The Roar's Top 50 AFL players: 41-50

The top 40 is all well and good if you’re into that sort of thing, but everyone knows that it’s those crucial selections between 41 and 50 that really make or break the list.

Based on what our Roar commenters have been saying over the last four days, we need to fit a lot of players into the final ten to satisfy everyone.

I’m afraid if your favourite player wasn’t selected so far, and isn’t below, it means all five of us believe that player to be terrible. Don’t hold back in telling us what dunces we are.

The Roar’s Top 50 AFL players series:
» Part 1 – 1-10
» Part 2 – 11-20
» Part 3 – 21-30
» Part 4 – 31-40

The final ten has turned out of be something of a retirement home, with five players aged 32 or over. It includes two key forwards, two rebounding backs, three small forwards (albeit two of whom play in the middle as well), two on-ballers and a key defender.

So here we go…

41. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
When Brent Harvey played the first of his 409 games, Fitzroy were still an AFL team, and many of his current teammates hadn’t been born yet. He’s done it all in his long career, winning five best and fairests, a four-time All-Australian, captaining the Roos for three seasons, and winning a premiership in 1999.

A skilled, elusive forward flanker, Boomer is an inspirational figure at North Melbourne. In 2015 he finished fourth in the Syd Barker medal, and he’s right on track to break Michael Tuck’s all-time games record this season.

His selection in the top 50 surely owes as much to his longevity and past success as it does to his current output. Harvey is something of an anachronism in today’s game, playing an almost entirely outside role, and not doing the same amount of defensive running expected of most modern on-ballers.

Harvey was selected in two of the panel’s top 50s, with Josh, our resident Kangaroo man, having him highest at number 21.

42. Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
Hawkins is one of several entries in this year’s top 50 who didn’t have their best season in 2015. In fact, he fell to this position from 13th in last year’s rankings.

Nevertheless, there’s no doubting the big forward’s capacity to straighten up the Cats, and to really impose himself on games. A big game player, some of his best performances live in the memory – his five goals in the Cats’ last finals appearance won’t be soon forgotten, and most believe he’ll get another chance at finals footy this year.

Hawkins has apparently shed some weight to become more mobile, and may push up the ground more this season. The Geelong forward line will look different this year, but he will still be the main man in it.

43. Kieren Jack (Sydney)
At his best, Jack is a prolific and exciting midfielder. We haven’t seen as much of it lately, but his 2012-13 form is recent enough, and he is young enough, to justify his spot in the top 50.

He is what I like to call a complete midfielder, capable of applying defensive pressure, winning his own ball, and using it both conservatively and aggressively, depending on the situation. In 2015 he finished third in the Bob Skilton Medal, in what was a top four side.

I had him much higher than most other panellists, at 23rd in my own rankings. Ryan had him at 36, but no-one else had room for him in their own 50.

44. Daniel Talia (Adelaide Crows)
Talia has become the backbone of Adelaide’s defence in his relatively short career to date. A rising star winner in 2012, he has franked that early promise, and was recognised as one of the game’s best defenders in 2014 when he was named All-Australian full-back and won Adelaide’s best and fairest.

While it can be argued he could back himself more and become more of an offensive threat, Josh Elliott has seen enough already, ranking him as high as 14 in his own list.

45. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
In a team blessed with some of the league’s best flankers, Burgoyne stands out. He makes a strong contribution defensively, but it’s his decision-making and disposal when rebounding from the backline that give Hawthorn tremendous counter-attacking potency.

He is a quadruple premiership player, an All-Australian in 2006 (and should have been at least twice again, in my opinion) and finished fifth in the Hawks’ 2015 best and fairest.

I was Burgoyne’s biggest supporter, ranking him the 22nd best player in the league, which I know will make some of our commenters happy, as Burgoyne has been a hot topic this week in the comments.

46. Harley Bennell (Fremantle)
In his fairly short and sometimes troubled career, Bennell has produced some remarkable games, such as his dominant performance against West Coast last year, and his famous six-goal, 27-possession demolition of Geelong in 2014.

Even when not at his absolute best, he had been a good contributor and a dangerous presence for the Suns. Having moved to the Dockers in the off-season he’ll be hoping to produce those destructive performances more regularly.

Cam is a big fan of Bennell, and obviously thinks he’s ready to mature at Fremantle, putting him 25th in his rankings.

47. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Riewoldt’s career record is so remarkable it seems slightly disappointing we could only fit him in so low – he is a six-time best and fairest winner, five-time All-Australian, a player’s association MVP winner in 2004, and is now entering his tenth consecutive year captaining St Kilda.

After a lot of ups and downs for his team, he is still performing well even though the Saints are near the bottom of the ladder. He is a strong marking genuine key forward, but what sets him apart is his capacity to work up the ground and help out his teammates, tirelessly running into space to provide an option on the wing.

He has been a true champion of the game, and still deserving of his place in conversations such as this.

48. Dane Swan (Collingwood)
The 2011 Brownlow Medallist, at his best, would seem to always be where the ball was.

Swan might not be racking up 40 disposals a game anymore, but alternating between the forward line and midfield he remains one of the Pies’ most influential players, using his clean hands and natural evasiveness to set up opportunities for the forwards.

With talk Swan will be playing even more forward this year, he could easily kick 35-plus goals.

He was ranked at the lower end of the 50 by three judges, but Cam and Ryan seem convinced his very best days are behind him.

49. Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs)
Murphy has been one of the Dogs’ underrated achievers throughout his career, but in 2015 he enjoyed something of a renaissance, as did the entire club.

His decision-making from half-back, both patient and precise even when confronted with several opposition, beautifully complements the free-wheeling play of his younger teammates. He was named All-Australian for the second time in 2015.

Jay ranked him the highest out of the panel, at number 25, and obviously appreciates one of the most beautiful movers of our time.

50. Luke Breust (Hawthorn)
We round out the top 50 with a player some would argue is the most dangerous small forward in the game, even though on this list he appears behind Chad Wingard, Cyril Rioli and Eddie Betts.

Bruest is in the Hawks’ team to kick goals, a job he excels at, kicking 109 goals for just 31 behinds over the past two seasons. He can win his own football, with almost half of his possessions being of the contested variety, and while you wouldn’t call him a pressure specialist in the manner of a Rioli or Paul Puopolo, he lays his share of tackles too.

He was selected in the All-Australian team in 2014, and could easily have been named last year too.

And so The Roar‘s Top 50 comes to an end. We laughed, some of our commenters cried, but we’ve enjoyed the passionate and educated debate that our list has provoked.

The Roar‘s Top 50 AFL players
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)
41. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
42. Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
43. Kieren Jack (Sydney)
44. Daniel Talia (Adelaide)
45. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
46. Harley Bennell (Gold Coast)
47. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
48. Dane Swan (Collingwood)
49. Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs)
50. Luke Bruest (Hawthorn)

For those interested, the 51st player was Jack Gunston, and the highest ranked player from each of our individual judges that didn’t make the final 50 were:

Cam Rose – Ollie Wines (31)
Ryan Buckland – Bryce Gibbs (27)
Josh Elliott – Jack Gunston (19)
Jay Croucher – Isaac Smith (34)
TomC – Stephen Hill (29)