Originally selected by Adelaide at No.10, now-Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield has taken the AFL by storm for the best part of a decade. Photo: AFL MEDIA
The 2007 AFL draft is another example of some of the best players we have seen in the last 30 years being taken with double-digit picks.
Leading the pack in the revised top 10 is Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield, originally taken by Adelaide, who just edges out Hawthorn excitement machine Cyril Rioli and champion Richmond defender Alex Rance.
Dangerfield, Rioli and Rance were originally selected with picks 10, 12 and 18 respectively.
Some would argue that Dangerfield is actually the best player in the game at the moment, having taken the AFL by storm for the better part of a decade.
His explosive pace combined with his phenomenal ball-finding capabilities (both on the inside and outside) and potential to be a goalkicking threat, either from the midfield or when stationed deep in attack, make him one of the AFL’s most dangerous players.
Dangerfield’s ability to impose himself on a game and quite literally singlehandedly turn it on its head is shared by very few other players in the competition.
In 2017, he broke the all-time record for contested possessions by a player in a single season (he has three mentions in the all-time top 10) and in 2016, he smashed the all-time record for inside-50s by a player in a single season. He also shares the record for most inside 50s in a game (16).
After 11 seasons at the top level, Dangerfield has a Brownlow Medal, an AFLPA MVP, three best-and-fairests, six All-Australians and an AFL Coaches Association award to his credit.
Rioli gets upgraded 10 places from 12 to two as one of the most uniquely and freakishly talented players in VFL/AFL history.
It’s hard to think of a player who was more efficient with his disposals than the recently-retired Rioli. The small forward had a career average of just 15 disposals per game, yet the impact he had on the majority of matches he played in was immense.
With Rioli, it wasn’t just about his disposals, it was about the little things as well – the unquantifiables. A little tap here, or a crunching tackle there. His presence loomed large, despite his 177-centimetre and 80-kilogram frame, and he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time when the huge moment of a game beckoned.
And, of course, he knew where the big sticks were, with 275 goals from 189 games, including three bags of six and three bags of five. A four-time premiership player with the Hawks, there were few players in recent times who were more exciting to watch than “Junior Boy”. Some of the marks he took and some of the goals he kicked were just out of this world and needed to be seen to be believed.
His glittering career came to an abrupt end this year when he called it quits, but with a Norm Smith Medal and three All-Australians to go with his four flags, Rioli will live long in the memories of all footy purists.
Rance gets promoted 15 spots to No.3 after transforming himself into one of the best defenders the game has ever seen.
The Richmond superstar has now earned himself five consecutive All-Australian jumpers (once as captain) to assert himself as one of the best players in the league.
He might have the odd struggle in the one-on-one situation, but overall his physical strength and incredible ability to read the ball have made him the Tigers’ Rock of Gibraltar in defence.
A member of Richmond’s drought-breaking 2017 premiership, Rance has finished in the top two of the club best-and-fairest three times, including a win in 2015.
Rance’s inspirational captain Trent Cotchin slides from pick No.2 to four, which is still nothing to be sneezed at given the calibre of players that reside in the top three. Cotchin has really taken his game to another level in the last couple of years in particular, with his new-found maturity as a leader one of the driving forces behind the Tigers’ premiership and minor premiership in the last couple of years.
While there may have been question marks over his toughness throughout his career, those doubts have been dispelled once and for all in the last two seasons. A beautiful user of the ball, Cotchin is one of the most accomplished midfielders in the competition with a Brownlow Medal, AFLCA award, All-Australian honours and three best-and-fairests to his credit.
Rounding out the top five is Geelong backman Harry Taylor who jumps up 12 spots from 17. A dual premiership player and two-time All-Australian, the ever-reliable Taylor has been a mainstay in the Cats’ defence for over a decade.
GWS co-captain Callan Ward, originally picked by the Bulldogs, also gets a nice little promotion from 19 to six, premiership Hawthorn ruckman Ben McEvoy moves to seven after being taken by the Saints at nine, and Adelaide skipper Taylor Walker is catapulted to pick eight after being selected at No.75 as a NSW scholarship player.
But three-club ruckman Shane Mumford trumps Walker in the bargain stakes, jumping 131 spots up the order from pick 57 in the rookie draft to No.9, while Bulldogs premiership captain Easton Wood also enjoys a decent leap from 43 to 10.
Other bargains in this draft who missed out on the top 10 were North Melbourne key defender Scott Thompson (pick 37), St Kilda star Jack Steven (42), Essendon swing man Cale Hooker (54), Melbourne/Brisbane ruckman Stefan Martin (three – pre-season draft) and Carlton midfielder Ed Curnow, who was originally taken by the Crows with pick 40 in the rookie draft.
Apologies also go to Thompson’s fellow North defender Robbie Tarrant (15) and West Coast midfielder Chris Masten (three).
Cotchin, McEvoy and Dangerfield were the only players who kept their spots in the top 10.
