Australia's Top 25 Sports Stars

Paul Johnson provides his view on Australia's top athletes and sports stars over the last 30 years.

Recently Alpha magazine released their own list of Australia’s 101 best sport’s Stars from 1976 to 2006 which got me thinking about just how accurate they were, so I thought about who would make my top 25 in terms of what they contributed to their sport and Australian sport overall.

25. Stephen Bradbury

The euphemism “doing a Bradbury” means to pull off the impossible, or to achieve success thanks to the misfortune of others, but Stephen Bradbury, was a genuine world class competitor as a speed skater, who remained near the top of the poorly paying winter sport for years. Bradbury won the gold when Apollo Anton Ohno and Ahn Hyun-Soo, collided with the other two finalists and allowed him to skate into history.

However Bradbury had always had talent and was also the victim of a fall in Lillehammer 1994 when favourite in the same event, in that same Olympics he led the Australian 5000m team to a bronze medal, that was our first ever Winter Olympics medal assuring him a place here.

24. Gary Neiwand

His career spanned an astonishing 14 years and in that time he amassed medals of all colours at the World Championships, Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Though a gold medal at the Olympics avoided him, he was a multiple world champion, and the backbone of Australian track cycling through the late 80’s and 1990’s, a fierce competitor he was the master of the “Keiran” in it’s early years, as well as a supremely fit individual.

23. Andrew Johns

Many would argue that Joey is the greatest ever, and I am sure that this ranking will cause outrage among Knights fans, but in the latter stages of his career Johns has looked frustrated and stifled, and may have been surpassed by other players. Joey no doubt is one of the most talented to ever play the game, and has revolutionised the way that halfback’s kick the ball. He can be magical to watch.

22. Phil Anderson

Big Phil is the man who put Australian cycling on the map, with two fifth placings in the Tour de France, the best result by any Australian rider ever. Those results came in 82 and 85. He is also the first Aussie to wear the yellow jersey in that race and inspired a generation of Aussie cyclists.

21. Grant Hackett

Grant comes from a sporting family, with his brother Craig having been a champion ironman, but that pales in comparison to what big Grant has done. He has smashed world records for the 1500 metres and 800 metres, and overcome tonnes of adversity in his career, winning two Olympic 1500 metre titles after being chronically ill. He was recovering from a punctured lung when he won in Athens. His sheer determinations and speed set him apart from many others.

20. Andrew Gaze

18,000 NBL points, the league MVP award renamed after him, two championships, five Olympic Games, two successful NBA stints and a freakish clutch player, who didn’t need to dunk say it all about Gaze. That and that he retired at 40 while still a dominant force in the NBL. He was the backbone of Australian Basketball and possibly our greatest ever player.

19. Ryan Bayley

Burst on to the professional scene in 2001 with a win in the Keiran World Championship. Bayley won Australia’s long overdue individual Olympic gold medals on the track in 2004 with memorable performances in the sprint and Keiran. Aussies love him because he is powered by KFC. The guy is powerful and has thighs of steel. If he can keep the motivation up, he will be a legend of the sport.

18. Anne Sargeant

For the better part of a decade, from 78-88 Sargeant was our greatest netballer, leading the national team to two World Championships. She is still among the most recognised Australian netballers of all time, giving the sport plenty of exposure as a commentator.

17. Dave Nilsson

Nilsson is one of our best known sportsmen in the United States and the first Aussie to really make the big time, and play in the Major league. He was a catcher with the Milwaukee Brewers from 92-99 playing over 800 games, hitting 105 home runs and owning a .284 career batting average. He was the first Brewer to hit two home runs in one innings, and played in the 1999 all star game. Nilsson also helped Australia to a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Games.

16. Pat Cash

Controversial, injury prone, majestic, hustling, powerful and bristling with talent are some ways to describe the mercurial Pat Cash, but love him or hate him “Cashy” reignited Australian tennis with his 1987 Wimbledon victory over Ivan Lendl after defeating Mats Wilander and Jimmy Connors earlier in the tournament. Cash also led Australia to victory in the 1986 Davis Cup when he came back from two sets down to defeat Mikael Pernfors in the final rubber. He made two Australian Open finals in 87 and 88. He also invented the much copied climbing into the stand victory celebration when he won Wimbledon.

15. Cathy Freeman

Our best track athlete of the modern era, Freeman as a runner was great to behold, her pet event the 400 metres typifies her strength and stamina. Her gold medal run at the Sydney Olympics was one of the most emotional moments of the games. She was our only track superstar at the time, and carried the hopes of a nation; often the bridesmaid to Marie Jose Perec, Freeman persevered and got her reward in Sydney, in front of an adoring home crowd, and carried the Australian and Aboriginal flags on her victory lap.

14. Allan Langer

They all thought he was too small to play Rugby League, but Alf proved them all wrong. With amazing strength for his size and the best short kicking game League has ever seen, Langer led the Brisbane Broncos to four premierships in 92, 93, 97 and 99 before retiring from the game, however in a memorable 2001 Origin series Wayne Bennett would recall Langer from England for the final game, and despite doubts about the aging stars ability to handle origin he dominated the game, giving Queensland a memorable series victory.

13. Kieren Perkins

A superstar of Australian swimming Perkins dominated the long distance events the world over in the 1990’s, winning everything from the 400 to 1500 metres distances. The latter he dominated for years. The first swimmer to go under 15 minutes for the 1500 he broke the records for that and the 400 in 1994, and they would stand until 2001 and 1999 respectively, only being broken by Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe. His gold medal swim from lane eight in Atlanta was memorable as he was out of form and violently ill before the race.

