Throughout the final years of the 1990s, AFL clubs across the land looked backward rather than forward, with selectors, historians and superstars converging to name their Teams of the 20th Century.
So, as we near the quarter-time mark of the 21st century, what better time to run the rule on which players are likely to feature when the selectors of tomorrow get together in several decades' time?
While every club has an array of deadset legends that can be called on, we here at Zero Hanger have employed the following rules of selection:
- Only statistics recorded and achievements accrued since the start of the 2000 AFL season will be acknowledged.
- All statistics and awards must have been accrued while playing for the club in question.
- Any player selected must have played at least 100 senior games for their respective club since the start of the 2000 AFL season.
Next up, we head out to Waverley to hunt down which Hawks have made the cut.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS: CROWS, LIONS, BLUES, PIES, BOMBERS, DOCKERS, CATS, SUNS, GIANTS
6. Tom Mitchell (2017-2022)Â
1 x Brownlow (2018)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2018)
3 x best and fairest (2017, 2018 and 2021)
2 x All-Australian (2017 and 2018)
106 games, 32.1 disposals per game, 97 Brownlow votes, 0.9 votes per game
While once a Swan and now a Magpie, it was as a Hawk that Mitchell hit his peak, collecting possessions and awards for fun, season after season.
This peak may not have aligned with any team success, but with 1635 disposals across 46 games between 2017 and 2018, at a clip of 35.5 per start, no footballer has ever found the Sherrin more often.
