Nick Dal Santo has raised the names of five players who he believes will take another step up in 2020.
"This is not for Nat Fyfe, Dustin Martin and all the other superstars in the competition, this is the next run below," Dal Santo said on SEN Afternoons.
"Who's had a solid start to their career, but who's going to take the next jump? So we sit here in 12 months time and say: 'Wow, they had a burst out year, didn't they?"
Apart from these five players, Dal Santo also gave honourable mentions to Aaron Naughton, Charlie Curnow and Izak Rankine.
In no particular order, Dal Santo said he believes these five will breakout into the upper echelons of the competition next season:
4. Nick Blakey (Sydney Swans)
After playing 21 games in his debut season, Blakey has impressed many inside and outside of the Sydney Swans.
Already,ย Fox Footy'sย David King believes Blakey could be the best player taken from the 2018 National Draft.
A standout performance in Round 14 against Hawthorn earned him a rising star nomination.
In the absence of Lance Franklin, Blakey kicked two crucial goals in the final term, allowing the Swans to come away with a 19-point win.
The Sydney academy player has the ability to mark the football and also has a fantastic tank which could give him opportunities in midfield in the future.
Dal Santo believes with an aging Franklin, Blakey has shown enough to potentially take a leap and become a more prominent feature in the Swans forward line in 2020.