12. Ian Thorpe

The Thorpedo is the man in men’s freestyle swimming, he has dominated the world since his debut in the late 1990’s. He has five Olympic Gold medals and is only 24 years old. Well known for his huge feet, he has propelled himself into a position to become our greatest ever in the pool, if he can comeback from his recent sabbatical from swimming.

11. Greg Norman

Norman on the charge on the final day was a sight to behold. Winning only two majors, the 1986 and 1993 British opens, does not indicate his dominance of world golf in the 80’s and 90’s, when he spent an astonishing 331 weeks as the world’s top golfer. A victim of poor luck and his own poor play in the majors, he lost three due to other players chipping in, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize and Bob Tway, and a seemingly unlosable Masters in 1996 when he threw away a six stroke lead to Nick Faldo on the final day in what is the biggest choke in golf history. The Shark though had 29 top tem finishes in the majors, and made Australian golf special, a record that cannot be discounted.

10. Susie O’Neill

Madame Butterfly, is Australia’s greatest modern female swimmer. Gold medals in Atlanta in the butterfly and Sydney in the freestyle helped to ensure that. She had great rivalries with the American swim team and her own teammate Petria Thomas. O’Neill never failed to win a medal at any meet she competed in.

9. Dennis Lillee

DK Lillee became one of the most feared bowlers in International cricket, especially when partnered with Jeff Thomson and Len Pascoe. His pace and precision were unparalleled at the time. Lillee was a fearsome site running into bowl, with the famous hair and moustache. He has a fiery temperament and once had an impromptu kickboxing match with Javed Miandad. By the time he retired he held the world record for most test wickets at 355, a record that would stand for many years.

8. Gary Ablett

On the football field there was nothing that “God” could not do. A freakish mark of the ball, and able to kick with deadly precision from 60 metres made Ablett a star and arguably the greatest AFL player ever. Was denied entry into the AFL Hall of Fame for a long time due to his off-field problems, however his club named him their greatest ever, surpassing one Charles Brownlow. Once kicked nine goals in a losing Grand Final and over 1000 in a 248 game career. Three time Coleman medalist. He will never be matched for sheer talent as a forward.

7. John Eales

Eales did things on the Rugby field that no man of his size should have been able to do. A courageous captain, and great lineout prospect he also kicked goals and led a superb Wallaby side to the 1999 World Cup and was instrumental in the team winning the 1991 World Cup. He is possibly our greatest ever forward.

6. Luc Longley

While Andrew Gaze did more for basketball in this country than any other player, Longley achieved it on the world stage. The gargantuan centre standing at 2.18 metres and weighing 120 kilograms, had rare passing skill for a man of his size and won three championship rings as a hard working starting centre for Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Was also the number 7 draft pick in 1991, long before Andrew Bogut had thought about a career.

5. Layne Beachley

The Kelly Slater of women’s surfing. Beachley overcame chronic fatigue to win six straight World Championships from 1998 to 2003. She is regarded as the best women’s surfer of all time, and is still surfing today. If she can win two more world titles she would join Kelly Slater as the most successful world champion ever with 8 world titles.

4. Mick Doohan

From 1994 to 1998 Doohan won five World Championships in 500cc motorcycle racing. The motivation may have come after a horror crash in the 1992 Dutch GP. A crash that nearly caused him to lose a leg. Technically gifted and undeniably quick, Doohan is the second most decorated rider in the history of the sport, and mow a respected commentator. His hands are gnarled from years of riding a bike at high speed serving as a reminder of his dedication to the sport.

3. Pat Rafter

Rafter won two US Open’s against all the odds in 1997 and 1998. He was the last of the great serve volleyers to play the game, and was plagued by a dodgy right shoulder that may have prevented him from reaching further greatness. Perhaps the best volleyer of modern times, he was freakish at the net, and the only man that could really take on Agassi and Sampras at their peak.

His humility on and off the court endeared him to fans. Rafter lost two straight Wimbledon finals to Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic the latter a 7-9 fifth set epic. He remarked after the game “I’m the loser once again”, but never was in the eyes of the public. He is a former world number 1 and member of the Tennis Hall of Fame.

2. Shane Warne

Love him or hate him Shane Warne is a bowling marvel. He has gone from a fat overweight kid with a bad mullet, to become the greatest bowler of all time.

Warne bowled the greatest ball of all time to dismiss Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes series. The ball pitched outside leg and hit off stump. Warne also invented the flipper a skidding delivery that goes straight on, and had much success with it early in his career making South African star Daryl Cullinan look like a poor batsmen and sending him to the shrink to sort himself out.

Warne has the most wickets in test cricket with 685 and should go well past 700 by the end of his career. Off the pitch he has been plagued by scandals of his own making, but on it he remains an attacking batsman, brilliant fielder and a bowling genius.

1. Steve Waugh

Played the game at the top level for 18 years, in that time he became one of our greatest. A philanthropist off the field, working with leper children in India, he was a steely eyed captain on it. Began his career as a 20 year old with a flashy game, he refined it over the years to suit each situation.

The man invented the slower ball, and was a handy all rounder till a back injury stopped him from bowling. He invented the term “mental disintegration” and turned many a series, stopping the West Indies in the 1990’s with a memorable double ton.

He also captained one of the greatest Aussie teams of all time. He invented the slog sweep, and famously told Herschelle Gibbs “you just dropped the World Cup”, before making a century. Scored over 10 000 test runs during a career that saw the highest and lowest points of Australian cricket.

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