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Jake Niall rates all the lists and how this impacts upon their flag chances.
The ABC of the AFL
April 10, 2004
What separates the Brisbane Lions from their envious competitors is that they have more elite footballers than anyone else. Jake Niall reports.
After only three rounds, already there is a palpable sense that the rest of the competition will need a raft of Brisbane injuries, or for the Lions to tire of winning, to prevent the consummation of Brisbane's "four-play".
In the wake of Thursday night, the question is not whether Brisbane remains the stand-out team in the competition, but the extent of the margin. It was a grand final refrain if ever there was one and, if anything, the grand canyon between Brisbane and the struggling Magpies appears to have widened over summer.
Traditionally, we have been conditioned to think in terms of goals - for example, Brisbane is six goals better than the rest. A more accurate measure, however, is to grade Brisbane's extraordinary players relative to its envious competitors.
To answer this and other questions about the differing talent levels of the 16 clubs, The Age collaborated with a respected club official to analyse every club's list. On occasion, a third opinion was sought, from other football department operatives, when there was uncertainty or debate about where players stood in the AFL pecking order.
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Each club list was classified into A, B and C grade players. The C-grader was, in Jack Dyer's famous phrase, "a good ordinary footballer". The C-grade player is more or less an automatic selection in his team. He is either a capable foot soldier, or a talented kid on the rise.
The B-grade player is very good, but shy of the competition's top shelf, for whatever reason. He is a significant part of his team and can mix it with the best. In several instances, B-graders are on the cusp of being A grade.
Richmond, for instance, had four B-grade players who were on the edge of an A rating - Brad Ottens, Matthew Richardson, Kane Johnson and Mark Coughlan were all considered B plusses. Richo, of course, can produce a triple A rating when the mood seizes him.
In football parlance, an A-grade player is a gun. He must be consistent and capable of influencing a result. Often, the opposition devises strategies to curtail him, such as tagging, filling the hole or - in Nick Riewoldt's celebrated case - giving him an old-fashioned working over.
The number of A-grade players at a coach's disposal does more to shape the premiership than anything else. For all the talk about Brisbane's depth, it is the staggering number of elite players, not an excess of competent types, that separates the Lions from the pack.
Brisbane was deemed to have eight A-grade players - Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis, Nigel Lappin, Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch, Chris Johnson and Justin Leppitsch. Mal Michael and Luke Power were just below the top rating. No other club owned more than four A-grade players. The Lions also had their share of B and C graders - 11 of them, in fact. But the second tier wasn't exceptional, relative to their hapless rivals. Hence, if you wanted to measure the gulf between Brisbane and the rest, it could be said that the Lions are four outstanding players ahead of their rivals.
"The conclusion you draw is that everybody's playing for second if Brisbane's senior group stay sound," said the club official who collaborated on the ratings.
Several clubs perform similar exercises to give themselves an idea of where they stand. What was also clear from the exercise, no less unsurprising than Brisbane's sizeable lead in A-grade performers, was that the ascending Saints are the club best placed, in terms of raw talent, to challenge the Lions.
St Kilda, like Essendon, Collingwood, Sydney and Port Adelaide, had its own A-grade fab four - Riewoldt, Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes and Aaron Hamill. While it had a modest B division - Fraser Gehrig (who nearly made the A list), Austinn Jones and Luke Ball - the Saints had no fewer than five young players (Ball, Nick Dal Santo, Brendon Goddard, Xavier Clarke and Justin Koschitzke) who were considered "potential As".
In grading the lists, The Age also concluded:
Geelong, with only four A or B-grade players, is the club most lacking in established star quality. The Cats have six players classified as C-graders. With Steven King absent, they have only one A-grade player in the team, Matthew Scarlett, also the club's only highly rated key-position player.
The Kangaroos, though, with fewer B-grade players than the Bulldogs, have a much better value-for-money list. They have nine C-grade players to the Doggies' three and yet pay little more than the 92.5 per cent salary cap minimum, significantly less than the Bulldogs, with many developing players, are forking out this year.
Essendon's second tier of B-grade players has truly been decimated since 2001, as retirements, the salary cap squeeze and the decline of Joe Misiti and Mark Mercuri have thinned the ranks of ready-made players and made it more reliant than ever on James Hird, Matthew Lloyd, Dustin Fletcher and Scott Lucas.
The Dons are relying on second and third-year players to come through this year and next.
Sydney has a solid list, comprised of four stars, four B-graders and a deep contingent of nine C-grade foot soldiers, some of whom should rise a notch.
