Saint and Demon rise as debutants impress: AFL Rookie Rankings

Zero Hanger's Rookie Rankings after Round 8 have seen more movement among the top six, with two starring performances from first-year midfielders shaking up our rankings.

A Saints young gun and a Demons wingman have both jumped up our rankings, forcing a Suns backman to fall back two spots.

Round 8 saw a handful of players feature in their first games, three of whom have earned honourable mentions for the weekend.

Collingwood's Lachie Sullivan impressed in his maiden outing after coming into Friday's thriller as the sub, while Brisbane's Bruce Reville and Hawk Calsher Dear were also strong in their debuts.

Selection Criteria: For our Rookie Rankings, we are ONLY selecting players who have made their debut this season.

Other players who may still be eligible for a Rising Star nomination but have already made their debut before the 2024 season will not be considered. I.e. Rising Star eligible players such as George Wardlaw, Angus Sheldrick and Sam Darcy are ineligible, having already played an AFL match before Round 1, 2024.

Honourable Mentions
Lachie Sullivan (Collingwood)
Calsher Dear (Hawthorn)
Bruce Reville (Brisbane)
Mykelti Lefau (Richmond)

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5. Sam Clohesy (-2)

It wasn't necessarily a poor performance for Clohesy in Sunday's QClash, but the form of two other rookies has seen the Suns defender drop two places in our rankings after Round 8.

There weren't many Gold Coast players who could've come away from the weekend's loss with their heads held high, as the Lions managed to cruise to victory despite their limited bench options.

Like most of his teammates, Clohesy got off to a slow start but managed to get into the game in the second half, ending the night with 17 possessions and over 360 metres gained.