The AFL season proper has finally drawn to a close, and after enjoying a week or two of respite following Hawthorn’s magnificent effort to claim their third flag in as many years, most of us are in somewhat of a frenzy waiting to see who will be at our respective clubs next season.

For something a little different, and to perhaps for a moment steer the conversation away from the all-consuming discussions surrounding the trade period, yours truly has attempted to come up with an AFL Team of the 21st Century – so far.

As it is a team from this century, and not the last, to qualify players must have been selected in two or more All Australian sides since 2001. It has been chosen with the traditional team structure of three talls and three smalls in mind.

Geelong and Brisbane are the most represented clubs with four players each, West Coast have three, while Hawthorn and Fremantle have two players in the team.

Sydney, Collingwood, Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, Essendon, St Kilda and Adelaide provide one player each.

The side includes nine Brownlow Medallists, three Norm Smith Medallists, two Coleman Medallists, and 11 club captains. Between them, the team has claimed a total of 66 club best and fairest awards.

Scroll down page to skip player summaries and go directly to team.

Defenders
At full back is Matthew Scarlett. Taken at pick 45 in the 1997 National Draft as a father son selection, Matthew Scarlett played 284 games for Geelong and is a triple premiership player.

He is a six time All Australian – the most by any Cats’ player, and won the club’s best and fairest award in 2003.

Scarlett’s ability to read the play allowed him to not only compete with often larger opponents, but to also intercept and run the ball out of defence setting up many an attacking foray.

Such was his effectiveness, opposition teams often tried to curb his influence by playing a negating forward on him, although it seldom limited his involvement in the game.

Corey Enright is also a triple premiership player, and joins his Geelong teammatein a back pocket. Enright has played 309 games since being selected at pick 47 in the 1999 national draft, is a two-time best and fairest winner, and has been named in the All Australian team five times.

Another rebounding backman, Enright’s durability was again shown this season after easily being the Cats’ most consistent defender, averaging 23 disposals over 21 games at 34 years of age.

This included a 32-possession game in the Geelong’s final game of the season which may also have been his last, as he has yet to make decision on whether he will play on next year.

In the other back pocket is former West Coast Captain Darren Glass – who played 270 games for the Eagles, and is a member of their 2006 premiership side. Drafted in 1999 with pick 11, he is a three times best and fairest winner and a four time All Australian, including one as captain (2012).

Glass gained the captaincy after former skipper Chris Judd left the club to join Carlton in 2008. He led the club through arguably the most tumultuous period in its history before retiring abruptly in 2014 due to injury.

While Glass may not be rated as highly outside Western Australia as he is from within, his record despite an injury-interrupted career is testament to how good he was.

Although very similar in height and weight to Scarlett, Glass was more of a traditional defender, perhaps best recognised in eastern states for his effort in the 2006 grand final in which he kept Sydney forward Barry Hall goalless.

At centre half back is Matthew Pavlich. The former South Australian who reluctantly joined Fremantle after being taken at pick four in the 1999 national draft, has now played a club record 335 games, and been captain since 2007.

Pavlich has won the Docker’s best and fairest award six times and been the club’s leading goal kicker nine times. His ability to play in multiple positions is highlighted by being selected as both a defender and forward in his six All Australian appearances.

While none of those appearances have been at centre half back, he has played in the position a number of times for his club to good effect. His ability to both shut down an opponent and run off him as he showed early in his career would make him a very effective centre half back.

On one half back flank is Nigel Lappin. The three-time premiership player ran out for the Lions 279 times after being drafted in 1994.

He won a best and fairest in 2004, is a four time All Australian, and was also named co-captain of the club after the retirement of Michael Voss. He remained in the position until an Achilles injury forced him to retire at the end of the 2008 season.

Lappin was an integral part of Brisbane’s three premiership sides from 2001 to 2003. He was a long accurate kick and could run all day.

Lappin averaged just over 18 disposals, three marks and five tackles per game over his career, but is perhaps best remembered for playing through the entire 2003 grand final with a broken rib, yet was still named among the Lions’ best.

The other half back flanker is Andrew McLeod. McLeod played 340 games for Adelaide and is considered by many to be the Crows’ greatest ever player.

He won his club’s best and fairest award three times, was named the AFLPA MVP in 2001. In the same year he ran a close second in the Brownlow Medal to Jason Ackermanis, after controversially failing to poll a vote in the last round of the season, despite having a 37-disposal game.

McLeod was named in the All Australian side five times, including once as Captain in 2007 and is also a member of the Indigenous Team of the Century.

