Lloyd started the 21st century like no other, having two 100+ goal seasons in 2000 and 2001 and added a third Coleman Medal in 2003. Today, we reveal the top five. 4. He captained them to four Grand Finals, three of them were premierships. Create your own Fantasy AFL team and compete for daily prizes on Draftstars its free to join so why not check it out? The 100 greatest players of the 21st century, featuring Lionel Messi and Ronaldo By Kobe Tong Published Oct 18, 2019 The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Xavi made the top ten Want. If you havent, do yourself a favour. 13-min read. Port Adelaide, who lead the competition from go to whoa during the home-and-away season last season have managed to blood three quality millenniums who in 2021 should all bring up their half-century of games: Connor Rozee (38 games), Zac Butters (36) and Xavier Duursma (35) while at Collingwood, rising star Isaac Quaynor played 15 games but only three other millenniums played only a handful between them. Who is your club's best ruck of the 21st century? 0. His first game against the Eagles who picked up Dalziell a few short years later was something to marvel at though recording more touches than then teammates and greats of the game like Luke Power and Simon Black in his first pro outing. The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 60-41, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 80-61, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 40-26, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 100-81, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 25-11, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 10-1, Roberto Firmino makes stunning choice on Liverpool future: 'It's decided', Liverpool signing Mason Mount from Chelsea could be a LOT more realistic than you realise, Why Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Anfield has the best atmosphere in the country, Father of Manchester United's potential new owner Sheikh Jassim criticises bid for club: 'I dont like this investment', Manchester United target Victor Osimhen openly reveals that a dream Premier League move is his 'ambition'. The 'Little Master' had it all. Stay tuned, and check out the other runners and riders. Hodge's consistency in both midfield and defensive roles were vital to his side's prolonged successes between 2008 and 2015, with Hodge a key name in every contest. A two-time premiership player with Geelong, Ablett had notched up close to 200 games for Geelong before leaving for the Gold Coast, winning a Brownlow Medal, four All-Australian selections, two best and fairests, three AFLCA Player of the Year awards and three Leigh Matthews trophies before 2011. After spending a few seasons on Richmond's list Polo. Create Account. Hawthorn are bracing for a world of pain in the 2023 AFL season, according to two of their most decorated players. For the best odds on the game sign up with Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. THE NUMBERS: 30 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal Europes biggest prize, the Champions League, still eludes De Bruyne and his club-mates, but for how long? All rights reserved. He is PSGs all-time top assist provider, while at Real Madrid his ability to morph into a central midfielder under Carlo Ancelotti helped the club win La Decima - their long-awaited 10th Champions League title. Remember the Titans is a heartwarming story of how, after the strife of The Civil Rights Movement, both blacks and whites came together to form a football team and defeat discrimination between each other. When it comes to the most incredible trades of the 21st century, Brodie Grundy may well currently be on the podium after his move to the Dees . 20-16: Two Crows but which Hawks icon missed the cut? AFL Club Essendon Other Teams Coburg Lions, All Boston sides Dec 19, 2022 #352 1. In fact he probably became a wiser and more-rounded player at the Blues. Voss presence within the midfield lifted those around him, making some of the greatest onballers within the league better, perhaps producing the 'fab four' himself. Makeleles deep-midfield role helped both provide defensive cover for and unlock the attacking talents of his team-mates further up the field. Luke Hodge is as hard as they come, as much of a leader you want to play for out of anyone and I found it hard not to put him at no.1. The midfield wizard behind Manchester Citys recent successes, De Bruyne has developed into one of the worlds most complete midfielders under Pep Guardiola. The former Groningen, Celtic and Saints stoppers importance to those achievements didnt go unnoticed, as he won the UEFA Mens Player of the Year award for 2018/19 - the only defender to have done so - and finished as the Ballon dOr runner-up in 2019. Cornes might not be a match-winner like some of his 2004 premiership teammates, but he has an unmatched resume for any Port Adelaide player this century. GAJ 2. Ribery was vital to Bayern Munich's ascension to becoming a superpower once more and at his peak, there have been few wingers as beguiling to watch since 2000. Lewangoalski has defined the 2020s so far. Arsene Wenger once claimed that he only really won the Arsenal players' trust when he arrived in England because they could see he'd brought a top player with him. Among those to depart were Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell (to Collingwood), gun mid Jaeger OMeara (to Fremantle) and star forward Jack Gunston (to Brisbane). My Top 5 players drafted since 2000. Iker Casillas burst into the Real Madrid side as a kid, putting