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We’ve got an interesting mix of players today as we move into the penultimate stage of our Top 50.
Some of the best young players in the league are here, some of my absolute favourites, but so are three men who didn’t make the cut in my own personal rankings.
Perhaps I cling too tightly to my own philosophies on the game. Perhaps I’m right and everyone else is wrong. At any rate, I’m sure we’ll all enjoy debating it in the comments.
Without further ado, here are the players ranked 31-40 in The Roar’s top 50.
The Roar’s Top 50 AFL players series:
» Part 1 – 1-10
» Part 2 – 11-20
» Part 3 – 21-30
31. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane)
I have to start here by saying that Rockliff is one of my favourite players in the league, if not my most favourite, outside of my own team. There are some reasonable criticisms to be made of his game, but so much that’s good about it too.
Few players can win the ball like he does, or the in the amounts that he does. Of course, he’s not the most damaging user of the ball, but the team he retains possession of his disposals more often than not, and he’s good at working in tandem with the quality ball-users in his side, like Pearce Hanley.
The qualities that make Rockliff the elite player his is, however, are his competitiveness and fierce loyalty. There are a lot of players who just start going through the motions when the game is lost, but never Rockliff. His dedication to Brisbane, the club that gave him a chance in the pre-season draft after he was overlooked in the nation draft, is a rare sight in footy.
32. Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)
It’s a bit tricky trying to profile a bloke who, personally, I didn’t have in my top 50. Lewis is one of the players our group disagreed most on – TomC had him as high as 15th overall, myself and Cam omitted him entirely.
There’s no doubting that Lewis is a quality player. A prolific ball user with many elite traits, he’s been a key member of the Hawthorn four-flag era – though not as key in my book as Luke Hodge, or Sam Mitchell, or Grant Birchall, or some others.
For mine, Lewis’ kicking is just a bit too unreliable to crack into my own personal top 50, and he tackles a bit less often than I’d expect of a player of his ilk. All that being said, I can see why others have rated him more highly, and he’s a deserving member of our top 50.
33. Jeremy Cameron (GWS)
Who knows what’s going on here. Cam and Ryan, two of our esteemed judges, left Jeremy Cameron out of their rankings entirely. Me, I had him higher than anyone, ranked as the eleventh-best player in the competition.
The reason? He kicks goals, and lots of them. It’s actually kind of ridiculous how prolific this guy is. In just four years in the AFL, he has kicked 183 career goals, which is nothing short of stupendous. He was the first GWS player to make the All Australian team in the history of the club. The amount of potential improvement left in him when he comes into the peak years of his career is scary.
Some will no doubt argue that other areas of his game are a little lacking – he doesn’t see a huge amount of the ball, and he’s not a prolific tackler. All irrelevant for mine. When you’re this good at hitting the scoreboard, you don’t have to know anything else.
34. Luke Parker (Sydney)
I didn’t have Parker in my top 50, and in retrospect maybe that was a little harsh of me. Everyone else had him ranked around this point, and there’s no doubting the fact that he’s a high quality player, pushing the real elite of the league.
Simply put Parker has that really rare combination of being a prolific contested ball player who can also have a big impact on the scoreboard. Often the best ball-winners are slow and solid types, or the best goal-kickers rely on others to get the ball to them. The players who can do both are typically regarded as the best in the league.
His kicking however is a bit average, and I thought his form in 2015 was a little disappointing after an excellent season in 2014. While I didn’t have him in my own list, he probably should’ve been there, and is a fitting inclusion in our top 50.
35. Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
In the past Riewoldt has been one of the league’s most maligned players, and that’s kind of distracted from what an excellent player he is. A two-time Coleman Medallist, he has consistently kicked at least 50 goals every season for the last six years running.
What really won him applause in 2015 however was his improved team play. While not sacrificing much of his own scoreboard impact, he was able to become more of a set-up player for his teammates, a great thing to see given how often he has been critcised in the past for selfishness.
