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:
Next up, we head West to decide which ten Eagles have flown highest this century.
OTHER LISTS: CROWS, LIONS, BLUES, PIES, BOMBERS, DOCKERS, CATS, SUNS, GIANTS, HAWKS,DEES, ROOS, POWER, TIGERS, SAINTS, SWANS
4 x leading goalkicker (2012, 2018, 2019 and 2021)
1 x All-Australian (2019)
1 x premiership player (2018)
277 games, 510 goals, 1.8 goals per game
While odd moments have punctuated points of Darling's career, any case to leave the key forward off this list should be ignored due to his sheer number of goals.
While playing second fiddle to Josh Kennedy for almost the entirety of his days as an Eagle, Darling has played it finely, slotting 510 goals - just four goals behind Peter Sumich and a share of second place on West Coast's all-time leading goalkicker ladder.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2014)
1 x best and fairest (2013)
1 x All-Australian (2015)
240 games, 26.2 disposals per game, 149 Brownlow votes, 0.6 votes per game
From the rookie list to rare air, as one of only three Eagles to have earned Brownlow honours, Priddis was always going to take his place on this list.
Although several other Eagles have turned out on more occasions than Priddis, the gun midfielder took each of his opportunities on offer and enjoyed a more-than-solid peak, averaging 28.4 disposals and a Brownlow vote every week between the start of 2013 and the end of the 2015 season.
2 x All-Australian (2018 and 2019)
1 x premiership player (2018)
333 games, 5.35 marks per game, 4.15 rebound 50s per game
If the ball was flying high and long into West Coast's defensive third at any stage this century, chances are the Sherrin ended up in the safe hands of Shannon Hurn.
Although never the most loquacious bloke when before the microphones, Hurn let his footy do the talking, stopping opposition thrusts, starting his own and becoming just the third Eagle to lead his side to premiership glory back in 2018.
2 x best and fairest (2020 and 2021)
3 x All-Australian (2012, 2020 and 2021)
213 games, 26.1 hitouts per game
With a pair of Worsfold Medals and a trifecta of All-Australian blazers, Naitanui worked well to solidify himself as one of West Coast's greatest ever ruckman across the course of an oft-interrupted 15-season career.
While sound under a high ball and a tap work wizard at stoppages, the former first round selection often finished off his own hard work, racking up more than four clearances across his 213-game career.
4 x All-Australian (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019)
1 x premiership player (2018)
172 games, 6.8 marks per game, 3.3 rebound 50s per game
From hefty draftee to a decorated, and immovable, pillar at the back, McGovern has eked everything out of himself along his path from youngster to veteran.
Completing his apprenticeship under master defenders in Messers Glass and Hurn, McGovern has gone on to act as the senior head down back, leading the ilk of Barrass and Duggan, earning a quartet of All-Australian blazers in the process.
3 x best and fairest (2007, 2009 and 2011)
4 x All-Australian (2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012)
1 x premiership player (2006)
270 games, 3.6 marks per game
Glass by name, but steeled by nature, across the course of his 15-season career in royal blue and gold, Glass proved an impregnable force behind the ball, routinely setting the Eagles up for success.
While never the most celebrated Eagle, even in his pomp, few, if any, gave more to the club's cause than the former skipper from the Avon Region.
1 x best and fairest (2008)
6 x All-Australian (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012)
1 x premiership player (2006)
290 games, 22.9 hitouts per game
Throughout the first 24 seasons of the 21st century, no Eagle has earned more All-Australian nods than Cox.
A tower of a man, one also blessed with brilliant ball skills, the Western Australian acted as a constant in an, at times, erratic team, providing his star-studded midfield with first use of the ball more often than any of his rivals ever could.
And with 169 goals to his name, Cox was also no slouch when floating forward across his 14-season stint in blue and gold.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2004)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2006)
1 x Norm Smith Medal (2005)
2 x best and fairest (2004 and 2006)
2 x All-Australian (2004 and 2006)
134 games, 21 disposals per game, 1.02 goals per game, 94 Brownlow votes, 0.7 votes per game
Had Judd stayed an Eagle for the entirety of his decorated career, there is absolutely no doubt that the gun midfielder would have finished atop this list.
Brought west with the Eagles' opening pick of the 2001 Super Draft, the Victorian wasted little time in marking his mark, dominating in the middle and before goal during his early years in blue and gold.
While his stay at Subiaco would only last six seasons, Judd left no stone unturned, winning just about everything on offer to him, including leading West Coast to their third flag in 2006.
2 x Coleman Medal (2015 and 2016)
8 x leading goalkicker (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022)
3 x All-Australian (2015, 2016 and 2017)
1 x premiership player (2018)
271 games, 712 goals, 2.6 goals per game
Ironically becoming an Eagle as part of the deal that saw Chris Judd become a Blue, Kennedy would fledge fully as an Eagle, etching his name into recent records as one of the greatest key forwards of his era.
Routinely, the Western Australian would lead the Eagles' goalkicking each season, and on two occasions, the entire league, with Kennedy proving himself to be perhaps the most bankable deadeye when it came to completing set shots.
A fan favourite and professional to the end, Kennedy ended his 271-game stay out west in elite fashion, booting eight goals in his final game before the adoring Optus Stadium crowd.
1 x Brownlow Medal (2005)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2005)
4 x best and fairest (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005)
4 x All-Australian (2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006)
1 x premiership player (2006)
While he acts as the Eagles' answer to Icarus, for all of his off-field misdeeds and misery imparted and worn, there can be no denying that Cousins was one hell of a footballer when on song.
White-hot from the get-go, Cousins claimed Rising Star honours in the mid-90s, going on to cement himself as a star of the game before the turn of the millennium.
However, once the 20th century ticked into the 21st, Cousins continued to elevate, eventually ending his days as an Eagle with a swathe of awards, but in dire need of a fresh start.
Despite the glitz, the glamour and the stacked highlights reel, Cousins' career, and the continued spiral upon conclusion, act as one of the game's true cautionary tales.