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)

8. 23 - Tom Stewart

This may too be a harsh ranking for one of the most accomplished intercept defenders this century fresh off an All-Australian nod, but the standard Stewart has set for himself makes him a victim of his own success.

Now a five-time All-Australian, two-time best & fairest and premiership player in just seven years of AFL footy, there's not much left for the near 31-year-old to prove.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Tom Stewart of the Cats runs onto the field during the 2022 Toyota AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 24, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

That hasn't stopped pre-season discussions about a potential midfield move after trialling the role near the end of last year.

Alternatively, he could hold onto his current role and continue dominating games off half-back while nurturing the development of Sam De Koning as Geelong potentially rise back into finals contention.