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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2. Clayton Oliver (2016-present)
4 x best and fairest (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022)
3 x All-Australian (2018, 2021 and 2022)
1 x premiership player (2021)
162 games, 29.2 disposals per game, 116 Brownlow votes, 0.7 votes per game
Despite recent issues, when Oliver is on song, few, if any, midfielders can match his potency.
Week in and week out, the Mooroopna native finds the football at will, often giving his forwards silver service as he rips it out of the centre, time and again.
If this generation of Demons are to add to the trophy cabinet, much of this success is sure to boil down to how well Oliver performs, proving just how crucial a juncture the club finds itself at ahead of the 2024 season.
