Ultimate rankings: AFL’s 40 best rising stars under 24 years of age ranked

Nick Daicos is the AFL’s brightest young star, but with a great deal to choose from, some young guns were left off our expert list. Have your say on our ultimate top 40 under 24 list.

The 40 best AFL players under 24.

Nick Daicos is the best young player in the competition after yet another remarkable season where he will be looking to add a Brownlow Medal to his second-straight All-Australian blazer.

Daicos was unanimously selected as the best player under 24 in the AFL as News Corp’s footy journos came together to pick their best young stars in the competition.

Despite narrowly missing out on finals, the Dockers were one of the other big winners in the list as they were labelled the most exciting young list in the AFL. They finished with six players inside the combined top 40, headlined by Caleb Serong and Luke Jackson. They also have four players inside the top 20.

The top 10 was dominated by midfielders with this year’s qualifying final hosts Sydney and Port Adelaide both finishing with two players inside the top six. Harry Sheezel also continues his impressive start to life in the AFL by claiming the fourth spot overall.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s star continues to rise, with the former number-one draft pick rated as the best key forward under 24. He took out seventh spot with his Western Bulldogs teammate Sam Darcy not far behind in 15th.

The Dockers might have had the most players, but Hawthorn’s famed ‘HokBall’ had plenty of representation with five players on the list. Both Will Day and star recruit Massimo D’Ambrosio finished inside the top 20.

Massimo D'Ambrosio's first season as a Hawk has been fantastic!#AFLHawksNorthpic.twitter.com/wAhhfpXrOa

— AFL (@AFL) August 24, 2024

D’Ambrosio was also one of several players to make the list despite not being taken in the regular draft. He joined Sam Durham, Jai Newcombe, Nic Martin and Rising Star winner Ollie Dempsey in making the list after being selected through either the mid-season draft, the rookie draft or as a supplementary selection.

Rising Star winner Ollie Dempsey snuck in as the 40th player on the list. Picture: Martin Keep/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Following a consistent first season in the AFL, Harley Reid finished 26th in the voting.

Carlton and Richmond are the only two teams to have no representatives in the combined top 40.

Port Adelaide forward Mitch Georgiades was the unlucky man to finish 41st in the voting. The 22-year-old finished with 39 goals this season and will be looking to lead the Power to the preliminary final when they take on Geelong next week and prove the selections wrong in the process.

Mitch Georgiades just missed out on the top 40 despite a strong season for Port Adelaide. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Other players who finished just outside the threshold included Bailey Smith, George Wardlaw, Jacob van Rooyen, Charlie Comben, Miles Bergman and Ollie Henry. The Giants also had three players — Finn Callaghan, Darcy Jones and former number-one draft pick Aaron Cadman — that were ranked in the top 55.

Originally published as Ultimate rankings: AFL’s 40 best rising stars under 24 years of age ranked