Not only was McLeod a player of sublime skills, he also had plenty of pace, yet very rarely did he seem hurried, such was his composure and grace on the field.

Midfield
In the centre, and captain of the side is Michael Voss. Debuting as a skinny 17-year-old in 1992, Voss went on to play 289 games for Brisbane, and is arguably their greatest ever player.

After being named as a co-captain in 1997 at 21 years of age, Voss lead the Lions to three successive premierships between 2001 and 2003.

Although winning a Brownlow Medal prior to this century, Voss did win consecutive AFLPA MVP awards in 2002 and 2003. He won his club’s best and fairest award three times and was named in the All Australian side five times – including consecutive appearances from 2001 to 2003.

Highly skilled from a young age, Voss worked as hard as he possibly could to get the best out of himself. His courage at the contest was a highlight of his game, as was his single mindedness to win.

While Voss was never afraid to speak his mind, to either his teammates or opposition players, he backed up his words on the field and was an inspirational captain for his club for almost a decade. A worthy selection as skipper of this side.

Alongside Voss on one wing is former Collingwood captain, and now coach of the Magpies – Nathan Buckley.

After playing 20 games and winning the AFL Rising Star award in his first season playing with Voss in Brisbane in 1993, Buckley moved to Collingwood the following year under less than auspicious circumstances.

However he soon put the controversy behind him, going on to play 260 games with the Magpies and is considered by many to be the finest player in the club’s 133-year history.

Captain of the side from 1999 until his retirement in 2007, Buckley won a record six best and fairest awards, and was a seven time All Australian. Including three as vice-captain.

In 2003 he won the AFLPA MVP award, and become the first Rising Star award winner (along with Adam Goodes in the same year), to win the Brownlow Medal. Later that same week he also became only the third player to be awarded the Norm Smith Medal from a losing grand final side.

As with Voss, Buckley strove to get the best out of himself, and would work tirelessly to rectify any perceived shortcomings in his game. He possessed a penetrating and precise kick, with pace and a natural outside game from his days as a junior,

Buckley would complement Michael Voss superbly.

While Voss and Buckley were two of the best midfielders of their generation, Chris Judd was one of the finest of the next, and fills the other wing position.

After being taken at pick three by West Coast in the famous draft of 2001, Judd went on to play 134 games for the Eagles, which included captaining the side in their 2006 premiership year.

In 2008 after a fierce battle for his signature between Carlton and Collingwood, he joined the Blues as captain, and went on to play another 145 games, before injury forced him to retire midway through the 2015 season.

Judd has won five best and fairest awards – two at West Coast and three at Carlton, two Brownlow Medals – one at each club, and has been named an All Australian six times.

Early in his career it was Judd’s phenomenal ability to break way from congestion at a speed few could match that set him apart.

When age and injury curtailed his pace to a degree, he reinvented himself as an inside midfielder, in the process claiming his second Brownlow Medal – a testament to how elite Judd was.

Dean Cox was the premier ruckman of his generation. Regarded by some as the best proponent of his craft since Essendon’s Simon Madden, Cox was taken at pick 28 in the 2001 rookie draft.

A member of West Coast’s 2006 premiership side, Cox won the Eagles’ best and fairest award in 2008 and is a six-time All Australian ruckman. Over his career Cox averaged 23 hit outs and 16 disposals per game.

Cox was also a more than handy forward, either when having a rest from ruck duties or floating forward as an extra tall option. He kicked 169 goals in his 290-game career, at a little over a goal every second game.

As Adam Goodes is included in the side as the ruck rover, Cox is the only recognised ruckman selected in the side.

Goodes is arguably the greatest Indigenous player to have played the game.

Retiring at the end of the 2015 season in less than ideal circumstances, Goodes played a Sydney record 372 games and kicked 464 goals over his 16 seasons.

He has won three club best and fairest awards, led the Swans’ goal kicking on the same amount of occasions and is a two-time premiership player.

Winning the Rising Star award in 1999, Goodes, along with Nathan Buckley in 2003, became the first player to win the Brownlow after claiming the Rising Star. He won a second Brownlow in 2006, is a four-time All Australian, and was named in the Indigenous Team of the Century.

Adam Goodes could play in just about any position on a football field, and excel at it. He won his first Brownlow playing in the ruck, and his second while in the midfield. In his four All Australian selections, he was picked in the ruck, on the wing, in a forward pocket and on the bench.

Gary Ablett Jnr is arguably the finest player of the last decade and an automatic selection in this side as rover. It is not often that two once-in-a-generation players come from the same family, but such is the case with Gary Ablett Snr and Jnr.

