Almanac Teams: What’s a Kellaway? Around a Holman; Best of Number 39 (1980- )

 

 

 

This is a team of best players to wear the Number 39 jumper since 1980.

 

• Starting 18 will be one player from each club. I have tweaked it after the Number 3 team. Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions will be one club, with Fitzroy, Gold Coast and GWS competing for the last two spots in the starting 18.
• Teams will try to be as balanced as possible but if a number has several rucks as its best player an alternative will be picked. I will explain my selections below the team.
• Players may appear under multiple numbers, for example Eddie Betts numbers 18 and 19.

 

 

 

Stats are based on their time in that number.

 

 

I also have two teams per number, one is a best of and the other is based on players picked for different obscure/unusual reasons like cameos, unknown brothers, fathers, known for other reasons

 

 

FB:        Ang Christou (Carl)                                Heath Grundy (Syd)                      Tim Mohr (GWS)

 

CHB:    Darren Milburn (DVC) (Geel)              Andrew Kellaway (Rich)               Heath Shaw (Coll)

 

C:           Josh Drummond (Bris)                         Heath Hocking (Ess)                     Martin Mattner (Adel)

 

CHF:     Neville Jetta (Melb)                               Justin Westhoff (VC) (PA)            Sam Switkowski (Freo)

 

FF:        Leigh Harding (NM)                              Warwick Capper (Syd/Bris)         Adam Hunter (WCE)

 

Ruck:    Robert Campbell (Haw)                        Nick Holman (GCS)                       Tony Liberatore (C) (Foots/WB)

 

Interchange: Adam Heuskes (Syd/PA), Jason Johannisen (WB), Dale Thomas (Carl), Chris Waterman (WCE)

 

Emergencies: Paul Abbott (Haw), Scott Crow (Coll), Tom Doedee (Adel), Damien Hardwick (Ess)

 

Coach: Tony Jewell

 

No players from Fitzroy or St Kilda, two from Sydney.

 

 

Games in Number 39 (Years Played)

Ang Christou 150 (1992-2002)

Heath Grundy 256 (2006-2019)

Tim Mohr 48 (2012-2018)

Darren Milburn 292 (1997-2011)

Andrew Kellaway 172 (2008-2016)

Heath Shaw 173 (2005-2013)

Josh Drummond 94 (2005-2012)

Heath Hocking 126 (2007-2017)

Martin Mattner 98 (2002-2007)

Neville Jetta 159 (2009-2021)

Justin Westhoff 280 (2007-2020)

Sam Switkowski 42 (2018- )

Leigh Harding 141 (2001-2010)

Warwick Capper 90 at Sydney (1983-1987, 1991) 34 at Brisbane (1988-1990)

Adam Hunter 151 (2000-2009)

Robert Campbell 116 (2002-2009)

Nick Holman 62 (2018-2021)

Tony Liberatore 279 (1987-2002)

Adam Heuskes 49 at Sydney (1994-1996) 37 at Port Adelaide (1997-1998)

Jason Johannisen 172 (2012- )

Dale Thomas 101 (2014-2019)

Chris Waterman 154 (1991-1998)

 

 

The Number 39 is better side that I anticipated it would be. It does have a Brownlow Medallist in Liberatore and Norm Smith Medallist in Johannisen, All Australians in Christou, Kellaway, Milburn, Shaw and Heuskes (Thomas earned his while at Collingwood) and there are eight premiership players.

 

 

Clubs with multiple options are Adelaide with Martin Mattner and Tom Doedee, Carlton with Ang Christou and Dale Thomas, Collingwood with Scott Crow and Heath Shaw, Essendon with Damien Hardwick and Heath Hocking, Hawthorn with Paul Abbott and Robert Campbell, Sydney with Warwick Capper, Adam Heuskes and Heath Grundy, West Coast with Chris Waterman and Adam Hunter and the Western Bulldogs/Footscray with Tony Liberatore and Jason Johannisen.

