Throughout the final years of the 1990s, AFL clubs across the land looked backwards 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 2000 AFL season will be acknowledged.
  • Any player selected must have played at least 100 senior games for their respective club since the start of the 2000 AFL season.

First up, we head to West Lakes to catalogue the crรจme de la crรจme of the Adelaide Football Club.

9. Patrick Dangerfield (2008-2015)

1 x best and fairest (2015)
3 x All-Australian (2012, 2013 and 2015)
154 games, 21.1 disposals per game, 97 Brownlow votes, 0.6 votes per game

Despite capping his ascent to superstardom as a Cat, Dangerfield cut his teeth as a Crow, progressing from a fresh-faced kid to a genuine Brownlow threat.

If Dangerfield had stayed on at West Lakes instead of heading home to Moggs Creek, there is no denying he would have sat higher on this list.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 30: Patrick Dangerfield of the Crows in action during the 2015 AFL round 22 match between the Adelaide Crows and the West Coast Eagles at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia on August 30, 2015. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Media/Getty Images)