Foxsports' Top 20 AFL stars of the past 20 years --- Dusty named 8th best.

[one-eyed]

The top 20 AFL stars of the past 20 years

April 29, 2020
Ben Waterworth
FOX SPORTS

All players have been selected and ranked based on their 21st century performances only, so any seasons prior to 2000 haven’t been considered. That’s why the likes of Wayne Carey and Robert Harvey aren’t on the list.

The criteria incorporates consistency at an elite level, match-winning ability, contribution to team success and influence during their playing stints across the past two decades.

1. Gary Ablett jnr (Geelong/Gold Coast)
2. Lance Franklin (Hawthorn/Sydney Swans)
3. Michael Voss (Brisbane Lions)
4. Chris Judd (West Coast/Carlton)
5. Nathan Buckley (Collingwood)
6. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
7. Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)

8. Dustin Martin (Richmond)

2000-2020 stats: 225 games, 251 goals, 176 Brownlow votes, averaged 25.4 disposals

2000-2020 CV: Two-time premiership Tiger, two-time Norm Smith Medallist, Brownlow Medallist, AFLPA MVP, three-time All-Australian, two-time best and fairest

Let’s debunk a myth here: Martin has not just had two outstanding years. (Mind you, those 2017 and 2019 campaigns that netted him two flags, two Norm Smiths and a Brownlow were darn handy.)

From the moment he stepped foot onto an AFL field in 2010, Martin has been one of the most durable, dangerous, influential and entertaining players of the past 10 years. He’s played at least 20 games and averaged at least 20 disposals in every season, while he’s averaged well over one goal per match during that time.

Martin’s CV is complete, winning nearly every award in the game. It led to his coach, Damien Hardwick, declaring after the 2019 flag that Martin “will go down now as one of the all-time greats”.

Yet he’s still only 28 and has ample room to improve.

When Fox Footy experts were doing their 2020 pre-season predictions, former Hawthorn forward Ben Dixon said Martin could win both the Coleman and Brownlow Medals if he spent more time forward. Stranger things have happened.

9. James Hird (Essendon)
10. Matthew Scarlett (Geelong)
11. Adam Goodes (Sydney Swans)
12. Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
13. Simon Black (Brisbane Lions)
14. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
15. Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide/Geelong)
16. Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide)
17. Andrew McLeod (Adelaide)
18. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
19. Jonathan Brown (Brisbane Lions)
20. Dane Swan (Collingwood)

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-top-20-afl-players-of-past-20-years-list-15-fox-footy-gary-ablett-lance-franklin-chris-judd-nathan-buckley/news-story/94ed71ffa004b85841ae5d3273ffbe72