SEN host Dwayne Russell named his top 10 players in the AFL so far across the 2024 season.
Russell’s list came on the back of Champion Data revealing their top 10 players after Round 12.
Champion Data’s list was on the back of their rating system – 100X – which works by analysing how far above or below players are performing to expectation from their position per 100 minutes.
Russell’s list instead was simply based on who he felt has been the best in terms of overall impact.
Champion Data had Izak Rankine (3), Max Holmes (5), Aaron Naughton (6), Matt Rowell (8) and Nick Blakey (10) in their top 10. Russell replaced them with Patrick Cripps, Chad Warner, Zach Merrett, Sam Walsh and Jason Horne-Francis.
Check out his list below and the reason behind a couple of crucial picks.
1 – Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
“I think Nick Daicos is the best player in the competition. I think he’s had the best year to halfway,” Russell said on SEN Afternoons.
“He’s in sensational form and he just keeps doing it every week. He gets tagged. He’s doing it on the inside, he does it on the outside.
“He is a freak of football nature right now Nick Daicos and it’s a joy to watch him.”
2 – Isaac Heeney (Sydney)
3 – Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
4 – Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
5 – Chad Warner (Sydney)
6 – Max Gawn (Melbourne)
7 – Zach Merrett (Essendon)
8 – Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
9 – Sam Walsh (Carlton)
10 – Jason Horne-Francis (Port Adelaide)
“10 was an interesting one because there’s so many players that you could put in at 10,” Russell said.
“If it was David King, he’d probably tell you Izak Rankine needs to be in there.
“The raw stats will tell you it’s Caleb Serong … but Champion Data don’t have him top 10, they’ve got him 12. But he’s had more clearances and more possessions than most players in the comp.
“The interesting part about Caleb Serong is that he’s had 93 clearances with only 19 of them ending in scores. Nick Daicos has had 89 clearances for 34 ending in scores. That’s a massive difference when it comes to what you do with your clearances.
“When it comes to Port Adelaide as well, I could easily put Zak Butters in there at 10 and no one would blink an eyelid.
“But I think Jason Horne-Francis right now is having a better season than Zak Butters. I think opposition teams know you’ve got to stop the ‘Hornet’.
“Port Adelaide’s the third-best clearance team in the competition right now, so you stop them at clearance, you can stop them completely.
“Horne-Francis is the one in essence you have to stop. He’s having an outstanding year for a guy that’s only young in his career.
“I’d put Jason Horne-Francis in at 10 ahead of Zak Butters and Caleb Serong for bang for the buck with their clearance.
“That might be being a bit tough on Caleb Serong and maybe even being a bit tough on Izak Rankine.”