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.
Nick Daicos handballs whilst being tackled by Dean Kent. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
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).
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.
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.
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.
Steven May of the Demons and Lance Franklin of the Swans compete for the ball. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Maxy
Roar Rookie
ahhh,clickbait title,fox sports love that
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
Had a suss and Bernie is basically just saying what everybody thinks anyway and that's that we have a plan for Josh Carr to take over from hinkley and Bernie's just said he thinks hinkley will be gone unless we basically make a gf or win the premiership
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
He started running again this week which is a good sign but id guess he will miss probs the first 2 games I reckon.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
Something very weird happened on fox sports website.Article on there about Bernie Vince saying Port have decided on the next coach,clicked on it but it said oopps something wrong,clicked on the article next to it and went straight to the story.Anyways went to another website but that was boring,so thought I would go back to fox and checkout nba basketball news.clicked on AFL to see if I could read this Bernie Vince article again and it was removed by fox sports website,hmmm very strange
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
These blokes on here have no idea.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Nah. He’s a run of the mill midfielder.
Tom M
Roar Rookie
Miller had Bolton @3. Not sure what games he has been watching?
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
Well how about you look up your footy wire and tell me which Premiership Cat had over 80 shots at goal and over 80 clearances……. thought so. The panel got it right he is a top 10 player last year :thumbup:
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
Maybe it does because Woulda coulda Shai has 2 Premiership medals at 24 :boxing: and which midfielder had over 80 shots at goal last year?
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Interesting to see how varying different opinions had different players so broadly placed. I think if anything this is a great exercise in showing you how very different people vote players differently. Also having a bit of an idea in who some of the commenters support it makes sense the difference of ratings too. Can’t understand for the life of me how Cam can have Brayshaw so low? The guy literally won the MVP last year.
Bangkokpussey
Roar Rookie
But he didnt. Could say the same about Hawkins at times. Woulda coulda shoulda doesnt win a premiership.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
sounds like finlayson will miss a few games early so if we play 2 rucks good chance he will play round 1
nics
Roar Rookie
A modern Priddis, one might say...
Cat
Roar Guru
And 20 other players could say ‘if only i kicked straighter’ …
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
You missed Alfred’s point, had he kicked straight he could of won the Coleman as well as nailing the Cats in round 15 with 2 gettable goals to go with the 3 he kicked. Tigers would have finished 4th and things could have been different with a fit Meatball. His stats alone says he’s top 10. Look out 2023!
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
He did look good didn't he. If he can keep it up it will be something different for us in the ruck/forward, hes alot morecagile than lycett. I think its Eagles first and then freo but dont quote me on that.
David C
Guest
I've heard some "experts" rate Bolton the best in the game at the moment. Probably should be higher.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
Watched a bit of Teakle against swans think it was on debut I think took a couple of big grabs up forward and looked good then broke his collarbone 10mins later..gone for the season...lol...I will be watching more games this year with the drama around Hinkley,how the boys play knowing his job is on the line...more young talent coming through...lets see how we go against purple people eaters in trial coming up
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
The gf finished at 5pm so I thought I'd try and earn some brownie points early before the season starts and stay and watch it at home, fingers crossed it worked for me, somehow I jagged a 11 game membership when I only paid for a 6game so am going to need all the brownie points I can get.lol. It was very scrappy which worries me a little, I thought we'd be a bit more polished than we were, although the wind etc was pretty dodgy. Todd took a shot for goal at one stage and aimed for the behind post and it curved straight through the middle so tricky conditions but yeah.lol. defs those boys all looked good especially teakle he looked very dangerous, promising signs for our big man department in the future.
Virgil
Roar Rookie
Tom Stewart not in the top 10 players of the AFL? As a Collingwood supporter, he is the opposition player who stands out most to me. Work rate, game management and ability to defend opponents of all sizes make him very special. Most of these lists have a mid-fielder bias as commentators routinely discount the importance of defence.