Throughout the final years of the 1990s,ย AFLย clubs across the land looked backward rather than forward, with selectors, historians and superstars converging to name their Teams of the 20th Century.
So, as we near the quarter-time mark of the 21st century, what better time to run the rule on which players are likely to feature when the selectors of tomorrow get together in several decades' time?
While every club has an array of deadset legends that can be called on, we here at Zero Hanger have employed the following rules of selection:
- Only statistics recorded and achievements accrued since the start of the 2000ย AFLย season will be acknowledged.
- All statistics and awards must have been accrued while playing for the club in question.
- Any player selected must have played at least 100 senior games for their respective club since the start of the 2000ย AFLย season.
For our final instalment, we head west to assess who the top Dogs are at the Whitten Oval.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS: CROWS,ย LIONS,ย BLUES,ย PIES,ย BOMBERS,ย DOCKERS,ย CATS,ย SUNS,ย GIANTS,ย HAWKS, DEES,ย ROOS,ย POWER,ย TIGERS,ย SAINTS, SWANS, EAGLES
7. Adam Cooney (2004-2014)
1 x Brownlow Medal (2008)
1 x All-Australian (2008)
219 games, 21. 8 disposals per game, 82 Brownlow votes, 0.4 votes per game
While a galaxy of stars has called the Kennel home, only Cooney can claim to have earned Brownlow honours this century while wearing red, white and blue.
Some may believe that Cooney had gears he never shifted into during his 11 seasons as a Bulldog, but few have matched his 2008 output, a season in which the former No.1 draft pick averaged 25.5 disposals and four clearances a game.
