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.

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Gold Coast

Gary Ablett โ€“ 2011-2017 (110 games)
Despite his surname being synonymous with the Geelong Football Club, Gary Ablett Junior has made our list as a Sun.

After being offered the king's ransom by the startup club at the end of 2010, the son of God took the cash and ran to the sunshine state.

Despite eventually returning to Kardinia Park after seven seasons with the Suns, Ablett did manage to add four more Allโ€“Australians, two more league MVPS and another Brownlow to his burgeoning trophy case.

The โ€˜little master' also collected four club best & fairests and a pair of leading goalkicker awards during his time at Carrara.

Brayden Crossley โ€“ 2018-2019 (10 games)
Although he has quite possibly had the weakest career across our three lists, Brayden Crossley almost certainly has the strongest follicle game.

With a โ€˜career' of just 10 games, Crossley's โ€˜peak' came in Round Five of 2018 when he recorded a groundbreaking nine hitouts.

After testing positive to cocaine in May 2019, Crossley was shown the door by the Suns and now faces a ban of up to four years under the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code.

Matt Rowell โ€“ 2020-Present (5 games)
Despite offering us half the sample size of Crossley, Matt Rowell's output has exceeded the ruckman's by a thousand-fold.

In the four and a quarter games before he busted his shoulder at Kardinia Park last year, the redheaded Rowell was averaging 17.4 disposals and 4 clearances across the shortened periods.

Whether you support the Suns or not - and I am tipping many of you do not โ€“ everybody is excited for his both return this season and for what his future holds.

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