The official AFL Player Ratings have released this season's position leaders through 16 rounds, and while some of the leaders are who many would expect, there are some surprising names near the top.
The ratings look at every single action a player makes in a game, and have devised a system to work out whichย playersย are the best in the competition.
While every player has been ranked against those in their position, there's no surprise the top 10 rated players across the competition are all midfielders.
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield (22.3) and Richmond's Dustin Martin (20.4) are the only two players who average a rating over 20, with Dangerfield the best player in the game in 2017 according to the numbers.
Gold Coast's Gary Ablett (17.1), Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury (16.8) and Brisbane's Dayne Zorko (16.7) round out the top five in both the midfield and overall AFL rankings.
West Coast star Elliot Yeo is the league's best player who isn't a midfielder according to the numbers, as the intercept specialist is 12th overall in the competition with a rating of 15.4, and is rated the best general defender.
Port Adelaide ruckman Paddy Ryder and Hawthorn big man Ben McEvoy are both tied for the mantle of number one ruckman in the competition, with their rating of 15.3 seeing them joint-13th in the league.
In the other key position areas of the ground, Richmond's Alex Rance (21st overall) leads Adelaide's Jake Lever (50th) and Eagle Jeremy McGovern (89th) as the best key defenders, while West Coast's Josh Kennedy (18th) edges out Sydney star Lance Franklin (27th) and Giants gun Jeremy Cameron (27th) as the game's best key forward.
St Kilda's Jack Sinclair has the best rating among wingers (14.0, 42nd overall) while Melbourne's Christian Petracca leads the midfield-forward category (14.1, 40th overall).
The battle is a bit closer for the game's best general forward, as GWS' Toby Greene (14.6, 24th overall) edges out South Australian duo Eddie Betts (14.5, 27th overall) and Robbie Grayย (14.5, 27th overall).
