The opening month of the 2023 AFL season has provided us with plenty to consider for our Rookie Rankings, with the results from Round 4 seeing another change to the top six.
While the leading four names have held their place, a young Hawks midfielder falls out of the order as Adelaide's new young defender leaps into sixth.
That change has seen an exciting Saint move into fifth overall ahead of Gather Round, where we'll see the top two in our rankings go head-to-head.
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 2023 season will not be considered.
I.e. Rising Star eligible players such as Sam Darcy, Finn Callaghan and Jye Amiss are ineligible, having already played an AFL match prior to Round 1, 2023.
Note: The order of our Rookie Rankings will expand to seven players after Round 6.
Round 4 honourable mentions:
Lachie Cowan (Carlton)
Ned Moyle (Gold Coast)
Judd McVee (Melbourne)
Alwyn Davey (Essendon)
SEE: Rookie Rankings after Round 3
3. Reuben Ginbey (-)
Arguably the most difficult performance for the young Eagles bull, who was forced to take on a bigger workload in the absence of his star teammates against a well-oiled Melbourne machine.
Ginbey came away from the game with 14 disposals, five tackles and three clearances to his name as fatigue looked to take its toll on the teenager late into the outing.
The big-bodied onballer has plenty of runs on the board to hold his spot in third place in our Rookie Rankings, having led the league in tackles up until this past weekend. His tally of five tackles keeps him among the top five in the AFL for the metric after the opening month.
Midfield
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
Eagles coach Adam Simpson stated he may need to manage Ginbey's minutes after a heavy first four games, with the young West Coast ball-winner potentially missing this week's trip to Adelaide to face Geelong.
