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 he to Arden Street to separate the the wheat from the Roos' chaff.

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

2. Drew Petrie (2001-2016)

5 x leading goalkicker (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015)
1 x All-Australian (2011)
316 games, 428 goals, 1.35 goals per game

It may have taken Petrie some time to truly announce himself as an offensive threat, but between 2011 and 2015, the Ballarat native was a force to be reckoned with, slotting 246 goals at a clip of better than two a week.

Although never the leading forward in league circles, North fans will remember for forever and a day the evening that Petrie went full 'Frank the Tank' to knock arch-rivals Essendon out of the 2014 finals.

Drew Petrie of the Kangaroos thanks fans during the 2016 AFL Round 23 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the GWS Giants at Etihad Stadium on August 27, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)