It’s that time again. With the 2023 AFL season just a month away, it means The Roar’s annual countdown of the Top 50 players in the AFL is back underway.

We haven’t done a list like this since 2020, so here’s how it works in case you’ve forgotten: five of our AFL experts here at The Roar have put our heads together and listed our top 50 players each. Then, points were awarded based on how high they ranked on each expert’s list.

Said points were then tallied to give you our definitive top 50 for season 2020. If you haven’t checked out our list so far, you can do so below.

>> The Roar’s AFL top 50 players, 50-41

>> The Roar’s AFL top 50 players, 40-31

>> The Roar’s AFL top 50 players, 30-21

>> The Roar’s AFL top 50 players, 20-11

Today, we get to the big guns. The cream of the crop. The best in the business. It’s time for the Top 10.

I asked each of our five experts to submit a list of their Top 60 players, then awarded 50 points for 1st, 49 points for 2nd and so on until the 50th player. As a potential tie-breaker, I gave 0.5 points to any player someone ranked from 51st to 60th.

If two players were tied for total points, tie-breaker 1 was to give the higher ranking to whomever had the most top-50 appearances; i.e. three rankings in the 40s and two misses was better than two in the 30s and three misses. If that was equal, then the second tie-breaker was highest ranking, i.e. if a player was ranked 5th by one of our exerts, then that was deemed better than if one only got as high as 8th.

If you’re interested in exactly how we voted, I’ve put the full table below this list; it should go without saying, but unless you want spoilers you should probably read the whole article first.

You can also head to the bottom to give your thoughts on our list; if you think a particular player was too high or too low, or you just want to give us a thumbs-up for getting it bang on, have your say!

Before we get to the Top 10, some honourable mentions.

Zac Bailey (Brisbane Lions, midfielder/forward)

The Lions X-factor is one of the most exciting players in the game, and with three appearances in the 40s was a regular in our experts’ list.

He narrowly missed the cut, and I’ll put my hand up – I had him in the 50-60 range, costing him precious points. Sorry, Zac.

Nick Daicos (Collingwood, defender)

Three of our experts had the 2022 Rising Star winner in their top 50 – a quite remarkable feat for a first-year player.

Unfortunately, the highest he sat on any of our lists was 42nd, so he, like Bailey, had to miss out too. I doubt in 12 months’ time we’ll be able to do that.

Stephen Coniglio (GWS Giants, midfielder)

The former Giants co-captain’s excellent end to 2022 certainly impressed one of our voters, who had Coniglio up in 26th.

Unfortunately, only one other voter had him inside the top 50 – at 46th – so he finished comfortably behind Angus Brayshaw as player 51.

Cameron Guthrie (Geelong, midfielder)

I clearly have a soft spot for the reigning Cats best-and-fairest winner: I rated him the 24th best player in the game in my list.

Unfortunately, my fellow experts disagreed, giving Guthrie the dubious honour of the highest-scoring player to only be picked in a single list. Congratulations?

Luke Davies-Uniacke (North Melbourne, midfielder)

I saw enough from LDU to name him 30th on my list, but clearly the other panellists still want to see the Kangaroos gun emerge further in 2023 before rating him quite so highly.

Only one other expert had him in their top 50, but I’m standing by my rating and fully expect to see Davies-Uniacke rocket up this list in 12 months’ time.

10. Shai Bolton

Richmond | Forward/Midfielder

Is there anyone more exciting in the game at the moment than the electrifying Tiger?

Officially breaking into the competition’s elite in 2022, Bolton won a maiden All-Australian blazer as a damaging midfielder with as much scoreboard impact as anyone. Indeed, but for some wayward kicking at times – he booted 43.41 for the season – he could easily have been a Coleman Medal chance.

Bolton is clearly the most controversial choice in our Top 10, with one of my fellow experts ranking him all the way down in 25th. As it stands, I’m thrilled he’s here, not least because I had him 3rd on my list, ahead of a certain reigning Brownlow Medallist (more on him later).

SHAI BOLTON, UNREAL ????#YokayiFooty | #AFLTigersDogs pic.twitter.com/g2Ya9oSosF

— AFL (@AFL) April 9, 2022

9. Callum Mills

Sydney Swans | Midfielder

The ultimate ‘Swiss Army Knife’, Mills is perhaps the game’s most unselfish elite talent. Willing and able to sacrifice his more glamorous on-ball role into defence to help the cause, there are few things in the game the Swans star can’t do.

