News 2025 patrick dangerfield 350 games incredible 2007 draft class trent cotchin alex rance matthew kreuzer cyril rioli 20250620 p5m93t.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Where AFL superstar Patrick Dangerfield sits among five future Hall of Famers in extraordinary 2007 draft class

Nic Negrepontis
Nic Negrepontis

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The 2007 AFL draft was so good, it produced seven club captains, two Brownlow Medallists, two of the best key defenders of the 21st century, countless best and fairest winners and five future Hall of Famers.

Sorting through all of those accolades and re-drafting the top 10 has proven a difficult task.

Only three players remain active on lists from 2007 in Taylor Walker at Adelaide, Callan Ward at GWS and Patrick Dangerfield at Geelong, who will play his 350th game on Friday night.

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Patrick Dangerfield celebrates with the 2022 premiership cup

Patrick Dangerfield celebrates with the 2022 premiership cup. Getty

It is yet another accolade for Dangerfield, who is building one of the greatest AFL résumés of the 21st century.

He is an eight-time All-Australian, making the team in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Remarkable consistency.

He was on track to make it again in 2025 before a hamstring injury slowed his season, but adding a ninth would be historic. No player has ever featured in nine All-Australian teams. Dangerfield sits on eight with Robert Harvey, Mark Ricciuto, Gary Ablett Jnr and Lance Franklin.

The 35-year-old won a Brownlow Medal in 2016, four club best and fairests and got the elusive premiership cup in 2022. If Geelong wins it this season, he will also become a premiership captain.

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So, when it comes to a re-draft, Dangerfield is the clear number one. His consistent greatness since 2012 is second to none and he has had two extraordinary careers at both Adelaide and Geelong.

Going back in time, Matthew Kreuzer was seen as the clear number one pick going into the 2007 draft. So much so that Carlton and Richmond faced during the season in a game dubbed the 'Kreuzer Cup'.

Matthew Kreuzer was the no.1 pick in the 2007 draft.

Matthew Kreuzer was the no.1 pick in the 2007 draft. Getty

The ruckman would end up at Carlton, and played 189 games. He unfortunately was cruelled by injuries throughout his career. He has not made this top 10.

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Easton Wood will forever be known as the Western Bulldogs captain who lifted their drought breaking premiership cup in 2016. He has not made this re-draft either. This was a tough list to make.

Kreuzer may have been the first ruckman off the board, but this was one of the deepest drafts of all time for ruckmen. Ben McEvoy, Shane Mumford, Stefan Martin and Tom Bellchambers all went at varying points.

McEvoy makes the re-drafted top 10 as a two-time premiership Hawk and captain of the club, while Mumford has snuck in at 10. His performances in big finals, coupled with claiming a GWS best and fairest, sees him make the list ahead of the likes of Kreuzer, Wood and North Melbourne defender Robbie Tarrant.

This draft unquestionably shaped Richmond's dynasty, selecting premiership captain Trent Cotchin at pick two and generational key defender Alex Rance at 18. They are clearly two and three after Dangerfield in this draft, the question is - who goes first?

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As one of the great key defenders of the modern era, you could make the case for Rance, but he ended up playing 106 fewer games than Cotchin, given he chose to retire early.

So we've gone with the 2012 Brownlow Medallist at two.

Trent Cotchin and Alex Rance.

Trent Cotchin and Alex Rance. Getty

Speaking of retiring early, Cyril Rioli is another player incredibly difficult to rank in this draft, given he retired in 2018. A four-time premiership Hawk, three-time All-Australian and Norm Smith Medallist, Rioli is one of the great finals players of the modern era, even if he did only play 189 games.

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We've locked Rioli in at five, with Adelaide's greatest ever goal kicker Taylor Walker sitting at four, given he is at 290 games and counting. Walker was the 75th and final pick in the 2007 draft via a New South Wales scholarship.

Walker has kicked 661 goals, more than any other Crow, and will likely bring up his 300th game this season.

No player on this list played in more wins than Geelong key defender Harry Taylor, who saw nothing but dominance during his 280-game career.

Taylor played in the 2009 and 2011 premierships and made two All-Australian teams as well.

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Walker received a six-game ban over a racist comment in 2021.

Taylor Walker in 2025. AFL Photos via Getty Images

Ward speaks for himself. Inaugural captain of the GWS Giants and an absolute midfield warrior across 327 games. The torn ACL he suffered earlier in the 2025 season has likely spelled the end of his career.

Then there's St Kilda midfielder Jack Steven, who simply has to make this list, as a four-time club best and fairest.

He may have played in some struggling Saints sides, but there's no doubt he was the best player on that team for a number of years.

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The 2007 draft might have produced five future Australian football Hall of Famers in Dangerfield, Cotchin, Rance, Walker and Rioli.

It will certainly be remembered as one of the better drafts of the 21st century, with Dangerfield still adding chapters to an already legendary career in 2025.

 Cyril Rioli of the Hawks

Cyril Rioli of the Hawks. Getty

Original top 10 selections:

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1. Matthew Kreuzer (Carlton)

2. Trent Cotchin (Richmond)

3. Chris Masten (West Coast)

4. Cale Morton (Melbourne)

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5. Jarrad Grant (Western Bulldogs)

6. David Myers (Essendon)

7. Rhys Palmer (Fremantle)

8. Lachie Henderson (Brisbane)

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9. Ben McEvoy (St Kilda)

10. Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)

Re-drafted top 10:

1. Patrick Dangerfield (was pick 10)

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2. Trent Cotchin (was pick two)

3. Alex Rance (was pick 18)

4. Taylor Walker (was pick 75)

5. Cyril Rioli (was pick 12)

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6. Harry Taylor (was pick 17)

7. Callan Ward (was pick 19)

8. Ben McEvoy (was pick nine)

9. Jack Steven (pick 42)

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10. Shane Mumford (rookie pick)

Honourable mentions: Robbie Tarrant, Matthew Kreuzer, Brad Ebert, Easton Wood, Lachie Henderson, Scott Selwood, Chris Mayne

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