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 run the rule over Melbourne, to see which Demons proved deadliest.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS: CROWS,ย LIONS,ย BLUES,ย PIES,ย BOMBERS, DOCKERS, CATS, SUNS, GIANTS, HAWKS
7. James McDonald (2000-2010)
2 x best and fairest (2006 and 2007)
1 x All-Australian (2006)
210 games, 19.2 disposals per game, 4.45 tackles per game
A loyal servant of the oldest football club in the land, McDonald learned the ropes during the Demons' salad days of the early 2000s before eventually leading from the front once the skies began to grey before the end of the decade.
While never the prettiest player or one prone to leather poisoning, few can lay claim to fighting harder for the grand old flag than this former rookie lister.