An All-Australian in his first season as captain in 2022, Mills earned 21 Brownlow votes despite regular run-with roles and stints as the loose man in defence, and up until a down performance in the grand final hardly if ever lowered his colours. The highlight was a heroic 37-disposal effort against Hawthorn on ANZAC Day, to spark a stunning Swans comeback after conceding the first five goals of the game.

At 25, he’s only getting better, with his consistency marked by his appearance in this Top 10 despite making just one of our individual top-ten lists, with the other four experts ranking him between 12th and 17th.

How good is Callum Mills?#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/FuDrhFrgNv

— AFL (@AFL) September 2, 2022

8. Touk Miller

Gold Coast Suns | Midfielder

You know when lazy analysts bring out the ‘if he played for a big Victorian club he’d be a superstar’ cliche? Well, I present Touk Miller.

You don’t need to see the Suns captain at the MCG under the Friday night lights to know just what a remarkable footballer he is. The hardest two-way runner in the game, Miller does it all: wins his own ball, tackles hard, drives the ball forward and helps out his defenders. Third place in the Brownlow Medal last year was a fitting reward.

Probably the last thing Miller needs to do to climb even higher into the game’s elite is kick goals: he’s managed just eight in each of the past two seasons, where the very top dogs are approaching one per game. It’s a nit-pick, but that’s why he sat at 14th in my list, and ranked somewhere between there and 9th for every one of our experts.

The Suns crank up the heat and Miller threads it through ????#AFLSunsTigers pic.twitter.com/10SBgOryoi

— AFL (@AFL) July 9, 2022

7. Steven May

Melbourne | Defender

May did the impossible in 2022 and actually enhanced his reputation as much when he didn’t play as when he did. His absence for two games, plus three-quarters of a third, mid-season saw the Demons lose three times and look a shell of the team they had been with their defensive sheriff in town.

You could make a legitimate case that May is the most important player in the game, purely because the gap between him and the next-best backman is bigger than for any other role in the game. A one-on-one monster, he lost just 10.6 per cent of them in 2022, by far the league’s best, while also ranking sixth for total intercept marks and second for rebound 50s. In short, he’s just about unimprovable as a modern defender.

It’s probably a glaring example of ‘midfielder bias’ that he’s ranked seventh, exactly where I had him; but if you lined up every player in the AFL against a wall and gave me first pick for my team, I’d be taking May every time.

6. Lachie Neale

Brisbane Lions | Midfielder

The minute Neale walked through the door at the Lions in late 2018, they became a premiership contender, and have been ever since. Coincidence? I think not.

An All-Australian in three of four seasons since moving from Fremantle, Neale played every game in 2022, averaged 30 disposals, led the league for centre clearances and finished second for total clearances, and led the Lions for inside 50s.

If you haven’t taken a look at his 39-disposal, 15-clearance elimination final performance against Richmond, do so before the year starts: without him, the Lions lose that game comfortably.

Like Miller, the weak spot in Neale’s game aside from his Brownlow-winning 2020 season has been his scoreboard impact. Kicking just two goals in the Lions’ last 14 games in 2022 puts him, in my eyes and those of most of the panel, just one rung below the very best – though one of us did have him at number 1.

Lachie Neale was absolutely unstoppable tonight ????@Google | #AFLFinals | #AFLLionsTigers pic.twitter.com/eapkDFboGX

— AFL (@AFL) September 1, 2022

5. Clayton Oliver

Melbourne | Midfielder

If you had to stake your life on one player in the AFL having an excellent game, you’d pick Oliver.

The Demons’ ball magnet rocks up every week without fail – he’s missed just one match since 2017 due to a fractured thumb in mid-2022 – wins stacks of clearances, drives the ball forward and forms the fulcrum of the best midfield in the game.

In the past he’s received criticism as a bit of a handball merchant, but he’s well and truly corrected that, averaging nearly 15 kicks from his more than 32 disposals per game in 2022.

If he could play every game like his qualifying final against Sydney, where he bagged two goals among his 29 touches, then he’d be unbackable as the premier player in the game. As it stands, for all his brilliance, just five goals in 2022 sees him land just outside the top five – though like Neale, one of our voters had him at numero uno.

As an aside, pretty stiff to be a top-five player in the game and not even be your team’s number one. More on that later, though.

Oliver continues his strong start with a goal from possession number 19 ????#AFLPiesDees pic.twitter.com/X2q8TQjvyK

— AFL (@AFL) June 13, 2022

4. Marcus Bontempelli

Western Bulldogs | Midfielder

It says something about your level that a season in which you’ve averaged nearly 24 disposals and more than a goal per game, plus put in one of the great finals performances, can be reasonably seen as a ‘down year’.

