The AFL top-50 countdown - the 21-30 bracket

Here are the AFL players who are on the verge of greatness ... major contributors to their clubs but not the cream-of-the-crop, the 21-30 bracket in the Top 50.

• Top 50: Players 31-50
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Every AFL season a group of players carries expectation that either makes or breaks them.

Too often the “elite” or “super star” tags are thrown about like confetti ... and become just as quickly consigned to the rubbish bin as players struggle to live up to the high-pressure demands.

This is highlighted in the middle group - the 21-30 bracket - in the annual pre-season AFL Top-50 list. These are the players who by season’s end could reaffirm their top-20 status with All-Australian selection and club champion titles ... or fall behind a new group of would-be heroes.

The most fascinating is Collingwood midfielder-forward Jordan de Goey, who is still two years away from reaching his 100-game milestone. The 2014 No. 5 draftee starts his fifth national league season with his reputation moving beyond “emerging AFL star”.

This could be the break-out year ... or.

Essendon premiership hero and goalkicking great Matthew Lloyd lists 23-year-old de Goey on his top-10 list of AFL players and coaches who start the season under the pump.

“This will surprise people,” says Lloyd. “But he came back (for pre-season training) unfit and did a hamstring ... and the club has not been too happy with him. He is in the ‘watch this space’ category.”

DeGoey’s output and effectiveness has risen in each of his four AFL seasons. But this is the landmark moment. Does he prove worthy of breaking into the AFL Top 20 - after being a top-40 nominee for the All-Australian team last year - or does he fall away?

AFL TOP 50

21-30

21. JORDAN DeGOEY (Collingwood)

MAKE-or-break year to live up to the expectations of being an “elite” AFL player. Earned his first All-Australian nomination last season as a damaging target in the Collingwood attack. But can he take the next step, particularly in the midfield this season?

Collingwood Jordan deGoey celebtrates goal for Collingwood. Picture: Alex Coppel

West Coast's Elliott Yeo celebrates a goal. Picture: Daniel Wilkins.

22. ELLIOTT YEO (West Coast)

ON the rise with the greater responsibility and opportunities that come with being a full-time midfielder in the rebuilt Eagles engine room. To be admired in his game is the ability - and willingness - to work to two-way traffic, in defence and in attack.

23. LACHIE NEALE (Brisbane)

AFTER proving himself with his superb work ethic at Fremantle - where he was the only All-Australian nominee last season - Neale is taking his reputation to Brisbane. He could take his game to a new level with a new master to impress in Lions coach Chris Fagan.

Brisbane’s Lachie Neale kicks against the Gold Coast Suns. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty

Giants Phil Davis gets his handpass away. Picture Sarah Reed

24. PHIL DAVIS (GWS)

CLASSIC example of a player who has carried much expectation and is at that point where the Giants defender and team leader either delivers the complete deal to emerge as an AFL top-20 player ... or lives with the eternal question on why he fell short.

25. ISAAC HEENEY (Sydney)

LIKE deGoey, this is the Swans midfielder-forward’s fifth AFL season - and the one that should have Heeney stamp his class on the competition. He has carried huge expectation from the moment he entered the Swas academy - and he appears more than capable of living up to all the promise.

Sydney’s Issac Heeney marks against Fremantle. Picture: Daniel Wilkins.

GWS Giants Callum Ward training at Spotless Stadium. Picture: Gregg Porteous

26. CALLAN WARD (GWS)

EXPERIENCED, durable, reliable and effective in his work in the Giants’ midfield. Turning 29 this season - his 13th in the big league - Ward has drawn much praise for his work in the past four years. Can he find more this season?

27. SHANNON HURN (West Coast)

SOLID defender. Solid captain - premiership captain (who should have been the All-Australian captain last season). Solid citizen in a West Coast team that has re-established its ranking as the league’s best and its values. Still more blue-collar than silk.

Eagles captain Shannon Hurn hold the 2018 Premiership Cup aloft. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty

Tigers Josh Caddy celebrates a goal against Hawthorn. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty

28. JOSH CADDY (Richmond)

STRONG improvement in his game - and results on the scoreboard - as Richmond put Caddy closer to the goalfront last season. This put the three-club player on the All-Australian nomination list for the first time. Does he rise to the top-20 this season?

29. STEPHEN CONIGLIO (GWS)

ANOTHER solid and super effective player with enormous consistency. All of Coniglio’s key performance indicators last season corrected on the dips in 2017 with his kicking delivering greater team results. Strong character to find even more this season.

Giants Stephen Coniglio celebrates kicking a goal. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty

Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko attempts to gather the ball. Picture: Mark Dadswell/AAP

30. DAYNE ZORKO (Brisbane)

NEALE’S move to Brisbane presents a dilemma for the opposition teams that have quickly set the tag on Zorko. This could have the Lions midfielder charging on the AFL charts for possessions - and rising in the rankings.

TOMORROW 11-20 AT 11AM