Collingwood midfielder Dale Thomas names his best 22 of all time
BACKS Gavin Wanganeen Brownlow Medallist and a silky smooth rebounding defender.
Stephen Silvagni Team of the Century, Hall of Famer, the greatest full-back to play the game – what more can you say?
Glenn Archer Courageous, tough and another great shutdown backman for this team.
HALF-BACKS Glen Jakovich and Guy McKenna Playing alongside each other as they did throughout their West Coast days, they were tough, reliable and simply greats of the game.
Andrew McLeod Another silky smooth rebounding defender and one of my favourite players. He uses the ball so well and makes every possession count.
CENTRES Chris Judd Another one who you just have to put in. One of the best – if not the best – midfielders of the modern game. Amazing ball-winning power and a player who will cut you to pieces with every possession.
Nathan Buckley Super talent, amazing skills, inspiring leader and massive ball-winning power.
Peter Matera Remarkable skills and ability to seemingly make something out of nothing. Made the wing position his own throughout his career.
HALF-FORWARDS Jonathan Brown A massive presence up forward, capable of kicking bags of goals and super hard-working and courageous.
Wayne Carey Arguably one of the greatest players to have ever played. A freakish talent who was also capable of kicking bags of goals and turning the momentum of a game single-handedly.
Peter Daicos Absolute magician. Could kick goals from anywhere, make something out of nothing and another match-winner.
FORWARDS Alan Didak The modern day Daicos, I suppose you could call him. One of my favourite players to watch, can play multiple positions and be damaging in all of them. Every time he gets or is near the ball, something happens.
Gary Ablett Sr My all-time favourite player, a man who could do it all. Big marks, unstoppable on the lead and amazing on the ground. Another who could win the game off his own boot.
Tony Lockett Kicked bags of goals for fun. Another guy who picks himself.
FOLLOWERS Dean Cox Amazing tap ruckman whose follow-up and ground coverage is phenomenal for his size. Great skills and good all over the ground.
Ben Cousins His work rate and running ability would enable him to simply destroy his opponents. Great skills and super talent.
Garry Hocking The in-and-under man in my team. Great skills in close and amazing by foot on both sides of his body.
INTERCHANGE Darryl Jordan My pa. He trained with Melbourne before going off to WWII, which robbed him of his chance to play VFL/AFL footy. He taught me the game and is still my inspiration.
James Hird, Michael Voss and Mark Ricciuto All amazing midfielders who could have easily found their way into the starting 18. All great midfielders of the game who, like many of the players in the team, have the ability to single-handedly change a match.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.