Josh Jenkins unveils the AFL's most engaging characters

Every workplace has characters.

Whether it be a construction site or an office block, or even a professional football club, there are individuals who drive the spirit and emotion of a working environment.

I have spent time with many, many sporting teams. Basketball clubs in northern Queensland and South Australia as well as footy teams in country Victoria and in the AFL with Essendon and Adelaide. Every single side I have been associated with has had countless individuals who set the people around them alight simply by being themselves.

At my current workplace, the list is long and entertaining. From an AFL captain in Taylor Walker who is the knockabout bloke from Broken Hill who loves a chinwag and a prank, to the bull-at-a-gate energiser bunny Tommy Lynch who wins every argument and finishes every joke.

Here are the players, coaches, officials, managers, executives, media personalities and even umpires who help make the AFL even greater than just the on-field content we see each weekend.

Dennis Armfield: Like a few others, I don't personally know Dennis but in the brief moments we've chatted after a game he has been the player willing to engage the most in a conversation irrespective of whether his team has won or lost. The reason Triple M commentator James Brayshaw adopted him as his own had as much to do with Armfield's kind nature and willingness to engage with anyone and everyone as it did his funky blonde locks and his tattoos. Armfield called time on a better-than-advertised playing career and I dare say he will be a welcome addition to any commentary team when his Navy Blues are involved.

Harry Taylor: Aside from Harry and I engaging in the infamous 'hamshake' -- yes, he really did hide a piece of ham down his sock and shake my hand with it after I'd almost missed the match due to food poisoning from, you guessed it, some dodgy ham -- the Geelong swingman is considered a character of incredible interest and intelligence. Known for counting his kilometres one pre-season, Taylor is very self-assured - a couple of premierships and All-Australian guernseys will help there - and an intriguing watch whenever he pops up on one of the various footy television shows. He calls it how it is and never takes himself too seriously - an excellent combination.

Patrick Dangerfield: A former teammate but a mate for good. 'Danger' invites us all into his life with his honesty and up-front nature whenever appearing in the media. There's barely a member of the media around who will not immediately label Dangerfield as the most entertaining and open player whenever it comes to interviews and passing information to his and his team's fans. His latest comic entity on the Cats' website is magic and for those that know him, is Pat to an absolute tee. Between two Cats, with Patrick Dangerfield is incredibly funny stuff. Never afraid of taking the mickey out of himself - or others, mainly me - Pat has a long and lucrative career in the media ahead of him once he finished winning Brownlow medals and All-Australians.

Jack Riewoldt: A maligned player, disliked by many opposition fans early in his career, Jack is making Matthew Richardson-like strides when it comes to his popularity across the competition. I love his honesty and passion - he plays and speaks with his heart on his sleeve. His work alongside cousin Nick around the Madeleine Riewoldt charity game has endeared him to thousands but he has always been an entertaining and open person. He loves engaging in sledging on-field and it is also clear just how much winning means to him.

Matthew Richardson: Speaking of Richo, sometimes the beloved Tiger's own mistakes grow his legend even more. Never one to be too serious and always willing to share in a joke, the Richmond great played with as much passion as any I have ever watched. My favourite player growing up, seeing and hearing Richo take his talents into the media has been great to follow. His popularity almost changed overnight. I recall the famous 2008 Brownlow Medal count when it seemed like the entire room was cheering for Richo to win. Unfortunately for the big fella, another incredible character Adam Cooney pipped him.

Danny Frawley: The spud farmer from western Victoria has blossomed into one of the industry's funniest voices. His work across Fox Footy as well as his former role with Triple M saw him ignite laughter with his craziness and more often than not, silliness. Frawley's chemistry with Jason Dunstall on Bounce is unique and entertaining and despite clearly having vast football knowledge (Frawley still does work with the St. Kilda defenders) and business prowess (he is also a board member at Harness Racing Victoria), Spud's real charm lies with his ability to be a fun-loving, never-too-serious former potato farmer.

Bill Brownless: A Footy Show staple but an entertainer wherever he goes. Billy has been so incredibly fun and witty that it's sometimes forgotten just how talented he was on the footy field. A member of The Footy Show for almost two decades, Billy also draws listeners to his Triple M radio show alongside James Brayshaw. Big Bill is also known as one of the better guests to lure to a local sporting club for a night of stories and 'frothies' - a now iconic, almost national way of describing having a beer, instigated (to the best of my knowledge) by Brownless. I attended the races with Bill earlier in 2016 and as always, he stole the show. The kids loved him, the adults laughed at him and I just stared in amazement at how he could entertain a room full of people whilst having the time of his life.

Bruce McAvaney: A sporting icon. Bruce has appeared on our screens as the charismatic and phenomenally knowledgeable host of countless spring racing carnivals, hundreds and hundreds of blockbuster AFL games as well as anchoring Channel 7's Olympic Games coverages since I can remember tuning in. Amazingly, at 64 Bruce is as bubbly and entertaining as ever and with his former partner-in-crime Dennis Cometti in retirement, is the lasting face of Friday night footy. I had the pleasure of attending the same puppy school as Bruce and his family and have got to know him a little bit since and he is one of the more kind and caring people I have ever come across. His one-liners and passion for footy is unmatched and when the day comes for McAvaney to turn off his mic for good, the Australian sporting landscape will be poorer for it.

And while I'm at it, a few of the more interesting characters at the Crows:

Tom Lynch: Tommy is my greatest mate within the club which many who know us both think is extremely strange. Apart from our shared love of the National Football League and college sports, we are complete opposites. I am a homebody and like time to myself whereas Tom is bull-at-a-gate, 24/7, full on in your face all day. I refuse to drink coffee after about 4pm whilst Tommy will regularly sit in my hotel room on away trips and whip up a double strength coffee at 10pm. Lynchy's energy often ignites the group and for those who encounter him in the future, enter into with him at your peril. Tommy's determination to win an argument or have the last word in a joke is reminiscent of Rory Sloane's determination to win a hard ball.

Taylor Walker: How many AFL club captains do you know that regularly enter into Twitter beefs with international sports stars or 300-game ex-players who now have multiple platforms in the media? (See Kane Cornes' Twitter exchanges with Tex) Tex has always been a larrikin. It's the Broken Hill in him and he is almost universally loved for it. Being named captain has tempered his character outwardly a touch but believe me, inside our four walls, he is behind almost every piece of larrikinism (I made that word up).