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)
5. 26 - Harris Andrewsย
Harris Andrews just gets the edge over Jacob Weitering on this list after a runner-up campaign as the focal point of Brisbane's defensive 50 with an arguably inferior supporting cast.
The addition of Tom Doedee should free up Andrews slightly, allowing him to play more assertively and launch Lion attacks with a potentially higher intercept rate.
At his peak, he is a dominant 202cm force, capable of limiting any key forward he's matched up on with strong intercept marks when possible and punishing spoils when out of position.
His Grand Final performance under the duress of a Billy Frampton tag was underrated, taking nine marks with 16 disposals, 112 Super Coach points, and most of his work done in the crucial stages of the fourth quarter.
Going one step further in 2024 could skyrocket Andrews' legacy into rare air, being a premiership captain and two or three-time All-Australian.
