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 out to Waverley to hunt down which Hawks have made the cut.
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1 x best and fairest (2014)
1 x All-Australian (2014)
4 x premiership player (2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015)
264 games, 23.8 disposals per game, 69 Brownlow votes, 0.3 votes per game
Brought through the doors at Glenferrie alongside Messers Franklin and Roughhead, Lewis would eventually depart the club a dozen years later as both a decorated and deadly midfielder.
While never the jewel in the Hawks' crown, Lewis instead acted as a key cog in the machine, one that would claim four flags in eight seasons.
2 x best and fairest (2013 and 2015)
1 x All-Australian (2015)
3 x premiership player (2013, 2014 and 2015)
160 games, 18.5 disposals per game
Despite starting his league career at Arden Street, it would take a shift to Waverley for Gibson to fully flower.
Although his time in brown and gold is brief in comparison to others, Gibson left a lasting legacy.
Throughout Hawthorn's three-peat streak, few generals could profess to have been more consistent than Gibson, certainly none beside him behind the ball.
2 x best and fairest (2002 and 2003)
1 x All-Australian (2002)
1 x premiership player (2008)
169 games, 22.5 disposals per game, 77 Brownlow votes, 0.45 votes per game
Like James Hird at Essendon and Nathan Buckley over at the Woods, Crawford has seen his name take a little slide here due to his peak years stretching across centuries.
However, few, if any, names can lay claim to having helped the Hawks out of the doldrums of the mid-90s and back to premiership prominence with more success than Crawford.
Now, that's what we're talking about!
5 x leading goalkicker
2 x All-Australian
3 x premiership player (2013, 2014 and 2015)
281 games, 528 goals, 1.9 goals per game
Between the ilk of Peck, Hudson, Brereton, Dunstall, Franklin and Roughead, the Hawks have been spoiled for choice when it comes to key forwards. However, when it comes to sub-six-foot forwards, Breust stands tall.
In a true testament to his abilities before the big sticks, the New South Welshman has bagged 120 goals in his 62 starts since turning 30.
1 x Brownlow (2018)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2018)
3 x best and fairest (2017, 2018 and 2021)
2 x All-Australian (2017 and 2018)
106 games, 32.1 disposals per game, 97 Brownlow votes, 0.9 votes per game
While once a Swan and now a Magpie, it was as a Hawk that Mitchell hit his peak, collecting possessions and awards for fun, season after season.
This peak may not have aligned with any team success, but with 1635 disposals across 46 games between 2017 and 2018, at a clip of 35.5 per start, no footballer has ever found the Sherrin more often.
1 x Coleman Medal (2013)
3 x leading goalkicker (2013, 2014 and 2017)
2 x All-Australian (2013 and 2014)
4 x premiership player (2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015)
283 games, 578 goals, 2.04 goals per game
Unlike his close mates Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis and Sam Mitchell, Roughead's loyalty to the brown and gold cause never wavered, with the second pick of the 2004 AFL Draft remaining a Hawk from go to woah.
Although a second fiddle to Franklin during their days stalking the forward 50 together, the Leongatha native hit his straps after 'Buddy' became a Swan, with Roughead bagging a trio of leading goalkicker gongs and a Coleman Medal of his own in 2013.
1 x Norm Smith Medal (2015)
3 x All-Australian (2012, 2015 and 2016)
4 x premiership player (2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015)
189 games, 275 goals, 1.5 goals per game, 4.55 tackles per game
For the vast majority of his decade and change in the league, there was no more dangerous small forward across the competition than Cyril Rioli.
As his stacked highlights reel suggests, Rioly was deadly with the ball in hand, however, what often got overlooked was the Tiwi Islander's ability to influence the contest when the Hawks were without the ball.
2 x Coleman Medal (2008 and 2011)
1 x best and fairest (2008)
6 x leading goalkicker (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012)
4 x All-Australian (2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012)
2 x premiership player (2008 and 2013)
182 games, 580 goals, 3.2 votes per game, 82 Brownlow votes, 0.45 votes per game
Some may count Franklin as unlucky to have only nabbed bronze on this list, but if 'Buddy' had stayed in brown and gold for longer, there is no doubt that he would have occupied rarer air.
Still, across the course of his 11 seasons as a Hawk, the Western Australian proved to be the most damaging key forward in the competition, especially in 2008, a season in which Franklin averaged more than four-and-a-half goals per game.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2012)
1 x Ron Evans Medal (2003)
5 x best and fairest (2006, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2016)
3 x All-Australian (2011, 2013 and 2015)
4 x premiership player (2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015)
307 games, 26.4 disposals, 220 Brownlow votes, 0.7 votes per game
After being overlooked by every AFL club during his draft year, Mitchell developed a chip on his shoulder that drove him to prove people wrong. And prove them wrong he did, with the hard-nosed ball-magnet winning just about everything on offer before heading west for a final season as an Eagle.
Now back at the Hawks' helm, one could mount a convincing argument that nobody has given Hawthorn more of themselves in recent decades than this Brownlow medallist.
2 x Norm Smith Medal (2008 and 2014)
2 x best and fairest (2005 and 2010)
3 x All-Australian (2005, 2008 and 2010)
4 x premiership player (2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015)
305 games, 19.8 disposals, 131 Brownlow votes, 0.4 votes per game
Perhaps the greatest mesh of brawn and brains we have seen from a modern-age footballer, Hodge led the Hawks by example right through their three-peat pomp, putting his body on the line and doing just about anything necessary to secure every win.
While Sam Mitchell can boast of having more individual honours on his mantel, Hodge saved his best for when it mattered most, becoming just the second Hawk behind Gary Ayres to win two Norm Smith Medals, both in successful flag efforts.
Despite ending his career at the Lions' den, if you're ever asked to think Hawthorn, chances are this legend's name crosses your mind first.