Throughout the final years of the 1990s, AFL 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:
Next up, we head down the highway to run a rule over the cream of the Cats' crop.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS: CROWS, LIONS, BLUES, PIES, BOMBERS, DOCKERS
1 x Norm Smith Medal (2009)
1 x best and fairest (2006)
2 x All-Australian (2009 and 2010)
3 x premiership player (2007, 2009 and 2011)
251 games, 19.9 disposals per game, 336 goals, 1.3 goals per game
Highly skilled, deadly accurate and tough as nails, Chapman proved a champion teammate across more than 250 senior games in hoops.
While the Calder Cannons product bagged more than 330 goals during his days in blue and white, none will ever top his sealer in the 2009 grand final.
1 x Norm Smith Medal
2 x leading goalkicker
3 x All-Australian
3 x premiership player (2007, 2009 and 2011)
253 games, 19.5 disposals per game, 452 goals, 1.8 goals per game, 106 Brownlow votes, 0.4 votes per game
We knew, his teammates knew it, the opposition knew it and he sure as heck knew it. On any given day, Steve Johnson could turn a game on a dime and do so in style.
One of four Cats to have claimed Norm Smith honours this century, Johnson loved the bright lights on the big stage, getting things done when it mattered most.
2 x best and fairest (2021 and 2023)
5 x All-Australian (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023)
1 x premiership player (2022)
148 games, 21. 1 disposals per game, 7 marks per game
Despite going undrafted, Stewart eventually made the short journey from South Barwon to Kardinia Park after the Cats were coaxed to take a punt on the tattooed stopper by Matthew Scarlett.
And what a punt it has proven to be, with the Geelong Falcons product having earned All-Australian honours in five of his seven seasons at AFL level. With time on his side, expect to see Stewart creep further up this list in the seasons to come.
2 x best and fairest (2009 and 2011)
6 x All-Australian (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016)
3 x premiership player (2007, 2009 and 2011)
332 games, 21.3 disposals per game, 2.97 rebound 50s per game
As reliable as the laws of gravity, Enright gave the Cats his all for 16 seasons, evolving from a skinny draftee to a hard-but-fair staple in hoops.
While far from the most celebrated Cat of his generation, Enright's ability to win best and fairest honours in a pair of premiership seasons should never be sniffed at.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2007)
1 x Norm Smith Medal (2011)
2 x All-Australian (2007 and 2009)
3 x premiership player (2007, 2009 and 2011)
305 games, 22.81 disposals per game, 116 Brownlow votes, 0.4 votes per game
One of only five players to have won a Brownlow, a Norm Smith and a premiership medallion, few Cats of this era have a more stacked mantle than Jimmy Bartel.
However, unlike many around him, Bartel would never salute on best and fairest night, not even in his Brownlow year of 2007.
Yet, for those that pray at blue and white alters, there are few more favourite feline disciples than this local lad made good.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2016)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2016)
3 x best and fairest (2016, 2017 and 2019)
5 x All-Australian (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
1 x premiership player (2022)
167 games, 25.9 disposals per game, 164 goals, 0.98 goals per game, 151 Brownlow votes, 0.9 votes per game
After making the move home from West Lakes at the end of the 2015 season, Dangerfield instantly hit white-hot form in hoops, racking up disposals, slotting majors and bagging a Brownlow in the process.
In the years to come, Dangerfield would keep his foot to the floor, playing a leading hand in snapping the Cats' September drought in 2022 and nigh-on completing his resume in the process.
1 x Coleman Medal (2020)
1 x best and fairest (2012)
11 x leading goalkicker (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022)
5 x All-Australian (2012, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022)
347 games, 781 goals, 2.25 goals per game
A near-certain chance to become Geelong's all-time games record holder, Hawkins has come a long way since his days as a wayward young forward.
When not splitting the sticks himself, Hawkins has routinely played the role of provider, racking up heavy assist numbers each season, proving himself as a dedicated teammate.
Even now in the winter of his career, Hawkins remains one of the very few players across the league you would be happy to have kick for your life.
1x best and fairest (2003)
6 x All-Australian (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011)
3 x premiership player (2007, 2009 and 2011)
284 games
Tough and uncompromising, Scarlett proved to be a key forward's nightmare for the better part of a decade, racking up six All-Australian nominations between 2003 and 2011.
And when not shutting down spearheads, Scarlett proved a key link in offensive chains too, providing the pivotal toe poke that would propel the Pivotonians to the premiership in 2009.
Very, very few can claim to have given more for the Geelong Football Club.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2009)
3 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2007, 2008 and 2009)
2 x best and fairest (2007 and 2009)
1 x leading goalkicker (2006)
4 x All-Australian (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010)
247 games, 22.3 disposals per game, 321 goals, 1.3 goals per game, 139 Brownlow votes, 0.6 votes per game
Brady, Jordan, Messi and Ablett, ever since breaking out in the mid-2000s, no player ascended higher than the Son of Man, with Ablett earning a pair of Brownlows and more All-Australians nods than he had hot meals.
Still, after a seven-season break on the Gold Coast, Ablett will have to be content with the podium's second step, as the top spot has gone to arguably the greatest Cat of all time.
3 x best and fairest (2010, 2013 and 2014)
1 x Ron Evans Medal (2007)
6 x All-Australian (2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017)
4 x premiership player (2007, 2009, 2011 and 2022)
355 games, 24.6 disposals per game, 214 Brownlow votes, 0.6 votes per game
He may not have the Brownlows of Ablett, Bartel and Dangerfield, nor the Norms of Chapman and Stevie J, but when you think Geelong, you think of Joel Selwood, the living embodiment of the football club.
A gun from the get-go, Selwood bookended his career with a Ron Evans Medal and a premiership medallion.
As for the in-between, anyone who bore witness will tell you just how good Selwood was, as there is next to no chance the humble champion will tell you himself.