Throughout the final years of the 1990s,ย AFLย 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 2000ย AFLย 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 2000ย AFLย season.

Next up, we head to Punt Road to run a rule over the top ten Tigers of the century.

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

5. Matthew Richardson (2000-2009)

1 x best and fairest (2007)
8 x leading goalkicker (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008)
1 x All-Australian (2008)
163 games, 426 goals, 2.6 goals per game, 87 Brownlow votes, 0.5 votes per game

For more than a generation, Matthew Richardson was the Richmond Football Club, with members of the Tiger Army rolling through the turnstiles en masse to see what the enigmatic forward had up his sleeve.

While some may have 'Richo' higher on this list, it bears remembering that a sizable portion of the Tasmanian's best work was completed in the 1990s.

Still, few will ever forget Richardson's come-from-the-clouds Brownlow run in 2008 after trading his forward 50 haunt for life on a wing.