As a decade concludes there is always a new candidate for the greatest team of all time.
As is the case, the latest team is always the forerunner for the title of being the best.
But while we recall the achievements of the latest team, we forget the accomplishments of the teams from yesteryear.
In the AFL there is always the argument of who is the best team of all time.
But after 120 years of VFL/AFL football how can we possibly have a clear winner in the discussion of the greatest team in history?
How can anyone compare to the modern Richmond team to 'The Machine' that was the Collingwood team that won four flags between 1927-1930 when modern footballers are fully professional athletes who spend their lives focussed on fitness and have facilities that are second to none?
An easier way to determine football's greatest teams is by splitting the VFL and AFL era’s.
This two-part series will look at the teams that dominated the VFL era (1896-1989) and then the AFL era (1990–present). This series will not determine who is the best team in each era, instead, it will reflect on the feats of the teams and provide the reader insight into what these teams achieved in their heyday.
2. Essendon 1946-1951
When a team plays in six consecutive Grand Finals, has two players win five Brownlow medals and a player who has a goal-kicking award named after him, it’s safe to say the team is in fairly good shape.
Coached by the legendary Dick Reynold’s, the Bombers were the superior team in the competition for six seasons, winning 79% of their home-and-away games.
The Bombers won premierships in 1946, 49 and 50 but came up short in 1947, 48 and 51.
However, the team will be most remembered for the grace of John Coleman, who lit up the competition in a way never seen before.
In his first match Coleman kicked 12 goals and from then on was a football sensation. Coleman kicked 537 goals in 98 games in a career that was cruelly cut short by a serious knee injury. Ill-fate would be a constant occurrence in Coleman’s life as he was unjustly suspended for the 1951 Grand final, a decision that most people believe cost the Bombers the flag.
Coleman later coached Essendon between 1961 to 1967 and guided the club to premierships in 1962 and 1965.
In April 1973, aged just 44, Coleman died suddenly from coronary atheroma, ending the life of football's first real superstar.
