Barely a week out from “round zero”, we have tackled the challenge of naming the AFL’s best 20 footballers aged 21 or younger ahead of the new season.
Carlton young gun Ollie Hollands was unlucky to miss out on the top 20.Credit: Getty Images
Cue the debate.
The criteria were simple: players must have played at least 10 games (sorry, George Wardlaw, Sam Darcy, Harley Reid and co.) and not have turned 22 years old. The list is based mostly on production – but with some extrapolation, so those who are only one year in are not too disadvantaged.
Care was taken not to give too much weighting to potential and also factored in that it is harder to make an early impact as a tall forward or defender than, say, a midfielder or half-back flanker.
Among those to miss out were Adelaide’s Max Michalanney and Luke Pedlar, 2022 No.1 pick Aaron Cadman, Carlton’s Ollie Hollands, Kangaroos Paul Curtis and Will Phillips, Hawthorn’s Josh Ward, Demons Judd McVee and Jake Bowey, Gold Coast’s Bailey Humphrey, and Eagles Reuben Ginbey, Elijah Hewett and Noah Long.
Let us know your thoughts on the list in the comments.
Date of birth: 4/4/2002
Key 2023 stats: 10 disposals, 4 marks, 1.6 goals
McDonald might not be a stay-at-home, bullocking key forward who is going to monster opposition defenders, but his running power, particularly for someone of 195 centimetres, sets him apart as a prospect. The Western Australian showed glimpses of what he could become in his first two seasons, while sharing a forward line dominated by Lance Franklin, but he enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023. McDonald more than doubled his goal tally from a year earlier to finish with 32 and illustrate why he is so important to the Swans’ plans.
The future of the AFL: Here are the game’s top 20 young players
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27.02.2024
Barely a week out from “round zero”, we have tackled the challenge of naming the AFL’s best 20 footballers aged 21 or younger ahead of the new season.
Carlton young gun Ollie Hollands was unlucky to miss out on the top 20.Credit: Getty Images
Cue the debate.
The criteria were simple: players must have played at least 10 games (sorry, George Wardlaw, Sam Darcy, Harley Reid and co.) and not have turned 22 years old. The list is........
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