Former Collingwood Magpies and current GWS Giants veteran Lachlan Keeffe has named the three toughest opponents he has faced on the field during his AFL career.
Debuting in 2011, Keeffe enters his 15th season in 2025 and has played against some of the competition's best players during his time with the Collingwood Magpies (2008-17) and GWS Giants (2018-).
Drafted at No.69 in the 2009 Rookie Draft, he has featured in 116 matches as either a key defender or key forward and looks set to add to this tally this upcoming season.
Speaking to Zero Hanger, Keeffe was questioned about which players were the toughest he had ever faced on the AFL field, to which he responded with three players with entirely different careers.
"I've been fortunate enough to play for a while. I'd say the toughest opponent would probably be Nick Riewoldt," Keeffe told Zero Hanger.
"He's just a phenomenal athlete and has this drive and want. He just wills himself on the contest and in the game which was a big reason why he's such a good captain but he was extremely difficult (to defend).
"He just had a really impressive motor and wanted to play. Obviously, guys like Buddy [Lance Franklin], too. Buddy was a superstar and I hadn't seen anyone like Buddy.
"I've never seen another Lance Franklin in my time. He's the best player I've played on because he can just kick from anywhere and you had to be on the whole time.
"Even then, you're at the mercy of how he's feeling.
"The other one that gave me a little bit of grief, who was a big guy and moved pretty well, was Kurt Tippett.
"I played on him a few times, and he was just a big guy, good hands and had that presence."
