Throughout the final years of the 1990s,ย AFL clubs across the land looked backward rather than forward, with selectors, historians and superstars converging to name their Teams of the 20th Century.
However, for the league's young expansion clubs, the chance to sit down and select their finest sides has not yet arisen.
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.
Next up, we head to Carrara to run the rule of the best Gold Coast Suns to have shone since inception.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS:ย CROWS,ย LIONS,ย BLUES,ย PIES,ย BOMBERS,ย DOCKERS, CATS
3. Tom Lynch (2011-2018)
2 x best and fairest (2015 and 2016)
4 x leading goalkicker (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017)
1 x All-Australian (2016)
131 games, 254 goals, 1.9 goals per game
Brought north with a blue-chip draft pick, Lynch quickly re-paid the Suns' faith, bagging goals for fun and emerging as a leader before too long.
But while the spearhead would eventually become the first Sun not named Ablett to earn an All-Australian blazer, and eventually take over the captaincy, he too would make tracks from Carrara eventually, with Richmond solidifying their tiny premiership odds ahead of the 2019 season by bringing the big man back to Victoria.
