be feared and respected by every other club and their supporters.

[Ozza]

Short answer - yes. With the large caveat being that word 'potential'.

The team in Eade's era missed out on Chris Grant at his best.
Plough's era probably didn't bat quite deep enough for high end talent through the midfield.

The list looks as well placed as I have seen it with 3 or 4 players who could genuinely be top 10-15 players in the competition.