Before we get into my bracket of the Roar Top 50, I just wanted to say I’m a huge fan of what this column, and the discussion it’s creating, represents.
Almost every other published top 50 comes from ex-players or full-time footy journos. They reflect hidden agendas, nostalgia for the way the game used to be played, and the complex, intricate web of how relationships and politics purvey the AFL.
Ours is a list of the people – well, five people – and is shaped in the context of people who like their footy just a little bit too much. So, thanks to The Roar’s AFL Godfather Cam Rose for bringing this together, and to our fearless editors for making it happen.
The Roar‘s top 50 players – 1-10
The Roar‘s top 50 players – 11-20
Without further ado…
21. Bryce Gibbs (Carlton)
I had him at 14, so I can live with at 21st on the list.
Here’s a fun fact: Gibbs has played 177 of a possible 180 games for the Blues since being taken as the overall number one pick in the 2006 draft.
Maligned to this point in his career, Gibbs is just about to enter his prime. A move to a more traditional centre position last year paid off, with Gibbs lifting his contested possessions to 10.7 a game while maintaining his outside presence.
Will he be around when the Blues are next contending?
22. Ryan Griffen (GWS)
Don’t I already look like a moron. I had him at 45th, mostly for karmic reasons after taking the coward’s way out of the Bulldogs, and being a lead contributor to the downfall of one of my favourite AFL figures.
He seems set to add to GWS’ relatively bare stable of geldings among a midfield full of young stallions. Still I’d like to think the footy Gods will intervene and bring the Cup to Footscray before Parramatta.
To me 22 is slightly overs, but let’s see how 2015 goes.
23. Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
Gee you’d think these midfielders were important or something. Cotchin is the glue that holds the Richmond midfield together, and shoulders arguably the biggest fan-base burden now that the Tigers are up and about.
The 24-year-old, now in his eighth season in the league, has become one of the more consistent players in the league, averaging more than 25 disposals a game for the past three years. At his peak in 2012 – when runner up in the Brownlow – he kicked almost a goal a game.
Getting back to that level would see him join the elite at the top of the list (for what it’s worth, I had him 15th).
24. Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
So this one is controversial, for mine. Cam and I had him out of the top 50, but the others had him 15th, 16th and 21st. It’s easy to see why: the bloke is a hit out machine, and has taken on a very important offensive anchoring role as a resting ruckman.
But the ruckman role is changing, and Sandilands represents more of the old rather than the new.
I prefer Mumford, who crashes contests like Godzilla (third in tackles at GWS last year), and Ryder who is much more flexible and effective in attack (I can’t wait to see how he figures in Port’s offensive schemes). I reckon if Gold Coast wanted to trade one of their up-and-comers, Fremantle would be all over it.
25. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Don’t kill me, Saints fans! I didn’t put Riewoldt in my top 50, but his ratings from three other Roarers meant he’s ended up in the middle.
The guy is a marking machine, averaging almost nine per game over his career, the second most of all time behind some mug named Gary Dempsey.
The biggest knock has always been his goal kicking – and unfortunately for mine there’s not much use being really good at loading a gun if you can’t shoot it. His longevity and stature earns some points, as will passing the 300 game milestone this season.
26. Kieren Jack (Sydney)
Hasn’t this bloke’s rise been meteoric?
Another one of the Paul Roos’ unpolished diamonds, Jack was taken in the ’05 rookie draft and slogged away for three years before making it into the full-time side.
Every time he comes on the telly we’re reminded he’s got a ‘rugby league background’ despite not playing the game for almost 15 years (apparently).
Jack started out as a tagger, but has become one of the game’s premier inside midfielders/rovers – and is now co-captain of a perennial contender. Sits just right in the AFL pecking order, for me.
27. Dustin Martin (Richmond)
Martin is a top 10 player. That’s what my list says, anyway. This is a 2015 list by the way, not a 2012 list or a career achievement list.
I reckon Dustin Martin is on the cusp of the AFL’s elite, right now. His preseason form is sketchy at the best of times, but his performance against Port Adelaide a couple of weeks back was noticeable – to steal a line from a baseball movie.
Seven clearances on 27 possessions, with a very typically skewed kick-to-handball ratio, should be a baseline performance for number four this season. He’s primed to monster the AFL, just watch.
28. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
How many 37-year-olds are still the best and most reliable options through the middle in their AFL side? As far as I can tell, there’s one: Brent Harvey.
You could twist that as something of an indictment on the North hierarchy, but I’d like to think it’s because Harvey is one of the greats – reinforced by the fact that all five experts in this list had him in their top 50, one of only 17.
Harvey is a career 20/1 midfielder (20 disposals and one goal per game), still wins games off his own boot and is still the first tagged. He’ll deservedly become either third or fourth player to reach 400 games this season.
