Opening Round is etching ever closer as we hit the second half of our top 50 players list of 2024. This week we're looking through spots 30-21.

Rather than naming the best performers of 2023 or the top players entering Opening Round, this list will look at the best players currently with some projections as to how they may rank at the end of the year.

Many established stars made the cut in our last edition but may have been ranked lower than expected.

As we reach the cream of the crop in the top 30, the scope of talent in our league becomes glaringly apparent, with a host of top tier All-Australians and even Brownlow contenders featuring outside the top 20.

PART I: BEST PLAYERS OF 2024 (50-41)
PART II: BEST PLAYERS OF 2024 (40-31)

4. 27 - Caleb Serong

To the surprise of many, 2023 saw Caleb Serong overtake Andrew Brayshaw as Freo's best midfielder after a career-best year of nearly 31 touches a game and 24 Brownlow votes.

In a dour year for the Dockers, Serong was a rare shining light, earning his first All-Australian blazer and entering the discussion of the league's top 10 midfielders.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 15: Caleb Serong of the Dockers celebrates after scoring a goal during the 2021 AFL Round 22 match between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium on August 15, 2021 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos)

Should the club rise back into the eight, Docker fans can also rest assured knowing Serong is already a proven finals performer, racking up 33 disposals and 10 clearances in Freo's famous comeback elimination final victory over the Bulldogs before 34 more touches in their semi-final loss to Collingwood in 2022.

21 years old at the time of these performances, a 23-year-old Serong entering 2024 should be in for another big year.