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The Roar's top 50 AFL players: 31-40

Roar Guru
25th March, 2015
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Roar Guru
25th March, 2015
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We’ve knocked off the top 30 players in the league, and now it’s time for the more contentious lower order.

Everyone in the 31-40 positions was left out of the top 50 by at least one of our panel, so there’s plenty of room for disagreement here.

It’s also a varied group. Midfielders dominated the top 30 to a large extent, but there’s only two here. They’re complimented by three small forwards, three key defenders, one back flanker and one ruckman.

Sadly, there are two players we won’t get the pleasure of watching at all in 2015, as they’ve already been ruled out of the season with injury.

Without further ado…

31. Sam Jacobs (Adelaide)
Jacobs makes the list off the strength of a big 2014 season, where he could easily have been All-Australian in place of Aaron Sandilands.

He’s an old school bash and crash ruckman, who recorded 35 hit outs per game last year, but it’s his ability to link with his teammates and provide an option through the middle of the ground that sets him apart.

32. Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
Tom’s dad Tony was one of the great tough nuts in footy. Tom has inherited all of that toughness, along with a bit more polish and 20 extra centimetres. For the last two years he’s been one of the league’s best inside midfielders, and in 2014 won his club’s best and fairest award at just 22 years of age.

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Sadly, a knee injury will keep him out of the entire season, but surely his best footy is still ahead of him.

Michael Cowley was Liberatore’s biggest supporter on The Roar’s panel, judging him the AFL’s 23rd best player.

33. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
Burgoyne is a winner. Of his 269 AFL games, he’s played 184 of them in winning teams, and picked up three premierships along the way. The Hawks have used him mainly as a rebounding defender, where his poise and efficient ball use have been major assets as well as his strength and defensive smarts.

Ryan Buckland is a big fan, ranking him at 12th.

The footy is back! Well, pre-season, but it's still better than cooking shows. (Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Media) Shaun Burgoyne for the Hawks (Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Media)

34. Hayden Ballantyne (Fremantle)
There’s an old cliché about players that everyone hates but would love to have on their team. Ballantyne pretty much embodies that. He is known for getting under opponents’ skin with extreme antagonism, not just through his fierce defensive pressure but his on-field *ahem* conversations.

But Ballantyne is also a skilful and dangerous forward whose potency reached a new level in 2014 with 49 goals at 2.4 per game, a better average than any other small forward in the league.

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35. Callan Ward (GWS)
Ward came to GWS at the age of 21, still a baby in footballing terms, but surrounded by raw draftees he had to quickly adapt to leadership, which he has done remarkably well.

One of the most complete players in the game, he can find his own footy, apply defensive pressure, break away from packs with acceleration and hit teammates in the forward-line with his penetrating disposal.

He has been the right man at the right time for the Giants and his performances have only improved as the team has. He finished 11th in last year’s Brownlow and expect him to improve on that in the future.

Cam Rose had him almost as high as the umpires, listing him as the 12th best player in the league.

36. Alex Rance (Richmond)
Rance is everything you want in a modern defender. Tall, mobile and physically imposing, he won a spot in the 2014 All-Australian team by repeatedly shutting down the opponent’s best forward, stopping opposition attacks with intercept marks, and peeling off to help his teammates rebound from the backline.

His return to the team after an early injury was one of the catalysts for Richmond’s turnaround in the second half of last season.

Adam Goodes of the Swans is spoiled by Alex Rance of the Tigers Adam Goodes of the Swans is spoiled by Alex Rance of the Tigers (Photo: Craig Golding/AFL Media)

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37. Eric MacKenzie (West Coast)
Mackenzie has always been a solid citizen in the Eagles’ backline, supporting the likes of Darren Glass, but over the past three years his game found a new level of consistency as he’s taken over the number one key defender role. It’s clear how highly he’s regarded at the Eagles by his strong showing in the John Worsfold medal, finishing second in 2013 and first in 2014.

West Coast have a proud tradition of producing some of the best key defenders in the game and Mackenzie is a strong addition to that legacy.

38. Luke Breust (Hawthorn)
Breust is a key member of the league’s most formidable forward-line. He backed up 40 goal seasons in 2012 and 2013 with a stellar 57 goals in Hawthorn’s 2014 premiership campaign. He has become a remarkably consistent and efficient goal scorer, who can also help out in the midfield. He was named in the All-Australian team for the first time last year.

I had Breust fully ten spots higher than this, but not as high as Sarah Olle, who had him as the 15th best player in the league.

39. Harry Taylor (Geelong)
The two-time All Australian centre half back probably didn’t have the best season in 2014 by his own high standards, but is still undoubtedly one of the league’s finest backmen.

Taylor is quite possibly the most versatile defender in the league, able to shut down tall forwards, small forwards, play loose and cut off opposition attacks, and even drift down the ground and kick goals.

Harry Taylor of the Cats is poked in the eye by Shaun McKernan of the Crows Harry cops a poke in the eye. (Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Media)

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40. Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide)
Wingard exploded in Port’s 2013 renaissance season as a small forward and attacking midfielder, kicking 43 goals and winning the John Cahill Medal in just his third year in the AFL.

Perhaps most impressive has been has ability to step up in big games – no one will ever forget the five goals he kicked in the last Showdown at Footy Park, including the match-winner.

While his influence wasn’t as great in 2014, he is still able to turn games and perform on big occasions, such as a four goal haul in the semi-final at Subiaco.

As good as Wingard is, I didn’t have in my top 50. But I’d be hard-pressed to argue he doesn’t belong in this company.

So that’s the penultimate leg of The Roar’s top 50. Tomorrow Sarah Olle will bring us home with the Roaring Forties. With only ten spots to go, there’s bound to be some disappointment among fans who think one of their clubs players should have been a lock…

The Roar’s Top 50 (so far…)
1. Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
2. Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)
3. Lance Franklin (Sydney)
4. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
5. Joel Selwood (Geelong)
6. Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
7. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
8. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
9. Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
10. Dyson Heppell (Essendon)
11. Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
12. Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
13. Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
14. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane)
15. Matt Priddis (West Coast)
16. Jobe Watson (Essendon)
17. Luke Parker (Sydney)
18. Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)
19. Dayne Beams (Brisbane)
20. Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
21. Bryce Gibbs (Carlton)
22. Ryan Griffen (GWS)
23. Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
24. Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
25. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
26. Kieran Jack (Sydney)
27. Dustin Martin (Richmond)
28. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
29. Steve Johnson (Geelong)
30. Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
31. Sam Jacobs (Adelaide)
32. Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
33. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
34. Hayden Ballantyne (Fremantle)
35. Callan Ward (GWS)
36. Alex Rance (Richmond)
37. Eric Mackenzie (WC)
38. Luke Breust (Haw)
39. Harry Taylor (Geel)
40. Chad Wingard (Port)

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