Geelong defender Corey Enright was a cornerstone of one of the strongest teams of the modern era. Photo: AFL MEDIA
For the latest instalment of Footyology’s “Redraft” series, we are heading back to 1999.
And what immediately stands out about the revised top 10 for this particular year is the treasure trove that Geelong unearthed.
The Cats’ class of 2001 is often lauded as the bedrock of their triple premiership dynasty further down the track. Rightfully so, too, considering they picked up Gary Ablett junior, Jimmy Bartel, Steve Johnson and James Kelly in the one go.
But Geelong’s 1999 haul is just as impressive, with Corey Enright, Paul Chapman and Cameron Ling all busting their way into the revised top 10, joining teammate Joel Corey, who was already there as an original top-10 choice.
All four players would feature in the Cats’ next three premiership teams. Now that is a hell of a quartet.
In fact Enright rockets right up the charts all the way to No.1 after originally being taken at 47 by the Cats. It’s not hyperbole to say that Enright was one of the greatest defenders in VFL/AFL history.
His level of consistency and reliability over 17 seasons, coupled with his assuredness and calm demeanour, made him a cornerstone in a backline in one of the strongest teams of the modern era.
His 332 games were a Geelong club record for five years, before Joel Selwood overtook him in the 2021 finals series.
Enright averaged a stupendous 21 disposals and six marks per game, and on top of his three flags, finished with six All-Australian jumpers, including one in his final year (talk about going out with plenty left in the tank), and tellingly, won two best-and-fairest awards in premiership years (2009 and 2011).
Further highlighting just how good Enright was is the fact that, upon revision, he finishes ahead of two of the greatest key forwards of modern times – Jonathan Brown and Matthew Pavlich.
How do you split these two guys, you ask? With a coin flip. But in all seriousness (although the coin flip idea did cross my mind), Brown just edges out Pavlich for the No.2 spot in the Redraft.
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One of the most powerful, fearless and courageous players of his generation, Brown looked like the second coming of Wayne Carey.
Like the legendary Kangaroo, Brown had scant regard for his own welfare, as he made an artform out of running back with the flight of the ball into oncoming danger.
His famous 2002 mark of the year is the best example of this.
Ultimately, his greatest strength became his undoing, because repeated head knocks and concussions brought his career to a premature end in 2014 at the age of 32. But before he bowed out, he certainly left his mark on the AFL landscape.
With 594 goals from 256 games, Brown is Brisbane’s all-time leading goalkicker, and he played a critical role in the Lions’ “three-peat” of premiership teams from 2001-03.
Brown was also a two-time All-Australian, a three-time best-and-fairest, the 2007 Coleman Medal winner and was voted the most courageous player in the AFL by his peers on three occasions.
Pavlich completes the top three of the 1999 Redraft, a slight promotion from his original selection of No.4, after finishing his career as the greatest player in Fremantle’s history.
That title now may be contested by Nat Fyfe who has become a dual Brownlow medallist, but many still regard Pavlich as the Dockers’ all-time No.1. And it’s not hard to see why.
The superstar forward finished up with 700 goals from 353 games, ranking him first and second in those stats respectively at the club.
In fact, Pavlich’s goal tally is so huge that he more than doubles Fremantle’s second-most prolific goalkicker Michael Walters (315).
Pavlich could do it all, winning six All-Australian nods from a variety of positions and was also a six-time best-and-fairest, which is also comfortably a club record – doubling the tallies of the next best Peter Bell and Nat Fyfe on three.
But despite coming close to rounding out his trophy cabinet with a premiership medal in 2013, his Dockers lost the grand final to Hawthorn, and that coveted flag would forever elude him.
If you needed any more evidence as to how stacked this draft was, coming in at No.4 upon revision is the man who has legitimate claims as one of the greatest ruckmen in history – West Coast’s Dean Cox. And what a bargain he was. Taken at pick No.28 in the rookie draft, his ascension represents a promotion of 132 positions.
Superstar Geelong duo Chapman and Corey are next cabs off the rank at five and six respectively, while Cox’s premiership teammate Darren Glass moves up to No.7.
The roll call of greatness in this Redraft continues with Ling jumping 30 spots from 38 to eight, 2012 Norm Smith medallist Ryan O’Keefe catapulting himself from 56 to nine and one of the all-time great small forwards Stephen Milne rounding out the top 10 after being taken at 23 in the rookie draft – that’s a rise of 121 positions.
Only two original top-10 picks survived the Redraft – Pavlich and Corey.
But just to highlight even further how stacked the 1999 crop was, the likes of Bulldogs champion Robert Murphy, Fremantle star Paul Hasleby, premiership Magpie Ben Johnson, brilliant swing man Luke McPharlin, dual premiership gun Brent Guerra, Port Adelaide flag-winning ruckman Dean Brogan, Irish success story Tadhg Kennelly, Melbourne sharpshooter Brad Green, Collingwood excitement machine Leon Davis and Bulldogs forward Daniel Giansiracusa were all overlooked.
