AFLW Top 30: Liz Walsh ranks the league’s best talent ahead of 2021 season

The experts have revealed the AFLW Top 30 and there is a scary warning when it comes to the number one player in the game. See the full list.

The AFLW is about to reboot after the 2020 season was cut short. Picture: Time Carrafa

North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney has sent an ominous warning to the competition ahead of AFLW season five: Jasmine Garner is only going to get better.

Ranked the No. 1 player in Superfooty’s AFLW Top 30 ahead of the AFLW season starting next week, Kearney said the 26-year-old Garner had improved her fitness in the off-season and had spent pre-season working under Kangaroos’ new midfield coach Brad Murphy to further develop her craft.

“Her game should hopefully go to another level. She’s such a great player to play with, she’s so clean and so reliable each week,” Kearney says.

“And her natural ability to win the ball but also get in position to receive the ball makes my job a lot easier.”

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE TOP 30 LIST

Jasmine Garner was named No.1 on SuperFooty’s top AFL players for 2021. Picture: Getty Images

In 2020, Garner moved from the forward line into a midfield role, where she flourished. She played all seven games, kicked eight goals and averaged career-best averages in all her stats: 20.1 disposals, 4.6 marks, 4.7 tackles, 1.6 rebound-50s and 4.1 inside-50s.

She also averaged 176 Champion Data ranking points per game, rating her third in the league (behind Fremantle’s Kiara Bowers, 190 and Collingwood’s Jaimee Lambert 188).

Garner, who’s played 28 AFLW games over four seasons, was then duly named Kangaroos’ club champion as well as the 2020 AFL Coaches’ Association AFLW Champion Player and the AFL Players Association MVP.

New coach Darren Crocker raves: “She trains hard, keeps things uncomplicated, and she’s just so clean and makes good decisions”.

But Kearney revealed one secret about Garner that could explain her marking ability.

“Jas Garner has the sweatiest hands,” Kearney said.

“You give her a high-five and your hand is dripping in her sweat. Maybe that’s why she marks so well, extra grip.

Jasmine Garner celebrates a goal for North Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

“We give her a bit of stick for her sweaty hands, but she’s a super laid-back kind of character and that translates onto the field too.

“She makes football look really easy.”

Heading into the 2021 AFLW season, North Melbourne are favourites, along with Fremantle, to take out the premiership, having made the preliminary final in 2020 and narrowly missing out on a finals berth in 2019.

Kearney said the Kangaroos were a well organised team, having spent pre-season working on the connection between backs, mids and forwards.

“And for the first two seasons, (we) had our Tasmania-based players permanently down in Tasmania, they were barely training with us and would come up for games to play, so for them to be now based in Melbourne has been super beneficial, not just for their development, but for our development as a whole team,” she said.

Round 1 starts on Thursday when Collingwood face traditional rivals Carlton.