Stirling started things off with 50-41 on Monday, and Josh had the numbers to back up players 40-31, and now it’s my turn as we enter the top 30.
30. Toby Greene
GWS Giants | Forward
Footy’s greatest villain kicks off day three of the countdown. Like most Giants, Greene’s grand final was a forgettable one, which is a pity, because up until then he’d probably been the player of the finals for reasons both good and bad. Twenty touches and three goals in the elimination final scratching of the Bulldogs was backed up by 30 and two and a suspension against the Lions in what was the game of the season.
Has all the tools to become the first player since Steve Johnson in 2011 to end a season averaging 20 disposals and two goals a game. He’s one of the most damaging players in the competition, unfazed by the big moments and a complete mongrel on the field. I had him at 19.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
29. Ben Brown
North Melbourne | Forward
Brown’s 188 goals over the past three seasons are the most of any player in the competition during that time. So why isn’t he higher? He’s a little one-dimensional.
He leads straight and kicks straighter, but he’s not great when the ball hits the ground and he doesn’t offer much when the other team has the ball. There’s no shame in that, the North spearhead is a damn good footballer – as his ranking would suggest. The Roos will be hoping he can get back on the field as soon as possible.
(Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
28. Clayton Oliver
Melbourne | Midfielder
I was surprised by how much my fellow Roar rankers cooled on Oliver after his 2019 season. Sure, it wasn’t as good as his incredible 2018, but he was hardly a scrub. His numbers were up across the board – admittedly he didn’t have the same impact on games.
He remains one of the most creative players in the competition when in congestion and when you combine that with toughness, a relentless appetite for the contest, great awareness and the fact he’s still only 22 years old, I’m still all the way in on the two-time Melbourne best-and-fairest.
I had him at 11, three others had him outside the top 35.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
27. Dayne Zorko
Brisbane Lions | Midfielder/Forward
The footy world fell in love with Zorko for a while and, while he’s still highly regarded – 27th overall is nothing to sneeze at – he’s perhaps settled into his position in most observers’ eyes as a very good but not great player.
Zorko finds the footy forward of centre and can be exceptionally damaging by foot whether setting up teammates or kicking goals. He can fall into the bad habit of chasing glory a little too often, which is probably an outcome of being in a bad side for so long. He can seriously play.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
26. Jack Darling
West Coast Eagles | Forward
Few players have transformed their reputations quite like Darling. From perennial whipping boy to the best forward in a premiership team and one of the best key forwards in the competition, Darling’s strength, speed and agility make him a nightmare match-up.
His second efforts and defensive pressure are attributes that have long allowed the Eagles to play taller in the forward line than modern conventions might otherwise allow.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
25. Michael Walters
Fremantle | Forward
Walters’ talent has long been undeniable, it was his ability to string together long runs of top-notch footy that kept him off lists such of these. That’s no longer a concern, he was deservingly awarded his first All-Australian selection in 2019 and, like Greene, is one of the few players in the competition who could average 20 touches and two goals a game across a season – he went 21.8 and 1.8 last year.
Whether deployed in attack or the midfield, Walters makes his touches count. I’m starting to think 25 might be too low.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
24. Tom Hawkins
Geelong Cats | Forward
Here are Tom Hawkins’ goal totals across the past eight seasons: 62, 49, 68, 46, 55, 51, 60, 56. That’s eight straight years of at least 45 goals; Jeremy Cameron at five is the next best streak. Hawkins has been so good for so long that it’s easy to forget about him, probably because he’s always been a notch below the very best key forwards in the competition.
A notch below the best key forwards in the competition is something some teams might breach the salary cap for. He’s a super player, and 24 feels about right.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
23. Jack Macrae
Western Bulldogs | Midfielder
Few players in the competition can find the footy like Macrae. His endurance and work rate are second to none and he probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his toughness and ability in tight. His quick hands might test the boundaries of legality, but they’ve been the launching pad of many a Bulldogs scoring chain, and he can occasionally pull off an inboard, cross-body kick that would make Steve Johnson proud.
But when you get this close to the pointy end of the list you need to start nitpicking and, as prolific as his stats might be, he lacks penetration and rarely troubles the scorers.
Josh wasn’t discouraged, putting the Bulldogs’ ball magnet at six on his list.
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
22. Luke Shuey
West Coast Eagles | Midfielder
Shuey is starting to get the recognition he has long deserved as one of the league’s most complete onballers. He wins his own ball, uses it well and has the speed to escape forward of stoppages – he’s the player we’ve always hoped Adam Treloar and Dylan Shiel would become. The 2018 Norm Smith medallist has a terrific record in big games and should embrace his role as the Eagles’ latest skipper.
(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
21. Harris Andrews
Brisbane Lions | Defender
The panel was almost unanimous on Andrews, with everyone rating him between 22 and 25. The giant Lion is about as solid as it gets when it comes to key defenders. To take his game to the next level and enter the top-10 mix, he probably needs to turn more of his spoils into marks.
But, like most of the guys on this list, that’s nitpicking. He’s only 23; the Lions are very well placed for a long time with him as the fulcrum of their defence.
