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We’re into Day 3 of The Roar’s AFL Top 50, and we’ve already seen much debate and disagreement.
Without any further ado, let’s get into today’s players.
The Roar’s Top 50 AFL players series:
» Part 1 – 1-10
» Part 2 – 11-20
21. Taylor Walker (Adelaide)
Big ‘Tex’ is everything that we should celebrate in the game, but rarely see anymore.
On the field, he’s the perfect key forward. Big and strong, mobile and athletic, blessed with sure hands and great decision-making, a beautiful set shot, a penetrating long kick off either side, but with a lovely short pass too. He covers the ground to play the lead-up role, but is equally at home one-on-one in the square.
Off the field, Walker is a character in a game sorely lacking them. Laid-back, funny, straight-talking, and believes in a beer after the match the way we do at a local level.
Among the five voters, he was ranked as high as 13, and as low as 50.
22. Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
Jarryd Roughead is the Hawk everyman, and there would be few who’d argue with his position around this mark on the list. In fact, based on the comments we’ve seen in this series so far, most would have him higher.
The other four voters had him ranked between 15 and 25, but I couldn’t find room for him in my top 50. Why? Because he’s overrated.
Much has been made about Roughead’s versatility, spending time roaming across the ground as an on-baller and starting in centre square bounces. But he’s a below-average midfielder, so that actually diminishes his impact.
Champion Data ranking points aren’t everything, but the biggest differential at Hawthorn between wins and losses is Roughead. How to read that stat? That he’s a downhill skier who goes missing when the heat is on? Some would say it highlights his importance. I’m suggesting the opposite.
That said, it’s completely understandable why he is ranked here on our list – apart from his obvious strengths, his agility and nimbleness at ground level set him apart. A defender may be able to spoil, but that’s only half the battle. How often do we see Roughead pounce on the ball, evade smaller tacklers to find space, and finish off his work with a beautiful snap?
Let’s face it, you don’t play as a key position forward in four premierships if you can’t play! Hawthorn will cover his injury okay this year, but he’ll be missed.
23. Callan Ward (GWS)
Callan Ward had a high ranking of 19 from our voters, and a low of 40, so he takes his place on this list as an A-grade player within the game, and not too far off A+ either.
As I wrote in the GWS preview on Monday, Ward plays the game the way we’d all like to. Harder than titanium (his nickname of cement-head is not for nothing), it’s not that he puts his head over the ball with no fear, it’s that he knows there is a reason to be fearful and does it anyway.
He is a two-way player, tackling with ferocity, using the ball well. His importance to the Giants is underlined looking at his stats – first at the club for contested possessions, clearances, tackles, inside 50s and Brownlow votes.
24. Travis Boak (Port)
I copped a bit of stick in my Port preview for calling Travis Boak a very good player, but not a great one. Most of our voters had him rating in the 20s, but it seems Josh Elliott agrees with me, as he didn’t even have Boak in his top 50, which even I admit is a bit harsh.
Boak does have great qualities though, not least of which is being able to lift at key moments right when his side needs it most, a sign of true leadership. Like many players on this list, he is a tough inside player, and his disposal is mostly effective, but you would never call him silky.
You know what you’re going to get with Boak, and what you’re going to get is very good.
25. Jake Stringer (Western Bulldogs)
Jake Stringer arrives on this list with a bullet, and there wouldn’t be many who’d be surprised if he was in the top 10 next season.
Nicknamed ‘The Package’ by the excitable Brian Taylor, he really does seem to have it all. Listed at 192 centimetres and 91 kilograms, he has vice-like hands, is a superb judge of flight but can wreak havoc on the ground, and is a beautiful kick.
He can play both taller and smaller than his height, but is light of foot, belying his weight, while also being powerful and explosive. Anything else? Oh yes, he’s a natural footballer, with innate footy sense.
The Jake Stringer story is just starting. No one should put a limit on where it will end.
26. Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
Rory Sloane will have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders in 2016 with the departure of Patrick Dangerfield, but he won’t shirk the issue, and will likely thrive and improve his standing in the game.
