Our Rookie Rankings top six has taken further shape after Round 16, but there's plenty of attention in our honourable mentions as a young Bomber and fledgling Eagle press their case for a breakthrough.
A forgotten Roo falls after not playing for close to a month, while a clutch performance from Essendon's top pick sees him rise.
A young Magpie's tight grasp on pole position was only strengthened, but there's still plenty of time left in the year to see change at the top.
Criteria: For our Rookie Rankings, we are selecting players who have made their debut this season. Other players who may still be eligible for a Rising Star nomination but have already made their debut prior to the 2022 season will not be considered.
I.e. players like Jai Newcombe, Jake Bowey, Corey Durdin and Sam De Koning are ineligible.
VIEW: ROUND 15 RANKINGS
Jesse Motlop (Carlton)
9 disposals, 3 goals, 88% disposal efficiency
Was a positive note for the Blues in what was a tough night in front of goal. Lead his side for majors, including one off the back of applying great pressure in attack.
Massimo D'Ambrosio (Essendon)
23 disposals, 6 marks, 4 intercepts
Is on track to break into our top six given his output across the opening three games of his career. One to watch in the coming weeks.
Brady Hough (West Coast)
20 disposals, 10 marks, 95% disposal efficiency
Was once again a highlight for the Eagles on the outside and joins D'Ambrosio in being on the fringe of the top six.
Jake Soligo (Adelaide)
20 disposals, 9 contested possessions, 5 marks
The young Crow featured among Adelaide's centre bounce attendances and looked to tussle with the league's best midfield.
After three weeks with no action, the top pick from last year's National Draft has faced his first drop in our rankings for some time.
A Round 14 bye and two games out through suspension have given Horne-Francis no chance to defend his placing among our top six, with the young Roo now falling to sixth overall.
Should David Noble look to inject the hard-nosed ball-winner straight back into his side this weekend, then he'll have every chance of proving himself as a top-ranked rookie against the Magpies this weekend.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
It hasn't been the easiest road to start on for Horne-Francis, but there's little to suggest he hasn't been consistent for North Melbourne across the start of his career.
A very solid performance for the young St Kilda winger, who may have jumped a spot higher had it not been for some late brilliance by a Bombers onballer.
Wanganeen-Milera was at his serviceable best for the Saints on Friday night, offering plenty of precision and run with the ball as Brett Ratten's side stormed over the top of flag contenders Carlton.
The teenager collected 14 possessions, seven marks, four tackles, two contested marks and two clearances from just 64 per cent time on ground against the Blues.
With the Saints needing to snatch wins almost every weekend to qualify for the top eight, Wanganeen-Milera is set to hold a crucial role as the season takes shape down the final stretch.
Defender
Marks
Disposals
Tackles
St Kilda will welcome Fremantle to Marvel Stadium on Saturday night in what will be another test for the Moorabbin club.
Hard to argue we've seen a better fourth-quarter performance from a rookie this year than what Hobbs pieced together on Saturday afternoon against the Swans.
The first-year Bomber moved from half-forward into midfield for the final term and delivered on what Ben Rutten would have asked of his teenaged talent, who recorded 10 disposals, two goal assists, two tackles and two clearances in the final quarter to help stave off the surging Swans.
The performance came after Rutten's decision to omit Hobbs from his Round 16 lineup, with initial plans in place to see the first-round selection start as the medical sub before being brought into the fold as a late inclusion.
The inspiring performance sees Hobbs jump two places in our Rookie Rankings and now setting his sights on the podium with just seven rounds remaining.
Midfield
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
The Bombers will face the tough test of travelling to the Gabba next Sunday to face the Lions, with Hobbs now likely to have held his spot in the senior side.
The young Tiger was once again tasked with locking down Eagles veteran Jack Darling, who he kept to one major while even managing to move forward and boot himself a goal.
Gibcus also collected three intercept marks from his 11 disposals, and conceded just the single loss from his three contested one-on-one battles.
The outing was what we've come to expect from the athletic lockdown defender, who is continuing to go head-to-head with some of the league's more renowned forward targets.
Defender
Marks
Disposals
Goals
He'll be tested again this weekend when the Tigers look to negate twin towers Mabior Chol and Levi Casboult at Metricon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Played his role to perfection as the Bombers steered themselves to a shock win over the Swans on Saturday.
Martin collected 18 possessions, 5 marks, 3 inside 50s and 330 metres gained against Sydney, holding down a rotation between half-forward and the wing.
Despite the more than formidable performance, the Western Australian might be slipping away from pole position, with a young Magpies star announcing himself as the likely Rising Star favourite.
Defender
Marks
Disposals
Rebound50s
Martin will have every chance of cutting the gap in the coming weeks, with the Bombers looking to extend their winning ways this weekend against Brisbane.
37 disposals at 83 per cent efficiency. Six intercepts and seven score involvements... there's not much more that needs to be said of Nick Daicos at this point.
The young Magpies star had his best outing in black and white and is showing no sign of slowing down despite playing all 15 games for Collingwood this year.
The father-son prodigy is the only rookie to do so in 2022, with Daicos banking on his elite aerobic ability to continue his run of form and the lead in our rankings.
His gap over the rest of the runners in our rankings was already growing, but Daicos' Round 16 performance against the Suns has only sent the emerging star further from the chasing pack.
Defender
Marks
Disposals
Rebound50s
He'll not only be the clubhouse favourite to take out our Rookie Rankings, but may have pipped Jai Newcombe as the front-runner for the Rising Star Award.