Why Mooney rates the early 2000s Lions as the best team he’s ever seen

Who is the best AFL team of the modern era?

Since the league turned truly national in 1990 when the VFL turned into the AFL, several dynasties have emerged as teams have won multiple flags in a short period.

Whether it was Brisbane’s three-peat in the early 2000s, Geelong winning three flags from 2007 to 2011, Hawthorn making it three in a row from 2013 to 2015 or Richmond making it three from four from 2017 to 2020, you can make the case for several teams as the best we’ve seen in the last few decades.

Cameron Mooney, who was a part of that famous Geelong team in the late 2000s and early 2010s, is one person whose opinion holds weight with this question having been a part of a great dynasty himself.

While all of those mentioned are all-time great sides, Mooney thinks that Brisbane’s three-peat team from the early 2000s stands above the rest given they did it from outside of Victoria where they were travelling interstate every second week during those home and away seasons.

“When you’re interstate, you get that home ground advantage when you're there, that’s obvious,” Mooney told SEN Breakfast.

“But when you're doing it as a team there (it is so hard). That's why I always say for mine, the Brisbane Lions of the early 2000s are the greatest team that I've ever seen and played against.

“It’s because you actually have to throw in the travel factor as well on what they did.

“I travelled interstate four, five, six times a year tops. To do that every second week, really takes it out of you.”

The Lions never actually finished first on the ladder during their dynasty, and perhaps some of that had to do with the travel they were made to undertake each campaign.

Leigh Matthews’ side finished second on the ladder in 2001, second in 2002 and third in 2003 – all years they went on to win premierships.

The side also finished second in 2004 and they’d go on to lose that year’s Grand Final to Port Adelaide.