With our picks for the best defensive groups that never overlapped in the AFL era in the books, it is now time to shift our focus to the opposite end of the field.
When we think about the game's greatest highlights, it is usually the men in the goal square that acted as architects.
When we as fans cast our minds back to the first numbers we ever had stitched onto our replica jumpers, it was usually the full forward's digits that we selected.
They are the men that keep both the scoreboard and the turnstiles ticking.
With the AFL era now 32 years old (1990 to the present day), we here at Zero Hanger have decided to select a group of club greats on each line whose careers never overlapped.
As with our group of defenders, here are the ground rules for selection:
1. Three players must be selected from each club.
2. Even if they have played for multiple clubs, no player can be selected on the list of two teams.
3. All players must have played at least a portion of their careers from 1990 onwards.
4. As mentioned, no player can have played an in-season match with any of their colleagues during their time at their selected club.
For example, should Jason Dunstall be selected for Hawthorn, then all of his forward line friends from 1985 to 1998 will fail our criteria.
With that in mind, here is our best stab.
Let us know how we have gone and which clubs you feel have fared best.
North Melbourne
Wayne Carey – 1989-2001 (244 games and 671 goals)
As yet another absolute ‘no brainer' when it came to selection, the only real argument is whether Wayne Carey is the best player of all time or not.
With seven All-Australians, five leading goalkicker awards, four All-Australians, four B&Fs, two league MVPS, two Premierships and the honour of captaining North's star-studded Team of the Century, it would have to be a pretty solid argument to refute him.
Nathan Thompson – 2005-2008 (60 games and 135 goals)
Despite spending the majority of his career at Glenferrie Oval, Nathan Thompson has made North Melbourne's list.
After claiming Hawthorn's goalkicking title in both 2003 and '04, Thompson was on the hop early after joining the Roos, winning North's equivalent prize in 2005 and '06.
Although only enjoying a brief stay at Arden Street, the Kyneton product did provide his second club an average of 2.25 goals per game over four years.
Ben Brown – 2014-2020 (130 games and 287 goals)
Despite standing out due to his resemblance to the painfully unfunny comedian Carrot Top, Ben Brown was overlooked on numerous occasions on his journey to the AFL.
After cutting his teeth in both the TSL and the VFL, the tall Tasmanian was selected by North with pick 47 of the 2013 Draft.
In his seven seasons with the club, Brown continued to improve with totals of 18, 32, 41 and 63 in his first four years with the club.
Tallies of 61 and 64 followed in 2018 and '19, however, the Coleman Medal continued to allude him.
Although he was the Kangaroo's leading goalkicker four years in a row between 2016 and 2019, the club felt compelled to deal him to Melbourne this off-season.