29. Steve Johnson (Geelong)
The mercurial Cat had a widely divergent distribution of opinion: 11th, 29th, 39th, 43rd and a DNQ from the selection panel.
I had him 39th, and again I think this may be a case of career achievement versus value right now. At the peak of his powers, Johnson was the best half forward in the game, capable of quarters and whole matches of absolute brilliance.
But in more recent times he’s lost some of his trademark agility, and now relies on clever kicking to keep up. I think he should move back to the forward line – as his teammate J…Bartel, three votes, did a couple of years back – to have more of an impact.
I’d love to see him get back to 2+ goals per game, as he did over Geelong’s premiership run (2.3 between 2006 and 2011, versus 1.0 since).
30. Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Rounding out my contribution is Sam Mitchell at number 30.
His was an underrated performance in the grand final, overshadowed by Luke Hodge’s perfect game. Another player that is still contributing manfully past his absolute – and very high – peak, Mitchell averaged 28 possessions per game in 2014 playing through the centre and off half back.
He’s never been a goal kicker, but when your team is so full of offensive talent, who cares?
In his purple patch (2011 and 2012) Mitchell was dual runner up in the Brownlow and averaged almost 30 possessions and five tackles a game. Still a super handy player, and will be crucial to Hawthorn’s looming three-peat.
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. Kieren Jack (Sydney)
27. Dustin Martin (Richmond)
28. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
29. Steve Johnson (Geelong)
30. Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Jack
Roar Pro
Pretty much what Macca said. He's often hitting the wings and half back line with his leads as a gut running CHF, the other forwards on the list spend a lot more time closer to goal. Personally if I were to pick two tall forwards Riewoldt would be one of them, with a Hawkins/Roughead/Franklin playing more inside the 50.
Macca
Guest
Ryan - CHF's often don't kick a lot of goals (compared to Marks) Dermott Brereton kicked 285 goals in 121 games but took 691 marks (only twice kicking more than 50 goals in a season) while Stewart loewe had 588 goals from 313 games but 2,482 marks - and these would be 2 of the best CHF's of all time. Riewoldt with 619 goals from 281 games and 2432 marks sits pretty comfortably amongst those 2. Also in 2014 only 10 players kicked more goals than Riewoldt (with Petrie and Breust having played 3 more games to get their 1 and 7 goals more) and no one took more marks - and that is in a side that won 4 games for the year and only 1 after round 5 and was the second lowest scoring side for the year (almost 1,000 points behind Hawthorn or 167 goals) - I'm not really sure that not kicking enough goals is a reason to mark him down.
Ryan Buckland
Expert
That's true, Jack, but its more a question of volume than accuracy when it comes to Riewoldt. He takes a heap of marks, but doesn't kick a heap of goals. That's what marks him down for mine, when it comes to who are the best players in the competition right now. Of the players in the AFL at the moment, he'd be well and truly up there in terms of career achievement; but I approached my list as if I was picking a side to play on Thursday, and I'd have three or four other KPFs ahead of him. Thanks for pushing me over 100 comments, by the way!
Jack
Roar Pro
Nick Riewoldt has kicked 146 goals and 88 behinds in the last 3 seasons. That's going at a 62.4% success rate, and he goes at 60.5% over his career. Lance Franklin on the other hand has gone at a 58% goal kicking rate over his whole career. Jarryd Roughead at 61% over his career. Hawkins at 64%. I think you seem to read to much into what the media has said about his kicking in the past, and his recent kicking has been up there with the best, he kicked at 70% this year. His kicking is better then Franklins, about 1% behind Roughie's and not far behind Hawkins, just for reference, I don't think his kicking is as bad as you think it is.
Macca
Guest
Radelaide - in 2009 the Blues finished 7th, in 2010 8th, 2011 5th, 2012 10th, 2013 8th and 2014 13th - that just 2 years in the last 6th they have missed the finals and in none of those years have they finished bottom 4.
Josh
Expert
You seem pretty set on this one Tom and so, each to their own. A few points I would make to you though - Harvey has the seventh most total Brownlow votes of any player - ever. If he gets two more in his career he will be 6th. If he gets 20 more he will overtake Leigh Matthews and become the player with the most votes of all time to have not won the medal (assuming he doesn't win the medal in the process of getting those 20 votes!). Brownlow votes aren't everything but I think this does some damage to your notion that Harvey was never at a high level/isn't still at a high level, especially when you consider that his votes per game rate in 2014 was the highest it's been since 2008. Pointing out a lack of contested or defensive game to be honest, I find a bit odd. It's like saying Lance Franklin isn't a very good full back, or Luke Breust is not very good in the ruck. No player is the complete package, but that's why we have a team of them. Saying his offensive game doesn't make up for other areas is a bit difficult to back up from either side of the argument depending on how much weight you want to give statistics. You might find some interest in this article - http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/stats-special-why-brent-harvey-is-the-most-dangerous-player-in-the-afl-when-he-gets-the-footy-in-the-forward-half/story-fni5f986-1226993380622 All in all, I disagree with you that Boomer is one of the overrated players of the competition - if anything, he's underrated. But, to each their own. From today's piece alone, I would say he is better than Gibbs, Griffen, Cotchin or Jack.
