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  1. #1
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    Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    The Brian Royal thread got me thinking about who would be in my top 5 list of best Bulldog players, and why. This is a tougher question than I thought. If you had to name your best 5 players who would they be? Can you put 5 in order? There's only two constraints.

    1. You've seen them play.
    2. Their career must be finished.

    I'll start;

    1. Kelvin Templeton - he was such a freak. I only really saw 78-80 as a young kid but they were obviously his best years. He had an aura about him and was that player that made you heart rate go up a notch when he got near the ball. That player that when he got it a loud murmur of expectation echoed around the ground. An excellent reader of the play who timed his leads to perfection. A magnificent jumper at the ball and was often double and triple teamed.. Was also one of the most fluid kicks I have ever seen. So graceful in the air or when kicking through the ball. Between 1978 and 1980 he was basically as good as anyone who ever played.

    2. Chris Grant - had many of KT's traits but was also creative at ground level and should really be at number 1 if not for my childhood bias. Magnificiently hard at the ball and a great flyer through the air early in his career before going back and becoming the best CHB in the comp (and was one of the first CHB to have a genuine defensive forwards played on them).

    3. Brad Johnson - a fantastic young wingman before moving into the midfield and then eventually playing as a FF. Did not have a weakness. His AA Captain year at FF says it all. I can't remember a more influential 180cm player at FF than that year. Out of all our past players I regret Johnno not getting a flag the most.


    4. Doug Hawkins - supremely gifted on both sides of his body and basically played dry weather footy on muck heaps. Was super tough and highly charismatic both on-field and off it. Like Johnno was a fantastic mark for his size and while not quick more than made up for it with speed of mind, awareness and skill.

    5. Brian Royal - the toughest choice to make I could easily have chosen Scott West over him but for me Chocco was so dangerous both as a rover and as a small forward. Was a fantastic contributor in State of Origin and was as tough as he was skillfull.

    Interesting that everyones choice is Grant or a KP player and not a midfielder. I'm not exactly sure how I left West and Beasley out.
    Last edited by 1eyedog; 05-03-2021 at 01:41 PM. Reason: some additions
    But then again, I'm an Internet poster and Bevo is a premiership coach so draw your own conclusions.

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  3. #2
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    Quote Originally Posted by 1eyedog View Post
    1. You've seen them play.
    Does it have to be 'LIVE'?
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  4. #3
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    No but you must have lived through their era as a supporter to have a sense of the impact they had at the club (as opposed to hearing about how good they were for instance).
    But then again, I'm an Internet poster and Bevo is a premiership coach so draw your own conclusions.

  5. #4
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    Great thread

    1 - Bernie Quinlan
    2 - Brad Johnson
    3 - Chris Grant
    4 - Kelvin Templeton
    5 - Gary Dempsey

    I might give this some more thought
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  6. #5
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    That's fair - I can do that. Missed a couple of careers I reckon being on the other side of the country but have seen everyone from '84 onwards.
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  7. #6
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    1. Chris Grant
    2. Brad Johnson
    3. Scott West
    4. Doug Hawkins
    5. Dale Morris

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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    From 1985 onwards

    1. Chris Grant
    2. Brad Johnson
    3. Scott West
    4. Doug Hawkins
    5. Simon Beasley

    A few (like Brian Lake) stiff, but I opted for one club players ...except Hawk, but that season with Fitzroy doesn’t count
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    Quote Originally Posted by Ozza View Post
    1. Chris Grant
    2. Brad Johnson
    3. Scott West
    4. Doug Hawkins
    5. Dale Morris
    I should’ve worked Dale in there

    Was surprised though how many goals Beasley kicked 82-88.
    Float Along - Fill Your Lungs

  10. #9
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    Well I put some thought into this one and it is hard because I range from 1970 to present.
    But anyway here goes:

    1. Chris Grant
    2. Doug Hawkins
    3. Scott West
    4. Tony Liberatore
    5. Brad Johnson

    I went with players that played most or all of their time with the dogs. I'll forgive Dougie.
    I could have filled this 5 with another 5 players but I went with the great man Grant who was at the club in turmoil and stuck fast and bled for the club and very unlucky not to have a Brownlow.
    Then there's Doug who just oozed class and own the wing at the Kennel. Westy should have had more accolades outside of the club and was a true champion.
    Libber was someone that just gave his all and left everything out on the park and no other player has won a best and fairest in 3 levels of football.
    Johnno was a great clubman and who was more a on ball player who stared as a forward.

