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:

  • Only statistics recorded and achievements accrued since the start of the 2000 AFL 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 2000 AFL season.

Next up, we head out to Waverley to hunt down which Hawks have made the cut.

PREVIOUS TOP TENS: CROWS,ย LIONS,ย BLUES,ย PIES,ย BOMBERS, DOCKERS, CATS, SUNS, GIANTS

8. Shane Crawford (2000-2008)ย 

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!

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Former AFL player Shane Crawford holds the 2013 Premiership Cup during the 2013 Blackwoods North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast at Etihad Stadium on September 28, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)