Teen Wolf
Norm Smith Medallist
- Jul 5, 2011
- 8,021
- 8,816
- AFL Club
- North Melbourne
- Other Teams
- Afghanistan women's cricket team
And maybe the final edition, or maybe not. Hopefully the changes I've made this year strip away a layer of complexity/confusion, thereby making these new rankings easier to navigate through as well as making future rankings easier to predict.
THE LIST
For a club-by-club breakdown, scroll to the second post, but this leaked Xeroxed document here has the ranking for every top player across the whole league:
THE CONCEPT
Scenario: The whole competition is starting over with a national draft for all players and all 18 clubs. If every list manager makes the right move (correctly weighing up potential with the need for experience, and forming judgments based on what players have shown at AFLW level) I believe this is what the draft order will be for the first six rounds. Consequently, this is not merely a player rating system, but a means of evaluating every club’s actual list heading into the first 18-team season.
THE ARROWS
Names next to upward pointing solid triangles indicate players who still have their best football ahead of them. Names next to downward pointing hollow triangles indicate players who… are old. Age is but a number, nevertheless DOB is my sole guide for these particular classifications.
THE CATEGORIES
I’ve also named each round of the draft in the style of a credit bond rating, in an attempt to subtly implant the idea that these rankings are the result of cold, lifeless calculations. Nothing personal, just good business etc.
As with previous years, I am UnDecided about where a small portion of certain players should be placed, and they are indicated with a "UD" in the breakdowns below (and appear in the Under Review section of the image above).
THE NUMBERS
In the lists below, players may have a string of numbers next to their names, for instance:
THE WORDS
I will try to keep the explanations for my rankings as concise and relevant as possible, noting that a) there is plenty of writing in previous editions that will help inform these latest rankings, and b) sometimes the ranking itself says enough (but I’m happy to elaborate when requested).
HAVE YOUR SAY
As with all previous editions, I’m extending the invitation for everybody to contribute their own Most Valuable Players list. It would be great to see others have a crack in good faith at, say, a first round of a phantom draft for all current AFLW stars, remembering nobody has seriously taken up the offer in past years. Seems like there's more interest in opining about the next actual draft, even though there’s only grainy Zapruder footage to help support or argue a case.
*THE 54TH PLACE IN THE RANKINGS
In the immediate company of Phillips and Pearce, the 54th spot would’ve ideally gone to Kate Lutkins. Serious injury, however, in conjunction with the improvement of Nat Grider and the ongoing steadiness of Breanna Koenen, makes it a tough call.
Meanwhile, Ash Brazill should really be in the Under Review/Undecided section because of doubt surrounding her availability. However, there is a chance she’ll play footy again after the Commonwealth Games, rather than a guarantee against it (last I heard, though Collingwood may say otherwise within weeks/days/moments after I post this). The 54th spot therefore goes to Brazill, but not with any great conviction. I could wait for confirmation but, if not her, there will always be somebody else that ends up on the inactive list so I'm drawing a line right now to maintain a semblance of neatness.
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
THE LIST
For a club-by-club breakdown, scroll to the second post, but this leaked Xeroxed document here has the ranking for every top player across the whole league:
THE CONCEPT
Scenario: The whole competition is starting over with a national draft for all players and all 18 clubs. If every list manager makes the right move (correctly weighing up potential with the need for experience, and forming judgments based on what players have shown at AFLW level) I believe this is what the draft order will be for the first six rounds. Consequently, this is not merely a player rating system, but a means of evaluating every club’s actual list heading into the first 18-team season.
THE ARROWS
Names next to upward pointing solid triangles indicate players who still have their best football ahead of them. Names next to downward pointing hollow triangles indicate players who… are old. Age is but a number, nevertheless DOB is my sole guide for these particular classifications.
THE CATEGORIES
I’ve also named each round of the draft in the style of a credit bond rating, in an attempt to subtly implant the idea that these rankings are the result of cold, lifeless calculations. Nothing personal, just good business etc.
As with previous years, I am UnDecided about where a small portion of certain players should be placed, and they are indicated with a "UD" in the breakdowns below (and appear in the Under Review section of the image above).
THE NUMBERS
In the lists below, players may have a string of numbers next to their names, for instance:
“11” corresponds to Blackburn’s new ranking heading into Season Seven. The numbers in brackets correspond to her previous rankings in chronological order, so she was ranked 4th ahead of the 2020 season, and 6th coming into the past two seasons.11 Ellie Blackburn (4, 6, 6)
THE WORDS
I will try to keep the explanations for my rankings as concise and relevant as possible, noting that a) there is plenty of writing in previous editions that will help inform these latest rankings, and b) sometimes the ranking itself says enough (but I’m happy to elaborate when requested).
HAVE YOUR SAY
As with all previous editions, I’m extending the invitation for everybody to contribute their own Most Valuable Players list. It would be great to see others have a crack in good faith at, say, a first round of a phantom draft for all current AFLW stars, remembering nobody has seriously taken up the offer in past years. Seems like there's more interest in opining about the next actual draft, even though there’s only grainy Zapruder footage to help support or argue a case.
*THE 54TH PLACE IN THE RANKINGS
In the immediate company of Phillips and Pearce, the 54th spot would’ve ideally gone to Kate Lutkins. Serious injury, however, in conjunction with the improvement of Nat Grider and the ongoing steadiness of Breanna Koenen, makes it a tough call.
Meanwhile, Ash Brazill should really be in the Under Review/Undecided section because of doubt surrounding her availability. However, there is a chance she’ll play footy again after the Commonwealth Games, rather than a guarantee against it (last I heard, though Collingwood may say otherwise within weeks/days/moments after I post this). The 54th spot therefore goes to Brazill, but not with any great conviction. I could wait for confirmation but, if not her, there will always be somebody else that ends up on the inactive list so I'm drawing a line right now to maintain a semblance of neatness.
PREVIOUS EDITIONS