(Murray Middleton is an award-winning short-story writer. He has followed Fitzroy and St Kilda throughout his life and has a 14% winning record as a supporter.)

Since 2007 Chris Judd has winced every time he has kicked a football. He has managed to reinvent himself from a dashing midfielder to a powerful extractor. This is no mean feat. Judd exemplifies the dedication, selflessness and professionalism which attest to a true champion. But what about the other end of the spectrum? What about those footballers who don't quite belong at the elite level; those who possess an abundance of talent and a morsel of application; those who exasperate coaches, supporters and teammates alike; those who make the brilliant appear ordinary, yet make the ordinary appear inexplicably difficult? The game has seen some great enigmas since the inception of a national competition.

Here are five of the best:

Mark Zanotti

Zanotti was the quintessential sporting journeyman. He plied his trade - and it was most certainly a trade - with West Coast, Brisbane and Fitzroy. Like his tousled mop of dark hair, Zanotti refused to be tamed. He began his career in an era of dour full backs, such as Danny Frawley, Mick Martyn and Chris Langford, whose prerogative was to limit the effectiveness of the opposition's full forward. This proved a little boring for Zanotti, whose attention span was comparable to that of Rene Higuita, the audacious Columbian goalkeeper. Zanotti could regularly be seen embarking on bouncing runs through the centre of the ground, seemingly oblivious to the consequences of his daring manoeuvres. It was like watching a drunken adolescent speed past a stop sign at a busy intersection. Yet, in a sense, Zanotti was a trailblazer. He attempted to play a counter-punching style which has since been appropriated (and refined) by Geelong's Matthew Scarlett. Perhaps Scarlett's wild mane was a thinly-veiled homage to Zanotti? Following his stint with Fitzroy, Zanotti moved to the United Kingdom, where he was one of the founders of the Putney Magpies.

Clive Waterhouse

Waterhouse (pictured, above) was drafted by the Fremantle Dockers with the first selection in the 1995 national draft, following a standout season with Port Adelaide in the SANFL. Despite being a gifted athlete, he failed to have an immediate impact at AFL level. Waterhouse wasn't particularly fond of tackling, shepherding or smothering. However he soon developed a cult following in the West due to his blonde mullet and his dangerously high leaping. His best season came in 1999 whilst playing predominantly as a mid-range forward. He and Tony Modra combined to kick over 100 goals. His most notable performance came in the ‘Demolition Derby' in round 21, 2000. Waterhouse bagged seven goals and the Dockers won by one point. In the following seasons he was plagued by injuries. He retired in 2004, having played 106 games and kicked 178 goals. One suspects that Dennis Cometti still awakens his neighbours in the middle of the night with bellows of ‘Cliiiiive!'

Damian Cupido

Cupido was the first South-African-born person to play in the AFL. He was selected by the Brisbane Lions with the sixth pick in the 1999 national draft. Despite making an eye-catching debut, he was traded to Essendon after playing just 13 games in three seasons. The Bombers held high hopes for Cupido. He was quick, evasive, possessed clean hands and a deadly left foot. A lack of endurance meant that he was confined to playing in the forward line. His best season came in 2003 when he kicked 36 goals, including five superb goals in the ANZAC day clash. After the match Kevin Sheedy and Peter Jackson hugged him and famously remarked, ‘Welcome to Essendon!' Cupido's 2004 season was ruined by a knee injury. In 2005 he was dropped to the Bendigo Bombers' reserves. He was delisted at the end of the season. Neither Leigh Matthews nor Kevin Sheedy - two of the game's most revered coaches - managed to harvest Cupido's talent. When quizzed about Cupido, Sheedy once remarked, ‘He has wasted Brisbane's time and he has wasted Essendon's time and he will waste his own time now.'

Fraser Gehrig

The ‘G-Train' was one of the most contradictory figures in AFL history. His seemingly laconic style belied the fact that he was a ferocious competitor. He once felled umpire Bryan Sheehan with a hook which had been intended for Nathan Brown. Gehrig could bench press 162 kilograms, yet he was quicker than Peter Matera over 40 metres. Early in his career, whilst playing for Perth in the WAFL, his coach devised a tactic to exploit Gehrig's athleticism. The rest of the team would flood to one side of the ground whenever he shaped to take a kick-in. Gehrig would then play on, sidestep the man on the mark, sprint along the vacant wing and take a shot for goal. Gehrig was an All Australian in 1997 (while playing for the Eagles) and in 2004. He won the Coleman Medal twice, kicking 103 goals in 2004. He was an old-school full forward; the last of the Mohicans. Gehrig struggled to adapt to Ross Lyon's regime, which called for greater accountability from his forwards. He retired at the end of 2007, travelled overseas, grew a dense beard, reneged, returned to the Saints, played appallingly and retired once more.

Allen Jakovich

Jakovich had stints with South Fremantle, Port Headland, Kalgoorlie, Darwin and Woodsville before being drafted by Melbourne in 1990. He was banned from kicking the football during his time with South Fremantle, in a bid to instil a team ethos into him. It didn't work. Jakovich was one of the most gifted forwards of the 1990's. It took him only nine games to kick his first 50 goals - the fastest in league history - including a bag of 11.8 against North Melbourne. His famous ‘scissor' goal against the Kangaroos was the greatest pieces of improvisation since Wayne Harmes. Jakovich was a mercurial player who, at his best, could single-handedly destroy the opposition. He once planted a wet kiss on the cheek of his younger brother, Glen, after dobbing a long goal against the Eagles at the MCG. Jakovich was delisted by Melbourne at the end of 1994 because of a persistent hamstring injury. He was drafted by Footscray one year later, but only managed seven games. He finished with 208 goals from 54 games at an average of 3.85 per game. After retiring, Jakovich worked in the mines in Western Australia before starting his own fishing charter company in coastal New South Wales.