Taken as a father-son selection by Geelong in the 2001 draft, the younger Ablett took some time to stamp himself as an A-grade footballer, but is now considered by many to be as good, if not better than his famous father.

Comparisons between the two aside, Ablett has played 274 games and kicked 368 goals for Geelong and Gold Coast in a career littered with team and individual honours.

Before moving to the Suns at the end of the 2012 season, Ablett was involved in two premierships, won two best and fairest awards, a Brownlow Medal, three AFLPA MVPs, and was the Cats leading goal kicker in 2006.

Since his arrival on the Gold Coast he has won another three club best and fairest awards, two MVPs, and another Brownlow. Had it not been for injury, it is possible he could have had as many as four Brownlow Medals. He has also topped the Suns’ goal kicking on two occasions.

Forwards
At centre half forward is former Lions’ captain turned commentator Johnathon Brown. Drafted from the Geelong Falcons with pick 30 in 1999, Brown played 256 games for Brisbane, kicking 594 goals.

A triple premiership player, Brown won three best and fairest awards and was selected in the All Australian side on two occasions. He claimed the Coleman Medal in 2007, and was Brisbane’s leading goal scorer five times.

Brown was most noted for his courage and selfless attack on the ball – perhaps best exemplified by his Mark of the Year against the Hawks in 2002, and was awarded the AFLPA Most Courageous Award three times during his career.

An old-fashioned footballer, perhaps not quite as skilful or talented as some of his contemporaries, Brown’s ability to make his teammates walk taller just by his sheer presence out on the ground makes him an almost automatic selection in this side.

Former captain and coach of Essendon James Hird fills one forward flank. No matter your personal thoughts on him and his involvement in the supplements saga that still lingers on after three years, Hird was among the best players of his generation.

Due to concerns about his capacity to stay on the field as a junior, Hird was taken at pick 79 in the 1990 national draft. After making his debut in 2003 he went on to play 253 games for the Bombers, kicking 343 goals.

He claimed a Brownlow Medal in 1996, won Essendon’s best and fairest award five times and was the club’s leading goal kicker twice. Hird was also named in the Bombers’ Team of the Century, and is a five-time All Australian, including selections in 2001 and 2003.

Hird was at times mercurial. Although not solidly built, he was tall and agile, and a Norm Smith Medal as Captain and three Anzac Medals are evidence that the bigger the occasion, the better Hird was. A fact many a Magpie supporter can attest to.

Steve Johnson is on the other half forward flank. Taken at pick 24 in the 2001 draft, injury and off field issues hampered Johnson’s early career.

However his talent was never questioned, and following a club-imposed suspension at the start of the 2007 season, Johnson helped the Cats secure their first premiership in 44 years. Earning himself a Norm Smith Medal and All Australian selection along the way.

Although still unsure of his future, Johnson’s 253rd game for the Cats in Round 23 of this season was his last for Geelong. He has kicked 452 goals to this stage of his career, and been selected in the All Australian team three times.

Johnson’s uncanny ability to pull off things other players only dream of trying has been tempered somewhat by his ill-discipline at times – either through an untimely suspension or attempting the impossible in games at inopportune times.

However as Geelong Coach Chris Scott has said, “With Stevie J you take the good with the bad. Sometimes it comes off, at other times all you can do is shake your head and laugh.”

At full forward is Lance Franklin. After being selected at pick five by Hawthorn in 2004, he controversially made the move to Sydney at the end of 2012, and has so far played 221 games and kicked 706 goals.

Generally considered to be the best forward in the game, Franklin has led his club’s goal kicking on eight occasions – six with Hawthorn and two with Sydney. He has won the Coleman Medal three times, and is a two-time premiership player with the Hawks.

In Hawthorn’s premiership year of 2008, Franklin won the first of his Coleman Medals after becoming the only player since Tony Lockett in 1998 to top 100 goals in a season. He also claimed the Hawks’ best and fairest award that year.

Franklin has been selected as an All Australian five times, and at only 28 years old has the opportunity to feature in many more in future seasons. His height, mixed with his freakish athletic ability makes him very difficult to stop one-on-one.

The third tall, and lining up in a forward pocket is St Kilda Captain Nick Riewoldt. Since being taken at pick one with a priority selection in 2000, Riewoldt has played 298 games for the Saints and kicked 648 goals.

He won the Rising Star award in 2002, has claimed six best and fairest awards, and been the club’s leading goal kicker on four occasions. In 2004 Riewoldt was awarded the AFLPA MVP award, and has been named as an All Australian five times.

As well as being strong overhead, Riewoldt is very quick off the mark, and his capacity to run and make multiple leads in a single piece of play makes it difficult for defenders to keep up with him for any length of time.

