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.
Port Adelaide
Warren Tredrea – 1997-2010 (255 games and 549 goals)
With the most goals in the Power's short history to his name, Warren Tredrea was always going to be Port's first cab off the rank.
Like the Power, Tredrea began his AFL career in 1997, but it would take a further 12 months before his name would be up in lights.
By the early 2000s, there were few tougher tasks than manning Tredrea's 194 centimetre and 96-kilogram frame.
After hanging his silver Nikes up at the end of 2010, the superstar centre half forward had accumulated eight leading goalkicker titles, four All-Australians, four Port B&Fs and a career average of 2.15 goals per game.
Chad Wingard – 2012-2018 (147 games and 232 goals)
Although no longer at Alberton, Chad Wingard was a fan favourite across his seven seasons with Port.
An All-Australian in 2013 and 2015 and a Cahill medallist in the former year, Wingard also topped the Power's goalkicking charts with 53 and 38 in 2015 and '16 respectively.
Despite an average of 1.57 goals per game whilst wearing teal, Wingard made the shift into the engine room upon arriving at Hawthorn in 2019.
Connor Rozee – 2019-Present (38 games and 38 goals)
Although it appears likely that he will eventually follow Wingard's shift from the forward 50 into the guts full time, we have selected Connor Rozee as a forward for now.
Despite his small sample size and stature, Rozee managed to kick more goals than any other Port Adelaide player in his debut season of 2019 with 29.
Although this fell to just nine in the COVID-19 ravaged 2020 season, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Port Augusta product's bout of second year blues will not seep into a third season.
