August is the time of the year when teams start jostling for the final spots on the ladder and when trade rumours start circling.
Unfortunately, in the words of Stevie J, it’s also the time when some greats will be “leaving the game with nothing left in the tank” and get that lap, tunnel, carry off the ground for the last time.
Just like this home-and-away season being labelled as the best ever, the same question could go for the class of 2017. Is this the best list of retiring players of all time?
Before we say yes we have to Marty McFly back ten years to 2007. In 2007 the original iPhone was rolled out, Facebook launched its mobile platform and removed the ‘is’ from your status updates, The Departed was given the gong as the best film at the Oscars and Beyonce’s Irreplaceable was the number one song.
So is the class of 2017 irreplaceable? There is one year that could rival it, and that is the class of that very year 2007.
In the class of 07 we said farewell to many, but the standouts included the likes of Nathan Buckley (280 games), James Hird (253), Mark Ricciuto (312), Anthony Koutoufides (278), Glenn Archer (311), Fraser Gehrig (255) and Chris Grant (341).
Ten years later we add the names Scott Thompson (308), Jobe Watson (217), Matthew Boyd (291), Matt Priddis (235), Steve Johnson (289), Sam Mitchell (324), Nick Riewoldt (334) and Luke Hodge (302).
So how do the two compare? Obviously there were many more retires in 2007 and there are still so many players that will announce their retirement at this season’s end – we might be adding the names of Shaun Burgoyne, Gary Ablett et cetera – but let’s look at the ‘best’ seven from the class of 2007 and the ‘best’ seven so far this season.
| Year | 2007 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2030 | 2300* |
| Brownlow Medals | 3 | 2 |
| Norm Smith Medals | 3 | 3 |
| Captains | 5 | 5 |
| Premierships | 6 | 12 |
| All Australian Selections | 30 | 21 |
Both are stacked with absolute legends of the game. Captains, Brownlow Medallists, All-Australians and football royalty – so who had the better outgoing crop?
This is a decision for you, and no matter which team list you choose, you can be sure that we will remember the class of 2017 – and I cannot wait for the debate in another ten years!
Brendan Smith
Roar Rookie
It's so tough! I think at the moment im with 2007 but by the time the season ends and all the retirees are announced ill have a totally different view! If only the two teams could somehow match up against one another.. in the words of the afl finals ad "id like to see that"
Conor
Roar Guru
It's hard to split, I'll say 2017 class of retirees just, not easy to split for sure