Hampered by injury and spending plenty of time forward to start 2022, Bontempelli was a far cry from his spectacular 2021 form. But by season’s end, he was well and truly back to his best, the highlight a 30-disposal, two-goal effort in the Dogs’ elimination final loss to Fremantle that will quickly be forgotten due to his team’s defeat.

Every one of our voters had long enough memories to put the Bont in their top six; interestingly, he and the player ranked fourth defeated all my tie-breakers, with each of our voters ranking one of them second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.

So call it an equal third if you like, but as I had our next star higher, this is where the Bulldogs captain ends up.

The Bont, smooth operator. #AFLFinals | #AFLFreoDogs pic.twitter.com/vedFzTDQGu

— AFL (@AFL) September 3, 2022

3. Jeremy Cameron

Geelong Cats | Forward

For the first time since 2019, Cameron headed into 2022 injury-free and fully fit – and he reminded everyone of just how brilliant his best can be.

Forming a lethal one-two punch with Tom Hawkins’, Cameron’s mobility and speed made him almost impossible to match up on. Strong in the air, he’d outmark smaller opponents close to goal, while anyone a little bigger was run ragged up the ground before finished off going the other way.

If May is the most important player in the game, this man is surely the most valuable: nothing at the Cats changed more in 2022 than having a fully firing Cameron up front all season long.

That’s basically why I had him at number two on my list, and while none of the other voters were quite so bullish, everyone had him in the top six. Bonus points for getting his livestock involved in the Cats’ premiership celebrations.

2. Patrick Cripps

Carlton | Midfielder

12 months ago, many of us thought Cripps’ best days were behind him, with the toll carrying the Blues for years on end appearing to have been too much for his battered body to bear.

Now a Brownlow Medallist and brutal force in the game once again, the Blues skipper didn’t just return to his best – he set a new benchmark for himself. Rampant in the clinches and adding a string to his bow as a goalkicking option, his first eight rounds (plus Round 23 heroics) were so good it was almost absurd.

By that point in the year, he’d already matched his previous-best season goal tally, and he’d finish with 20 from 21 games. That improvement is what gets him the nod in our top two ahead of the likes of Oliver, Neale and Miller, while his stoppage brilliance sees him shade Bontempelli for this year at least.

It wasn’t enough, though, to get the Blues into the finals – and it wasn’t enough to get Cripps top spot on our list – though one of our voters did indeed have him there.

Cripps gets a goal back for the Blues ????#AFLFreoBlues pic.twitter.com/6A6EkqqlaF

— AFL (@AFL) April 23, 2022

1. Christian Petracca

Melbourne | Midfielder

Perhaps the scariest thing about Petracca is that it feels like there is still another level he can go to.

On pure numbers, his level hardly dipped from his extraordinary, Norm Smith Medal-winning 2021 season, except he went from kicking 29.19 that year to 19.31 in 2022. He was still the best player in the game for inside 50s, still a ball magnet, still outrageously explosive from stoppages… but the gut told you he wasn’t quite as outrageous as in the Dees’ premiership season.

That said, he was still the clear frontrunner atop our list – the only player to have more than one of our voters land with him at first, and also the only player to make everyone’s top three. Perhaps obviously, having ridden every bump of the 2021 grand final, I couldn’t possibly have anyone else at number one.

At 26, Petracca is already a modern great; if he can find that one extra gear that instinct tells me he still has in his kitbag, then there’s no telling where he’ll end up in the pantheon of champions.

Christian Petracca is a beast ????#AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/QzdqUJpg5w

— AFL (@AFL) July 7, 2022

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The Roar’s AFL Top 50

50. Angus Brayshaw
49. Jordan Dawson
48. Bailey Smith
47. Aaron Naughton
46. Tom Papley
45. Lance Franklin
44. Tyson Stengle
43. Dustin Martin
42. Nat Fyfe
41. Tom Barrass
40. Dion Prestia
39. Scott Pendlebury
38. Josh Dunkley
37. Jacob Weitering
36. Jack Crisp
35. Charlie Cameron
34. Sam Taylor
33. Harry McKay
32. Luke Parker
31. Jordan De Goey
30. Zach Merrett
29. Mark Blicavs
28. Chad Warner
27. Rory Laird
26. Hugh McCluggage
25. Jack Steele
24. Connor Rozee
23. Patrick Dangerfield
22. Jack Macrae
21. James Sicily
20. Toby Greene
19. Isaac Heeney
18. Darcy Moore
17. Tom Hawkins
16. Charlie Curnow
15. Max Gawn
14. Tom Lynch
13. Sam Walsh
12. Andrew Brayshaw
11. Tom Stewart
10. Shai Bolton
9. Callum Mills
8. Touk Miller
7. Steven May
6. Lachie Neale
5. Clayton Oliver
4. Marcus Bontempelli
3. Jeremy Cameron
2. Patrick Cripps
1. Christian Petracca