Collingwood is light on for seasoned depth, outside of its top 10 A-B players. The Magpies are blessed that all of their As and Bs either play in the midfield or can occupy key positions, giving them a sound structure - assuming minimal injuries - that masks some skill deficiencies.
West Coast's key-position weakness is borne out in the gradings. None of its seven A or B graders play down the spine and, discounting ruckman Michael Gardiner, only one key-position player, the ageing Glen Jakovich, is among its top dozen.
Hawthorn, while strong in the B and C classes, lacks consistent elite performers. The Hawks have only two players rated as A grade, Shane Crawford and Peter Everitt. Joel Smith narrowly missed an A, while Nathan Thompson and Jonathan Hay were designated as Bs.
Fremantle has only seven players rated as A or B grade, but, like the Saints, has a host of young players - particularly in defence - whose rating should improve over the next 12 months. Graham Polak is considered a prospective A-grader, with Luke McPharlin also a chance.
Nathan Brown is Richmond's only definite elite player, although Ottens and Coughlan should, health-willing, join him in the A class soon.
The process of rating players, even by committee, is subjective and therefore bound to provoke disagreement. But the supremacy of the Brisbane list is regarded more as fact than opinion these days.
How the ratings work
A - A gun player, who influences the outcome of games, is consistent and whom the opposition targets or plans to combat.
B - A very good player, capable of mixing it with the competition?s best. An important contributor to his team.
C - A player selected every week who is either reliable - ie, a "good ordinary footballer" - or a promising player on the up.
The capacity to hold down a key position is given strong weighting in the rankings. List includes players currently injured.
Rankings by Jake Niall in collaboration with club officials.
The ratings
ADELAIDE
A - Andrew McLeod, Mark Ricciuto, Ben Hart (3)
B - Tyson Edwards, Simon Goodwin, Graham Johncock, Nigel Smart, Brett Burton (5)
C - Ken McGregor, Tyson Stenglein, Scott Welsh, Mark Stevens (4)
BRISBANE
A - Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis, Nigel Lappin, Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch, Chris Johnson, Justin Leppitsch (8)
B - Mal Michael, Luke Power, Clark Keating, Chris Scott (4)
C - Shaun Hart, Brad Scott, Blake Caracella, Jamie Charman, Daniel Bradshaw, Tim Notting, Martin Pike (7)
CARLTON
A - Nick Stevens, Anthony Koutoufides (2)
B - Scott Camporeale, Brendan Fevola, Lance Whitnall (3)
C - Matthew Lappin, Ryan Houlihan, Bret Thornton, Heath Scotland (4)
COLLINGWOOD
A - Nathan Buckley, Anthony Rocca, Chris Tarrant, Scott Burns (4)
B - James Clement, Paul Licuria, Shane Wakelin, Josh Fraser, Simon Prestigiacomo, Shane Woewodin (6)
C - Alan Didak, Ben Johnson, Tarkyn Lockyer, Shane O?Bree, Brodie Holland (5)
ESSENDON
A - James Hird, Matthew Lloyd, Dustin Fletcher, Scott Lucas (4)
B - Jason Johnson, Mark Johnson, Dean Solomon, Adam Ramanauskas (4)
C - Sean Wellman, Damian Cupido, Dean Rioli, Andrew Welsh, David Hille, Mark Bolton, Mark McVeigh (7)
FREMANTLE
A - Matthew Pavlich, Paul Hasleby, Peter Bell (3)
B - Luke McPharlin, Troy Simmonds, Paul Medhurst, Des Headland (4)
C - Graham Polak, Matthew Carr, Jeff Farmer, Robert Haddrill, Dion Woods, Roger Hayden, Justin Longmuir, Shane Parker, Aaron Sandilands (9)
GEELONG
A - Steven King, Matthew Scarlett (2)
B - Gary Ablett, Cameron Ling (2)
C - Joel Corey, Corey Enright, Darren Milburn, Tom Harley, James Kelly, Kent Kingsley (6)
HAWTHORN
A - Shane Crawford, Peter Everitt (2)
B - Joel Smith, Jonathan Hay, Nathan Thompson, Angelo Lekkas, Sam Mitchell (5)
C - Danny Jacobs, Trent Croad, Ben Dixon, Luke Hodge, Richard Vandenberg, Nick Holland, John Barker (7)
KANGAROOS
A - Brent Harvey, Adam Simpson, Shannon Grant (3)
B - Glenn Archer, Drew Petrie (2)
C - Leigh Colbert, Anthony Stevens, Corey McKernan, Jess Sinclair, Brady Rawlings, Daniel Motlop, Troy Makepeace, Corey Jones, Daniel Wells (9)
MELBOURNE
A - David Neitz, Adem Yze (2)
B - Clint Bizzell, Cameron Bruce, Travis Johnstone, Jeff White, Peter Vardy (5)
C - Russell Robertson, Nathan Brown, Brad Green, James McDonald, Matthew Whelan (5)
