THE emergence and dominance of Geelong duo Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood as a dynamic midfield duo last year captivated the AFL community.

Just weeks into Dangerfield’s Cats tenure and the media had already dubbed the lethal on-ball combination ‘Dangerwood’, such was the scary speed in which they had developed chemistry.

But Dangerwood isn’t the only gun midfield couple in the competition — and it isn’t the only one with a funky nickname either.

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Round 18

Collingwood last year also saw the emergence of Scott Pendlebury and Adam Treloar — a duo we like to call ‘Trendlebury’ — as a team, while ‘Bonthaus’ (Marcus Bontempelli and Luke Dahlhaus) played critical roles in the Western Bulldogs’ drought-breaking flag.

This year, Eagles fans can’t wait to see ‘Pritchell’ barge in at stoppages, while there’s plenty of pressure on Hawthorn’s ‘O’Mitchell’ to have an immediate impact.

We’ve identified every AFL club’s dynamic midfield duo for 2017 — and nominated a nickname for each pair, albeit with varying degrees of success.

ADELAIDE

Rory Sloane + Matt Crouch = ‘Slouch’

IT’S quirky, but don’t let the nickname mislead you. Both Sloane and Crouch have incredible workrates, particularly when it comes to winning contested ball. Sloane is already an elite player of the game, while Crows fans will be hoping Crouch can join his teammate in that same category in this year.

BRISBANE LIONS

Dayne Zorko + Tom Rockliff = ‘Zorkliff’

LIKE the sound of this one, which combines one of the most underrated players in the competition with one of the most maligned. Both rack up lots of the footy and can hit the scoreboard. But both players recently missed out on the Lions’ captaincy to Dayne Beams, who can blame his absence from the club’s dynamic duo on recent injury issues.

CARLTON

Patrick Cripps + Bryce Gribbs = ‘Cribbs’

PARDON the baby reference, but there’s nothing childish about how these Blues go about their business in the field. Inside bull Cripps is an emerging star — if he isn’t one already — while Gibbs’ class and goalkicking ability is invaluable. If Gibbs had left last year to join the Crows, it would’ve been tough to find a witty name combining Cripps and Marc Murphy.

‘Trendlebury’. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

COLLINGWOOD

Scott Pendlebury + Adam Treloar = ‘Trendlebury’

THE 2017 AFL Prospectus dubbed them ‘Pendleloar’, but we prefer Trendlebury. Nonetheless, Pendlebury and Treloar were just as good as — if not better than — Dangerwood last year from a numbers perspective. They will be even more important to the Pies this year, especially with so much pressure on the shoulders of besieged coach Nathan Buckley.

ESSENDON

Dyson Heppell + Zach Merrett = ‘Hepret’

THE new Essendon skipper and vice-skipper loom as one of the most exciting young midfield duos in the competition. Bombers fans will be hoping Heppell this season can pick up where he left off in 2015, while Merrett grew considerably in Heppell’s absence last year. Jobe Watson was unlucky here, but he could spend more time inside 50 this season.

FREMANTLE

Nat Fyfe + Lachie Neale = ‘Nyfe’

GOT the nod ahead of ‘Feale’. With Fyfe missing most of 2016 with a broken leg, Neale stepped up in responsibility, averaging more disposals than any other player in the league. But Dockers fans now can’t wait to see these two star on-ballers in the same centre square again.

GEELONG

Patrick Dangerfield + Joel Selwood = ‘Dangerwood’

THE originals are the reason why three silly nicknames exist. Cats fans were always excited about Dangerfield uniting with Selwood at the start of last year, but the output of the two went arguably beyond expectations. As a sidenote, SEN presenter and Fairfax journalist Rohan Connolly’s suggestion of ‘Selfield’ for the couple is quite underrated.

‘Abletelli’. Source: News Corp Australia

GOLD COAST SUNS

Gary Ablett + Michael Rischitelli = ‘Ablettelli’

SOUNDS like some sort of dish you’d order at your local Italian restaurant. Coach Rodney Eade will be delighted to have his best on-baller fit again ahead of this season, following Ablett’s past two injury-plagued years. But unfortunately for the Suns, Rischitelli will be missing a fair portion of the season after rupturing his ACL late last year.