    So many left out.....
    Don't piss off old people
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    1. Ted Whitten
    2. Chris Grant
    3. Brad Johnson
    4. Kelvin Templeton
    5. Doug Hawkins

    If Bernie Quinlan had played his entire career with us I would have included him n
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  12. #11
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    I will count from 1990 onwards, as that was from when when I started understanding what was going on:

    1. Chris Grant
    2. Scott West
    3. Brad Johnson
    4. Robert Murphy
    5. Scott Wynd


    I left Hawk out because he was a bit beyond his best post 1990, and applied the one club player rule which meant Lake missed. It was really hard to choose after Johnno, we've had some really good players on that second tier below the best of the best.

    Could easily have put Johnno above West.

    Murphy was a sensational footballer to watch, and I think was unlucky not to be All Australian in 2008 when he had a fantastic season forward which would have given him two in defence and one forward and been a mighty achievement.

    Wynd gets in at five, but I don't really believe it more than I believe Libba or Morris should or somebody else for that matter.

    It's much harder than it seems when you exclude eleven years of being a Bulldogs supporter, thus excluding the likes of Hawkins and Beasley.
    Last edited by jeemak; 03-03-2021 at 11:10 PM.
    Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

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  14. #12
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    1. Chris Grant
    2. Doug Hawkins
    3. Kelvin Templeton
    4. Scott West
    5. Simon Beasley
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  15. #13
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    1. Chris Grant - The best player from my favourite era of footy. Always the bridesmaid to Carey I guess but an amazing player.
    2. Brad Johnson - Incredible talent. I will always wonder what we missed out on given how much time he spent as a forward...but then, his skills were just so unique...
    3. Scott West - Would have been #1 on my list when he retired and to be honest I appreciate his style of game less now than I did then. Amazing consistency.
    4. Doug Hawkins - My memories of Doug don't live on as they should. I only saw him live on a couple of occasions (and one was a frightful hiding) ... I guess I remember the kicking skills and the audaciousness (is that a word) of his ball handling but fail to remember his consistent impact on the game from a wing.
    5. Matt Boyd - From the rookie list to the captaincy, AA selection in multiple positions including in our premiership year. We lost so much when he was forced into retirement.

    I wanted to include Brian Harris/Lake but couldn't get him in there. Lindsay Gilbee's kicking and Daniel Cross' incredible courage were on my list of memories but they aren't top 5 players.
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  16. #14
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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    1. Chris Grant - very classy and graceful, not sure anyone has replicated his style at his size.

    2. Brad Johnson - match winning abilities puts him above West, just. Those years as a FF were remarkable, he torched plenty of quality defenders.

    3. Scott West - consistency was second to none, but his hands were unbelievable. He would have loved playing in our 2016 side.

    4. Nathan Brown - shame how he left and then how his career ended. His attitude was hard to like at times and I personally found him rude when I was a young kid which kinda sticks in the memory bank, BUT boy could he play. Good on the wing and even inside, better off half back and even better up forward. He could do it all.

    5. Dale Morris - pound for pound his competitive streak is unmatched and he's the best defender I've ever seen. Great duels with Riewoldt while being able to smother the likes of Betts and McLeod says it all. Premiership hero too.

    Special mentions to Luke Darcy and Bob.
    W00F!

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    Re: Your Top 5 best Bulldog players ever (in order)

    I often think about Johnno in terms of what we missed out on in lieu of him changing his game. Reckon he'd have probably commanded more All Australian gongs as captain than the solitary one he did. Six All Australian's and one as captain is an insane record nonetheless.

    Grant should have had four All Australian's to his name, how he missed in 1996 is beyond me.
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