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.
Brisbane
Roger Merrett – 1988-1996 (164 games and 285 goals)
When your name makes up half of your former club’s best and fairest title, you know you have left a positive legacy at your old stomping ground.
This is entirely true in the case of Roger Merrett.
After back-to-back Premierships with the Bombers, Merrett moved north to join the Brisbane Bears and help in their fight for footballing relevancy.
The mustachioed forwards early days in Queensland were nothing to write home about, but by the time the spearhead hung up his boots, football in Brisbane was beginning to boom.
Merrett led the club’s goalkicking chart on three occasions (1993 to 1995) in his nine seasons up north and was captain for the last seven (1990 to 1996).
Jonathan Brown – 2000-2014 (256 games and 594 goals)
Since the ‘merger’ between Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears before the 1997 season, no player has kicked more goals in the history of the hybrid club than Jonathan Brown.
With an average of 2.32 goals per game across 15 seasons in the league, we are not scratching our heads as to why.
Brown’s list of honours would need an unfurled toilet roll to be listed in their entirety, however, the three flags, three club best and fairests, two All-Australians, five club leading goalkicking awards and his 2007 Coleman are the without doubt the hulking forward’s standout achievements.
Charlie Cameron – 2018-Present (54 games and 105 goals)
Despite having only played three seasons in Brisbane, Charlie Cameron has already left an indelible mark on the Gabba and it’s growing crowds.
With an average of just under two goals per game, a pair of leading goalkicker awards and a signature goal celebration, it is little wonder why.
Get set for his Harley Davidson throttles to become even more prevalent this year, with the expectation that the Lions will roar for longer this September.
