Thursday night is teams night on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App.
For so long a staple in the typical football week, we must sit and wait for the return of the flurry of line-ups dropping at 6.20pm AEDT
So instead, we're winding back the clock to pull apart one match-up.
This week it's one of the most heated AFL rivalries between West Coast and Fremantle who were set to meet for the 51st time on Sunday at Optus Stadium.
While the Eagles have won the last nine encounters, as well as the first nine between the pair, the ledger is closer than some would predict.
Here's how the team line-ups would look with the best side's picked from the respective outfits from 1995 (Fremantle's first year) to now.
WEST COAST (1995-2020)
B: Jeremy McGovern, Darren Glass, David Wirrpanda
HB: Shannon Hurn, Glen Jakovich, Elliot Yeo
C: Peter Matera, Ben Cousins, Andrew Gaff
HF: Andrew Embley, Jack Darling, Jamie Cripps
F: Phil Matera, Josh Kennedy, Mark LeCras
R: Dean Cox, Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr
Inter: Luke Shuey, Matt Priddis, Ashley McIntosh, Chad Fletcher
Coach: Adam Simpson
This was an excruciatingly tough team to select, with a string of All-Australians and even a Coleman medallist (Scott Cummings) left out. We mostly tried to pick footballers in the position they predominantly played, and opted not to choose a second ruckman, so Nic Naitanui and Michael Gardiner missed out. Dean Kemp, Guy McKenna and Brad Sheppard were tough to overlook but joined champions such as Peter Sumich and Chris Mainwaring on the sidelines because of the criteria of 1995 onwards. McIntosh and McGovern are our swingmen, while Yeo's, Embley's and Wirrpanda's versatility will also be helpful. The running power in this squad is extraordinary – both speed (Matera, Judd) and endurance (Gaff, Cousins) – and it's a magnificent collection of talls, including six-time All-Australian ruckman Cox. Good luck stopping All-Australians Kennedy, Darling, Matera and LeCras, who won West Coast's goalkicking a combined 16 times. – Marc McGowan
FREMANTLE (1995-2020)
B: Roger Hayden, Shane Parker, Antoni Grover
HB: Michael Johnson, Luke McPharlin, Stephen Hill
C: Paul Hasleby, Nat Fyfe, Dale Kickett
HF: Michael Walters, Matthew Pavlich, David Mundy
F: Hayden Ballantyne, Clive Waterhouse, Jeff Farmer
R: Aaron Sandilands, Lachie Neale, Peter Bell
Inter: Shaun McManus, Ryan Crowley, Justin Longmuir, Michael Barlow
Coach: Ross Lyon
There are some serious RAC Derby performers in this line-up. From Hasleby's four Glendinning Medals, to Waterhouse's bag in the Demolition Derby and Pavlich's consistency in big games. Ballantyne, Walters and Farmer are locks in small forward roles, while Mundy starts at half-forward given the rest of the midfielders are pure onballers. Longmuir got the nod on the bench as a forward-ruck option, with Paul Medhurst and Chris Mayne just missing and Tony Modra left out given he played just 47 games for the Dockers. Hill adds speed to the half-back line and was put in ahead of Paul Duffield, Stephen O'Reilly and Garrick Ibbotson, with the rest of the backs having the ability to play small or tall. Kickett was super for the Dockers in the late 1990's and makes the starting 18 just ahead of McManus, while Neale starts as a dual best and fairest. Crowley will be able to do a job on any of the Eagles midfielders, while the hardest decision came down to Barlow or Troy Cook – the latter the only Doig Medallist since 2000 left out. – Mitch Cleary
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall: West Coast 30 wins, Fremantle 20 wins
THREE MATCH-UPS
Glen Jakovich v Matthew Pavlich: Missed each other at their respective peaks and were only opposed on a handful of occasions. When Pavlich burst onto the scene as a defender, Jakovich was mixing the latter stages of his career between attack and defence. For the Dockers to win a big contest against the Eagles, they'd need their skipper to stand up.
Dean Cox v Aaron Sandilands: In their history playing against one another, Sandilands would arguably take the points given he claimed two Glendinning medals to Cox's one. While Cox was the best ruckman of his generation, he had three Brownlow medal votes compared to Sandilands' 11 in Derbies.
Ben Cousins v Nat Fyfe: This would get the turnstiles clicking. With three Brownlow medals between them, Cousins and Fyfe sit among the best midfielders of their time. Cousins' last game for the Eagles came in 2007, three years before Fyfe debuted.
THREE STANDOUT RAC DERBY PERFORMANCES
Scott Cummings (R6, 2000): The chief destroyer as the Eagles inflicted a Derby-record 117-point loss on the Dockers. Fresh off a 1999 Coleman Medal and bag of 14 a fortnight earlier against Adelaide, Cummings kicked 10.2. It remains the biggest haul in Derby history.
Matthew Pavlich (R19, 2012): Single-handedly outscored the Eagles on his own with eight majors. After carrying pain into the match, Pavlich was at his vintage best, dominating in the air and on the ground as the Dockers won by 65 points.
Chris Judd (R6, 2006): Claimed his third Glendinning Medal in a row and was the first recipient in a losing side. As boos from the 'home' Fremantle crowd attempted to ruin his moment, Judd responded: "Popular decision." He had 33 disposals (17 contested), 12 clearances and a goal to be the best player on the ground. The umpires agreed.
MOST RAC DERBY MATCHES
1. Matthew Pavlich (34 games)
2. David Mundy, Dean Cox (27 games)
4. Aaron Sandilands (26 games)
5. Shannon Hurn, Darren Glass (24 games)
MOST RAC DERBY GOALS
1. Matthew Pavlich (61 goals)
2. Mark LeCras, Josh Kennedy (43 goals)
4. Jack Darling (38 goals)
5. Phil Matera (37 goals)
MOST RAC DERBY BROWNLOW MEDAL VOTES
1. Daniel Kerr (15 votes)
2. Guy McKenna (13 votes)
3. Stephen Hill (12 votes)
4. Matthew Pavlich, Paul Hasleby, Aaron Sandilands, Ben Cousins, Chris Judd (11 votes)
