The pointer was short, and to the point: “Why Stephen Kernahan is Australia’s best footballer”.
We were short on marketing skills in those days: you had to make your way to the middle pages to discover that Kernahan headed a list of 50 players.
In the top ten following Kernahan were 2, Jason Dunstall (Hawthorn), 3, Greg Williams (Carlton), 4, Tony Lockett (St Kilda), 5, Gary Ablett (Geelong), 6, Gerard Healy (Sydney), 7, John Platten (Hawthorn), 8, Tim Watson (Essendon) 9, Nicky Winmar (St Kilda) and 10, Garry Lyon (Melbourne).
The list had evolved more through coercion, than cooperation. I was sports editor at the time, and had always loved lists.
I couldn’t work out why we couldn’t have a shot at the list every fan loves to consider: if you put the total AFL playing list on the school wall, who would you pick first?
Sheahan resisted, wondering how anybody could possibly assess the entire competition, and then put them in order.
The good thing about being sports editor is that you usually get your way: through gritted teeth, Sheahan made out his list with typical diligence, and the rest is well and truly history.
Every year at this time, we exchange barbs - he says "why did you do this to me?" and I say "when am I getting the royalties?"
Every year, blood comes out of his forehead as he wonders who to include, where to include them, and who should be number one.
Every year he does the media circuit, and answers the inevitable critics with a simple question: "okay, if you put him in, who do you leave out?"
The truth is, we’re both proud of the initiative, and its longevity. We reprised the now tried and true model in 2008, when he went through more agony - this time months of it - as he worked through the top 50 players in the history of the AFL, for the official history commemorating the game’s 150th anniversary.
A controversial outcome this time, as he named Wayne Carey as the top of the pile, ahead of Leigh Matthews, Ted Whitten, Gary Ablett snr, and Jason Dunstall.
Today’s list is pushed hard from the top of Melbourne’s Herald Sun, with the connection between brand Sheahan and Top 50 bigger than the masthead itself.
It is also splashed across News Limited websites across the country, and we all waited with baited breath for the verdict: Hawthorn’s champion forward Lance Franklin heads the list ahead of Brendon Goddard, Gary Ablett, Chris Judd and Nick Riewoldt.
So entrenched is the Top 50 model, that Melbourne radio was asking callers to nominate their top five on Monday night, and the lines lit up with those who wanted to put their tuppence worth.
It was fun to hear, as dozens of experts put up their list - all different, all put with authority and passion.
I wonder who’ll be doing it in March 2040? That will be a 50th with great memories. Let’s hope the c0-creators are around to enjoy it!
Footnote: Through the season, afl.com.au will be publishing a weekly list, a list based on quirky matters that have popped up through the weekend’s footy, and compiled by broadcaster and footy freak Mark Fine. We wouldn’t dare challenge the Sheahan list: there can be only one top 50.
Geoff Slattery is the managing editor of AFL Media.