(Photo by Brett Hemmings/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Related
The top 50 so far
50. Zac Williams and Rory Sloane
49. Phil Davis
48. Nick Vlastuin
47. Hugh McCluggage
46. Josh Dunkley
45. Robbie Gray
44. Andrew Gaff
43. Ben Cunnington
42. Tom Stewart
41. Isaac Heeney
40. Shaun Higgins
39. Tim Taranto
38. Dion Prestia
37. Bachar Houli
36. Travis Boak
35. Dylan Grimes
34. Adam Treloar
33. James Sicily
32. Tom Mitchell
31. Charlie Cameron
30. Toby Greene
29. Ben Brown
28. Clayton Oliver
27. Dayne Zorko
26. Jack Darling
25. Michael Walters
24. Tom Hawkins
23. Jack Macrae
22. Luke Shuey
21. Harris Andrews
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Nah, he’s just been a spud for most of his career.
PriddisJunior
Roar Rookie
Where's the bias against Darling come from. Seems a lot to be just that he is an eagles player.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
There's a reason why none of those players ever get tagged, but players like Pendlebury do - they can hurt opposition players much more. Just look at who gets tagged and you'll quickly see who the opposition rate.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Yeah and turned into a gun midfielder didn't he...
JamesH
Roar Guru
In 2018? Well... they were correct. He regularly lined up at centre bounces. Did so a bit less in 2019 because of injury and a lack of other targets up forward.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Nah, imagine what Walters could do at a club that was in its flag window. Both he and Green are the kind of footballer who can play in the midfield and get 25 touches while using the ball well, or play forward and kick 3 goals. They're like hen's teeth. As of now I'd have them right in the mix with the GWS players you listed. And I say that through gritted teeth because I'm not a big fan of either of them. I don't like the way Walters plays for frees (although he's hardly alone there) and Green is an aggro little bogan. But they are supremely talented footballers.
JamesH
Roar Guru
I know. I think I had a whinge then too. Or it might have been about Hurley's omission on that occasion; it's hard to keep track of which perceived slight I'm getting up in arms about these days. When do the games start again?
JamesH
Roar Guru
Merrett is nothing like Priddis or Matt Crouch (who are/were still very good players). He averaged 412m gained last season. You don't do that with 1m handballs. The knock on him in 2019 was that his disposal sometimes let him down, which is fair. Although, how much of that was him and how much of it was having no forward structure to kick to is anyone's guess. And I'm really not sure how you've lumped Swan and Brad Crouch into that category. Brad was a shining light in a mediocre side last year and is a very different midfielder to his brother. Breaks the lines much more often. And Swan?!? The notion that he didn't impact games is laughable. The guy won matches off his own boot. He was an out-and-out gun.
Gordon P Smith
Roar Guru
I think I already have, Cam....
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Sidebottom should be in the top fifty
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Disagree with you there champ, he’s consistently punching above his weight as an inside midfielder, probably the best user of the ball in essendons midfield and has recently begun to add more goals to his gqme
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
That's what they said about Jake Stringer...
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
I disagree that they're big contributors. Players like the Crouch brothers, Swan, Priddis - the masters of the 1 metre handball to a player under pressure. If they get lots of the ball but no-one notices them it's because they don't have a big impact on the game. Players like Pendlebury, Bont, Martin can get half as many touches and have a far greater impact on the game. Priddis and Swan only got brownlows because the umpires give votes on stats, not on impact on the game. These players are a good reason why stats are useless - the stats don't factor in impact on games.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Merrett is consistently a good ordinary player, that's why he's not here.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
2 dropped marks? He goes missing in big games. I wouldn't have him in my top 50, no way. He's really good at beating up on poor defences though.
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
Your right on Andrews top twenty. Fancy people even even thinking about Jones and Blicavs when your debating top 50.
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
I would have Brown long before Darling and Hawkins. At a weaker club and has a bigger ticker, is a better player already and scope for improvement as well. Greene is way better as well he is top 20 easily.
dontknowmuchaboutfootball
Guest
Ah, thanks. So it's a possessions/marks confusion. I'm expecting Ryan to break the top 50 within a year or two. The only complaint you'd have would be turnovers. At least, that's what the stats suggest. From my watching, he's always been a great kick, so maybe the high turnover rate is a combination of handball turnovers and Freo's strategy last season of kicking fast and long.
Adrian Polykandrites
Expert
Unfortunately there are still no stats on the AFL website so can't check marks, but you can check intercept possessions on the app and yes, Ryan's average of 8.6 was second to McGovern's 8.7. According to the Prospectus Ryan averaged 2.5 intercept marks, which is a fair way behind Phil Davis at 3.8 and McGovern at 3.4 but in the Sicily (2.7) range.
Paul D
Roar Rookie
Another history anecdote - at least this listing is better than the one you did in 2017. I remember you had some clown called Ken Sakata contributing who basically killed the rankings as a serious exercise - he didn't vote for Joel Selwood, Pendlebury or Nick Riewoldt in his top 50 and somehow managed to say Nat Fyfe was only the 16th best player in the land, while Cyril Rioli was 3rd, to cite a few of the most egregious examples.