Herald Sun: AFL's 40 Best Rising Stars Under 24 Years Of Age Ranked (as of September 1st 2024)

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For those who can't view the article, the "experts" picked these players and ranked them from 40th to 1st.
40th. Oliver Dempsey
39th. Trent Rivers
38th. Logan McDonald
37th. Joshua Rachele
36th. James Rowbottom
35th. Jye Caldwell
34th. Jack Ginnivan (as a Hawthorn fan, I have no idea how he's here)
33rd. Sam Durham
32nd. Riley Thilthorpe
31st. Jye Amiss
30th. Nic Martin
29th. Jordan Clark (seriously underrated)
28th. Will Ashcroft
27th. Cody Weightman
26th. Harley Reid
25th. Mac Andrew
24th. Joshua Weddle
23rd. Kysaiah Pickett
22nd. Jai Newcombe
21st. Sam De Koning
 
For those who can't view the article, the "experts" picked these players and ranked them from 40th to 1st.
40th. Oliver Dempsey
39th. Trent Rivers
38th. Logan McDonald
37th. Joshua Rachele
36th. James Rowbottom
35th. Jye Caldwell
34th. Jack Ginnivan (as a Hawthorn fan, I have no idea how he's here)
33rd. Sam Durham
32nd. Riley Thilthorpe
31st. Jye Amiss
30th. Nic Martin
29th. Jordan Clark (seriously underrated)
28th. Will Ashcroft
27th. Cody Weightman
26th. Harley Reid
25th. Mac Andrew
24th. Joshua Weddle
23rd. Kysaiah Pickett
22nd. Jai Newcombe
21st. Sam De Koning
20th. Luke Jackson
19th. Matt Rowell
18th. Massimo D'Ambrosio
17th. Joshua Treacy
16th. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
15th. Sam Darcy
14th. Tom Green
13th. Sam Flanders
12th. Hayden Young
11th. Noah Anderson
10th. Will Day
9th. Max Holmes
8th. Caleb Serong
7th. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
6th. Chad Warner
5th. Jason Horne-Francis
4th. Harry Sheezel
3rd. Errol Gulden
2nd. Zak Butters
1st. Who else? Nick Daicos.
 

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Notable players to miss include: Mitch Georgiades, Bailey Smith, George Wardlaw, Jacob van Rooyen, Charlie Comben, Miles Bergman, Ollie Henry, Finn Callaghan (how?), Darcy Jones, Cam Mackenzie, Calsher Dear, Connor MacDonald, Elijah Hollands, Nick Watson, Darcy Wilmot, Colby McKercher.
 
This is a great top 10, hard to argue with any of these

10th. Will Day
9th. Max Holmes
8th. Caleb Serong
7th. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
6th. Chad Warner
5th. Jason Horne-Francis
4th. Harry Sheezel
3rd. Errol Gulden
2nd. Zak Butters
1st. Nick Daicos
 
This is a great top 10, hard to argue with any of these

10th. Will Day
9th. Max Holmes
8th. Caleb Serong
7th. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
6th. Chad Warner
5th. Jason Horne-Francis
4th. Harry Sheezel
3rd. Errol Gulden
2nd. Zak Butters
1st. Nick Daicos
JUH doesn't deserve to be in that high but I understand Talls take longer. I feel like they are adding potential with his selection while not doing it for others.

Young stiff considering how damaging he has been in the 2 half of the year and he's only been playing midfield for 1 season.

Freo looking good though with 6/40 which in an 18 team comp it would be 2.2 on average.
 
Newcombe lower than D'Ambrosio (if we're purely talking Hawks players) is... something.

I might get shouted down, but I rate Newcombe higher than Rowell personally. Might be expectation based due to how both were drafted, but I also believe Newk has more Brownlow votes over the past 2 years plus an All Australian nomination.

Anyway, it's still a fantastic list.
Lots of great young talent.