 

 

The defence is the strength of the team with an even spread of talls, intercept defenders, run with small defenders and dashing half backs. The talls in Grundy, Mohr, and Kellaway are equally adept at playing full back or as an attacking intercept defender. Heath Grundy I was surprised never made All Australian side. Andrew Kellaway was an All Australian in 2000 and was a great mark who like his brother was very courageous in where he would put his body for a contest. Tim Mohr at 196cm is the tallest of the defenders and was key player for the Giants in their early days; he played 35 games in the first two years before knee injuries wrecked his career. Darren Milburn was key player for Geelong in their Premiership era as a dashing half back who could play tall and was All Australian in a premiership year. Ang Christou was also All Australian in a premiership year and could provide some dash from the backline with his booming left foot kicks that sparked the crowd to go ‘Wooooof!’. Heath Shaw is another All Australian defender and can play attacking or defensive roles on the opposition small forward. Other options in defence are Adam Hunter as an intercept defender, Heath Hocking, Neville Jetta, Sam Switkowski, Nick Holman as small defenders and Adam Heuskes, Josh Drummond, Chris Waterman, Jason Johannisen, Dale Thomas and Martin Mattner as running defenders.

 

 

The midfield lacks class, run and ball getters but does have a few good tagging options. Robert Campbell in the ruck was largely unheralded in Hawthorn’s premiership year but was mobile around the ground and was missed by the Hawks when injured after said premiership. Tony Liberatore is first rover and at 160cm won a Brownlow as a pure rover before tacking his game style to that of a tagger, in this side he will be needed to be a pure bottom of the pack ball winner. Nick Holman and Heath Hocking are capable of getting the ball but are better known as run with onballers or small defenders. Drummond and Mattner made their names as half backs though Mattner was a half back/wing. Both Drummond and Mattner were attacking players so can settle in on the wing and both had good pace and were very good kicks which will be needed in the midfield. Justin Westhoff would be the relief ruck in the side while Dale Thomas is the only real midfield alternative and though named on the bench he is what the midfield lacks: a classy ball user. Waterman, Jetta and Johannisen could perhaps rotate through the midfield in this side and Christou could swap with Drummond.

 

 

At FF we have the high flying wizard Warwick Capper, who we hope is in 1986-1987 form where he kicked 92 and 103 goals. Justin Westhoff is at CHF who kicked 313 goals as a forward/ruck with his best year his first with 34 goals. Leigh Harding at 181cm played as a crumbing forward but perhaps taller than a traditional one but was always dangerous close to goal, he won the club goalkicking with 33 in 2003. Adam Hunter at 190cm was the ultimate swingman who mainly played in defence as a third tall but could swing forward to kick a goal when needed. Hunter kicked 86 goals with a best of 29 goals in the 2006 premiership season including four goals in the Preliminary Final. The half forward I have used are defenders but to meet the criteria I had to put them somewhere and I had a glut of defenders. Jetta only kicked 24 goals and 18 of them were in his first three years. Jetta was a very good tackler and could apply play as a pressure forward or he was very skilled so he may be able to adapt. Switkowski is an emerging player in a very good Fremantle side in 2022 and while playing midfield/defence he has kicked 11 goals in 10 games this year. Dale Thomas and Chris Waterman are the only other real options to play up forward although I did see Heath Grundy’s first AFL game where he kicked 3.2…but after that he kicked 21 goals from remaining 255 games.

 

 

The interchange has probably the best four players available that can help with some gaps in the team. Adam Heuskes was a dashing half back at his prime who won All Australian selection and while the team has a lot of defensive options, Heuskes’ ability was hard to leave out. Johannisen is another small running defender whose record is hard to leave out as a Norm Smith Medallist, with the makeup of this side his pace, run and skill would probably be best used as a midfield option. Dale Thomas was a star at Collingwood as a half forward and then midfielder. Thomas only kicked 34 goals at Carlton playing mainly in the backline, in this side he would play more as forward/midfielder. Chris Waterman also was mainly a defender/wing however he did play up forward on occasions including kicking six goals in a final against Melbourne in 1990, with this in mind he gets as a utility option. Paul Abbott was considered on the back of his six goals in a premiership in 1988. Hardwick wore 39 in his first four years in 65 games but missed out to Heath Hocking as automatic and the side had several small defenders. There are no Saints in the team, Bill Mildenhall was the one that had played the most with 77 but only 17 since 1980 so I selected two Swans instead to use as bookends.

 

 

There was no club captain in the side so I went with Tony Liberatore as captain, Justin Westhoff as vice-captain and Darren Milburn as deputy.

 

 

The unlucky players were Stephen Lunn (Geel), Bill Mildenhall (St.K).

 

 

 

You can read all of Rodney’s ‘best ofs’ HERE.

 

 

 

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