GWS GIANTS

Callan Ward + Dylan Shiel = ‘Wiel’

IF THE Giants had less star power and less midfield depth, these two would be up there with Dangerwood and Trendlebury, as the reliance would boost their numbers and profile. They already work in tandem superbly, with Ward your genuine inside ball-winner and Shiel having Judd-like explosion from stoppages. Deep apologies to Stephen Coniglio here.

HAWTHORN

Jaeger O’Meara + Tom Mitchell = ‘O’Mitchell’

WELL this is interesting. This time last year, Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis would’ve occupied this space. Now their trade replacements in O’Meara and Mitchell hold the mantle, even though they haven’t played a game for the Hawks yet. However the early signs both men have showed in the JLT Community Series to date have been promising.

MELBOURNE

Jack Viney + Jordan Lewis = ‘Vlewis’

NATHAN Jones is a little stiff here, but Lewis’ influence on the Demons’ playing group — both on and off the field — since crossing over from Hawthorn has already been widely documented. Lewis links up with one of the game’s toughest young midfielders in Viney, who won his first club best and fairest last year. But with all due respect to the two men, the Dees’ dynamic duo could be ‘Olitracca’ within a couple of years.

NORTH MELBOURNE

Jack Ziebell + Ben Cunnington = ‘Ziebington’

FOR obvious reasons, it was safe to lead with Ziebell’s surname as the first syllable. If there was an award for the toughest and most fearless midfield combo in the league, these two would go close to taking it out. Big contested ball winners, there’ll be a little more pressure on Ziebell and Cunnington to perform this year in the absence of the veterans that were cut last year.

‘Olgray’. Picture: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

PORT ADELAIDE

Robbie Gray + Ollies Wines = ‘Olgray’

GET it? As in like the tea brand? Anyone? Perhaps a bit try-hard of us, but two class on-ballers nonetheless. Gray is clearly Port’s best player, but there’s a bit of heat on Wines to up the ante

this year, especially with so much pressure on coach Ken Hinkley.

RICHMOND

Dustin Martin + Dion Prestia = ‘Martestia’

A KIWI and an Italian walked into Punt Road ... sounds like the start of a joke. But for the Tigers, it’s the uniting of two of the most explosive on-ballers in the game this season — and hopefully beyond, with Martin edging closer to a new deal with Richmond. Apologies to Trent Cotchin, but hard to come up with anything creative combining him and Dusty.

ST KILDA

Jack Steven + Seb Ross = ‘Stevross’

THIS is more fun if you imagine your local greengrocer shouting out ‘Stevross’ at the weekly markets. Unlucky to miss out on All-Australian selection last year, Steven is already a star of the competition. Ross edges out David Armitage for second fiddle here, following the young gun’s career-best season in 2016.

SYDNEY SWANS

Josh Kennedy + Luke Parker = ‘Parkennedy’

THIS easily could’ve been ‘Parkbery’ or ‘Kennebery’ or, ideally, ‘Parkennebery’, if Dan Hannebery had been included. But Champion Data indicates that Parker and Kennedy are the Swans’ only ‘elite’ midfielders on the list, with Hannebery only considered ‘above average’. In Kennedy and Parker, the Swans have two of the best contested ball players in the game.

WEST COAST EAGLES

Matt Priddis + Sam Mitchell = Pritchell

BROWNLOW Medallist meets Brownlow Medallist. Like Dangerfield at Geelong and Treloar at Collingwood 12 months earlier, Eagles fans can’t wait to see Mitchell join Priddis in the Eagles’ on-ball brigade — and the early signs in last weekend’s JLT Community Series win over Fremantle were very promising. Pritchell will be crucial to West Coast’s flag chances this year, particularly with star ruckman Nic Naitanui sidelined for most of the year.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Marcus Bontempelli + Luke Dahlhaus = ‘Bonthaus’

THIS easily could’ve been ‘Liberelli’, but Dahlhaus’ career-best season in 2016 means he pips Tom Liberatore for the Dogs’ second fiddle. As for the lead violin, they don’t come much more exciting than Bontempelli, who is, remarkably, still only 21-years-old. Most importantly, both are game-changers and have the ability to hit the scoreboard.