in a masterclass as a 19-year-old in a Champions League final. Birthdate: June 24, 1987. Nobody could play football as if sat in a directors chair and Pasolini their way through a game. 548 games, 303 goals and 57 assists record Radamel Falcao Garca in the twentieth century from the shirts of River Plate, Porto . The team, captained by ruck legend Graham . These players have all played at some point throughout 21st century, however based on their entire . The outstanding performer for Germany in Brazil in 2014; the steady metronome during Real Madrid's Threepeat. James Horncastles reflections on Andrea Pirlo remain unmatched: Many thought the regista was a relic consigned to the past. Western Bulldogs acknowledge that we reside on traditional lands of the Kulin Nation. And there's no doubt about it. Skip to main content. Contents 1 Top 10 AFL Players Right Now 1.1 Dustin Martin - Richmond 1.2 Christian Petracca - Melbourne 1.3 Max Gawn - Melbourne 1.4 Jack Steele - St. Kilda 1.5 Toby Greene - GWS 1.6 Lachie Neale - Brisbane 1.7 Marcus Bontempelli - Bulldogs 1.8 Jack Macrae - Bulldogs 1.9 Nic Naitanui - West Coast 1.10 Zach Merrett - Essendon Menzel, who played 80 AFL games across stints with both Geelong and Sydney in a career spanning a decade, ranked the leaders based on who he'd want to follow into the field. While most AFL fans will remember Ben Truck Rutten for his All-Australian defensive days his debut match in 2003 was something quite the opposite. His decision to throw his Norm Smith Medal an award won for his scintillating 32-disposal display during the 2002 Grand Final in his sock immediately after the Magpies loss to Brisbane proved just how highly he valued the ultimate AFL honour. Please gamble responsibly. We want to see it. Itsnot just players who have played in the last 20 years. Chris Judd, Adam Goodes and Nat Fyfe are all among the AFL's best since 2000. Walker nearly took a Mark of the Year contender on Andrew Embleys shoulders in that game too, highlighting every exciting aspect of his game from the moment he stepped onto the field. On the other hand, Jason Carter, born 11 days into the new millennium has already been delisted by Fremantle after two games in 2019. Inducted in 1987: Rod McGregor - 1905-1920 One of the brightest stars of his era, Rod McGregor was a four-time Premiership player for the Navy Blues in a 236-game career that stood as a club record for more than half a century. Toure won four consecutive African Player of the Year awards between 2011 and 2014, his first four seasons with Manchester City, and he played a pivotal role in the Citizens first title of the Premier League era in 2011/12. Dean Polo is one such player. Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access, Enjoy your first month for just 1 / $1 / 1, *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription, Current page: After three previous top-five finishes, he finally broke through to claim a maiden Brownlow Medal. Enjoy! The Magpies selected the best team in their history, comprising 21 players (with three on the interchange bench in accordance with the AFL's interchange rules at the time it was named) and coach Jock McHale. Whatever way you slice and dice the numbers, weve never seen a player like Ablett and that includes his father Gary Sr, who might still be the greatest player in VFL/AFL history yet had nothing on his sons insane, unprecedented ball-winning ability. Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Its hard to make a case against Barlows game as the best AFL debut since the start of the century and he didnt slow up recording 34 disposals the very next week against Essendon. Well before Tom Mitchell and Lachie Neale were racking up 40-plus disposals a game for fun, Buckley was the leagues true ball magnet in an era when possessions were harder to accumulate. Menu . And hes a Buddy legend. Left-footers like him arent supposed to have a better chance of kicking a goal from the boundary on the wrong side for a left-footer. Language. If his body holds up for another year or two, hes a huge chance to become just the sixth player in VFL/AFL history to reach 1000 goals. Pic: Getty. The star of the Lions three-peat dynasty, Voss would add to his already stellar career with record breaking season after season following the conclusion of the 20th century. A leader in defence like few had ever seen in the Premier League, Kompany embraced the club he defined, Mancunian twang and all. NY 10036. As we are now a fifth of the way through the new millennium and the babies born in the first few years of the 2000s are beginning to make a name for themselves on the players lists at all 18 AFL clubs. The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 40-26, (Image credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images), (Image credit: (Photo by Pawel Andrachiewicz/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images), The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 60-41, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 25-11, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 100-81, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 80-61, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 10-1, Roberto Firmino makes stunning choice on Liverpool future: 'It's decided', Liverpool signing Mason Mount from Chelsea could be a LOT more realistic than you realise, Why Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Anfield has the best atmosphere in the country, Father of Manchester United's potential new owner Sheikh Jassim criticises bid for club: 'I dont