CHECK OUT THE FULL TABLE

Rank	Player	Tim Miller	Warren Peace	Dem Panopoulos	Cameron Rose	Liam Salter	PTS
1	Christian Petracca	1	3	2	1	3	245
2	Patrick Cripps	4	1	7	2	2	239
3	Jeremy Cameron	2	4	3	6	5	235
4	Marcus Bontempelli	5	2	4	3	6	235
5	Clayton Oliver	6	7	1	7	11	223
6	Lachie Neale	9	8	10	8	1	219
7	Steven May	7	6	6	11	16	209
8	Touk Miller	14	13	12	10	9	197
9	Callum Mills	12	14	15	4	17	193
10	Shai Bolton	3	12	9	15	25	191
11	Tom Stewart	10	9	14	24	7	191
12	Andrew Brayshaw	11	5	11	30	8	190
13	Sam Walsh	17	20	23	5	14	176
14	Tom Lynch	8	22	16	16	20	173
15	Max Gawn	16	25	8	19	18	169
16	Charlie Curnow	27	15	5	9	36	163
17	Tom Hawkins	13	21		22	4	144.5
18	Darcy Moore	15	24	17	12		136.5
19	Isaac Heeney	18	34	24	14	33	132
20	Toby Greene	25	33	18	32	22	125
21	James Sicily	36	28	19	18	34	120
22	Jack Macrae	23		29	13	21	118.5
23	Patrick Dangerfield	47	23	22	37	10	116
24	Connor Rozee	31	10	25	33	43	113
25	Jack Steele	20		30	31	24	99.5
26	Hugh McCluggage	21	26	36	44	30	98
27	Rory Laird	50	17	37	17	37	97
28	Chad Warner	29	19	38	27		91.5
29	Mark Blicavs	19	16	32			87
30	Zach Merrett		43	26	23	32	80.5
31	Jordan De Goey	39	31		20	41	73.5
32	Luke Parker	32	38		26	39	69.5
33	Harry McKay	22		31	34		67
34	Sam Taylor	43	18	28		49	66.5
35	Charlie Cameron	49	30		40	19	66
36	Jack Crisp	26	29	47		37	65
37	Jacob Weitering	40		13	36		65
38	Josh Dunkley		36	20	47	38	63.5
39	Scott Pendlebury	37	35			23	59.5
40	Dion Prestia	38		42	35	31	58
41	Tom Barrass	48	11			40	54.5
42	Nat Fyfe				41	12	49.5
43	Dustin Martin				39	15	48.5
44	Tyson Stengle		27			29	47.5
45	Lance Franklin		47			13	42.5
46	Tom Papley	35		27			41.5
47	Aaron Naughton	44		21			38
48	Bailey Smith		45		21		36.5
49	Jordan Dawson	41		34	42		36
50	Angus Brayshaw	33	40			45	35.5
DNQ	Stephen Coniglio				46	26	31.5
	Luke Davies-Uniacke	30		43			30.5
	Darcy Parish			45		28	30.5
	Zac Bailey		41	40	43		30
	Rowan Marshall		49		25		29.5
	Cameron Guthrie	24					29
	Sam De Koning			49	29		25
	Adam Saad	34				44	25
	Jack Viney	28					24
	Max King				28		23.5
	Sam Docherty	45	39			47	22.5
	Jack Sinclair	46				35	22
	Tom Liberatore		32				19.5
	Zak Butters			33			19
	Tim Taranto			39	45		18.5
	Nick Daicos		42	44	50		17.5
	Tim English		44	41			17
	Sean Darcy			35			17
	Bailey Dale		37				15
	Ben King				38		13
	Josh Kelly		50			42	10.5
	Jayden Short	42					9.5
	Brayden Maynard					46	5
	Jordan Ridley			46			5
	Jy Simpkin		46				5
	Errol Gulden			48			3.5
	Travis Boak					48	3
	Brennan Cox		48				3
	Bayley Fritsch				48		3
	Caleb Serong				49		2.5
	Noah Anderson			50			1.5
	Luke Ryan					50	1

Have your say on our top 50 below – did we get it right?