Josh
Expert
I'm a North fan so safe to say I'm a little biased but I don't believe he gets anywhere near the credit he deserves - too many simply write him off as "that old bloke". I don't personally put a huge amount of stock in them, but Champion Data's 'player ratings' rank him as the no. 6 player in the AFL, which if nothing else shows that he does a lot that is of value to the team. North - and by extension Harvey - don't get as much time in the spotlight as other sides do. I think he'd be in most people's top 10, or close at least, if he played at a side like Hawthorn or Richmond and got the media attention those teams do. He's the most damaging player in our team and would be the most damaging player in most teams - personally, he's my favourite player of all and my heart skips a beat every time he gathers loose ball near goal.
Radelaide
Guest
By virtue of playing at bottom teams their whole career, guys like Gibbs and Griffen spend each season playing weaker teams more often than the stronger ones and therefore inflates their overall statistics.
Don Freo
Guest
Colin Sylvia could win a Blues F and B.
Macca
Guest
Jrod - Gibbs did win the blues B&F. But I am not arguing that Gibsb was better than Mitchell in 2014 - just that the difference wasn't that great and given we are apparently talking about 2015 and Mitchell is 32 and Gibbs 26 the prospect that Gibbs will be better than Mitchell in 2015 isn't that far fetched.
Macca
Guest
1 final thing Don - for your version of events to be right it requires someone with at least enough intelligence to be able to find this webiste and use a keyboard to believe that in 261 games over 13 years Mitchell hasn't missed a target whilst in my version of events all it takes is for you to be pompous and egotistical enough to think that only you are intelligent enough to understand your posts. I know which I find more likely, but I'll leave it to others to judge for themselves.
Macca
Guest
Oh Don you are just too much. Face it mate, I threw out a lure and you bit hard "So you think Mitchell's disposal is weak?" - Hillarious!
Jrod
Guest
Mitchell on a heavy Hawthorn midfield rotation so those stats mislead.... Surely you can't say Bryce was anywhere near as influential or as good as Mitchell in 2014. Would have won our b+f if not injured
Jrod
Guest
Ryan he missed a norm smith by a whisker and won best finals player in the premiership team. So for 2015 he should be higher, surely
Don Freo
Guest
You missed it alright. The give away was the foul minded abuse.
Macca
Guest
Yeah Don, obviously I was being completely serious! The fact you missed the joke is why you are so much fun!!
AB
Guest
Yep, I'd have Mitchell somewhere between 10-15. The best midfielder in the team that has won the past two flags and is the rightful favourite for 2015. Without understating Lewis' outstanding season in 2014, Mitchell was miles ahead as favourite for Hawthorn's B&F, until he was injured. And he was best on ground in the first half of the Grand Final, which is when Hawthorn won the game. Can't help thinking that the reason he's so low here is that our esteemed judges are assuming his form will start to decline in 2015. He is 32, after all. But the trouble is he hasn't really shown any signs of decline yet. His most recent season was superb - he was, as always, very prominent on Brownlow night until his injury took him out of calculations. And his most recent game (rather a big one) was an absolute blinder, against one of the league's best midfields. A few years ago it became a cliche to say that Sam Mitchell was the most under-rated player in the AFL. Then it seemed he was finally getting the recognition he'd long deserved. He's not quite in the same class as Ablett, Fyfe or Selwood, but those three aside, he's at last the equal of any midfielder of the past decade. Sadly, it now seems that his lack of flashiness is causing some folks to underestimate him again. Big mistake. In an era where the word "champion" gets thrown around a bit too liberally for my liking, I reckon Mitchell is one of fewer than a dozen players going around who really deserves the tag.
Don Freo
Guest
Yes...poor old Macca doesn't understand rhetoric. It is all literal to him.
Macca
Guest
Davo, I was just having a bit of fun with old Don, he just loves stats so much.
Marez
Guest
Sam Mitchell is highly underrated coming in at 30. The success of the hawks since 2008 and particularly the last 3 years has a lot do with his influence In setting up the play. I rate him in the top 10 based on his influence in the fortunes of hype hawks.