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

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Trying to think of the Eagles #2 :$

Probably Ginbey given he has been a regular since arriving. Hough might be third given 53 games at 21yo and a demonstrated effective secure role. Others like JWill or Hewett are still a bit potential for now.

we didn’t have any nab rising star noms in 2020-22
 

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Trying to think of the Eagles #2 :$

Probably Ginbey given he has been a regular since arriving. Hough might be third given 53 games at 21yo and a demonstrated effective secure role.

we didn’t have any nab rising star noms in 2020-22
Brady Hough and Reuben Ginbey were very close to my list. Both should easily be there this time next season.
 
Trying to think of the Eagles #2 :$

Probably Ginbey given he has been a regular since arriving. Hough might be third given 53 games at 21yo and a demonstrated effective secure role. Others like JWill or Hewett are still a bit potential for now.

we didn’t have any nab rising star noms in 2020-22

I liked Hough in his draft year. I think 31 was quite high for him to go based on a fair few phantoms getting around, but I had him around that mark.

Not surprised he's kicked on and started his career quite strongly.

The other from the same draft I loved was Zac Taylor. Was stoked to see him get a good run at it late in the season for the Crows.
 
This is a great top 10, hard to argue with any of these

7th. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan going along a 2.0 goals per game across 21 games.... 7th Best U/24.

Mitch Georgiades going along at 2.3 goals per game across 17 games... not even in the top 40.

Georgiades has played 4 less games than JUH and has only kicked 4 less goals.
 
Every hawthorn player under 24 should occupy all the top positions. Other than that it's apparently a good list.
Close! DGB probably just misses otherwise you are correct
 
I think it's pretty hard to do and cant argue with too many of the names in there. My main gripe is probably counter-intuitive given the limited age bracket but I think you have to have more than 2 years on the board to be where Sheezel is unless you have been close to the best player in the game already like Daicos
 
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.

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.
Or you know, no one puts any time/effort into stopping Sheezel because North are trash.
 
Or you know, no one puts any time/effort into stopping Sheezel because North are trash.
Had plenty of attention later in the year. There's no one else at North worth stopping other than Sheezel.

Port Adelaide has Rozee, Butters and Wines to take heat away from JHF and Sydney has Heeney and Gulden who need attention. Sheezel is still 19 and carrying the workload of the North midfield right now.

Again, they're all excellent young guys and I don't think any of Port / Sydney / North supporters would wish they had another, but right now as an objective supporter, in my opinion Sheezel is the best.
 
Had plenty of attention later in the year. There's no one else at North worth stopping other than Sheezel.

Port Adelaide has Rozee, Butters and Wines to take heat away from JHF and Sydney has Heeney and Gulden who need attention. Sheezel is still 19 and carrying the workload of the North midfield right now.

Again, they're all excellent young guys and I don't think any of Port / Sydney / North supporters would wish they had another, but right now as an objective supporter, in my opinion Sheezel is the best.
Doesn't that also increase Sheezles stats? He is the only player in the side that knows how to play football, so whenever a team mates gets the ball they look for him to do something with it.

JHF doesn't need to play that role, this enables him to be a lot more damaging with his 20 odd possessions?
 

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Weddle seems very high for what he is right now

For us, I’d have Soligo in there ahead of Rachele, but can understand why he isn’t
 
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:
12 | 14 | 13
Goal Assists:
13 | 11 | 11

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.

No one bothers to put time into him or do anything really because north are bin juice. He can rack em up because it doesn't matter and they've got no one else to give it to.

Handy stat accumulator but he's not in the league of the other two.
 
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.
I thought Massimo ahead of Weddle was interesting as well 🤔
 
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

De Koning playing to his maximum potential elevates the entire team in a way Dempsey's best cannot.

The value of an elite kpp will always outweigh the role players.
 
De Koning playing to his maximum potential elevates the entire team in a way Dempsey's best cannot.

The value of an elite kpp will always outweigh the role players.

