Having been fortunate enough to sit down at the AFLs Hall of Fame dinner this week, I couldnt help but think about what a great game we play.
Celebrating our newest Legend, Kevin Sheedy, and the latest group of inductees was special.
It led me to thinking about how many of the current crop will one day sit in the same room as members of this elite club.
Buddy Franklin aims for glory while playing for Hawthorn.
Photo: Pat Scala
Without knowing the exact selection criteria, there are a number of key questions.
How much weight do we give premierships? Is an MVP better than a Brownlow Medal? Do All-Australian honours mean more than best-and-fairests? And what part does longevity play?
The premiership debate will be particularly intriguing when it comes to evaluating Hawthorn, given how successful theyve been under Alastair Clarkson.
Former skipper Luke Hodge will be an automatic selection. Four flags, three All-Australian selections, three Peter Crimmins Medals, two North Smiths; the list goes on.
A bloke by the name of Buddy Franklin will also go straight in because of his seven All-Australians, two premierships and sheer volume of goals.
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Shaun Burgoyne does not have as many individual accolades – hes been an All-Australian only once, in 2006 – but he was a key contributor in Port Adelaides 2004 flag, and the Hawks three-peat.
From there it gets a little more complicated.
How do you rank players like Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli, Jordan Lewis and Grant Birchall, who all have four premierships? Then theres Josh Gibson with his two best-and-fairests in premiership years.
If flags are heavily weighted by the selection panel, its conceivable all of those guys will be recognised at some point.
Looking around the competition, there are other obvious candidates.
Gary Ablett jnr will clearly join his dad in the Hall of Fame. His record on paper is scary: eight All-Australians, five MVPS, two Brownlow Medals and two premierships.
Joel Selwood is another Cat who will be an automatic selection, given his high standards from day one and influence at the club over a long period of success.
Already, Patrick Dangerfield is all but certain to be inducted because of his consistency at Adelaide and now at Geelong, which has produced five All-Australians and a Brownlow.
Guys like Melbourne co-captain Nathan Jones, who plays game No 250 this weekend, and Carlton veteran Kade Simpson, who will soon reach 300 matches, could also be considered.
Both have been very good players, but dont have same team success of others. It comes back to a question of how longevity is valued compared with premierships.
Besides Buddy, Sydney has Josh Kennedy, a bull around the contest, whos tasted the ultimate success and won best-and-fairests.
Fremantle's Nat Fyfe is just 26, but has a swag of individual honours, including a Brownlow Medal, and has probably already done enough to be inducted.
Collingwood have Scott Pendlebury as a definite Hall of Famer.
It is somewhat surprisingly that Steele Sidebottom doesnt have an All-Australian selection to his name, but hes been a consistent performer for the Magpies for a long time.
Leading the Tigers to last years premiership will be enough for Trent Cotchin to be an automatic inclusion when you consider his Brownlow and three Jack Dyer Medals.
As a four-time All-Australian in a key defensive post, Alex Rance should also be inducted as soon as hes eligible.
Dustin Martin: more to do?
Photo: AAP
Dustin Martin, on the other hand, is somewhat debatable.
If Martin fell over tomorrow and never played again, hed have to be right on the cusp rather than a certainty the first year hes eligible.
That might seem harsh, given he produced perhaps the greatest individual season of any player in the games history last year.
But does the panel need to see Dusty perform at an elite standard for another two years? Or has he already done enough?
You could make an argument Hall of Fame selection should follow seven, eight or nine years at the top.
Regardless, this healthy debate once again reminds us of the talent were lucky enough to witness from week to week.
Whether you rate individual honours or team success more highly, theres not one player in the Hall of Fame who doesnt deserve to be there.
There are also plenty of others, including the like of Garry Lyon and Wayne Schwass, who havent been inducted, but are worthy of recognition.
The calibre of those still waiting shows just how tough it is for those tasked with ranking our games greats.
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