Brent Harvey slots into the other forward pocket ahead of any number of very good small forwards, not only for his ability, but also the sheer weight of his work.

Taken at pick 47 way back in 1995 Harvey has played a club record 409 games and kicked 482 goals. If he stays healthy, Harvey will overtake Michael Tuck as the VFL/AFL games record holder in 2016.

Part of North Melbourne’s 1996 premiership side, Harvey has taken out five best and fairest awards and was named in the club’s Team of the Century. He has been selected as an All Australian five times, the last coming in 2010 at 32 years of age.

Boomer Harvey keeps defying his age. At 37 years old he is still one of the Kangaroos’ best players, and if he has lost any pace over the years (which is debatable), his two decades of experience more than make up for it.

In 2015 he has averaged 23 disposals per game and kicked 24 goals, which stacks up extremely well against his career average of 21 disposals and 1.2 goals per game.

Interchange
Gavin Wanganeen played 300 games for Essendon and Port Adelaide, winning a premiership at each club. A Brownlow Medallist, Wanganeen won a club best and fairest, was named as a back pocket in Essendon’s Team of the Century, and was a five time All Australian, including 2001 and 2003.

Simon Black was a triple premiership player with Brisbane, who played 322 games and kicked 171 goals. While he never won his club’s best and fairest, Black did win the Brownlow Medal in 2002, and Norm Smith Medal in 2003. He was named as an All Australian three times.

Sam Mitchell is a four-time premiership player who has played 285 games since being drafted in 2001. He won the Rising Star award in 2002, and has taken home Hawthorn’s best and fairest award four times.

Although having never won the Brownlow Medal he is a constant contender, and is the fifth highest vote getter in AFL/VFL history with 204. He has made the All Australian side on three occasions.

Nat Fyfe sneaks into the side on the back of one of the most dominant seasons by an individual player in recent memory. In only his fourth full season, Fyfe won both the Brownlow Medal, and for the second time the AFLPA MVP.

He was named in the All Australian team for the second consecutive year, and is the heir apparent to Gary Ablett Jnr as the best player in the AFL. Fyfe is considered to be the archetype of the modern day footballer

Coach
In the season prior to Alastair Clarkson taking up up the senior coaching position in 2005, Hawthorn had finished 15th. In his first year at the helm they improved slightly to 14th, then 11th the following season and fifth in 2007.

Since then the Hawks have only missed out on playing finals in 2009, and have appeared in five grand finals – winning four, including the last three consecutively.

Clarkson has been the All Australian Coach four times, and an overall winning rate of 62.9 per cent. Which improves to an impressive 72.7 percent in the post season.

His four premierships put him behind only Jock McHale (8), and Norm Smith (5), as far as premierships won by coaches, and equal with the likes of Ron Barassi, Tom Hafey, Allan Jeans and Leigh Matthews.

Team of the 21st Century
B: Darren Glass Matthew Scarlett Corey Enright
HB: Nigel Lappin Matthew Pavlich Andrew McLeod
C: Chris Judd Michael Voss Nathan Buckley
HF: Steve Johnson Johnathon Brown James Hird
F: Brent Harvey Nick Riewoldt Lance Franklin
Foll: Dean Cox Adam Goodes Gary Ablett Jnr
Int: Simon Black Gavin Wanganeen Sam Mitchell Nat Fyfe
Coach: Alastair Clarkson

As with any representative side there are always a number of players who could be deemed unlucky to miss out on a spot in the final team. Given the amount of quality players to choose from over the last decade and a half – even with the qualification provisos, there were many who fall into that category.

The two players closest to making the side, but just missing out were Jason Ackermanis and Luke Hodge. However in the end Harvey and Lappin/Enright made the cut.

Others that came close included Dane Swan, Mark Ricciuto, Aaron Sandilands, Warren Tredrea, Jimmy Bartel, Scott Pendlebury and Shaun Burgoyne.

Some players who did make the side, did so in unfamiliar positions – the most notable of which is Matthew Pavlich. Pavlich had to be in the team, as did Franklin, Riewoldt and Brown, and as he would have been the only one of the four that would be capable of holding down centre half back, that is where he was selected.

The same applied for Judd and Buckley. Both were centres or followers, however Voss deserves his spot in the centre and is Captain, so got the nod ahead of the other two. But again, both needed to be included.

There is certain to be many who disagree with any number of selections in the above team, so feel free to make suggestions below.

But if you are going to do so, provide legitimate reasons for your choices. If enough people get involved I will put up a Roar reader’s team of the Century (so far), based on comments made below later in the month.