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)

7. 24 - Tom Liberatore

While this is a harsh ranking for an already undervalued player, there is a strong argument that no player is better at their job than Tom Liberatore.

Once again he could not crack the All-Australian side in 2023 - a career-best year for a 31-year-old, averaging 27 disposals (15 contested), a league-best eight clearances per game and the second-most pressure acts at 30 per game.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 24: Tom Liberatore of the Bulldogs celebrates a goal during the 2022 AFL Round 02 match between the Western Bulldogs and the Carlton Blues at Marvel Stadium on March 24, 2022 In Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

He does the dirty work in the Bulldogs' midfield, allowing stars Marcus Bontempelli,ย Adam Treloar and others clean use inside 50.

It's painful not placing him higher on the list, but understandable given some of the champion names ahead.

Approaching 32 years, a production decline may be nearing, but all footy fans will be hoping for at least one more year of brilliance from 'Libba'.