Similar to Callan Ward above, he is a great mix of hardness and skill, forever putting himself in harm’s way to win the ball, but also seen running the wings and having a bounce, taking the game on.
Sloane was ranked as high as 17 by Ryan, but TomC couldn’t find any room for him in the best 50 players in the game. His overall ranking has slipped from last season, where he was placed at 20.
27. Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)
Cyril is always hard to place on these kind of lists, given that he can go in and out of games, but he can also turn a match with a five-minute burst or a deft touch here and a tackle there.
Ryan was the biggest fan of our voters, placing him at 14, while Josh has no time for the silky and electrifying Hawk forward, refusing to entertain him for a top 50 spot on his own list.
The beauty of Rioli is that he is not just about the razzle and dazzle, ranked third at Hawthorn for tackles and contested possession differential. But what about those skills? That movement? Those reflexes? His ability to turn nothing into something? He makes the difficult look sublime.
There really is only one word, and Bruce McAvaney nailed it all those years ago. Delicious.
28. Eddie Betts (Adelaide)
Eddie is the second consecutive magician on the list, and he makes his debut in The Roar Top 50 after everyone involved voted him in. Josh may not have much respect for Cyril, but he can’t get enough of Eddie, ranking him at 15.
Betts has been never less than captivating in his time at Adelaide, and there’s no question that he’s taken his game to new levels since his arrival. The Adelaide Oval atmosphere has clearly brought out the best in him, and what a sight it is to see when he’s hot.
Eddie’s hands on the lead and on-on-one marking ability should never be forgotten among the marvelling at his freakish snaps. Let’s hope we see more of it all this season.
29. Brett Deledio (Richmond)
Much has been made of the importance of a fit Brett Deledio to the Tigers, and his ranking on this list is no accident.
As Jay and I discussed in our Richmond podcast, he is basically the perfect specimen of an AFL footballer. Quick on the lead and running across the ground, he has sure hands and sublime foot skills, regularly bombing goals from 50 metres on either foot.
He is one of few in the competition who can be elite in all three areas of the ground if playing there, being suited to any number of positions. He’ll possibly be a 350-game player when done.
30. Nic Naitanui (West Coast)
Nic Nat always inspires raging debate in these type of discussions, about where his true value lies and how to quantify it. There was a real spread among our voters – I had him at 18, but TomC couldn’t fit him in. Others had him in the 20s and 30s.
Ruckmen are slightly overrated, and it takes something special to stand out and be of real importance. Naitanui ticks this box.
There is no more devastating tap ruckman in the game. His ability to hang in the air, negate the opposition and then place the ball into the path of a teammate is unrivalled. His follow-up work with the ball on the ground is unmatched.
Yes, he needs to take more marks, but the rest of his game more than makes up for it. He is, quite simply, a gun.
So now we have our top 30. Is there anyone we’re yet to mention that has staggered you? Any players we’ve included you think are vastly overrated? Let us know in the comments. I’m sure I’ll get whacked for Roughead.
Be sure to join us again tomorrow where Josh Elliott will walk you through the next ten players on our list.
The Roar’s Top 50 AFL players so far:
1. Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)
2. Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
3. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
4. Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong)
5. Lance Franklin (Sydney)
6. Robbie Gray (Port)
7. Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne)
8. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
9. Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
10. Alex Rance (Richmond)
11. Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
12. Josh Kennedy (West Coast)
13. Joel Selwood (Geelong)
14. Dan Hannebery (Sydney)
15. Chad Wingard (Port)
16. Matt Priddis (West Coast)
17. David Mundy (Fremantle)
18. Dayne Beams (Brisbane)
19. Dustin Martin (Richmond)
20. Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
21. Taylor Walker (Adelaide)
22. Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
23. Callan Ward (GWS)
24. Travis Boak (Port)
25. Jake Stringer (Western Bulldogs)
26. Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
27. Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)
28. Eddie Betts (Adelaide)
29. Brett Deledio (Richmond)
30. Nic Naitanui (West Coast)