Abe Ankers and Lara Harding top best player lists for CAFL 2024
The Central Australian Football League is known for producing exciting talent and the 2024 has a perfect mesh of veterans and young guns. We’ve ranked the top 45 men and women here.
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The 2024 Central Australian Football League season has produced a perfect blend of old and the new in terms of playing personnel in the men’s and women’s competitions.
While the names of the leading players have a familiar ring to them, rising stars like Kaleel Ross and Josiah Minor form another reminder that Australian football is alive and well in Alice Springs.
The NT News has combined consistency, class and effectiveness on matchdays in naming a Top 25 in the men and a Top 20 in the women as the 2024 season reaches its climax with the finals series only a month away.
Many thanks to the players and coaches who contributed to the assembly of the 2024 player lists.
SENIOR WOMEN
20. Danika McDonald (Federal)
Plays down back and around the ground when required. McDonald can read the play and makes a habit of intercept marking and can impact games with her pace, footy smarts and goalkicking.
19. Bella Foster (Pioneer)
A utility player who can around the ground, ferocious at the fall of the ball who can impact on the game with her attack on the football and all-round skills.
18. Demi-Lee Braun (Souths)
A clever, fast and skilful midfielder, the Souths young gun has all the assets of a smooth moving midfielder. Provides plenty of drive through the middle with her run and carry.
17. Charlotte Rudd (Federal)
Rudd is in her second season of CAFL football where she has the pace and ballgetting ability to play through the midfield, on a wing or up forward. Kicks the ball long and will run through the midfield to kick goals if given the space to move.
16. Rania Shelford (Rovers)
A ferocious, hard working midfielder who can turn games with her run-down tackles and attack on the ball, 17-year-old Shelford combined U17 football with the Double Blues senior side.
15. Carly Wilson (Rovers)
An NT netball representative and now a ruck with Rovers, Wilson has converted all essential skills in that sport to Australian football in only her second season in the CAFL. Great hands, smart reading of the play and an ability to cover a lot of ground are her main assets.
14. