Have a crack at the top 10 or 15 right now. A nice exercise to reflect on a wonderful first half to 2023
1. Nick Daicos - smashing it in coaches votes. Fly loves him, hasn't missed a game and he's building well and truly toward being an all time great for our club.
2. Tom Mitchell - a monstrous addition to our midfield that has lifted us to top two on the ladder. Has consistently been in our top half dozen most weeks, and will have a good night at the Copeland.
3. Darcy Moore - been a colossus so far and will win his second AA guernsey if he doesn't get injured. Is only behind Wilkie in coaches votes amongst all defenders.
4. Jordan De Goey - his suspension will once again hurt his final position, but there's no doubting with 4 clear BOGs so far and several more strong midfield performances, that Jordy will feature prominently early.
5. Josh Daicos - fifth is a shame for a gun winger in AA calculations, but considering the names ahead it's no insult. Having a wonderful season.
6. Scott Pendlebury - prominently features in our top 7 or 8 players without dominating. Like Mitchell, I expect Pendles to poll consistently most weeks and will once again prove that age is just a number for this legend of our club.
7. Brody Mihocek - the treasure that keeps on giving. Having a career best year whereby he's not just on track to kick 55 goals, but his other KPIs including marks, inside 50's and 1%ers are well up too. All without McStay too who was supposed to chop out Brody.
8. Isaac Quaynor - there were a couple of weeks early where he was rattled by a couple of good small forwards. Since round 6 or 7, he has been absolutely superb. His ability to take intercept marks at his relatively small height is outstanding, as is his constant run and carry and link up with everyone around him.
9. Brayden Maynard - so easy to take for granted when he is so consistently rock solid. His numbers continue to stack up really well with his 2022 season that yielded an AA guernsey.
10. Steele Sidebottom - highly underrated these days and still as valuable as just about anyone on our list on game day in my opinion. His injury will mean he won't finish top 10 this year, but I expect him to feature early. A fantastic two way running winger who gives so much run and link-up to our hard-running game plan.
On the cusp:
John Noble - averaging 21 disposals and 5 rebound 50's a game. Hasn't missed a game and is a guy whose playing style really embodies our strong game plan.
Nathan Murphy - has only missed one game through concussion, and has otherwise been a rock at centre half-back. Constantly wowing us with his development in his last 25 games.
Jack Crisp - the two-time reigning winner has suffered most from Mitchell's addition to our primary centre bounce mix, but he has still been very reliable and he appears to be building into form nicely lately.
Will Hoskin-Elliott - continues to polarise some, but I think it's very clear this is his best season since 2018. Been really good as our third winger until Sidebottom went out, covering heaps of ground, providing run and taking the occasional intercept mark.
Taylor Adams - has been made to play the dirty half high-forward role that Lipinski owns and has been mostly good, with the occasional poor game. His pressure around the contest continues to be a highlight, and he is still a strong ball-winner when thrown in.
A chance with a strong finish to the year:
Bobby Hill - had a really good start to the year before heading into a slump. Has since picked up again and seems to be relishing playing further afield where his speed is a bigger factor. On pace to kick over 30 goals.
Mason Cox - has catching up to do with only 8 games under his wing, but at 1.4 goals, 5 marks and 15 hitouts a game, he is playing career best footy at 32 years old.
1. Nick Daicos - smashing it in coaches votes. Fly loves him, hasn't missed a game and he's building well and truly toward being an all time great for our club.
2. Tom Mitchell - a monstrous addition to our midfield that has lifted us to top two on the ladder. Has consistently been in our top half dozen most weeks, and will have a good night at the Copeland.
3. Darcy Moore - been a colossus so far and will win his second AA guernsey if he doesn't get injured. Is only behind Wilkie in coaches votes amongst all defenders.
4. Jordan De Goey - his suspension will once again hurt his final position, but there's no doubting with 4 clear BOGs so far and several more strong midfield performances, that Jordy will feature prominently early.
5. Josh Daicos - fifth is a shame for a gun winger in AA calculations, but considering the names ahead it's no insult. Having a wonderful season.
6. Scott Pendlebury - prominently features in our top 7 or 8 players without dominating. Like Mitchell, I expect Pendles to poll consistently most weeks and will once again prove that age is just a number for this legend of our club.
7. Brody Mihocek - the treasure that keeps on giving. Having a career best year whereby he's not just on track to kick 55 goals, but his other KPIs including marks, inside 50's and 1%ers are well up too. All without McStay too who was supposed to chop out Brody.
8. Isaac Quaynor - there were a couple of weeks early where he was rattled by a couple of good small forwards. Since round 6 or 7, he has been absolutely superb. His ability to take intercept marks at his relatively small height is outstanding, as is his constant run and carry and link up with everyone around him.
9. Brayden Maynard - so easy to take for granted when he is so consistently rock solid. His numbers continue to stack up really well with his 2022 season that yielded an AA guernsey.
10. Steele Sidebottom - highly underrated these days and still as valuable as just about anyone on our list on game day in my opinion. His injury will mean he won't finish top 10 this year, but I expect him to feature early. A fantastic two way running winger who gives so much run and link-up to our hard-running game plan.
On the cusp:
John Noble - averaging 21 disposals and 5 rebound 50's a game. Hasn't missed a game and is a guy whose playing style really embodies our strong game plan.
Nathan Murphy - has only missed one game through concussion, and has otherwise been a rock at centre half-back. Constantly wowing us with his development in his last 25 games.
Jack Crisp - the two-time reigning winner has suffered most from Mitchell's addition to our primary centre bounce mix, but he has still been very reliable and he appears to be building into form nicely lately.
Will Hoskin-Elliott - continues to polarise some, but I think it's very clear this is his best season since 2018. Been really good as our third winger until Sidebottom went out, covering heaps of ground, providing run and taking the occasional intercept mark.
Taylor Adams - has been made to play the dirty half high-forward role that Lipinski owns and has been mostly good, with the occasional poor game. His pressure around the contest continues to be a highlight, and he is still a strong ball-winner when thrown in.
A chance with a strong finish to the year:
Bobby Hill - had a really good start to the year before heading into a slump. Has since picked up again and seems to be relishing playing further afield where his speed is a bigger factor. On pace to kick over 30 goals.
Mason Cox - has catching up to do with only 8 games under his wing, but at 1.4 goals, 5 marks and 15 hitouts a game, he is playing career best footy at 32 years old.
Noble
