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.
Geelong
Paul Couch โ 1985-1997 (259 games)
Despite initially being rejected by Fitzroy due to his small stature, Paul Couch managed to carve out a brilliant career with the Cats.
Over his 12 years with Geelong, Couch's lethal left foot saw him finish his career with a swag of three club best and fairests, two All-Australian nods and the 1989 Brownlow Medal.
Although the ultimate team success eluded him on his four visits to the big dance, Couch did manage a place on the bench in Geelong's Team of the Century.
Peter Street โ 2001-2003 (17 games)
With Geelong's sustained time at the top negating a plethora of list changes, we have gone with a ruckman from their dark days.
At 211 centimetres, Peter Street, along with Mason Cox and Aaron Sandilands, is the equal tallest player in AFL/VFL history.
Despite a total of just 17 games in blue and white hoops, the Tasmanian tall averaged 21 hitouts across his 8 appearances in 2003.
Joel Selwood โ 2007-Present (310 games)
Although many of his midfield mates have capped certain years in their career with a Brownlow, Joel Selwood is our choice to fill Geelong's third and final position.
Despite not being able to add a fourth Premiership medallion to his mantle last season, the hardnosed Cat already boasts a career haul of six All-Australian selections, four Robert Rose awards, three Carji Greeves medals, three flags and the 2007 Rising Star award.
With the Cats topping up on senior talent this off-season, Selwood will be hoping his troops can go one better in 2021.
