The loss of Mike Sheahan’s legendary top 50 list has left a void in how to rank the best players. Enter yours truly.
My list will give insight into who has performed brilliantly this year and predict how they could go in 2022.
10. Sam Walsh (Carlton Blues)
Every round Walsh has lived up to his No. 1 draft pick status, and he’s still playing as though he is in a dream. He has kicked many amazing goals this year and should surely win Carlton’s best and fairest.
9. Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney Giants)
Setting aside the brutal suspension, Greene has played so well this year, drawing comparisons to Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury in the way that he can waltz through the opposition without being tackled. He has also loved to drift forward, and he has done so, averaging 2.5 goals a game.
8. Luke Parker (Sydney Swans)
Luke Parker has been a key player for Sydney this year, helping them knock over some really good teams by becoming a great midfielder for the red and white.
7. Joe Daniher (Brisbane Lions)
After a knee injury ruled him out of playing for the better part of two years, he has exploded into some great form. Consistently giving defenders headaches, he averaged 1.9 goals per game. The Coleman Medal would be in his sights next season.
6. Christian Petracca (Melbourne Demons)
Demons supporters have loved this bloke speeding out of their midfield every single week this year. He has provided the Dees with great run and carry, as he tends to back himself and run for 20 or so metres before spearing the ball into an ominous forward line. He may get even better in the 2022 side.
(Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
5. Darcy Parish (Essendon Bombers)
After a breakout season, Essendon’s Darcy Parish earns himself a top-five finish. He has led the Bombers throughout this year to help them become a formidable team, feeding off of Nick Hind and Sam Draper’s ruckwork to set up goals for Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Devon Smith. Expect Parish to contest the Brownlow again next year.
4. Jack Steele (St Kilda Saints)
An already dangerous Jack Steele has elevated himself to the next level this year. After coming to St Kilda from the Giants, he has been a real weapon for the Saints, being their main man for clearances. He started the Brownlow in a slowish way but after round 12 began polling well.
3. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
The Bont was one of the frontrunners for this year’s Brownlow, and he definitely deserved it. He has been in two separate Bulldogs grand final teams, and it could be two premiership teams if Melbourne don’t show up next Sunday. He has played very consistently this year apart from a minor slump in form late in the season.
2. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne Demons)
Clayton Oliver is an incredible player with very good contested ball skills. He feeds off of Max Gawn’s ruckwork and Petracca’s roving exceptionally well. The only reason he’s not first on my list is that, without him, Melbourne can still win games.
1. Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide Power)
Ollie Wines is the best player in the AFL. He is a midfield beast who can tear teams apart. He sets up goals, delivers inside 50 and kicks a few of his own. He has also not had one noticeable form slip this year, therefore being very consistent for the Power. Without him, they would have far less skill out of the middle, having to rely on Travis Boak and Sam Powell-Pepper to do what he was doing. This earns him the No. 1 slot.
A ruckman kicking 5 goals in a finals match - that is simply stratospheric. Midfielders collecting 35 possessions a game in this day and age is not overly special - Wines, McCrae, Mitchell, Miller, etc. take your pick.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
I think one of the tests of a good ruck is how they share the ruck load. Some take 85% and spend the rest of their time on the bench. Max Gawn is letting Luke Jackson take more of the chopout than most lead rucks do because he's so good up and down the ground when he's not tied up at stoppage. That said, hasn't been a dominant ruckman in the last decade that has won a GF. Gawn is more than just a one trick pony.
I guess it all depends on what your criteria is?? If you think Max Gawn is not one of the top 10 players in the AFL then I would say your criteria needs some revision – he is the single point of difference that makes Melbourne the premiership favourite. Take him out of the Melbourne team then I think most commentators would lean towards a Bulldogs win.
Richard
Guest
I wouldn’t think Daniher would make a top 100 list let alone top 10.
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Exactly! I didn’t want it just to be the list every one has, e.g your Bont, Walsh, Merrett, Oliver. Wines etc.
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Miller was 11th for me. It was basically 50-50 with him and Walsh.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
It was bound to happen as we are going through a period of mediocre full forwards. I mean, there are some spectacular players in the AFL kicking goals, but since Buddy there hasn't been anyone until the King twins who look like they could kick 70 or 80 in a season and even they are a ways off doing that. The past 10 years at the draft has underwhelmed for tall forwards, so Joe Daniher winds up looking pretty damn good when he's really a ruck forward who plays on confidence when his team is up and about.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
Have to agree with you Thom, Daniher doesn’t belong on the top ten list of anything. Probably one of the most overrated players of recent times. His stats this year are no different to previous years. I think everyone got overexcited about his name and potential, but he just hasn’t lived up to it, poor bloke.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Daniher kicked at 60% when his shots were actually scoring shots. Without going through all of the game tape, I don't think he even kicks at 50% if you include out of bounds on the full, sprayed and fell short. You haven't got Touk Miller on your list. He was 5th in the AFL Coaches Association champion player and 3rd in the AFL Players Association MVP, made All Australian and was Suns Club Champion. Not sure why you saw fit to name such a similar list to the 7 players that were the mainstream media's common picks.
Chris M
Guest
Most people who have watched a lot of games involving teams other than their own would probably have selected at least seven to maybe eight of the players on your list in various orders in their top ten. Depending upon how one values him, Luke Parker may be in a few people's top ten and he's in yours. The greatest outlier is Joe Daniher, who probably wouldn't be on many people's lists. Perhaps he is on your list more on the potential for what you feel he is building towards doing next season rather than on what he has done this year. I mainly watch games involving the Sydney teams and occasionally a few others. From those games, I would certainly rank McKay, Hawkins, Franklin and even others well ahead of him in the key forward stakes. At least, unlike the AFL umpires in the Brownlow, you had a key forward on the list. Maybe you just like something about the way Daniher plays more than the others. It's also good to see the influential (for better or for worse) Toby Greene there. When you are not allotting points for each game, you have the liberty of going with your gut feeling, not just from statistics, but from skill and impact in the body of work that you have seen. That means the list doesn't have to be full of mid-fielders. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It would be terribly boring if all people had exactly the same names or exactly the same order in their list. A point of difference creates a discussion point in a field that not just black and white.
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Yeah they have. But it probably sounds better.
CloudRunner
Roar Rookie
Strange headline given 7 of the 10 players you mention finished in the top 10 of the Brownlow Count, including your number 1 who was the winner. Or is the Roar editors changing your original headline for something more provocative?
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Wow! Daniher . . . 'more reliable in front of goal'. Bet he's never, ever been accused of that before.
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Even though McKay won the Coleman, he just didn’t have as good a set shot routine as Daniher I think. Even though he didn’t kick as many, he just looked more reliable in front of goal. Keep in mind McKay is Carlton’s only real goal scorer, whereas Brisbane has McCarthy, Cameron, and Bailey to deal with. Parker has been really influential this year, I thought he just carried their team to the finals, not Mills, if that’s who your referring to.
neddlessssss
Roar Rookie
Wow this is a grim list. Sam Walsh in tenth is pretty rough, he's carried his entire team on his own back for the entirety of the season and he's placed behind Luke Parker who arguably wasn't even the best player on his own team. Then Daniher in seventh? There is no way he had a better season than Mckay and Hawkins, as proven in his spineless finals performances. Also Petracca in sixth and Bontempelli in third just goes to show that we value stats more than impact, the preliminary final between the dogs and port a perfect summary of this. Wines had 38 touches and Bontempelli 20, yet Bontempelli had by far a better game, showing us just how damaging Wines really is.