One of the few players who stood up in Richmond’s elimination final loss, you get the feeling 2015 could be the start of the best phase of Riewoldt’s career. He is without a doubt among the top handful of key position forwards in the game.
36. Josh Gibson (Hawthorn)
Gibson is another interesting case in our quest to determine our top 50. Ryan and Cam both omitted him from their lists entirely, the rest of us had him in the 20s and 30s. I feel he has come in at about the right place but the difference of opinion is interesting.
Of all the key position defenders in the league Gibson is arguably the best when it comes to attacking footy, a role he has flourished in over the last three years as the presence of Brian Lake and more recently James Frawley has given him that ability to run off his man and set up the play out of the backline.
When needed to, he also does an elite job of shutting down an opponent, which we may see a bit more of in 2016 following Lake’s retirement. A two-time best and fairest winner at the Hawks, both wins coming in premiership years, he’s an integral part of the best team in the league.
37. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
‘The Bont’ is the best young player in the league by a significant lead in my book – not necesarilly in terms of where his form is at right now, but where it’s going to be in the future. I’ve said it before and will happily say it again, at some point in his career, we will call this man the best player in the league.
If you were to melt down Scott Pendlebury and Nat Fyfe, mix them together and forge a player with the elite qualities of both, you would get Marcus Bontempelli. He’s got that combination of key position player size and midfielder ability that just screams ‘elite player’.
He’s already one of the league’s best, with excellent ability to win the ball and to set up the play with his extremely classy disposal. Give him a few more years to fill out his body and he is going to give opposition coaches nightmares, if he doesn’t already.
38. Dylan Shiel (GWS)
If Bontempelli has a challenger for the title of best young player in the game, it’s this man. Although he missed the finish of last year thanks to injury, he was in Brownlow and All Australian calculations early on.
He has everything you could want in an elite midfielder. The ability to win the ball, hardness at the contest, a love of tackling, an exquisite burst of speed, and dynamic disposal that sets up scoring opportunities. Cross Lenny Hayes with Chris Judd and you’d get Dylan Shiel.
He’s a serious chance to make the All Australian side this year, and my tip is that some day he will be the first GWS player to win the Brownlow Medal.
39. Andrew Gaff (West Coast)
Of the ten players I’m covering today Gaff is the third that I have to say did not make my own personal top 50. And, like the other two, I’m happy to admit that he’s a quality inclusion in the consensus list, even if he didn’t appear in mine.
In terms of outside midfielders, Gaff is one of the best in the league. He’s a metres-gained player, arguably the most important driver of the ball for the Eagles. He was deservedly All Australian last year, and won the Eagles’ best and fairest.
My criticism of him is his almost complete lack of contested ball ability. He rarely if ever wins his own ball and does little to nothing in the way of tackling. When he can play to his strengths he is elite, but he needs to develop a more rounded game for me to personally include him in my top 50.
40. Tom J Lynch (Gold Coast)
Who is the best young key position forward in the league? Is it Jeremy Cameron? Yes, probably. Or maybe it’s Jesse Hogan. But, you can make a solid argument that it might also be this man here.
Lynch flies under the radar a bit as he quietly plies his trade up on the Gold Coast, where the media have lately been too distracted by drugs and other scandals to pump up the tires of one of the best young talents in the league.
A regular goal kicker and prolific mark-taker, Lynch could have a career comparable to that of St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt. I don’t think it’ll be too long before he gets the widespread praise that a player of his quality deserves.
Join us tomorrow when TomC will take us through the final ten players in our top 50.
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)
31. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane)
32. Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)
33. Jeremy Cameron (GWS)
34. Luke Parker (Sydney)
35. Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
36. Josh Gibson (Hawthorn)
37. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
38. Dylan Shiel (GWS)
39. Andrew Gaff (West Coast)
40. Tom J Lynch (Gold Coast)