When the ball was bounced to start the annual Easter Monday clash between bitter rivals Geelong and Hawthorn, the centre square contained eight athletes, one umpire, one Sherrin and a rogue pigeon.

As the first quarter rolled on, the courageous rock dove continued to attend centre bounces and was undeterred by the myriad of studded boots that tore up the turf around it.

Although the winged invader was finally shooed to the sidelines, it did get us thinking about the weirdest and wackiest groups, individuals, items and beasts that have crossed the white line in the past.

With the game of Australian Rules Football now over 150-years-old and enjoying sesquicentennial status, we have almost certainly missed some of the game's strangest objects and intruders, so please, let us know your nominations in the comments.

Without further ado, here are the 11 most abnormal field occupants in our game's great history - besides Mark 'Jacko' Jackson.

2. Meat Is Murder (2020)

In the same season the previous pair of pranksters interrupted a highly important game, another uninvited crusader tore onto the playing field.

During the first ever AFLW Derby between West Coast and Fremantle, vegan activist Tash Peterson charged onto Optus Stadium to spread her beliefs on animal cruelty.

Although her on-field run ended in the same manner as Broekhuyse and Sokolinski, it came to a close at the hands of Fremantle hard-nut Kiara Bowers rather than those clad in fluro.

Despite Peterson gaining the publicity she sought, Bowers was not awarded a fourteenth tackle by the statisticians.