We are looking back at the best teams of the modern era and asking you – who is the greatest?
We’ve put 16 of the best sides from the 1980s onwards in a head-to-head elimination tournament where the winner will be voted by you!
There are two groups and four matchups in each section. The winner of each group advances to the grand final.
The winner of the polls, as voted by you, will determine who will advance to the next round where we will post an article showing the upcoming matchups.
Teams from the 80s will face off with teams of the 2000s to create some of the best dream clashes we could imagine. Some old rivalries are reignited from different eras and some of the positional matchups are incredible.
This is a look at each team’s individual season, not the club’s dynasty or period over multiple years. Some dynasties have been incredible, but we are focusing on the best season in those successful periods.
Brisbane have been dominant throughout this tournament from the get go, with comfortable wins being the trademark of this side. Essendon have won some closer matchups and and shocked a few on their way to the big dance, ousting arguably Hawthorn's two greatest ever teams (1986 and 2013).
Starting from the Brisbane defence, we look at the battle between Mal Michael and Matthew Lloyd. Michael has been able to shut down Lloyd in the past but the star Bombers forward was a big game player. A big deciding factor in the matchup would surround this battle. Scott Lucas would provide much needed support to Lloyd and would be followed closely by Justin Leppitsch.
James Hird would be floating between forward and midfield as he does and that would make him hard to match up on. If the Essendon skipper gets off the chain it would go a long way to Essendon winning. His opposite number Michael Voss would head up the midfield for the Lions.
Voss would be standing alongside Simon Black and Nigel Lappin on the ball to battle against Joe Misiti, Justin Blumfield and Jason Johnson. A battle where the Lions would have a strong advantage in on paper.
Essendon would rely on their defence to deal with what could be a high influx of forward entries for the Lions. Dustin Fletcher and Dean Wallis would have their hands full with Jonathan Brown and Alastair Lynch. The small forwards for Brisbane pose another threat.
Jason Akermanis and Craig McRae are profound goal scorers and would require some serious attention, with Damien Hardwick and Mark Johnson the most likely pair take these matchups. Hardwick and Johnson are both very physical and would look to impose themselves on the creative forwards.
Essendon don't have a designated intercept marker down back and that would make it hard for them to rebound out of defensive 50. Repeat entries and lockdown in the forward half was a trait of the Lions and a key scoring chain for them.
Both teams would bring a high level of physicality to the contest but in different aspects - Brisbane would attack the ball and smash into anything in their way, while the Bombers would tend to look to focus their aggression on the opposition and are a tad more verbal.
The 2001 Grand Final looks like an incredible precedent to this contest and highlights just how good that game was.
VOTE IN THE POLL BELOW 👇
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