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AFL top 100: Which will be the last club in 2018 to welcome a new inductee?

(L-R) Dylan Grimes, Dustin Martin, Sean Griggs, Dion Prestia and Jacob Townsend of the Tigers react after winning the AFL grand final between the Adelaide Crows and Richmond Tigers at the MCG in Melbourne, Saturday, September 30, 2017. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Guru
21st December, 2017
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Based on the current games played at each club, and assuming all players close to the 100-game milestone retain their fitness and form for most of the 2018 season (a big assumption!) Richmond will be the last to welcome a new member to the top 100 game players at any club.

It will take Dylan Grimes at least until Round 16 to accumulate enough games to join Bill Barrott and Graeme Landy in equal 99th position on the club’s Top 100 list.

Barrott played with the Tigers all through the 1960s and was described as an “explosive” run all-day player capable of turning a game on his own. He played in two Tiger premierships (1967 and 1969) and represented Victoria 11 times in state games.

He was also part of a sensational swap that saw him move to St Kilda in exchange for Brownlow Medallist Ian Stewart. His time at St Kilda was unrewarding and he moved on to Carlton and eventually North Melbourne with little success.

Graeme Landy originally came from Echuca to Geelong in 1975 but moved to Richmond in 1979. At the Tigers he developed into a tough defender. He eventually returned to Geelong in 1987 and finished his career there in 1988.

For the long-established clubs, it is a significant achievement to make it to the greatest hundred game-players or goal-kickers of all time. In fact, for seven clubs it is only possible for one player at that club in 2018 to join the elite list of players who have represented the club enough times to achieve this honour.

While it is a significant achievement to make the list, sometimes it doesn’t lead to a long tenure amongst the champions. Take the case of Ty Vickery who, right at the end of 2016, made it into the top 100 Tiger players of all time, only to be replaced in 2017 (after his ill-fated move to Hawthorn) by Brandon Ellis.

Vickery, by moving into the top 100 Tiger game-players, had replaced a number of the club’s champion players clinging to 100th place on the list: Fred Burge, John Northey, Bruce Monteath, Maurice Rioli and Jason Torney. One look through this list (which includes a club captain, a club coach and a Norm Smith Medallist) should convince any doubters of the quality of the 100 players who remain on the list.

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