That’s true but it hasn’t happened really for two seasons. We’ve seen some glimpses of it in his likely new role and I really like him there but he’s got to cement it first
 
I'm reuploading this to cause some debate. Also reranking a few players compared to when I first posted.
Feel free to post your top 40 (or 10/20, as it is quite hard) here.
My personal 40 would be as follows:
40th. Elijah Hollands
39th. Oliver Dempsey
38th. Darcy Wilson (Wilson is pure class. I would have loved him at the Hawks; he should be far higher next season)
37th. Connor MacDonald
36th. George Wardlaw (I'm a massive fan of Warlord. Could be one of the greatest contested players ever; expect to see him top 10 here next year, this low only because others have played more)
35th. Mitch Georgiades (has only gotten better as the season has gone on and he is finally realising his potential. He has runs on the board as well and could have a big finals campaign)
34th. Jye Caldwell
33rd. Sam De Koning
32nd. Luke Jackson
31st. Jye Amiss
30th. Nic Martin
29th. Kysaiah Pickett
28th. Josh Weddle
27th. Harley Reid
26th. Sam Durham
25th. Will Ashcroft
24th. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
23rd. Josh Treacy
22nd. Massimo D'Ambrosio (more talented players below him, but he has had a great season and been massive for the success of our transition game and forward movement)
21st. Mac Andrew
20th. Finn Callaghan
19th. James Rowbottom (Like D'Ambrosio, his ranking is more based on importance to the system and team. He wouldn't be here on talent alone, but his role is so crucial to the success of Longmire's system)
18th. Jordan Clark
17th. Sam Flanders
16th. Matt Rowell
15th. Jai Newcombe
14th. Max Holmes
13th. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
12th. Hayden Young
11th. Tom Green
10th. Noah Anderson (this is where Bailey Smith would be)
9th. Will Day
8th. Jason Horne-Francis
7th. Sam Darcy
6th. Caleb Serong
5th. Chad Warner
4th. Harry Sheezel
3rd. Zak Butters
2nd. Errol Gulden
1st. Nick Daicos
 
I'm reuploading this to cause some debate. Also reranking a few players compared to when I first posted.
Feel free to post your top 40 (or 10/20, as it is quite hard) here.
My personal 40 would be as follows:
40th. Elijah Hollands
39th. Oliver Dempsey
38th. Darcy Wilson (Wilson is pure class. I would have loved him at the Hawks; he should be far higher next season)
37th. Connor MacDonald
36th. George Wardlaw (I'm a massive fan of Warlord. Could be one of the greatest contested players ever; expect to see him top 10 here next year, this low only because others have played more)
35th. Mitch Georgiades (has only gotten better as the season has gone on and he is finally realising his potential. He has runs on the board as well and could have a big finals campaign)
34th. Jye Caldwell
33rd. Sam De Koning
32nd. Luke Jackson
31st. Jye Amiss
30th. Nic Martin
29th. Kysaiah Pickett
28th. Josh Weddle
27th. Harley Reid
26th. Sam Durham
25th. Will Ashcroft
24th. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
23rd. Josh Treacy
22nd. Massimo D'Ambrosio (more talented players below him, but he has had a great season and been massive for the success of our transition game and forward movement)
21st. Mac Andrew
20th. Finn Callaghan
19th. James Rowbottom (Like D'Ambrosio, his ranking is more based on importance to the system and team. He wouldn't be here on talent alone, but his role is so crucial to the success of Longmire's system)
18th. Jordan Clark
17th. Sam Flanders
16th. Matt Rowell
15th. Jai Newcombe
14th. Max Holmes
13th. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
12th. Hayden Young
11th. Tom Green
10th. Noah Anderson (this is where Bailey Smith would be)
9th. Will Day
8th. Jason Horne-Francis
7th. Sam Darcy
6th. Caleb Serong
5th. Chad Warner
4th. Harry Sheezel
3rd. Zak Butters
2nd. Errol Gulden
1st. Nick Daicos
I know I'm coming in to bat for my team here haha, but I'd take Soligo over Wilson, based on output to date. And I'm as big a Wilson fan as you'll see

Thilthorpe is top 20 on talent and output when he came back from injury too, but I get why he isn't here, small sample size from last season
 
I know I'm coming in to bat for my team here haha, but I'd take Soligo over Wilson, based on output to date. And I'm as big a Wilson fan as you'll see

Thilthorpe is top 20 on talent and output when he came back from injury too, but I get why he isn't here, small sample size from last season
That is a fair comment. On output, Soligo would be higher than most. And I did consider that somewhat. I just don't think he will ultimately be as good a player as some of these guys. Not comparing them as players, but he reminds me of what I always thought Liam Shiels would have been at another club with a bigger role. But your comment definitely comes from logic and not bias (unlike most South Australians), and I can see why you would have him here.

As for Thilthorpe, he hasn't played enough. We all know his talent. But even when he has played, he hasn't shown a great deal outside of a few games and his evident form to end this season. That said, if he can demonstrate across an entire season, I'm sure he'll be in my top 25 at least this time next year.
 
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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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