Here is the best under 21 player from each AFL club to keep an eye on in season 2020
The AFL is brimming with exciting young talent ready to make their mark on the competition. We’ve listed the top under 21 player from each club who’s set for a big 2020 season.
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The AFL is chock-full of young talent.
So much so that ahead of the 2020 premiership season kicking off in March – and with the Marsh Community Series pre-season games beginning in a little over three weeks time – we’ve named the top under 21 player from each club who looks set to have a big year.
Think we’ve got it right? Let us know in the comments!
Adelaide – Darcy Fogarty (age 20)
Games: 14
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $283,500
After a big turnover of their list – which saw Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Sam Jacobs, Hugh Greenwood, Alex Keath and Cam Ellis-Yolmen depart the club – the Crows will look to their youth to drive the team forward in 2020.
One of the most exciting prospects is Fogarty, affectionately known as ‘Fog’, who will get a lot more opportunity to make his mark up forward.
While Ned McHenry and Chayce Jones are also ones to watch, Fogarty has the chance to grab the game by the horns this season – just as he did during his five-goal game against West Coast in Round 21 last year.
Brisbane – Cameron Rayner (age 20)
Games: 46
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $251,800
The young Lion is such an excitement machine, and already such a big part of the club’s future, that it’s easy to forget how young he is despite having played 46 games.
Rayner has given Brisbane’s forward line some added X-Factor alongside Charlie Cameron and Eric Hipwood – contributing 20 goals last year – attributing to its meteoric rise up the ladder in 2019.
With a straight sets exit fuelling the fire, expect Rayner to take his game to another level as the Lions look to push further into September this season.
Carlton – Sam Walsh (age 19)
Games: 22
Position: Midfield
SuperCoach Price: $471,900
The 2019 AFL Rising Star winner moves with such grace and poise that on skills alone he looks like he’s been playing at the elite level for a decade.
The reality is, Walsh – now entering only his second season – has years of exciting football ahead of him, which is brilliant for Carlton fans and a scary thought for opposition teams.
Having played all 22 games last season, expect the classy youngster to take what he learned during his debut AFL season and apply it to his gameplay in 2020 to devastating effect.
Collingwood – Isaac Quaynor (age 20)
Games: 4
Position: Defender
SuperCoach Price: $261,700
The Oakleigh Chargers export may have only played four times at AFL level in his budding career, but you can expect that number to rise in 2020.
An All-Australian at under 18 level with Vic Metro, the 180cm defender showed plenty of promise during his 18-touch, seven-mark game against Hawthorn in Round 16 last year.
Described as having a precise kick and super decision-making, one would expect the young Magpie to spend more time in the top flight this season.
Essendon – Brayden Ham (age 20)
Games: 5
Position: Midfield/Forward
SuperCoach Price: $217,500
When looking at the under 21 talent at each AFL club, the Bombers probably run the thinnest – a result of them trading their 2018 and 2019 first round picks to GWS in return for Dylan Shiel.
All five of small forward Ham’s career games came in 2019, which included the Elimination Final loss to West Coast, with his standout performance being his 16-possession, six-mark Round 22 effort against Fremantle.
‘Hammer’ slotted three goals from those appearances, and Essendon will be hoping for even greater return from the youngster when he gets his next shot at senior level.
Fremantle – Andrew Brayshaw (age 20)
Games: 39
Position: Midfield/Forward
SuperCoach Price: $382,800
Sadly, the early stages of the young Docker’s career were overshadowed by the ugly 2018 Derby incident, in which he had his jaw broken by West Coast’s Andrew Gaff.
But with that behind him, Brayshaw has quickly become a renowned for his hard-edge approach – he led the club for tackling in 2019, highlighted by 10-tackle games against Gold Coast and St Kilda.
Now entering his third AFL season, the younger brother of Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw looks set to flourish in the midfield under new coach Justin Longmuir, much to the delight of Dockers fans.
Geelong – Charlie Constable (age 20)
Games: 7
Position: Midfield
SuperCoach Price: $391,000
The Cats have some of the competition’s most exciting youngsters – such as Jordan Clark, Gryan Miers and Lachlan Fogarty – but none more so than ‘Chook’.
The rangy midfielder, having dominated at VFL in 2018, played seven of Geelong’s first eight games last year and earned a Rising Star nomination for his breakout 31-touch, one-goal game against Melbourne in Round 2.
Constable, strangely, didn’t play at AFL level after Round 9, but has been building up his endurance and two-way running over summer ahead of an expected bigger role in the Cats’ engine room in 2020.
