No one loves Cyril Rioli more than Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton.
But the five-time premiership great couldn’t fit him in his top five Hawks of the modern era – and only just squeezed him into his top 10.
And it wasn’t the only surprise on the list.
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Brereton rated Brownlow medallist John Platten as the best player to wear the brown and gold since 1987, ahead of champion goal kickers Jason Dunstall and Lance Franklin.
Four-time premiership great Luke Hodge snuck onto the list with the last spot.
John Platten, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ayres, Dermott Brereton and John Kennedy.Source: Getty Images
“I do love Cyril. I did toy with it; it was either No. 9 or No. 1,” Brereton conceded on Fox Footy Live on Thursday night.
“I suppose when you’re talking about the best players we sort of look at volume and you sort of look at Cyril’s numbers, which aren’t huge.
“But the reason why he is in my top ten is he did stuff that I haven’t seen before.”
The Hawks have won seven premierships in this bracket, ahead of Brisbane, West Coast and Geelong, who all won three each during this period.
And they have produced four Brownlow medallists during this golden era, starting with Platten in 1987 and including Shane Crawford (1999), Sam Mitchell (2012) and Tom Mitchell (2016).
DERMOTT BRERETON’S TOP 10 HAWKS SINCE 1987
- John Platten
- Jason Dunstall
- Lance Franklin
- Chris Mew
- Sam Mitchell
- Gary Ayres
- Chris Langford
- Robert DiPierdomenico
- Cyril Rioli
- Luke Hodge
