In another time these athletes would have been the best of their generation We take a look at the sports stars that never quite reached the top of the tree due to a case of bad luck and poor timing. Australia bowler Stuart MacGill. HAVE you ever given it your best shot only to fall agonisingly short? Well spare a thought for this lot of bridesmaids. STUART MACGILL A top-class leg spinner and match winner - something Australia is desperately missing now - Macgill had a Test bowling average of 29.02 and took 208 wickets, but was limited to 44 Tests for Australia because of Shane Warne. Had it not been for the Sheik of Tweak, Macgill most likely would have played more than 100 Tests and easily doubled his wicket haul. (L-R) Daniel Kowalski and Glen Housman. GLEN HOUSMAN AND DANIEL KOWALSKI If it weren't for a fella called Kieren Perkins, this pair would have added a swag more gold to their career medal hauls. While Housman can claim one major victory over Perkins - relegating him to the silver medal at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, Perkins denied him Olympic gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Kowalski fared even worse in the shadow of Perkins, finishing with the silver medal at five major meets - the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 1994 Rome World Championships, 1994 Commonwealth Games and two Pan-Pacific Championships (1993, 1995). Robbie Farah. ROBBIE FARAH A superstar in his own right, the Wests Tigers" hooker should have more representative caps to his name. First he was stuck behind Newcastle great Danny Buderus for the NSW Origin jumper. When the Knights" rake took his career to England, Canterbury's Michael Ennis was installed as the Blues" preferred No.9. Now he's won that jersey - courtesy of a record 63 tackles (without missing one) against Queensland in 2012 - Farah's ambition to wear the green and gold of the Kangaroos has been halted by Melbourne and Queensland hooker Cameron Smith, arguably the greatest player in that position of all time. Zeljko Kalac (L) watches Socceroos stalwart Mark Schwarzer during training. ZELJKO KALAC The man known as Spider - because he stands 2.1m tall and has a massive wingspan - racked up an enviable 54 appearances for the Socceroos during his career. But rarely was Kalac considered Australia's No.1 shot stopper, as he emerged in an era where Mark Bosnich and later Mark Schwarzer held the mantle as the Socceroos" last line of defence. Buffering (top blue silks) pipped at the post again. Picture: Michael Dodge Source: DailyTelegraph BUFFERING Racing's unluckiest racehorse, which seems funny to say about a galloper who has won 12 of his 34 races and $2.5 million in prizemoney. But the Brisbane sprinter has raced in 16 Group 1 races, and lost them all. He's run a place in nine of those and, tragically for owners, the difference between running a place and winning is about $2 million. He gets his chance to make it 17 Group 1s without victory in Friday night's Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley. Michael Jordan (L) holds up his MVP trophy following the 1998 NBA championship series. ANYONE PLAYING AGAINST MICHAEL JORDAN The Chicago Bulls guard won six NBA titles, six finals MVP awards, five MVP awards, 10 scoring titles and two slam dunk championships among his many achievements. Widely regarded as the greatest basketballer in history, MJ ensured some of the NBA's best players finished their careers without winning a championship. Hall of famers Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins and Reggie Miller all went without earning an NBA ring while Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler won titles with Houston during Jordan's two-year hiatus as he tried his hand at a baseball career. Then NSW Captain Chris Whittaker walks up the race. CHRIS WHITTAKER The talented rugby scrumhalf amassed 118 caps playing for the NSW Waratahs during a decade-long Super Rugby career. But he only managed 31 Wallabies caps, spending more time on the bench than Judge Judy. In another time, Whittaker would have been first-choice No.9 for the Wallabies, instead a guy by the name of George Gregan went on to win 139 caps and captain his country. Phil Emery. Picture: Brett Faulkner Source: DailyTelegraph PHIL EMERY The gifted wicketkeeper lived in the shadow of the great Ian Healy. Emery played just one Test match and took five catches and registered a stumping. It was so tough for a keeper to break into the Australian team during the 1990s-2000s that Emery is one of just three glovemen - Healy and Adam Gilchrist are the others - to keep wicket in an Australian Test team to Shane Warne (1992-2007) and Glen McGrath (1993-2007). Scott Prince. Picture: England Darren Source: DailyTelegraph SCOTT PRINCE While NSW fans still rue the impact of Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston, Queenslander Prince is entitled to feel the same. The classy halfback, who retired this year after making 300 first-grade appearances, had his representative career restricted by two greats of the game. Prince made just five appearances for the Maroons during his career - and two of those were as an injury replacement for Lockyer. Although he won the 2005 NRL premiership with the Wests Tigers and four caps for Australia, it's a case of what might have been for the kid from Mount Isa. Hay List (R) takes up his customary spot behind Black Caviar. HAY LIST The barrel-chested sprinter has won three Group 1 races in his career, but that tally could be seven after finishing second to the mighty Black Caviar on four occasions at the top level. Hay List failed to beat the mighty mare home all six times they met. Although he's won $2.6 million in prizemoney, you can only wonder how much more that would have been without the greatest sprinter in history.