Gold Coast – Izak Rankine (age 19)
Games: 0
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $123,900
The Suns are building quite an impressive list of youngsters, such as Ben King and Jack Lukosius, but arguably none have more expectations on them than Rankine.
The No. 3 pick from the 2018 National Draft has yet to debut at AFL level, after injury crippled the lively forward’s 2019 season.
However, the West Adelaide product has shed 4kg from his frame after a solid summer on the training track, meaning Suns fans can expect to see what their prized draftee is capable of this year.
GWS – Jackson Hately (age 19)
Games: 7
Position: Midfield
SuperCoach Price: $301,600
The Trinity College product had limited opportunities in 2019 in a stacked Giants midfield, and it’s only going to get tougher with more reinforcements.
Hately is a clean user of the ball, and with more game time can be one of the elite players in the competition.
Keep a close eye on Hately both at AFL and NEAFL level.
Hawthorn – Will Day (age 18)
Games: 0
Position: Defender
SuperCoach Price: $153,300
The West Adelaide export was one of Hawthorn’s earliest picks in years at the 2019 AFL National Draft, and he’s already one of their most exciting prospects.
He’s been likened to Geelong defender Andrew Mackie, his cousin plays for the Suns and his grandfather also played for the Hawks.
He’s lightly framed at just 70kg, but prepare to see how clean he is with the ball.
Melbourne – Kysaiah Pickett (age 18)
Games: 0
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $157,800
There is a new cult hero in the making at the Demons, and it’s come at the perfect time after an atrocious 2019 campaign.
The nephew of former Port Adelaide, North Melbourne and Melbourne player Byron Pickett, ‘Kossie’ is clean and, like his uncle, he has a mean bump on him.
Pickett loves to put his body on the line and that’ll sit very well with the Melbourne faithful for years to come.
North Melbourne – Tarryn Thomas (age 19)
Games: 20
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $339,900
As a first-round selection and a member of the Kangaroos’ Next Generation Academy, Thomas smashed his way into the side in 2019.
He played 20 games in his debut season and booted 16 goals, but expect much more from this talented Roo in 2020.
Thomas is the future for the Shinboners, who will be hoping he can avoid the second year blues.
Port Adelaide – Connor Rozee (age 19)
Games: 22
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $422,100
The 2019 AFL Rising Star runner-up has no limit on his abilities and won the Power’s leading goal-kicker award in his first season.
Rozee showed composure, skill and pace beyond his years and a move to the midfield beckons.
Keep an eye on the power-packed talent each and every week.
Richmond – Sydney Stack (age 19)
Games: 17
Position: Defender
SuperCoach Price: $435,100
As the bargain signing of the 2019 season, Stack was selected in the supplemental period prior to the campaign getting underway.
He looked ready made for the AFL, underlined by the ease of his huge hit on Melbourne’s Jack Viney early in the season.
Injury crippled his chances of playing in the Tigers’ grand final win over GWS, so expect that to be a driving force for him in 2020.
St Kilda – Max King (age 19)
Games: 0
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $123,900
There hasn’t been a sense of optimism around Moorabbin like this since the Ross Lyon days, and a lot of it is surrounding this talented tall.
King grew up as a Saints fan, and after making a full recovery from his ACL injury, which he suffered in his draft year, he’s ready to make an impact at AFL level.
There’ll be pressure on his shoulders as the Saints aim to push into the finals, but he should be able to handle it.
Sydney – Nick Blakey (age 19)
Games: 19
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $295,800
In a tough year for the Swans, Blakey was thrust into the forward line as Lance Franklin and Sam Reid both struggled with fitness.
He fared well with 19 goals from 21 games, but with another pre-season under his belt, plus the impending return of Franklin and Reid, Blakey should excel further.
Expect him to break the 30-goal barrier in 2020.
West Coast – Jack Petruccelle (age 19)
Games: 23
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $276,400
The rapid, curly-haired forward lit up the West Coast forward line in 2019, kicking 21 goals in his 20 games.
He booted a career-high five majors against Port Adelaide in a heavy loss, which shows he doesn’t need support in order to excel.
With Willie Rioli set to miss time through his ASADA issues, Petruccelle can expect to feature even more prominently in 2020.
Western Bulldogs – Aaron Naughton (age 20)
Games: 41
Position: Forward
SuperCoach Price: $367,800
The Western Bulldogs are on the verge of something exciting once again with their new army of stars.
Naughton, nicknamed the ‘AstroNaught’, at just 20 years of age is one of those, and he showed his talents against Richmond with nine contested marks – one shy of the AFL record.
This kid can pluck a ball, and if the Dogs are to finish in the top four, he’ll be a vital part of it.