Rightly or wrongly, midfielders have a monopoly on just about every major individual award in our game, similar to an NFL quarterback.
It makes sense to a degree, they are situated where the ball resides for the majority of the contest - in the middle - but must also cover the entire field to find the footy wherever required.
In turn, they typically clock in the most kms, accumulate the most touches and fill up the stat sheet more than any other typer of player on the ground.
They play a variety of roles - in & under the contest feeding the outside runners, exploding out of packs with strength, speed and agility, plus using the ball skilfully and efficiently by hand or foot.
Some are suited to a particular role more than others, making it hard to definitively rank one player over another using stats or achievements. Patrick Cripps and Nick Daicos both fall under the midfielder category but carry a 12cm & 15kg size difference and dominate in vastly different ways on the ground.
We must look beyond just the numbers which may favour a Tom Green, or the eye-test which may favour a Jordan De Goey to decide on number one.
Instead, we need a rich tapestry of impact, stats, moments, value, performance and pedigree to judge who holds the crown as the league's best midfielder.
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8. Jordan Dawson
Jordan Dawson's 24-month rise to superstardom since joining the Crows is hard to compare.
A prized recruit ahead 2022, pressure to perform jumped dramatically in year two at the Crows, being anointed skipper just one season into his tenure.
He rose to the occasion with a career-best campaign out of the midfield, polling 20 Brownlow votes in an All-Australian year averaging 27 touches and seven tackles.
He has already entered the room of the best captains in the competition, earning this status with multiple match-winning and match-saving moments, like holding the fort in defence during the closing stages of a three-point, Round 6 win over Hawthorn this year.
At just 26 years old, expect Dawson to climb higher up this list as the Crows enter 2024 as a dark-horse contender, ready to potentially shoot straight into the top four having narrowly missed the eight this year.
