Tom Rockliff
Midfielder
Last year's ranking: 19
Official AFL Player Rating: 61
Debut: 2009
Games: 117
AFL Fantasy value: $579,000
Our skipper, Tom Rockliff, has placed in this year’s AFL Players’ Top 50, ranking in at no. 39.
After a year hampered with injury, Rockliff slipped 20 places from no. 19 in 2015, to sit just behind Adelaide’s Taylor Walker (no. 38).
The AFL Players’ Top 50 rankings are determined by the people who know them the best, the players, with all 18 clubs taking part and a total of 90 players receiving at least one vote.
Rockliff’s placing comes off a tough 2015 season which was hampered with injury; Rockliff suffered broken ribs in our opening round against Collingwood and then a repeat of the injury in Round 9 against St Kilda.
Despite the rocky start, the midfielder had an exceptional final six rounds, averaging 35 disposals and recording 45 possessions and 14 tackles in our Round 22 loss to Hawthorn.
In Round 18, the prolific ball-winner was ranked no. 1 in the competition for Champion Data ranking points.
This year, the 26-year-old has had a strong pre-season, setting the tone at training with young draftee Rhys Mathieson describing him as a “beast”. He’s set to have a strong year in 2016 and you can see him placing higher on the list in next year’s AFL Players’ Top 50 rankings.
The countdown continues until Friday 18 March, when the AFL’s No. 1 player is revealed – expect a few more Lions to pop up over the coming days.
The AFL Players' Top 50 (31-50)
50. Dylan Shiel (GWS)
49. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
48. Bernie Vince (Melbourne)
47. Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
46. Josh Gibson (Hawthorn)
45. Jack Steven (St Kilda)
44. Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
43. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
42. Nathan Jones (Melbourne)
41. Harry Taylor (Geelong)
40. Brett Deledio (Richmond)
39. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane)
38. Taylor Walker (Adelaide)
37. Jake Stringer (Western Bulldogs)
36. Andrew Gaff (West Coast)
35. Nic Naitanui (West Coast)
34. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
33. Jeremy Cameron (GWS)
32. Eddie Betts (Adelaide)
31. Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs)