like this investment', Manchester United target Victor Osimhen openly reveals that a dream Premier League move is his 'ambition'. Van Dijks 75m move to Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018 has often been pointed to as the moment Jurgen Klopp added the final piece to his Reds jigsaw, and you can see why. He was irreplaceable when he left, too. Champions League and La Liga titles with barcelona are also on his honours list, while he captained the Ivory Coast to long-awaited Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2015 after twice finishing as a runner-up. The rock within the Lions dynamic and star-studded midfield. Week by week Scarlett would claim a new scalp from the oppositions best forward, using his high-level footballing IQ and unrivalled consistently to do so. Gavin Brown, a 254-game champion of the club, was added in 2002 five years after the league had extended the standard interchange bench . Channel 7 AFL commentators Luke Hodge and Shaun Burgoyne are also Hawthorn icons and teammates of Mitchell. (We've also collated a 12-man list of snubbed players, which you can check out here.) But hes only won the AFLPAs best captain once, which is why I didnt give him the number one spot.. During Collingwoods stint at the bottom of the ladder in the late 1990s, Buckley was a rare shining light. The Bombers all-time leading goal-kicker won his club's goal scoring tally in nine of the opening 10 season to start the decade and would end his career at the end of 2009 after 270 games and 926 goals. Over the last decade, he has done exactly what was needed for every manager, providing an almost unrivalled passing range, superb positioning and moments of genius in abundance. The 19-year-old - pick No.7 in the 2022 draft - provided a pinpoint kick inside 50 in the third term for Fergus Greene, who topped the goal count with three. He won Serie A, a Coppa Italia and the Champions League itself as part of one the most iconic Milan sides in history, and earned himself the Ballon dOr in 2004. Along with Hodge and Burgoyne, Richmond legend Matthew Richardson, AFLW trailblazer Daisy Pearce, former Geelong captain Cameron Ling, and 7NEWS football reporter Ryan Daniels also believe that the Hawks are on track to break a 58-year wooden-spoon drought. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. The towering Dutchman, who combines immense strength with impressive acceleration, was the defensive rock behind Champions League and Premier League victories in his first two full seasons at Anfield. As if scoring that goal wouldn't endear himself to the Manchester City faithful, the Argentinian became the all-time overseas Premier League hitman, the club's record scorer and one of the greatest forwards of all time. Weve counted down the top 15 players of the century. AFLW Premier Partners. Get the best features, fun and footballing frolics straight to your inbox every week. The Ivorian was one of the most fearsome strikers ever. Watch Foxtel in an instant. Bath The 100 best players of the 21st Century: the greatest Ballon d'Or hoggers, serial winners and cult heroes since the turn of the millennium. Plus tips on how to play better and interviews with the biggest names. Round 13 and 14 rising stars Brandon Starcevich (Brisbane Lions) and Giant Jake Riccardi both miss the age barrier by less than six months but all the other rising star winners are in as are North Melbournes Tarryn Thomas, Bailey Scott and Jack Mahony, while Adelaides Chayce Jones and Fischer McAsey join Lachlan Sholl in the squad. The following players have been inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame. Available now! The Belgian was the youngest Ligue 1 Player of the Year winner ever in 2011, aged 20, after helping Lille win a league and cup double. We offer our respect to the Elders of these traditional . Get everything you need, from team lists, fixtures, statistics and a profile on every single player in the competition in our 2023 AFL Season Guide. It just seemed he wasnt as dynamic at Carlton compared to his West Coast days, while his ability to hit the scoreboard declined. Nedved also captained his country to the final of Euro 2004, where they lost to Greece, and he opted to stay with Juve following their demotion to Serie B in the wake of the Calciopoli match fixing scandal, helping them go straight back up at the first attempt. He won the Scudetto in 2001 before a World Cup in 2006, reinventing himself from a false nine, second striker and attacking midfielder along the way. He later joined Inter Milan and was just as classy: intelligent, creative and with the ability to control the cauldron, he's one of his country's finest ever players. The club also lost its much-loved captain and No.1 ruck Ben McEvoy, who decided to hang up the boots, and 255-game veteran Liam Shiels also retired (but then found his way to North Melbourne). Weve never seen a footballer like him and never will see one like him after he retires. In typical early 2000s fashion, Paul Haselbys first game of footy came in a Dockers loss. Pele said if I played with him, I wouldve scored many more goals, Thierry Henry described Scholes as the greatest Premier League player ever, and Xavi called him a role model. Between 2001 and 2003, Voss won two AFLPA MVP awards, two best and fairests, three best captain titles and All-Australian honours on three occasions (including twice as the captain). I dont necessarily know a lot of these guys in terms of how they lead inside the four walls because I wasnt with them, so Ive gone off the way they act on the field..