PORT ADELAIDE
A - Warren Tredrea, Gavin Wanganeen, Chad Cornes, Josh Francou (4)
B - Peter Burgoyne, Josh Carr, Byron Pickett, Matthew Primus, Daryl Wakelin (5)
C - Shaun Burgoyne, Stuart Dew, Roger James, Brendon Lade, Brett Montgomery, Michael Wilson, Kane Cornes, Damien Hardwick (8)
RICHMOND
A - Nathan Brown (1)
B - Wayne Campbell, Brad Ottens, Mark Coughlan, Matthew Richardson, Kane Johnson, Greg Stafford, Darren Gaspar (7)
C - Andrew Kellaway, Greg Tivendale, Mark Chaffey, Chris Newman, Joel Bowden (5)
ST KILDA
A - Nick Riewoldt, Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes, Aaron Hamill (4)
B - Fraser Gehrig, Luke Ball, Austinn Jones (3)
C - Luke Penny, Nick Dal Santo, Stephen Powell, Justin Koschitzke, Max Hudghton, Brendon Goddard, Xavier Clarke, Stephen Milne, Brett Voss (9)
SYDNEY
A - Adam Goodes, Barry Hall, Paul Williams, Michael O?Loughlin (4)
B - Tadhg Kennelly, Leo Barry, Ben Mathews, Brett Kirk (4)
C - Jason Ball, Jude Bolton, Jared Crouch, Nick Davis, Nic Fosdike, Adam Schneider, Andrew Schauble, Jason Saddington, Stuart Maxfield (9)
WEST COAST
A - Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Michael Gardiner (3)
B - Daniel Kerr, Chad Fletcher, Andrew Embley, Phillip Matera (4)
C - David Wirrpunda, Glen Jakovich, Ashley Sampi, Dean Cox, Daniel Chick, Michael Braun (6)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
A - Brad Johnson, Chris Grant, Luke Darcy (3)
B - Scott West, Rohan Smith, Jade Rawlings, Robert Murphy (4)
C - Mitchell Hahn, Daniel Bandy, Daniel Giansiracusa (3)
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The ABC of the AFL
April 10, 2004
What separates the Brisbane Lions from their envious competitors is that they have more elite footballers than anyone else. Jake Niall reports.
After only three rounds, already there is a palpable sense that the rest of the competition will need a raft of Brisbane injuries, or for the Lions to tire of winning, to prevent the consummation of Brisbane's "four-play".
In the wake of Thursday night, the question is not whether Brisbane remains the stand-out team in the competition, but the extent of the margin. It was a grand final refrain if ever there was one and, if anything, the grand canyon between Brisbane and the struggling Magpies appears to have widened over summer.
Traditionally, we have been conditioned to think in terms of goals - for example, Brisbane is six goals better than the rest. A more accurate measure, however, is to grade Brisbane's extraordinary players relative to its envious competitors.
To answer this and other questions about the differing talent levels of the 16 clubs, The Age collaborated with a respected club official to analyse every club's list. On occasion, a third opinion was sought, from other football department operatives, when there was uncertainty or debate about where players stood in the AFL pecking order.
advertisement
advertisement
Each club list was classified into A, B and C grade players. The C-grader was, in Jack Dyer's famous phrase, "a good ordinary footballer". The C-grade player is more or less an automatic selection in his team. He is either a capable foot soldier, or a talented kid on the rise.
The B-grade player is very good, but shy of the competition's top shelf, for whatever reason. He is a significant part of his team and can mix it with the best. In several instances, B-graders are on the cusp of being A grade.
Richmond, for instance, had four B-grade players who were on the edge of an A rating - Brad Ottens, Matthew Richardson, Kane Johnson and Mark Coughlan were all considered B plusses. Richo, of course, can produce a triple A rating when the mood seizes him.
In football parlance, an A-grade player is a gun. He must be consistent and capable of influencing a result. Often, the opposition devises strategies to curtail him, such as tagging, filling the hole or - in Nick Riewoldt's celebrated case - giving him an old-fashioned working over.
The number of A-grade players at a coach's disposal does more to shape the premiership than anything else. For all the talk about Brisbane's depth, it is the staggering number of elite players, not an excess of competent types, that separates the Lions from the pack.
