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AFL top 100: Team of the 21st century

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Roar Guru
20th March, 2021
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As we are now a fifth of the way through the new millennium and the babies born in the first few years of the 2000s are beginning to make a name for themselves on the player’s lists at all 18 AFL clubs.

I thought it was timely to pick a team of future champions who over the next decade will become the face of the AFL. Already the number of players eligible – if we include the category A and B rookies is 215 – but obviously, a lot of these have not yet had the opportunity to show their skills in the hot cauldron of Australia’s finest football competition.

If names are anything to go by, we are in for a treat with surnames that – whether or not they are in any way related – mirror the surnames of former Brownlow Medalists, champion goal scorers and club champions both past and present. Smith, Kelly, Hird, Fyfe, Mitchell and Bedford may take the AFL trophy this century and Coleman, Young, Carroll and Rowell may be leading goal-kickers and what supporter would not want another Rioli, King, Stephens, Weightman, West, Neale, Walsh, Hamill, Serong, Clark or Evans playing again?

Commentators also will have fun with pronouncing or making fun of Mosquito, Tsapatolis, Lukosius, Oea, Bosenavulagi and Uosis.

Of course, the criteria for eligibility is totally arbitrary. Sydney’s Tom McCartin despite already playing 48 games and scoring 28 goals is ineligible as he was born two days before the calendar ticked over to the year 2000 as is Jordan Butts being born on New Year’s Eve 1999. On the other hand, Jason Carter, born 11 days into the new millennium has already been delisted by Fremantle after two games in 2019.

Whilst most teams boast a clutch of these youngest players, the teams from lower down the ladder who have put their faith in rebuilding over time have the most. Gold Coast have a very impressive 19, four of whom won rising star awards in 2020. Adelaide has 16 and the other cellar dweller (North Melbourne) has 14.

What is surprising is the two other clubs who also have 14: Port Adelaide and Collingwood. Port Adelaide, who lead the competition from go to whoa during the home-and-away season last season have managed to blood three quality millenniums who in 2021 should all bring up their half-century of games: Connor Rozee (38 games), Zac Butters (36) and Xavier Duursma (35) while at Collingwood, rising star Isaac Quaynor played 15 games but only three other millenniums played only a handful between them.

The most experienced millennium at the end of 2020 was Western Bulldog’s Bailey Smith, who had played 41 games and starred in his 42nd game in the season opener against Collingwood, followed by Carlton’s Sam Walsh (39) and Gold Coast’s Jack Lukosius (38).

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All these players are shoo-ins for the early call of the team of the century as are Sydney’s Nick Blakey, James Rowbottom and Justin McInerney. Gold Coast Suns also have a big contingent with Noah Anderson, Connor Budarick, Caleb Graham, Ben King and Matt Rowell – who although played only five games before his season-ending injury in 2020 – had already shown the depth of his talent.

Ben’s twin brother Max from St Kilda (who surprisingly has the least millenniums on their list with five) will play in tandem with Ben as the two 202 cms show amazing athleticism. Round 13 and 14 rising stars Brandon Starcevich (Brisbane Lions) and Giant Jake Riccardi both miss the age barrier by less than six months but all the other rising star winners are in as are North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas, Bailey Scott and Jack Mahony, while Adelaide’s Chayce Jones and Fischer McAsey join Lachlan Sholl in the squad.

It will be an interesting exercise to look back at these players’ careers when another decade has passed.

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