Mark Duffield’s top 50: Ranking the best AFL players ahead of season 2022

Dustin Martin is no longer the best player in the AFL, according to Mark Duffield’s annual list of the AFL’s top 50 players. So, who takes the crown ahead of the 2022 season? SEE THE RANKINGS. 50: Tom Papley (Sydney) Last year: 46 At 25, the diminutive Swans speedster is really hard to match up on because he crumbs and can get in behind defenders really quickly. He kicked 43 goals in 23 games last year to finish fourth in the Swans’ best-and-fairest. 49: Rory Laird (Adelaide) New entry Has impact way beyond his 177cm and has smoothly made the transition from consistent defender to his club’s best midfielder. Averaged 32 disposals a game last year, won his club’s best-and-fairest and was the only Crow seriously considered for this list. 48: Dylan Grimes (Richmond) Last year: 30 Was one of few Tigers to maintain the high standards of previous seasons and won a club best and fairest as a reward. He can play on talls and smalls and gets to contests to help teammates. The talisman in the Tigers defence. 47: Isaac Heeney (Sydney) New entry Has been on this list before but not last year. Incredible talent but at 25 and 129 games into his career it is time to figure out what he is – forward/mid or mid/forward. Kicked 36 goals last year in a mix of both roles and has more to offer yet. 46: Dayne Zorko (Brisbane) New entry Won the Lions’ best-and-fairest last year at the age of 32, averaging 24 disposals a game and kicking 17 goals. He remains a barometer for the Lions and if the young mids at the club hit the standards he has maintained they will rise even higher. 45: Liam Ryan (West Coast) Last year: 17 He kicked 24 goals from 14 games, hence the big dip in his rating. Badly affected by injuries in 2021 and expecting a bounce back from one of the league’s most complete small forwards, even with a troubled year for his club on the cards. 44. Christian Salem (Melbourne) New entry One of the keys to the Demons’ flag success was the coming of age of a number of players, not least Salem who finished top four in the club’s best-and-fairest and starred in the grand final. Beautiful ball user. 43: Shai Bolton (Richmond) New entry He finished fourth in the club’s best-and-fairest but in many ways reflected the Tigers season. Booted 15 of his 23 goals in the first half of the year. If the Tigers are to get back into the eight he has to go up a gear. At 24 he is more than capable of it. 42: Tim Taranto (GWS) New entry He looked ready to explode after 2019, then plateaued amid injuries in 2020. Has just turned 24 and was back close to his best at the end of 2021, part of a GWS push towards the eight. Powerful mid who can go forward and kick goals. 41: Taylor Adams (Collingwood) Last year: 29 A favourite for me and would probably be higher but injury restricted him to 14 games last year. Pound for pound as tough as any mid in the AFL and will hold the key to whether the Pies threaten the bottom end of the eight or have a really tough year. 40: Aliir Aliir (Port Adelaide) New entry Sydney’s loss became Port Adelaide’s gain. At 27 he matured into one of the premier intercept defenders in the AFL, won All-Australian honours and finished third in his club’s best-and-fairest. The Power need more of that to stay in contention. 39: Aaron Naughton (W Bulldogs) New entry He had a great year and still has upside. He won’t turn 23 until after this season is over. Kicked 47 goals in 2021 but the goals did dry up a bit at the end of the season and in the finals. Needs to consolidate now. 38: Charlie Cameron (Brisbane) New entry Started solidly, then was challenged but rattled home with 25 goals in the last eight games of the season to finish with 55 for the year including eight in two finals. He is the point of difference in the Lions attack. 37: Darcy Moore (Collingwood) Last year: 23 Hard to gauge accurately. His best is as good as any defender in the competition and he can go forward but his season drifted a bit with the fortunes of his club last year. He is 26 now and needs to add consistency to the brilliance. 36: Zak Butters (Port Adelaide) New entry Looked likely to take the competition by storm last year before injury cut him down. He is 21 and is brilliant midfield or forward. Brave, clever and set to explode. 35: Josh Kelly (GWS) New entry He is like a lot of GWS guns. He is already good but you feel he could be a step or two better. He is 26 now and 155 games into his career. He at least played more last year, averages 25 disposals and kicked 16 goals. 34: Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) Last year: 31 He averaged 19 disposals a game, kicked 12 goals, averaged 32 hit outs a game and four clearances. They are good numbers but you get the feeling other ruckmen have more impact. 33. Tom Stewart (Geelong) New entry Won his club’s best and fairest in a preliminary final year, averaged 24 disposals a game and is both good in the contest and safe with the ball in his hands. Won his third All-Australian jumper and one of the best mid-sized defenders in the competition. 32. Jacob Weitering (Carlton) Last year: 27 Beaten only by Sam Walsh for his club’s best-and-fairest and maturing into one of the best tall backs in the competition. He won’t turn 25 until after the season and he, Walsh and Charlie Curnow point the way forward for the Blues. 