Brisbane was deemed to have eight A-grade players - Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis, Nigel Lappin, Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch, Chris Johnson and Justin Leppitsch. Mal Michael and Luke Power were just below the top rating. No other club owned more than four A-grade players. The Lions also had their share of B and C graders - 11 of them, in fact. But the second tier wasn't exceptional, relative to their hapless rivals. Hence, if you wanted to measure the gulf between Brisbane and the rest, it could be said that the Lions are four outstanding players ahead of their rivals.
"The conclusion you draw is that everybody's playing for second if Brisbane's senior group stay sound," said the club official who collaborated on the ratings.
Several clubs perform similar exercises to give themselves an idea of where they stand. What was also clear from the exercise, no less unsurprising than Brisbane's sizeable lead in A-grade performers, was that the ascending Saints are the club best placed, in terms of raw talent, to challenge the Lions.
St Kilda, like Essendon, Collingwood, Sydney and Port Adelaide, had its own A-grade fab four - Riewoldt, Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes and Aaron Hamill. While it had a modest B division - Fraser Gehrig (who nearly made the A list), Austinn Jones and Luke Ball - the Saints had no fewer than five young players (Ball, Nick Dal Santo, Brendon Goddard, Xavier Clarke and Justin Koschitzke) who were considered "potential As".
In grading the lists, The Age also concluded:
Geelong, with only four A or B-grade players, is the club most lacking in established star quality. The Cats have six players classified as C-graders. With Steven King absent, they have only one A-grade player in the team, Matthew Scarlett, also the club's only highly rated key-position player.
The Kangaroos, though, with fewer B-grade players than the Bulldogs, have a much better value-for-money list. They have nine C-grade players to the Doggies' three and yet pay little more than the 92.5 per cent salary cap minimum, significantly less than the Bulldogs, with many developing players, are forking out this year.
Essendon's second tier of B-grade players has truly been decimated since 2001, as retirements, the salary cap squeeze and the decline of Joe Misiti and Mark Mercuri have thinned the ranks of ready-made players and made it more reliant than ever on James Hird, Matthew Lloyd, Dustin Fletcher and Scott Lucas.
The Dons are relying on second and third-year players to come through this year and next.
Sydney has a solid list, comprised of four stars, four B-graders and a deep contingent of nine C-grade foot soldiers, some of whom should rise a notch.
Collingwood is light on for seasoned depth, outside of its top 10 A-B players. The Magpies are blessed that all of their As and Bs either play in the midfield or can occupy key positions, giving them a sound structure - assuming minimal injuries - that masks some skill deficiencies.
West Coast's key-position weakness is borne out in the gradings. None of its seven A or B graders play down the spine and, discounting ruckman Michael Gardiner, only one key-position player, the ageing Glen Jakovich, is among its top dozen.
Hawthorn, while strong in the B and C classes, lacks consistent elite performers. The Hawks have only two players rated as A grade, Shane Crawford and Peter Everitt. Joel Smith narrowly missed an A, while Nathan Thompson and Jonathan Hay were designated as Bs.
Fremantle has only seven players rated as A or B grade, but, like the Saints, has a host of young players - particularly in defence - whose rating should improve over the next 12 months. Graham Polak is considered a prospective A-grader, with Luke McPharlin also a chance.
Nathan Brown is Richmond's only definite elite player, although Ottens and Coughlan should, health-willing, join him in the A class soon.
The process of rating players, even by committee, is subjective and therefore bound to provoke disagreement. But the supremacy of the Brisbane list is regarded more as fact than opinion these days.
How the ratings work
A - A gun player, who influences the outcome of games, is consistent and whom the opposition targets or plans to combat.
B - A very good player, capable of mixing it with the competition?s best. An important contributor to his team.
C - A player selected every week who is either reliable - ie, a "good ordinary footballer" - or a promising player on the up.
The capacity to hold down a key position is given strong weighting in the rankings. List includes players currently injured.
Rankings by Jake Niall in collaboration with club officials.
