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Opinion

Over-30s club: The best team of 30-plus-year-olds in the AFL

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Roar Rookie
28th June, 2021
16

With the star of the competition, Dustin Martin, turning 30 years of age on Saturday, I’ve compiled my best team of current over-30-year-olds in the AFL.

My criteria were pretty vague, but generally I based my selections on what the players could currently bring to the team at their best. The CVs of some of the greats of our game also helped their case, however.

Here’s the team, with plenty of seriously good players missing out. So please let me know all the clear and obvious mistakes I made.

FB: Shannon Hurn (WC), Mark Blicavs (GEEL), Bachar Houli (RICH)
HB: Daniel Rich (BL), Dane Rampe (SYD), Brad Sheppard (WC)
C: Mitch Duncan (GEEL), Dustin Martin (c) (RICH), Dayne Zorko (BL)
HF: Michael Walters (FREM), Lance Franklin (SYD), Taylor Walker (ADEL)
FF: Luke Breust (HAW), Tom Hawkins (GEEL), Robbie Gray (PA)
FOL: Nic Naitanui (WC), Patrick Dangerfield (vc) (GEEL), Travis Boak (PA)
I/C: Scott Pendlebury (COLL), David Mundy (FREM), Joel Selwood (GEEL), Jack Riewoldt (RICH)
SUB: Eddie Betts (CARL)

Let’s take a look at the defenders first.

Shannon Hurn and Brad Sheppard are both integral to the Eagles’ defence. Hurn is still racking up big disposal numbers while Sheppard won All Australian honours last season.

Sydney skipper Dane Rampe is a lock at centre half back, three-time premiership star Bachar Houli sits in the back pocket while Daniel Rich is having a superb 2021 season for the Lions off half back.

Mark Blicavs edged out Tom Jonas and Phil Davis for a key position spot. Others unlucky were Zach Tuohy and Jeremy Howe.

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Bachar Houli

(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

Next up is the midfield. This area of the ground is stacked with talent. Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield walk straight into the side without question, and are my captain and vice-captain respectively.

Mitch Duncan is a seriously underrated player of the competition, while in-form Lion Dane Zorko takes up the other wing spot.

Travis Boak is seemingly getting better with age and has taken his game to another level ever since relinquishing the Port Adelaide captaincy, while Nic Naitanui, similar to Martin and Dangerfield, picks himself.

Honourable mentions include Trent Cotchin, Steele Sidebottom, Luke Shuey, Shane Edwards, Rory Sloane, Josh Kennedy from the Swans and Todd Goldstein in the ruck. Any of these guys could easily have been picked.

The forward line was probably the most difficult to select. The key forwards listed on the field were Tom Hawkins (31 goals this season), Lance Franklin (29 goals) and Taylor Walker (40 goals), who all sit inside the top ten in the Coleman Medal race. Franklin’s 973 career goals also slightly help his case.

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It means that Charlie Dixon and Josh Kennedy from the Eagles missed out. Both could have justifiably been selected.

The small forward trio of Michael Walters, Robbie Gray and Luke Breust would pose lots of danger for opposition defenders. Breust has 24 goals for the season, Gray was still playing some good footy before his injury and while Walters is out of form, his best is very damaging and he has that X-factor every side needs.

I wish the interchange bench held 20 players, but only four remaining spots were available.

When Scott Pendlebury gets the ball, time stops. He’s such a special player and is still averaging 24 touches a game this year.

David Mundy is another player who just gets better with age. Season 2021 has almost been a career best.

David Mundy

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Three-time premiership star Joel Selwood just makes the cut, and Jack Riewoldt takes the final spot on the bench. Another three-time premiership player, Riewoldt sits fourth in the Coleman Medal this year and is as important as ever to a struggling Richmond side missing Tom Lynch.

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For the injury sub I’ve gone with Eddie Betts, just to provide that added spark when one of these other champion players goes down. His three goals against the Crows on the weekend shows he can still play good footy. That and his 630-odd career goals gives Betts the last spot in the side.

So that’s the undeniable justification for the selection of the best team of over-30-year-olds in the current AFL competition. I whittled down 101 veterans into 23 players who would stack up well against any side in the competition.

All up, these 23 players have 5914 games between them, 6077 goals, 60 All Australian honours, 32 club best and fairests and 22 premierships.

It’s all in good fun, but who was the most unlucky to miss out? Who would you take out of the side? Or did I get it perfectly spot on? Somehow I doubt that’s the case.

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