When you pick a team like this which spans and recognises the 25-year history of a football club, most of your explaining goes into who you didn’t select rather than who you did.

Given that the comments alongside the players selected explain their bona fides, this piece will tell you about the ones who didn’t get the nod and why.

I tried to make the side about a mixture of player quality and longevity, but then I also added in a couple of other factors.

- Scroll down to see Duff’s full team

These were not the be-all and end-all in selection, but they did carry some weight. They are the relative success of the teams players played in, and their loyalty to the club.

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The Dockers have just commenced a fourth player generation. Their first (1995-2001) did not feature in finals, their second (2002-2008) managed it just twice, while their third (2009-2016) achieved the feat five times in six years between 2010 and 2015, including a grand final appearance in 2013.

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Hence the high number of players from that era in this side.

One thing the club should be very proud of, which is topical this week, is the number of indigenous players in the team.

Seven of the 25, including four of the back six are indigenous. Given that Ross Lyon’s sides rated second in the competition defensively in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and first in 2013, competition for spots in defence was hot.

Mark Duffield’s best 25 Dockers players

Back

Roger Hayden (2002-2011) 128 games, 14 goals, 6 finals. Had the rare ability to close down a quality forward and provide rebound. A broken leg cost him the best part of two seasons.

Shane Parker (1995-2007) 238 games, 11 goals, 4 finals. Lightning-quick defender who could play above his size in a key position. Highly rated and respected by his teammates.

Antoni Grover (1999-2012) 202 games, 27 goals, 4 finals. Could play across half-back or in a key position. Really strong for his size, Grover was fast, determined and not to be underestimated in a confrontation.

Camera Icon Roger Hayden. Credit: The Slattery Media Group Camera Icon Shane Parker. Credit: AFL Photos/GSP

Half Back

Michael Johnson (2005-2018) 244 games, 68 goals, 11 finals. Could play tall or small, sneak forward and be a threat and pinch-hit in the ruck. Really good reader of the play and creative ball user.

Luke McPharlin (2002-2015) 244 games, 112 goals, 9 finals. One of the great power defenders of his era. Didn’t get the credit he was due until late in his career. Quick, strong and rarely beaten.

Dale Kickett (1995-2002) 135 games, 24 goals, 0 finals. Club icon who was the team’s conscience in the tough early days – the first to lift and the last to quit.

Camera Icon Shaun McManus. Credit: GSP Images Camera Icon Stephen Hill. Credit: AFL Media

Centre

Shaun McManus (1995-2008) 228 games, 95 goals, 4 finals. Overcame two knee reconstructions to become a heart-and-soul player. Big tank with a heart to match.

David Mundy (2005-present) 295 games, 130 goals, 14 finals. He is highly rated, but still underrated. Elite midfielder who alongside Nat Fyfe created one of the more feared big-bodied midfields in the AFL. Elite kick.

Stephen Hill (2009-present) 203 games, 111 goals, 11 finals. Elite runner and elite ball user. If left free one of the more devastating players in the AFL because of his capacity to hit targets inside attacking 50.

Camera Icon Paul Haselby. Credit: The Slattery Media Group Camera Icon Chris Mayne. Credit: AFL Media

Half Forward

Paul Hasleby ( 2000-2010) 208 games, 131 goals, 2 finals. Was a star from game one and one of the best forward-mids in the AFL before knee and groin injuries slowed him down. Genius with the ball.

Matthew Pavlich (2000-2016) 353 games, 700 goals, 15 finals. Still the club’s greatest player. All-Australian as a defender, midfielder and forward. Powerhouse forward, who finished with 700 goals.

Chris Mayne (2008-2016) 172 games, 196 goals, 11 finals. Played as an undersized second-marking target in the teams that played finals five times in six years. Great pressure forward.

Camera Icon Jeff Farmer. Credit: GSP Images Camera Icon Michael Walters. Credit: AFL Media

Forward

Jeff Farmer (2002-2008) 131 games, 224 goals, 4 finals. The Wizard. Mercurial and erratic, but at his best was just brilliant. His 55 goals in 2006 was a key to a preliminary final berth.

Justin Longmuir (1999-2007) 139 games, 166 goals, 4 finals. Could be a genuine ruckman or power forward. Great hands. Crippling knee injury ended his career. Would have been the best forward-ruck in the AFL today.

Michael Walters (2009-present) 130 games, 224 goals, 11 finals. Took four years to figure AFL football out, but has since knuckled down and become a star. Brilliant mark and a beautiful finisher.

Camera Icon Peter Bell. Credit: GSP Images Camera Icon Nathan Fyfe. Credit: AFL Media

Ruck

Aaron Sandilands (2003-present) 265 games, 98 goals, 15 finals. Not bad for a rookie! Has been a key figure since 2006. Great tap ruckman and a strong presence around the ground.

Nat Fyfe (2010-present) 154 games, 133 goals, 11 finals. The club’s only Brownlow medallist. Arguably the best midfield aerialist to have played the game and contested ball monster. Rates with Pavlich as the club’s best.

Peter Bell (1995 and 2002-2008) 163 games, 130 goals, 4 finals. His return from North Melbourne was a significant turning point for the club. Strong leader and a great midfielder.

Interchange

Hayden Ballantyne (2009-present) 169 games, 254 goals, 8 finals. An All-Australian in 2014. Alongside Walters, formed a very dangerous small forward line-up at Pavlich’s feet. Quick and tough for his size.

Matthew Carr (2001-2008) 134 games, 64 goals, 4 finals. Underrated midfielder who was also Chris Connolly’s run-with player in the noughties. Not to be trifled with.

Paul Duffield (2006-2015) 171 games, 33 goals, 9 finals. The club’s best ball user from defence in the club’s most successful era. Part of a stingy defence. Worked well in tandem with McPharlin.

Lachie Neale (2012-2018) 135 games, 67 goals, 7 finals. Elite clearance player. His stature hides his strength. A bull at ground level. Won two of the past three Doig Medals.

Garrick Ibbotson (2007-2017) 177 games, 22 goals, 8 finals. Integral part of the defence in the club’s most successful era. Was an A-grade intercept player at his peak in 2013-15. Underrated.

Ryan Crowley (2005-2014) 188 games, 118 goals, 12 finals. The club’s tagger in the 2012-2014 era. Won a Doig Medal and annoyed the hell out of gun opposition midfielders.

Michael Barlow (2010-2016) 126 games, 81 goals, 9 finals. Burst on to the scene in 2010, but got stopped by a broken leg. Returned to become a consistent member of a very good midfield.

But it all comes down to opinion. Here are some of the ones you may feel should have made the team and why I didn’t pick them.

The unlucky ones I left out

Jason Norrish: Played 128 games and won a best and fairest. But competition for midfield berths was fierce and I didn’t want to make the seven-man bench a place where you just loaded up on all the midfielders that couldn’t be squeezed into the 18. He was probably next man in.

Heath Black: Played 138 games and was a very good on a wing and at half-back. Probably would have been next after Norrish.

Troy Cook: Won a best and fairest and was a fan favourite, but again he was a midfielder. To prove how tough it was to make the side, Lachie Neale won two of the past three Doig Medals and was on the bench.

Longevity: Josh Carr (83 matches), Stephen O’Reilly (98), Chris Tarrant (72) and Tony Modra (47) — all great players but none made it to 100 games, and loyalty was a factor too. O’Reilly, Carr and Tarrant all left to play elsewhere. No player in my 25 played fewer than 120 games.