The ratings
ADELAIDE
A - Andrew McLeod, Mark Ricciuto, Ben Hart (3)
B - Tyson Edwards, Simon Goodwin, Graham Johncock, Nigel Smart, Brett Burton (5)
C - Ken McGregor, Tyson Stenglein, Scott Welsh, Mark Stevens (4)
BRISBANE
A - Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis, Nigel Lappin, Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch, Chris Johnson, Justin Leppitsch (8)
B - Mal Michael, Luke Power, Clark Keating, Chris Scott (4)
C - Shaun Hart, Brad Scott, Blake Caracella, Jamie Charman, Daniel Bradshaw, Tim Notting, Martin Pike (7)
CARLTON
A - Nick Stevens, Anthony Koutoufides (2)
B - Scott Camporeale, Brendan Fevola, Lance Whitnall (3)
C - Matthew Lappin, Ryan Houlihan, Bret Thornton, Heath Scotland (4)
COLLINGWOOD
A - Nathan Buckley, Anthony Rocca, Chris Tarrant, Scott Burns (4)
B - James Clement, Paul Licuria, Shane Wakelin, Josh Fraser, Simon Prestigiacomo, Shane Woewodin (6)
C - Alan Didak, Ben Johnson, Tarkyn Lockyer, Shane O?Bree, Brodie Holland (5)
ESSENDON
A - James Hird, Matthew Lloyd, Dustin Fletcher, Scott Lucas (4)
B - Jason Johnson, Mark Johnson, Dean Solomon, Adam Ramanauskas (4)
C - Sean Wellman, Damian Cupido, Dean Rioli, Andrew Welsh, David Hille, Mark Bolton, Mark McVeigh (7)
FREMANTLE
A - Matthew Pavlich, Paul Hasleby, Peter Bell (3)
B - Luke McPharlin, Troy Simmonds, Paul Medhurst, Des Headland (4)
C - Graham Polak, Matthew Carr, Jeff Farmer, Robert Haddrill, Dion Woods, Roger Hayden, Justin Longmuir, Shane Parker, Aaron Sandilands (9)
GEELONG
A - Steven King, Matthew Scarlett (2)
B - Gary Ablett, Cameron Ling (2)
C - Joel Corey, Corey Enright, Darren Milburn, Tom Harley, James Kelly, Kent Kingsley (6)
HAWTHORN
A - Shane Crawford, Peter Everitt (2)
B - Joel Smith, Jonathan Hay, Nathan Thompson, Angelo Lekkas, Sam Mitchell (5)
C - Danny Jacobs, Trent Croad, Ben Dixon, Luke Hodge, Richard Vandenberg, Nick Holland, John Barker (7)
KANGAROOS
A - Brent Harvey, Adam Simpson, Shannon Grant (3)
B - Glenn Archer, Drew Petrie (2)
C - Leigh Colbert, Anthony Stevens, Corey McKernan, Jess Sinclair, Brady Rawlings, Daniel Motlop, Troy Makepeace, Corey Jones, Daniel Wells (9)
MELBOURNE
A - David Neitz, Adem Yze (2)
B - Clint Bizzell, Cameron Bruce, Travis Johnstone, Jeff White, Peter Vardy (5)
C - Russell Robertson, Nathan Brown, Brad Green, James McDonald, Matthew Whelan (5)
PORT ADELAIDE
A - Warren Tredrea, Gavin Wanganeen, Chad Cornes, Josh Francou (4)
B - Peter Burgoyne, Josh Carr, Byron Pickett, Matthew Primus, Daryl Wakelin (5)
C - Shaun Burgoyne, Stuart Dew, Roger James, Brendon Lade, Brett Montgomery, Michael Wilson, Kane Cornes, Damien Hardwick (8)
RICHMOND
A - Nathan Brown (1)
B - Wayne Campbell, Brad Ottens, Mark Coughlan, Matthew Richardson, Kane Johnson, Greg Stafford, Darren Gaspar (7)
C - Andrew Kellaway, Greg Tivendale, Mark Chaffey, Chris Newman, Joel Bowden (5)
ST KILDA
A - Nick Riewoldt, Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes, Aaron Hamill (4)
B - Fraser Gehrig, Luke Ball, Austinn Jones (3)
C - Luke Penny, Nick Dal Santo, Stephen Powell, Justin Koschitzke, Max Hudghton, Brendon Goddard, Xavier Clarke, Stephen Milne, Brett Voss (9)
SYDNEY
A - Adam Goodes, Barry Hall, Paul Williams, Michael O?Loughlin (4)
B - Tadhg Kennelly, Leo Barry, Ben Mathews, Brett Kirk (4)
C - Jason Ball, Jude Bolton, Jared Crouch, Nick Davis, Nic Fosdike, Adam Schneider, Andrew Schauble, Jason Saddington, Stuart Maxfield (9)
WEST COAST
A - Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Michael Gardiner (3)
B - Daniel Kerr, Chad Fletcher, Andrew Embley, Phillip Matera (4)
C - David Wirrpunda, Glen Jakovich, Ashley Sampi, Dean Cox, Daniel Chick, Michael Braun (6)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
A - Brad Johnson, Chris Grant, Luke Darcy (3)
B - Scott West, Rohan Smith, Jade Rawlings, Robert Murphy (4)
C - Mitchell Hahn, Daniel Bandy, Daniel Giansiracusa (3)
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