Stanhope, Lancaster, Merrigum and Girgarre club experts pick teams of the past 25 years

By enlisting the support of several club legends, we have managed to come up with what, we think, are pretty good representations of the best Wombats, Lions, Kangaroos and Bulldogs since the turn of the century (2000-2024).

There were no criteria applied to the selection process, the players chosen just had to have worn the colours of that club at some point during the 25-year period.

By way of an explanation, from results alone, here is a brief summary of each club’s stars from the last quarter-century.

Lancaster

As expected, modern-day players feature prominently in the Lancaster team of the quarter-century, and Tom Davies is at the head of the list.

He was the 2021 McNamara Medallist and coached the club to successive premierships in 2022-23. He is also a two-time best-and-fairest winner with the club.

A 70-goal season from Zac Cerrone was enough to give him the nod, if his previous decade of dominance in the competition wasn’t already enough to win selection.

Going back a little further in history are players like Corey Carver (multiple club best-and-fairest, two-time league best-and-fairest runner-up and former coach), along with Steve Thomson, Chris Eddy, ruck man Andrew Thomas and five-time club best-and-fairest Paul Burnett.

They are the remaining three players who have been crowned the best player in the competition since 2000. Burnett was unlucky not to win two league medals, having been ineligible in the year when he was a clear winner of the award.

No Lancaster player has topped the goal-kicking award since 2000.

Stanhope

Five-time club best-and-fairest winner Brenton Gray was among the first selected in the Stanhope team, a club stalwart who went on to coach the club and was a renowned on-field leader.

Alongside three-time league leading goal-kicker Gavin Exell, coach of the 2000 premiership side, and a number of 2007-08 stars, they form an extremely impressive unit.

Exell sits alongside another goal-kicking sensation (and best-and-fairest) Matt Forys, after kicking 124 goals (including finals) in the premiership year of 2000. He then backed that up with 135 goals in 2001 and 126 in 2003 (when the Lions were premiers and champions).

Daryl Harrison is Stanhope’s only player to have been crowned the league’s best since 2000 and, amazingly, was involved in this year’s KDL finals series.

Another star of the early 2000s, Ash Comer, did tie for the league medal but was ineligible.

Of the club’s modern-day players, it was impossible for the experts to leave Craig Emmett out of the team after hitting his 300 senior game milestone last season and continuing to perform at the top level.

Girgarre

Seven-time club best-and-fairest Jeff Turpin heads a list of 13 players that have won the top gong for the club and six players who have coached the club.

It has been 33 years since the Kangaroos tasted senior football success and they only returned to the finals for the first time in 20 years two years ago.

They have, however, had more than their fair share of great players in the blue and white striped guernsey, probably none better than 300-gamer Turpin.

While Turpin was at the end of his career in the 2000s, he did more than enough to earn his place in the team. Simon Tomasini, a 250-game player, is another to make the team.

The Kangaroos have only had one player win the league’s McNamara Medal, Troy Snelson in 2010, while the only century goal-kicker in that time was Damian Cupido (105 goals in 2022).

On recent bias it is almost impossible to go past Ryan Butler, who has plied his trade at the club since 2019.

Byron Dryden, Jarrod Kellock and 2024 recruit Josh Marino have also been included.

Merrigum

Eleven premiership players from the Bulldogs’ last flag (the only one of the 2000-2024 period, 2015), 13 best-and-fairest winners and a 300-game defender who is still playing senior football at Moama in the Murray league at age 44 features in the Merrigum team.

Geoff Connally started with the Bulldogs as a 16-year-old and has worn both the GVL and KDL representative colours.

Priro to 2015 (and the 2014 grand final) Merrigum’s most successful period was 1986-1990 when they won three premierships.

Josh Pell was the 2013 league medallist and is the only Bulldog to have won that title since former premiership coach Peter White tied for the honour in 1987. Pell won best-and-fairest titles in 2012-13-15.

No Merrigum player has won the league goal-kicking award since 2000.

In recent years two-time best-and-fairest winner Jack Sinclair, who was an Under-18 Bulldogs premiership player, deserved his recognition and is among only a handful of recent players, along with Jacob Martin, Jake Ross and Rohan Hearn.

Of the team only Linc Wellington is a “one season wonder”. Even he was due to coach the team in 2016, but returned to coach Tatura in the GVL after its coach quit.

Selectors chose Scott Greig as captain and Pell as vice-captain, while coach Christian Barnett was recognised for his four years in the top job (2012-15).