Across 325 games, 16 seasons, four Grand Finals and nine preliminary finals, it is safe to say I played in some very good teams. Across those teams I also played with some extremely good players. Many teammates in those teams are in the AFL Hall of Fame.
So naming the best 10 players I've played with across those years, at the Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs, is damn tough.
The last spot, in my mind, was down to a choice of Scotty West, Brad Johnson, Barry Hall, Darryl White, Gilbert McAdam, Craig McRae, Jonathan Brown and Dale Morris.
Yes, the squeeze for spots was a lot harder than I initially thought.
For the record, my closest friends when I played the Bears/Lions was Craig "Fly" McRae and at the Bulldogs it was Dale Morris and Mitch Hahn.
These days I see Mitch most weeks, with either helping at the Lions L3 Development program he runs or at our daughters' football training and games.
My teammates I see now the most outside of Mitch, is Simon Black and Clark "Mr September" or "Crackers" Keating. It's mostly Clark actually.
He and I played in the Queensland under 12s team in Darwin back in 1988. We have been mates ever since. We both have three daughters and are always entwined with football work and other business. Football is an interesting place to play and be even after all these years.
So who is in my top 10, in order from 10 to 1, starting with that very tight final spot? Here we go!
1Michael Voss (Brisbane Lions)
While no huge surprise, "Micky V" was just the only player I played with that made us a different team when he was fit and healthy. Around the middle, his natural ferocity and physicality was like no other player I played with.
For his size (183cm), Voss was extraordinarily good overhead. He was equally as dangerous up forward and would have given opposition coaches nightmares at times.
"Vossy" and I are only 18 months apart in age and with us both growing up in Brisbane, having lovely red hair, I had heard about Vossy long before we met. He often played as an underage player for the 12s, 14s, 17s Teal Cups ... Queensland state teams.
I would come through the same teams two years later and along with a couple of other very good juniors, "Vossy" was the player they would talk about. By the time I was invited to participate in the whole pre-season with the Bears in 1993-1994, Vossy was already dominating at senior level.
Off-field we always got along. We have very similar senses of humour, and our mutual lunatic teammate Craig "Fly" McRae would always have us in stitches.
The exception was the end of our playing time together at the Lions which was no doubt a professional strain on our friendship and relationship. While "Vossy" continued into coaching and became way more serious, our chats are always light and fun.
