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.
- Any player selected must have played at least 100 senior games for their respective club since the start of the 2000ย AFLย season.
Next up, we head west to decide which Dockers can be counted as the ten best of this century.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS:ย CROWS,ย LIONS,ย BLUES,ย PIES, BOMBERS
2. Nat Fyfe (2010-present)ย
2 x Brownlow Medal (2015 and 2019)
2 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2014 and 2015)
3 x best and fairest (2013, 2014 and 2019)
3 x All-Australian (2014, 2015 and 2019)ย
218 games, 24.5 disposals per game, 187 Brownlow votes, 0.85 votes per game
A pair of Brownlows and league MVPs should be enough to see a player sit atop a list like this, but when it comes to the Dockers since the turn of the century, Nat Fyfe takes silver instead of gold.
The Lake Grace product's CV speaks for itself, with Fyfe accruing just shy of a Brownlow vote on average every single week.
While currently standing on the second rung of this ladder, should the out-and-out gun play a key role in the Dockers breaking their flag drought, our rankings will no doubt need updating.
