Former GWS captain Phil Davis has put together a list of the top 10 players based on their trade value.
With number one the player that would be worth most in a trade competition-wide, Davis explained why the players he chose made the top 10 and why he ranked them in the order he created.
Davis says the top 10 isn’t based on simply who the best players in the competition are.
“The premise is that if the person below was offered for the person above on the list, they would say no,” David said on AFL Trade Radio’s The Late Trade.
“We’ll start at 10 and go all of the way to number one here, the hardest thing about it is that we don’t know what everyone’s contract is.
“What we’re trying to factor in here is a little bit of age, upside and those kinds of factors.
“This isn’t a list of who the best players in the game are right now. It’s if I called you up and said, ‘I want this player and I give you this player’, would you say yes or would you say no?
“I’m confident, I’ve run it past a very good source. So, I’m confident with where it’s landed.”
Check out Davis’ top 10 and reasoning below.
1 – Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
“Number one is Nick Daicos.
“He would have won the Brownlow by four or five votes if he didn’t get injured.
“He is unbelievable. If I did who was the best player in the competition, he’d still be in the top three or four and he could be number one.
“He’s only 20 … the world is his oyster. You pay him whatever it takes to keep him at Collingwood forever.”
2 – Tom Green (GWS)
“Tom Green is two.
“He is 22, he’s the best ball finder I’ve ever seen.”
3 – Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
“Marcus Bontempelli is three.
“He’s one of the older players on my list, but that’s how good he is.
“I still think he has five or six years of high-level AFL footy in him.”
4 – Sam Taylor (GWS)
“Slamming Sam Taylor is at four.
“There’s no key back like him in the game, he separates himself in every area.
“No one gets a kick on him, no one beats him.”
5 – Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
“Curnow is at five.
“Key forwards are harder to find than key defenders. But if Sam played on Charlie, Sam gets him.”
6 – Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
“Connor Rozee at six.
“I love this guy as a player, he’s unreal. His agility, skills and ability to kick goals I think separates him (from other midfielders).”
7 – Sam Walsh (Carlton)
“Sam Walsh at seven.
“His finals series pushed him to a height we haven’t seen. He wins his own balls, uncontested possessions and kicks goals.
“There’s no coincidence that once he got a month under his legs, Carlton’s season turned around.”
8 – Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)
“Zak Butters is eighth.
“It’s almost a coin flip with him and Rozee. He is incredibly creative with ball in hand.”
9 – Toby Greene (GWS)
“Number nine is Sir Toby Greene.
“He’s the best player in the game … he is 30, and that’s why he’s at number nine.
“But he could play until he’s 34 or 35.”
10 – Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
“Christian Petracca, he’s number 10.
“Midfielders that kick goals and get ahead of the footy and use it are pretty special.”
After explaining his list, Davis backed up his rankings by suggesting that teams would do trades based on the order he created.
“If Carlton got a call and Port Adelaide said, ‘We’d give you Connor Rozee for Charlie Curnow’, Carlton says, ‘No’,” Davis said.
“But if Melbourne got a call from GWS and they said, ‘Hey, Toby Greene for Christian Petracca’, Melbourne says, ‘Yes’.”
Listen to Davis’ top 10 here.