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.
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3. Max Gawn (2010-present)
2 x best and fairest (2018 and 2019)
6 x All-Australian (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022)
1 x premiership player (2021)
203 games, 33 hitouts per game, 108 Brownlow votes, 0.5 votes per game
Long gone are the days of being caught puffing darts on the way to training, Gawn has morphed from a kid with potential to an out-and-out superstar, one who will forever be known for having steered the Demons back to glory.
With six All-Australian blazers to his name, Gawn can flex to being the preeminent ruckman of his era, and with so many gun midfielders beneath him, it's no surprise why Melbourne has become so familiar with September in recent times.
