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The AFL has been nothing short of blessed in the past 16 years, witnessing three of the most dominant teams ever to take the field.
For the Brisbane Lions to achieve what they did in the early 2000s as a non-Victorian club was inspirational, but look ten years on and the Hawks have completed a dynasty which is arguably the best ever.
The period between that? The Cats.
Do you deduct points from Geelong for never going back-to-back? Does 2008 count as part of the era for Hawthorn? Does Brisbane get extra credit for not being based in Victoria?
The question that will always be without an answer is: were these teams to play against each other in their prime, who would come out on top? Would it be Lappin, Lynch, White, Akermanis and Black? Ablett, Johnson, Chapman, Bartel and Scarlett? Or Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Rioli and Franklin?
There has been plenty of talk that Hawthorn has overtaken Geelong as the greatest team of the 21st century given the 2013–15 three-peat, but the evidence still falls the way of the Cats, who enjoyed a far superior era than the Hawks and Lions.
Geelong’s lowest finishing position between 2007 and 2011 was a preliminary final loss in 2010 to eventual premier Collingwood.
If people would like to include 2008 for the Hawks and make it four flags over eight years, then Hawthorn’s lowest finishing position was completely missing the finals in 2009 and getting knocked out in a 2010 elimination final – which is why the Hawthorn era didn’t start until 2011.
The Sydney Swans have also been added into discussions when comparing the best teams of this century. The Cats were ultra-consistent in their time, the Hawks’ success fluctuated and the Lions weren’t much after four years – but what about Sydney?
Had they won that flag in 2014 or even 2016, they too would have accumulated three or four premierships in an era spanning back to 2005.
So let’s look that far back, even back to 2004, the year the Lions’ dominance came to a sudden stop.
The Cats made the preliminary final that year and fell just nine points short of the Lions. In 2005 it was Nick Davis who pipped the Cats in the final seconds to deny them a preliminary final berth. From 2007 to 2014 the Cats made six of a possible eight preliminary finals.
The Swans have made a remarkable 14 of a possible 17 finals series since 2000.
From the beginning of this century Geelong have a win percentage of 66.1 per cent including finals compared to the Hawks, who sit at 59.7 per cent.
From 2000 to 2009 the Brisbane Lions recorded the second-highest win percentage – 57 per cent – and an all-time high of 76 per cent in finals matches. You have to go back to Richmond in the 80s to find a better finals record.
To win back-to-back flags is an incredible achievement, especially in today’s AFL. The fact that the Hawks were able to win three in a row playing the modern game showed just how aggressive this club was.
With free agency introduced during this time the Hawks were able to pounce on ready-made players to complement the team and help it to be a force for as long as possible. Their list management was superb.
Even after losing Franklin in 2013 the Hawks never seemed to break stride.
The Cats played a tough Hawthorn in 2008, a strong St Kilda in 2009 and an up-and-coming Collingwood in 2010, which ruined their chances of back-to-back premierships.
No other Victorian side played against the Hawks in grand finals between 2012 and 2015, giving them an instant advantage.
The Hawks also had their period of dominance while the new expansion teams were given draft compensations.
This worked heavily in the favour of Hawthorn because they were already at the top of the league. When nearly all the first-round draft picks went to either the GWS Giants or the Gold Coast Suns, other clubs found it difficult to catch up.
So why was the Geelong dynasty greater than Hawthorn’s?
For eight years the Cats were a very consistent and very tough team to come up against. They bred their own, from 2004 they established a real team-first attitude, which was vital for success, and this made them a superior team.
After 2008 the Hawks practically had a complete shake-up in terms of personnel. They said goodbye Shane Crawford, Chance Bateman, Campbell Brown and Stuart Dew, and hello to Shaun Burgoyne, David Hale, Josh Gibson and Jack Gunston.
Geelong did have to overcome some drama to achieve its final flag in 2011, which also adds to the success story.
In 2010 two-time premiership coach Mark Thompson, champion player Gary Ablett and president Frank Costa all exited the club, but to rebound and rejoice the way that they did in 2011 was really something special and said a lot about team spirit.
With Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Bradley Hill leaving the Hawks at the end of 2016 there is still a way for Hawthorn to be considered as the best team of the 21st century – they have to succeed in 2017 to prove that they too can rebound.
Then perhaps they can be considered the best team of the 21st century.
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