With the names of our offensive and defensive trios already on the whiteboard, it is now time to list the men that link the two together – the midfielders.
Due to their aerobic and ball winning capacities, modern midfielders receive plaudits and pay packets far beyond their part-time predecessors.
These players at the coalface are regularly seen as their club's blue-chip talent, with their output integral to securing victory.
Like the previous pair of catalogues, the same four rules for selection apply for our third and final list:
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. Most importantly, no player can have played an in-season match with any of their colleagues during their time at their selected club.
To up the ante, we have also added a fifth point of criteria: a ruckman must also be selected for each team.
For example, should Brodie Grundy be selected for Collingwood, then all of his midfield mates between 2013 and the present day become ineligible.
With all this in mind, here is our best stab.
Let us know how we have gone and which clubs you feel have fared best.
Brisbane
Michael Voss – 1992-2006 (289 games)
As the leader of the Lions’ three-peat in the early 2000s, it is impossible to leave Michael Voss off a list like this.
With his style of play and leadership described as anything between tough and kamikaze, it was a rare occasion in which Voss, or his Brisbane team, lost a contest.
Across his 289 games in his adopted state, the hard red nut amassed five All-Australian selections, five club best and fairest awards, a Brownlow medal, a pair of league MVPs, those three Premierships and Australian Football Hall of Fame status.
Matthew Leuenberger – 2007-2015 (108 games)
Despite being the weakest link in this list of Lions, Matthew Leuenberger’s selection is necessary due to the mandatory need to pick a big man.
After being taken with the fourth pick of the 2006 National Draft, there were obvious expectations levelled at the large feet of Leuenberger, with the Lions desperate to fill the void left by the criminally underrated Clark Keating.
Although the Western Australian never truly managed to rise to the challenge, Leuenberger did manage to play 100 games over his nine seasons in Queensland.
Lachie Neale – 2019-Present (43 games)
Despite calling Brisbane home for just a pair of seasons, Lachie Neale’s 2019 and 2020 outputs were sufficient to see him selected.
In a year that saw the South Australian midfielder finish with another All-Australian selection, the Leigh Matthews trophy, AFLCA player of the year status, the Merrett-Murray medal and the Brownlow, Neale averaged 26.8 disposals and 5.4 clearances per game in 2020.
When you pair these awards with his 2019 haul of another B&F and AA selection, Neale has well and truly set the Gabba alight ablaze in his 43 games in maroon.
