Patto’s current top 10 AFL players (end of season 2009)

#10 Lance Franklin

Age: 22yr 10mth

Games: 102

Height/Weight: 196cm/101kg

Position: Forward

2009 Season Highlight: 20 disposals (12 kicks 8 handballs), 7 marks, 4 tackles and 5 goals in Rd 17 1-pt loss to Geelong at the MCG (25 Jul 2009)


#9 Jonathan Brown

Age: 28yr 1mth

Games: 102

Height/Weight: 195cm/102kg

Position: Forward

2009 Season Highlight: 21 disposals (18 kicks 3 handballs), 12 marks and 8 goals in Rd 17 41-pt win over North Melbourne at the Gabba (25 Jul 2009)


#8 Simon Black

Age: 30yr 8mth

Games: 256

Height/Weight: 186cm/82kg

Position: Midfield

2009 Season Highlight: 33 disposals (16 kicks 17 handballs), 6 marks, 4 tackles and 2 goals in Rd 15 43-pt win over Geelong at the Gabba (11 Jul 2009)



#7 Brendon Goddard

Age: 24yr 6mth

Games: 137

Height/Weight: 189cm/91kg

Position: Defender

2009 Season Highlight: 37 disposals (24 kicks 13 handballs) and 9 marks in Rd 17 45-pt win over the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium (25 Jul 2009)


#6 Nick Dal Santo

Age: 25yr 9mth

Games: 168

Height/Weight: 185cm/83kg

Position: Midfield

2009 Season Highlight: 39 disposals (24 kicks 15 handballs), 7 marks and a goal in Rd 22 47-pt win over Melbourne at the MCG (30 Aug 2009)



#5 Joel Selwood

Age: 21yr 6mth

Games: 70

Height/Weight: 182cm/82kg

Position: Midfield

2009 Season Highlight: 42 disposals (19 kicks 23 handballs), 10 marks, 11 tackles and a goal in Rd 17 1-pt win over Hawthorn at the MCG (25 Jul 2009)


#4 Dane Swan

Age: 25yr 9mth

Games: 125

Height/Weight: 185cm/85kg

Position: Midfield

2009 Season Highlight: 48 disposals (22 kicks 26 handballs), 8 marks and a goal in Rd 10 38-pt win over Port Adelaide at the MCG (31 May 2009)




#3 Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is the current captain of St Kilda. Riewoldt took the most marks of any player in the league in 2009, averaging 9.7 a game and kicking 65 goals in the home and away season, averaging 3.3 a game. He finished 3^rd in the Coleman medal. He polled 15 votes in the Brownlow and finished inside the top 10. He played a significant role for StKilda as they concluded the home and away season as minor premiers with 20 wins and just 2 losses. He was the leading goal kicker for StKilda. StKilda qualified for the Grand Final however they lost to Geelong by 12 points. Riewoldt kicked one goal however he kicked 4 goals the week before against Western Bulldogs and one of which was in the final 5 minutes. He was selected for the 2009 all Australian team (4th time) and was named captain. I believe he is the number 1 forward in the league at this point of time however many other players are not too far behind. He has won the StKilda club best and fairest award in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009, he has been the StKilda leading goal kicker for both 2008 and 2009, he won the Leigh Matthews Trophy in 2004 and he also won the NAB rising star award in 2002.

Age: 27yr 1mth

Games: 182

Height/Weight: 193cm/92kg

Position: Forward

2009 Season Highlight: 19 disposals (13 kicks 6 handballs), 10 marks, 5 tackles and 5 goals in First Qualifying Final 28-pt win over Collingwood at the MCG (6 Sep 2009).


#2 Chris Judd
Judd had yet another stellar season with Carlton. He was the most prolific tackler for Carlton and was in the top 10 in the AFL for tackles. He came runner up in the Brownlow behind Gary Ablett with 22 votes. He also came 1^st in total inside 50’s and runner up in total goal assists. He won his second consecutive club best and fairest award. He was named in the 2009 All Australian team (4^th time) as a midfielder and was vice captain. He captained the All Australian Team in 2008. He has captained the West Coast Eagles however he was traded in 2007 and he is now the captain of Carlton. He was a premiership captain in 2006 and he has won the Norm Smith Medal (2005), Leigh Matthews Trophy (2006), The McClelland Trophy (2006) and he's a Brownlow medallist. He also can play a role in the forward half, he kicked 12 goals and had 27 goal assists (5th in 2009). I believe Judd is currently the 2^nd best Midfielder in the league behind Gary Ablett.

Age: 26yr 3mth

Games: 178

Height/Weight: 189cm/85kg

Position: Midfield

2009 Season Highlight: 35 disposals (19 kicks 16 handballs) and 9 tackles in Rd 14 15-pt win over Fremantle at Subiaco (5 Jul 2009)


#1 Gary Ablett junior

Like father, like son, I couldn’t go past this years Brownlow winner and dual premiership player, Gary Ablett junior. The first son of AFL hall of fame player Gary Ablett Senior has upheld the family standard. He has been named in the All Australian team for the last 3 years. He was won the Leigh Matthews Trophy for three consecutive years; he has been named in the Geelong Hall Of Fame and he won the Lou Richards medal in 2009. He commenced his career at Geelong under the father-son rule and he was initially a small forward however since 2007 he has played a significant role for Geelong in the midfield. Ablett polled 30 votes to win the Brownlow by 8 votes despite missing 3 games throughout the season in 2009. He overwhelmed his opponents throughout the season concluding the minor rounds 1^st in total handballs, average disposals per a game, handballs per a game and 2^nd in total disposals. He works miracles on the field and can break a game open. He wins the hard ball in the midfield, not only can he run the ball from the backline but he also knows where the big sticks are as well. He scored 27 goals in 2009 and had 17 goal assists. Geelong went on to defeat StKilda by 12 points and win the premiership in 2009. I believe Ablett is the best midfielder in the league. There is no doubt that Ablett thoroughly deserves to be number 1 on this list.




Age: 25yr 6mth

Games: 168

Height/Weight: 182cm/85kg

Position: Midfield

2009 Season Highlight: 46 disposals (13 kicks 33 handballs), 7 marks and 3 goals in Rd 4 48-pt win over Adelaide at AAMI Stadium (18 Apr 2009)


Honorable mentions (no particular order):
Adam Goodes, Matthew Scarlett, Bryce Gibbs, Lenny Hayes, Brendan Fevola, Chad Cornes, James Bartel, Luke Hodge, Scott Thompson, Matthew Boyd, Leigh Montagna and many more.…

Thanks to footy wire for providing the statistics.