31. Darcy Parish (Essendon) New entry Extraordinary turn around after switching to inside mid role. It came six rounds into his sixth season when he had 42 touches against Brisbane. Second to Zach Merrett in the best and fairest and on the bench in the All-Australian team. 30. Jake Stringer (Essendon) New entry The enigmatic midfield/forward powerhouse had his best season since his 56-goal year as a forward at The Western Bulldogs. He only finished fifth in the Bombers best and fairest but he fairly rattled home with 29 goals in the last 13 games. 29. Harry McKay (Carlton) New entry The new style of AFL power forward. He is 24 years old, a monstrous 204cm and has good agility and a good left foot. He booted 58 goals in 19 games last year and is a key to the Blues returning to finals. 28. Sean Darcy (Fremantle) New entry One of the most improved players in the competition last year and a key to the Dockers improving further this year. The third best big man in the AFL now at just 23 averaging 16 disposals and five clearances a game and kicking 12 goals. 27. Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) Last year: 21 Confession time: I find the 28-year-old Hawks ball magnet as tough as any AFL player to accurately gauge. The question is impact but he goes at 34 disposals a game, has a Brownlow and polled 25 votes last year. Comfortably won the Hawks best and fairest. 26. Harris Andrews (Brisbane) Last year: 10 Had him top 10 last year and he started scratchily before finishing strong. Still finished sixth in Lions best and fairest. A young veteran at 25 with 136 games under his belt and a key if the Lions are to break through. 25. Luke Parker (Sydney) Last year: 41 Just an absolute warrior for the Swans who is 235 games deep in his career at 28 and playing as well as ever. He averaged 28 disposals a game and kicked 15 goals to comfortably win the Swans best and fairest. Pound for pound as tough as anyone. 24. Jeremy Cameron (Geelong) Last year: 39 There is a bit of speculation in this one. The mail is he is in ripping nick and you would think the chemistry between he and Tom Hawkins will improve in his second year. He still kicked 39 goals from 15 games last year after early hamstring issues. 23. Steven May (Melbourne) New entry He got the balance right last year to be All-Australian. Posted up deep when he had to and defended more aggressively when he was able to and the result was a stellar season where he averaged 17 disposals a game and played a key role in a flag. 22. Zach Merrett (Essendon) Last year: 43 Won an All-Australian jumper and was a clear winner of his club’s best and fairest for a brilliant season. Has always been able to find the ball but was able to add some penetration and meaning to 30 disposals a game. 21. Jake Lever (Melbourne) New entry The best interceptor in it now and the fact that both he and Steven May went All-Australian with fellow Demons back Christian Salem unlucky to miss goes a way to explaining the Dees flag. Knows where the ball is going before the opponent kicking it does. 20. Bayley Fritsch (Melbourne) New Entry At 24 the finely built 188cm left-footer crept up on us as a genuinely elite performer. He kicked 59.24 including six in the grand final. He hurt opponents in the air as well as on the lead and off the ground and was the best hybrid forward in the game. 19. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) Last year: 7 Finished 40 votes clear of Dom Sheed to win his second Worsfold Medal. He will polarise critics because he has extreme strengths and weaknesses but is the best there is at what he does do: Setting ground-level teammates into the clear at stoppages. 18. Lachie Neale (Brisbane) Last Year: 2 Backing him to bounce back after a year troubled by injury. Had shoulder concerns for much of the year, missed a chunk of games in the first half of the season but finished strongly. Still elite around stoppage and a key to Lions flag hopes. 17. Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane) Last year: 16 This bloke’s just turned 24. He has played 106 games and is the Rolls-Royce in the Brisbane midfield. In the two “full” AFL seasons split by the shortened 2020 version 2019 and 2021 he took 37 shots on goal for 23.14 and 15.22. 16. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide) Last Year: 11 He will turn 34 in August but the numbers say that he was every bit as good in 2021 as he was in 2019 and 2020. He polled 25 Brownlow votes last year and formed a potent midfield one-two punch with Ollie Wines. 15. Paddy Cripps (Carlton) Last Year: 6 If Carlton are to return to finals for the first time in eight years then their 195cm midfield monster has to be back somewhere near his best. He is only 26 with 138 games under the belt but he carried this mob for a time. Hopefully he sees some reward. 14. Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) Last Year: 4 If Nat Fyfe had played all the games and kicked straight he would have had another special season. But he played 15 of 22 and kicked 6.21. Let’s hope that shoulder holds together and he leads the Dockers back into the finals. 13. Jack Steele (St Kilda) Last Year: 15 Not one of the most spectacular AFL mids but is one of the most complete. His 26 Brownlow votes recognised 29 disposals, eight tackles, six clearances and five inside 50s a game and he runs as hard back as he does forward. Great leader. 