With the names of our offensive and defensive trios already on the whiteboard, it is now time to list the men that link the two together โ the midfielders.
Due to their aerobic and ball winning capacities, modern midfielders receive plaudits and pay packets far beyond their part-time predecessors.
These players at the coalface are regularly seen as their club's blue-chip talent, with their output integral to securing victory.
Like the previous pair of catalogues, the same four rules for selection apply for our third and final list:
1. Three players must be selected from each club.
2. Even if they have played for multiple clubs, no player can be selected on the list of two teams.
3. All players must have played at least a portion of their careers from 1990 onwards.
4. Most importantly, no player can have played an in-season match with any of their colleagues during their time at their selected club.
To up the ante, we have also added a fifth point of criteria: aย ruckman must also be selected for each team.
For example, should Brodie Grundy be selected for Collingwood, then all of his midfield mates between 2013 and the present day become ineligible.
With all this in mind, here is our best stab.
Let us know how we have gone and which clubs you feel have fared best.
North Melbourne
Anthony Stevens โ 1989-2004 (292 games)
Along with his great mate Glenn Archer, Anthony Stevens was arguably the heart and soul of the North Melbourne Football Club across the 90s.
With a pair of flags, a duo of Syd Barker medals, a place in the 1998 All-Australian team, Hall of Fame honours and the ruck-rover position in North's Team of the Century, it does not take a Mensa member to understand why.
Hamish McIntosh โ 2005-2012 (107 games)
Desperate to fill the void left after Corey McKernan's retirement, North Melbourne selected Hamish McIntosh with the ninth pick of the 2002 Draft.
After spending two years in the reserves and earning the chagrin of his head coach for his ineptitude in the gym, the New South Welshman made his debut in Round 6 of 2005.
Despite never setting the world on fire in blue and white stripes, McIntosh did manage a solid 17.78 hitouts over his next 106 games.
Due to this, as well as a myriad of overlaps, the former Murray Bushranger gets the nod for North's second midfield slot.
Shaun Higgins โ 2015-2020 (108 games)
Despite beginning his time in the AFL as a Dog, Shaun Higgins career went to the next level upon joining the Roos.
In his six seasons with North, Higgins shed his tag of inconsistency by winning a pair of Syd Barker medals in 2017 and 2018 and All-Australian honours in the latter year.
Across his 20 games in his blazer year, Higgins averaged 27.4 disposals, 5.1 clearances and even managed 14 majors.
