Gippsland League features prominently in the Top 100 Country Footballers since 2000

The Weekly Times has released their list of the top 100 country footballers since 2000. Below is the list of the Gippsland League players who made the final cut.

*Weekly Times Rank*	*Player*	*Club*
99	Joel Soutar	Morwell
94	James Gibbs	Bairnsdale
92	Jason MacFarlane	Morwell, Moe
84	Chris Dunne	Leongatha, Drouin
80	Bob McCallum	Drouin
74	Nick Hider	Maffra
73	Kane Martin	Sale
69	Gary Jones	Maffra
59	Andrew Soumilas	Drouin, Garfield
58	Sam Pleming	Maffra
54	Greg Morley	Traralgon
52	Tom Marriott	Leongatha
48	Adrian Burgiel	Maffra, Moe
27	Kelvin Porter	Maffra
20	Hayden Burgiel	Maffra
10	Ben Coleman	Maffra

Gippsland League players make up 16% of the list with players who have spent the prime of their careers in the League. There are also names including Brendan Fevola & Dean Polo who have played cameos within the League. It is a great recognition of the talent that has played at the top level in Gippsland since the turn of the century.

Unsurprisingly Maffra who dominated the past 20 years also dominate the Gippsland League presence with 7 players listed. Ben Coleman made the top 10 while several other Trood and Rodda award winning Eagles feature prominently including Hayden Burgiel 20, Kel Porter at 27, Gary Jones 69 and Nick Hider at 74.

Maffra's Kelvin Porter won the 2013 Trood Award & Rodda medal and was a 6 time team of the year member during the 2010's

Leongatha who have dominated in recent years feature two of their stars with Tom Marriott at 52 and Chris Dunne at 84. Dunne also played with Drouin in the early 2010’s and his fellow teammates from that era Bob McCallum (80) and Andy Soumilas (59) make the cut. Joel Soutar and Jason McFarlane are former Morwell players to make the list while rivals Traralgon surprisingly only manage to have Greg Morley make the final 100.

Gippsland League available stats from 2010-2020


RANK	PLAYER	CLUB	GAMES	GOALS	TIMES IN BEST	B&F VOTES	TEAMS OF THE YEAR
99	Joel Soutar	Morwell	181	89	78	77	1
94	James Gibbs	Bairnsdale	92	273	40	50	4
92	Jason MacFarlane	Morwell, Moe	14	3	N/A	3
84	Chris Dunne	Leongatha, Drouin	120	368	39	13	5
80	Bob McCallum	Drouin	129	123	92	85	6
74	Nick Hider	Maffra	-	-	-	-	-
73	Kane Martin	Sale	161	192	104	120	6
69	Gary Jones	Maffra	76	97	23	48	1
59	Andrew Soumilas	Drouin	41	20	N/A	37	2
58	Sam Pleming	Maffra	76	19	44	30	4
54	Greg Morley	Traralgon	-	-	-	-	-
52	Tom Marriott	Leongatha	124	81	75	102	5
48	Adrian Burgiel	Maffra, Moe	62	148	14	7
27	Kelvin Porter	Maffra	170	88	108	85	6
20	Hayden Burgiel	Maffra	38	21	N/A	15
10	Ben Coleman	Maffra	87	34	52	39	1

League Leading Goalkickers Featured

Adrian Burgiel – 2007 (64 goals)

Chris Dunne – 2016 (65 goals) , 2018 (68 goals)

One of the most lethal marksman in the past 20 years Leongatha's Chris Dunne also made the NT Thunder team of the decade

Trood Award & Rodda Medal winners Featured

2001 – Hayden Burgiel (31 votes)

2002 – Gary Jones (20 votes)

2003 – Greg Morley (17 votes)

2004 – Hayden Burgiel (28 votes)

2005 – Andrew Soumilas (23 votes) - Garfield

2007 – Nick Hider (23 votes)

2008 – Nick Hider (24 votes)

2010 – Gary Jones (26 votes)

2011 – Andrew Soumilas (25 votes) - Drouin

2013 – Kelvin Porter (20 votes)

2015 – Bob McCallum (23 votes)

2017 - Kane Martin (21 votes)

2018 – Tom Marriott (26 votes)

Bob McCallum was a perenial Gippsland League team of the year member and feature in Victoria Country representative teams

Most Valuable Player Award winners featured

2007 – Nick Hider

2008 – Ben Coleman

2011- Andrew Soumilas

2012 – Kane Martin

2013 – Kelvin Porter

2014 – James Gibbs

2016 – Tom Marriott

2012 League MVP, 2017 League B&F, Six time team of the year member, 2012 premiership player. Sale's Kane Martin is one of the most decorated players in the Gippsland League and polled the most League B&F votes between 2010-2020 with 120 votes.

To put together a list of the top 100 players across all the country football leagues is no easy task and while not all players would be able to make the list. There are a few Gippsland League stars that may consider themselves unlucky to miss the final 100 cut. At the turn of the decade the League compiled some of the key stats from the decade. From the Gippsland League research from the 2010 – 2020 decade there are a few names that maybe unlucky to miss the final 100.

*MISSED THE CUT*	*2010-2020 stats*
PLAYER	CLUB	GAMES	GOALS	TIMES IN BEST	B&F VOTES	TEAMS OF THE YEAR
James Blaser	Moe	153	183	90	76	6
Darren Sheen	Maffra	81	353	40	26	3
Matt Ferguson	Sale	70	255	18	34	2
Shane Fyfe	Sale	155	10	50	28	2
Brad Scalzo	Warragul	72	27	57	47	4
Cade Maskell	Leongatha	100	243	49	24	4
Mark Collison	Traralgon, Warragul	92	57	62	60	5

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https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/sport/the-100-best-victorian-country-footballers-since-2000/news-story/5c052253ddac3fab18d0ae8a5530d0cc?fbclid=IwAR2mhKtIdPpIeDzFcpMN0B5628tzrESgU1wUsskD4TfPrDFjnUGgJ3d0Vsc