12. Toby Greene (GWS) Last Year: 35 Which Toby do we critique? The match-winner and big moment player, or the one who makes contact with an ump and gets rubbed out for a final and the first five games of next year? Absolutely brilliant and absolutely must grow up to do himself justice. 11. Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs) Last Year: 13 You agonise over many things in a top 50, like whether jumping two spots in the rankings does justice to a 34-touch a game season with an average of seven clearances. Very good inside-outside support for Marcus Bontempelli and, if anything, underrated. 10: Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) Last year: 5 He will turn 32 early in the season and 2021 saw his most moderate output in years, due to a mix of injury and suspension issues. But you still have to like the midfield powerhouse who can crush opponents in the contest, steam away from stoppages and then go forward and be a dangerous target. Has to push the sun back up into the sky for another year if the Cats are to contend. 9. Touk Miller (Gold Coast) New entry There will be raised eyebrows about a Sun being this high, but there were few if any other mids in the competition last year as consistently elite as Miller and the fact his team struggled just made it more honourable. He set a standard in the early rounds and then just went at that standard all season long. Went at 31 disposals a game with seven tackles four inside-50s, six clearances and kicked eight goals for 17 Brownlow votes. 8. Max Gawn (Melbourne) Last year: 12 Who will forget the third quarter romp in the preliminary final when big Max forgot he was a ruckman and produced the joyous dominance that made sure of Melbourne’s safe passage to the grand final? The best all rounder of all the AFL ruckmen. Good at stoppage, very good around the ground and his 16 goals including five in that preliminary final says he can be dangerous around goals. History will remember him fondly and footy is better for having known him. 7. Sam Walsh (Carlton) Last year: 49 With all the hype around Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell, the footy industry briefly forgot how good this bloke is. He is 21. Just 61 games into his AFL career and in the past two years he has been better than Paddy Cripps in the Blues midfield. He went at 30 touches a game last year and he polled 30 Brownlow votes. His absence early this year is a massive hurdle for the Blues as they try to return to finals. 6. Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide) Last year: 20 You are going all right when you play for a preliminary finalist and you win the best-and-fairest by about 60 votes on top of polling 36 votes to win a Brownlow. Monstrous season from the 190cm, 99kg midfield bull. Averaged 32 disposals a game with six clearances and kicked 10 goals. He started as a very good player and has added to his game to become a superstar. Will have to do it again to keep Port in the mix. 5. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) Last year: 34 Oliver’s ability to be more direct and incisive with his possessions was a key to the flag win. Had 31 disposals a game, kicked 11 goals and had seven clearances a game, including several in that devastating third-quarter burst in the grand final. Pipped for the club best-and-fairest – that’s some sort of year. 4. Dustin Martin (Richmond) Last year: 1 He still finished fifth in his club’s best-and-fairest despite missing six games with a kidney injury late in the year. He still kicked 19 goals, too, which is an ominous warning to the competition of the danger he represents this year. Still only 30 and still possessing the two things that have made him truly great – as strong as a bull around the ball and deadly by foot when he has it in his hands. Will be watched closely in his comeback from serious injury. 3. Tom Hawkins (Geelong) Last year: 9 But he is one of the competition’s best contested marks, one of its best forward fifty stoppage ruckmen and kicked more goals than anyone last year. Also plays selflessly to allow other forwards to have impact around him. When the Tomahawk goes off the cliff there is a fair chance the Cats will go with him. 2. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) Last year: 3 It didn’t happen but there is not much between him and No.1. He gets maximum bang for buck with his possessions, kicked 31 goals last year, polled 33 Brownlow votes and finished almost sixty votes clear of Jack Macrae in the Doggies’ best-and-fairest. What a player! 1. Christian Petracca (Melbourne) Last year: 8 For those who thought there wouldn’t be another Dusty, perhaps there already is. He kicked 29 goals last year, scoreboard impact that came with 29 disposals, seven inside-50s and six clearances a game. His 39-disposal, two-goal grand final performance to win the Norm Smith Medal was nothing short of a masterpiece. He became the footballer we have been waiting for since 2016. Incredibly strong, beautifully balanced and knows how to hurt opponents when he has the ball in attack.

Mark Duffield’s top 50: Ranking the best AFL players ahead of season 2022

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