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.
Essendon
Tim Watson โ 1977-1991 and 1993-1994 (307 games)
Again, those with an eagle eye will notice a relatively large omission, but due to his longevity, as well as the few rucks that have represented Essendon since 1990, we could not find a way to fit James Hird in.
However, we have managed to find a trio with seven Crichton medals to cover Jim's four.
Although none of his four best and fairest victories came after 1990, Tim Watson did sign off a champion within the AFL era.
With the aforementioned quartet of club championships, three flags and a league MVP, Watson is without doubt a great of not only the club, but the game itself.
David Hille โ 2001-2013 (197 games)
Although Simon Madden completed his career in the 90s, we have gone with a ruck that won a club best and fairest within the AFL era.
Hille's career year came in 2008, when he averaged 16.2 hitouts per game in a season the Bombers failed to make September.
Despite his team's measly eight-win total, the former Dandenong Stingray managed just under a goal a game in a year in which he won his only Crichton medal.
Zach Merrett โ 2014-Present (142 games)
With a pair of best and fairests and an All-Australian blazer hanging in his wardrobe, Zach Merrett is arguably the most decorated of Essendon's current midfielders.
When aged just 22, Merrett's best season, so far, in a red sash came in 2017, when he averaged a whopping 32.95 disposals and an admirable 4.65 clearances across his 20 games.
With numbers like these, it was unsurprising to see the Cobden kid named on a wing in the 2017 All-Australian team.
Now entering his eighth season with the Dons, Merrett will also become a restricted free agent at seasons end. With his best football still ahead of him, Essendon fans will be desperate to retain him.
