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Welcome back to another year of the prestigious Roar AFL top 50.
The finest AFL minds of our generation… weren’t available, so instead we stuck Ryan Buckland, Josh Elliott, Jay Croucher, Ken Sakata and myself in a room to thrash out a list.
Each came prepared with their own top 50, and you’ll get an insight into some of that detail during the commentary for each player.
There were some eyebrow-raising nominations, there were some ludicrous selections, there was the usual grandstanding and pontificating.
Jay and Ken haven’t spoken since, you’ll find out why later in the week.
We used to start at number one and run down, to be a little subversive, but I handed the reins to Ryan this year. The first thing he did was launch a 15-minute tirade about how my way was idiotic, and then spent the next five hours beguiling us with mathematical equations.
In the end, it was determined that starting at 50 and counting up was the way forward.
Everyone always wants to know who player 51 was, but I’m not going to tell you. I will say that he was one of two Dockers that finished in the 51-60 bracket, along with three Giants, a Hawk, a Lion, a Pie, a Cat and a Roo. Feel free to have a guess at who they might have been in the comments.
Okay, enough of my ridiculous preamble. Here we go.
50. Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney Giants)
Toby Greene dropped from averaging 23 disposals per game in 2015 to 21 per match in 2016, but more than made up for it in other areas, as he became the most damaging half-forward in the game.
Year on year he went from 15 goals to 44, 16 goal assists to 28, eight contested marks to 18, plus lifted his tackle count by 20 per cent and his inside 50 numbers by 55 per cent.
Always a natural ball-winner, with an innate ability to get off the chain, he has now become one of most offensive threats at the Giants – a team that is not short on them.
49. Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
Tom Liberatore is something of a surprise inclusion on this list, but no less a worthy one, given four of us didn’t have him in our respective top 50s, while Ken had him ranked at 14.
Libba vies with Marcus Bontempelli as the number one clearance and contested possession player at the premiership Bulldogs, with Mitch Wallis and Luke Dahlhaus not far behind them. Liberatore’s tackling is a weapon, much like his father before him, but he also hits the scoreboard and creates for others when resting forward – a facet of his game that is probably underrated, being widely perceived as purely an in-and-under specialist.
48. Dayne Zorko (Brisbane Lions)
Dayne Zorko deservedly breaks into our top 50 after a couple of stellar years carrying a high load in a struggling Lions outfit as a midfield forward.
A natural footballer with no obvious weakness, Zorko led the Lions in goals and goal assists in 2016, despite playing predominantly through the middle, and also averaged over 23 touches and six tackles a game. In fact, Zorko was required all over the ground, inside, outside, rebounding and driving forward with equal aplomb.
Whenever he has the ball in his hands, Brisbane fans can at least feel confident something good is going to follow.
47. Zach Merrett (Essendon Bombers)
Zach Merrett is another debutant in the Roar top 50, thanks in large part to myself ranking him at 21. Jay also gave Merrett some love, in the 40s, but we were the only two.
A clear number one at Essendon last year in disposals, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, clearances, tackles, goal assists and Brownlow votes, he was a shining beacon in a gloomy year.
One of the age-old questions in footy is whether it’s easier for a midfielder to dominate and look above himself in a struggling side, or is it harder because of the lack of support. Either way, Merrett is a gun, and will only get better from here.
46. Bryce Gibbs (Carlton Blues)
Bryce Gibbs is one of those players that appears overrated to half of the football public, and unfairly maligned to the other half. Rarely do you find someone who just seems to appreciate Gibbs for what he is – a bloody good footballer.
Gibbs is simply an excellent all-round midfielder – he can win his own football at the coalface, is polished on the outside, applies pressure and tackles well, and hits the scoreboard both directly and through assists. Adelaide chased him for a reason, and a premiership would be one step closer for the Crows if they got him.
45. Michael Hurley (Essendon Bombers)
The returning Bombers were hard to place, but three of us found room for Hurley in the mid-30s, and him being spat out at 45 feels about right for this All-Australian defender.
The best key defenders have always been game-breakers in their own right, due to their ability to win the ball and then use it damagingly. Hurley is one of those who can control games by out-reading and out-marking the best key forward from the opposition, complemented by his penetrative foot skills on either side. Hopefully he can return to his best in 2017.
44. Isaac Heeney (Sydney Swans)
Isaac Heeney arrives in our top 50 with a bullet, and it would be a brave footy fan to suggest he won’t be featuring in single digits before too long. Ryan and I had him in the 30s, while Josh was the only non-believer on the panel.
Heeney is a perfect combination of innate football talent, power, athleticism, hardness, grace and flair. Sydney had five All-Australians last year, and while Heeney may have been behind Josh Kennedy as the Swans’ player of the finals, he wasn’t behind many others.
If they’re looking to do another remake of an old TV show, they could do worse than I Dream of Heeney. If you’ve watched him play, I daresay you’ve dreamed of him too.
43. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda Saints)
What a marvel Saint Nick has been over almost two decades. It used to be that hard, gut, keep-going-till-you-throw-up running was the domain of midfielders like Robert Harvey, Shane Crawford and Ben Cousins. Riewoldt changed all that.
He was the first key forward to cover lots of territory, but no-one did it as hard, as often and as relentlessly as he. Entering his 17th season at AFL level, the original is still the best.
They say you’re only as good as your last game. Riewoldt is sitting pretty then, given his was a nine-goal, 26-possession, 21-mark game in Round 23 last year.
42. Rory Laird (Adelaide Crows)
Rory Laird finds himself in the top 50 thanks largely to Josh and Ken, who had him at 23 and 31 respectively, while I was able to just sneak him in at 50.
Composure, like Corey Enright before him, is Laird’s defining trait, and from that flows cool decision-making and pinpoint skill, under pressure or in traffic. Given almost all forward lines are high on pressure these days, the best half-backs must maintain equanimity.
Enright was the master half-back of this century, but Laird is the apprentice. Praise doesn’t come much higher than that for those in his position.
41. Jack Steven (St Kilda Saints)
Jack Steven had two big fans, with Josh and I putting him at 21 and 32 respectively, but the other members of our panel couldn’t find any room for St Kilda’s prime mover.
Steven has most things you want in a midfielder – number one at the Saints for contested possessions, clearances and tackles, so he wins his own footy and does the hard stuff; he has explosive speed away from stoppages, is a hard-running uncontested linkman, and also kicks goals and sets them up (he was number one at the Saints for goal assists).
That’s our first ten done and dusted. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow and each day this week, as we count up through the best players in the AFL.