In our series leading up to round one, AFL.com.au writers will debate the best moments, players and teams since the turn of the century. From the pick of the Brownlow and Norm Smith medallists to the finest wooden spooners, non-finalists and premiership teams, a rotating panel will turn their minds to footy's big moments since 2000.

This week, Ben Collins, Nick Bowen, Ashley Browne and Nathan Schmook discuss the best player since 2000. Lance Franklin has kicked the most goals with 787, while Sam Mitchell and Gary Ablett are equal for the most Brownlow votes with 220 each, but who has been the best of the lot?

Gary Ablett jnr

The bigger question – and it always will be – is whether Gary jnr has become the best player in his family. Malcolm Blight is one who believes Ablett jnr has achieved the seemingly impossible by surpassing Gary snr. The title of best player since 2000 is a relative breeze by comparison. The 'Little Master' has amassed the most All Australian selections in the 2000s (eight, including four times as either captain or vice-captain) and the equal-most Brownlow Medal votes (220), including eight successive seasons of 20-plus votes (a period in which he averaged 31 possessions, 44 per cent of them contested, and 1.3 goals a game), winning two Brownlows and claiming three other top-three placings. The brilliant midfielder also won the Leigh Matthews Trophy (the AFL Players' Association's MVP) a record five times in the space of just seven seasons (2007-13) and five club best and fairests, the first two in premiership years at Geelong before enhancing his standing as a virtual one-man band at Gold Coast. If not for injury problems over the past three seasons, Ablett jnr might well have boasted the greatest individual record in AFL/VFL history. - Ben Collins 

Lance Franklin

This was a tough toss to lose. Predictably, 'Collo' has taken full advantage of batting first, reeling off stat after stat about why little Gaz is the greatest thing since big Gaz – and perhaps even before that. You make a compelling argument, Benjamin. Ablett jnr has clearly been the best midfielder of the 21st century. But has he been the best player? Perhaps not if you equate best with most valuable. On that basis, a legitimate case can be mounted for Lance Franklin given elite talls are rarer than table manners among a pack of starving Rottweilers. And Franklin is perhaps the rarest breed of tall the game has seen. At 195cm, he is as freakish and elusive at ground level as any small forward, while his rare mix of speed and endurance makes him a nightmare for defenders close to goal and working up the ground, where no one is more deadly launching bombs on goal from outside 50m. Buddy has also become a far stronger contested mark in recent seasons, making him essentially a forward with the lot. And if you want stats, he's kicked more goals than anyone since 2000 (787), is the most recent player to kick 100 goals in a season (113 in 2008), has been named in six All Australian teams, and won three Coleman Medals and nine club goalkicking awards. A key player in Hawthorn's 2008 and 2013 premiership teams, he has shown no signs of slowing down since crossing to Sydney ahead of the 2014 season. Franklin has been the best key-position player of his generation and, if we follow the talls-trump-smalls rule, the best player of his generation. - Nick Bowen 

Sam Mitchell

A few weeks back we debated in this space, which was the greatest club since 2000 and I went for Hawthorn on the basis of the four cups won in that time. My logic was that while awards are great, premierships are even better. So I'm nominating the bloke who has achieved plenty in both categories – he played in four premiership sides (including one as captain) and won a Brownlow Medal, a NAB AFL Rising Star Award and five best and fairests. Sam Mitchell is the greatest midfielder in modern football, averaging 26.4 disposals and 3.8 tackles a game. In his first 10 years at Hawthorn, Mitchell was a fearsome - and fearless - extractor from the midfield, giving his teammates first use of the ball with brilliant handball and deft clearances in traffic, all while copping some brutal treatment off the ball. The last few years saw a shift to the half-back line, where his equal skills on both sides of the body allowed him to become a destructive playmaker, despite an apparent lack of pace. This is a tough call because both Franklin and Ablett are superstars of the game and presumably, Nathan Schmook will now toss a coin between Chris Judd and Luke Hodge. - Ashley Browne 

New Eagle Sam Mitchell will be remembered as a Hawthorn legend. Picture: AFL Photos

Chris Judd

I see what you're trying to do, Ash, but no coin toss was required here, with Judd still edging Hodge under my criteria. When you come in last you have to get creative, and I'm looking at each player in his prime. On that basis, Judd as an Eagle between 2004 and 2006 trumps all of the above. That player, with his unrivalled sidestep, his burst out of stoppages and ability to break tackles at full pace, was unstoppable and the inspiration for many of the new generation of midfielders. In his 134 games as an Eagle (Judd debuted in 2002 and left at the end of 2007) he became one of only two players in history to win a Brownlow Medal (2004), Norm Smith Medal (2005) and captain a premiership team (2006). James Hird is the other, and, like Hird, you always got Judd at his best in big games. Judd will be remembered as a different style of player in a Carlton jumper, with groin and back issues diluting his speed and prompting him to adapt. It's a sign of his genius that he was able to, becoming a more prolific clearance player, stronger tackler and better leader. Judd was a champion at both clubs, with Brownlow Medals (2004 and 2010), best and fairest awards (five), All Australians (six) and AFLPA MVPs (2006 and 2011) at each. As a body of work it is extraordinary. And if I'm picking one player since 2000 to lead my team on Grand Final day, it's Chris Judd circa 2004-2006. - Nathan Schmook

Chris Judd led the Eagles to the 2006 flag. Picture: AFL Photos