My Bulldog-watching journey started in the late 70s, but began in earnest around 1982.
For that reason, Kelvin Templeton is not in my top 10 given I just didn't see enough of him in the flesh.
And given the amount of quality players to filter through The Kennel in the past 44 years, he is not the only Brownlow Medallist to miss out my top 10.
Adam Cooney (still underrated), Brad Hardie (a magical 1985) and the legendary Tony Liberatore are other Brownlow winners to miss out.
Hardie's impact on the club was massive in just two years. Cooney and Liberatore (very underrated for his football ability) were desperately stiff to miss out.
Other special mentions go to Brian Royal (mid and forward dynamo), Stevie Wallis (rock hard), Ryan Griffen (silk), Matty Boyd (flag warrior), Bob Murphy (pure artistry), Brian Lake (was just as good at the Dogs), Daniel Cross (running machine), Rohan Smith (heart n soul half-back surger), Luke Darcy (won an AFLPA MVP) and Liam Picken (the GF performance was the cream).
Hello to some massive favourites not in that grouping: Steve MacPherson (toughness and skill), Stevie Kretiuk (scary hard) and Steve Kolyniuk (flair ahead of his time), Terry Wallace (dual best and fairest/head over ball), Lindsay Gilbee (just about best Dogs' kick I've seen), Jack Macrae (ball-winning machine/clutch prelim goal), Daniel Giansiracusa (versatile) and Ryan Hargrave (dependable cult figure).
Defenders often don't get enough love, and two are in my top 10.
Key forwards also deserve some extra credits and feature high up.
Here we go:
6Dale Morris
What a player. No frills, but super-strong and lightning quick off the mark. Mr Dependability.
For a long time, Morris would have been the first magnet on the board. Coaches love honest, consistent, versatile defenders and this bloke was all of that.
Could play on Stephen Milne one week and Lance Franklin the next. I can only recall Stevie Johnson at the Cats giving him headaches. That's it.
Morris was so good at going tall or small and knew his limitations, giving it off by hand and rarely biting off too much by foot.
Played 250 games, was All-Australian in 2008 and is rightfully in the Bulldogs' Hall of Fame. The AFL one should be next.
It's fitting that Morris is remembered for that tackle in Franklin in the 2016 Grand Final. That was Morris' bread 'n butter. A humble champion.