Ps. Talking Hawks players, I'd almost have Connor Macdonald in Ginni's spot if I'm honest.
 

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Ginnivan could even be higher, he's a real footballer.

The point about talls taking longer is a good one, and I think heavier bodies take longer. Daics, Butters, Gulden all flying now and in the leagues best for all ages now but will they be overtaken as beefier boys grow into their frames?

I feel Holmes can climb higher in this cohort in a similar way to the way I expect JUH to.
 
Surprised Sam de Koning is above Dempsey on that list out of Cats players

Dempsey has only had one season of consistent footy admittedly and de Koning had a great season in 2022 but he lost a lot of ground in the second half of last year and the first half of this year. He started to get that back when he got switched into a ruck-defender role and looked heaps better before his recent injury but he still has some ground to make up
 
I concur with your sentiment. You can't fault Butters. But Gulden's kicking, running, versatility, etc. just make him a better player for me.
Hasnt Butters been rated pretty high in the AFL ratings for damage with ball in hand. He was certainly rated #4 from rounds 16 onwards when David King provided the stats.
 
Notable players to miss include: Mitch Georgiades, Bailey Smith, George Wardlaw, Jacob van Rooyen, Charlie Comben, Miles Bergman, Ollie Henry, Finn Callaghan (how?), Darcy Jones, Cam Mackenzie, Calsher Dear, Connor MacDonald, Elijah Hollands, Nick Watson, Darcy Wilmot, Colby McKercher.

From a Port perspective you certainly identified the two players I find hard to see not being in the 40.
 
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Is it potential or best to date
Presumably has to be based on performance to date otherwise it's a fairly meaningless exercise. If so, then the Dees premier players Pickett and Jackson are too low for mine, as is Weightman who has been very strong in a good side.

And on any basis, the absence of Callaghan is problematic. Top 10 pretty spot on if a little midfield-centric.
 
Presumably has to be based on performance to date otherwise it's a fairly meaningless exercise. If so, then the Dees premier players Pickett and Jackson are too low for mine, as is Weightman who has been very strong in a good side.

And on any basis, the absence of Callaghan is problematic. Top 10 pretty spot on if a little midfield-centric.
Serong has to be top 3 without debate.
Won all three rookie awards
Freo’s player of the finals 2022
Herald Sun player of the year 2023 BNF AA
AA Rover 2024
Some of the guys above him haven’t even strung a full season together.
 
Anyone who thinks Sheezel is better than JHF and Warner clearly only care about fantasy scores
Nah up until the mid year point of this year I would have agreed but once Sheezel got moved into the midfield/Half-Forward role he had in the second half of the season he showed he could do so much more than just cherry picking as a loose defender. North basically weren't able to score unless he got involved.

Pre-bye averages (11 games) vs Post-bye averages (10 games)
29. 9 disposals | 29.7 disposals
7.9 contested | 12.2 contested
4.2 tackles | 3.9 tackles
2.2 clearances | 4.9 clearances
2.7 clangers | 2.8 clangers
4.2 score involvements | 6.3 score involvements
2 goals | 12 goals
7 goal assists | 13 goal assists

by comparison from round 13 onward:
Sheezel (10 games) | JHF (11 games) | Warner (11 games)

Disposals
29.7 | 21.4 | 22.5
Contested possessions:
12.2 | 9.8 | 7.6
Tackles:
3.9 | 3.5 | 3
Clearances:
4.9 | 4.6 | 4
Clangers:
2.8 | 5 | 4.2
Score Involvements:
6.3 | 7.5 | 7
Goals:
1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2
Goal Assists:
1.3 | 1 | 1

All of this done while he's still a teenager playing for a historically bad side, while the other two are playing for the top 2 teams in the league.

Not diminishing the other two, who are incredibly good players, but Sheezel arguably > Daicos IMO.
 
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Herald Sun: AFL's 40 Best Rising Stars Under 24 Years Of Age Ranked (as of September 1st 2024)

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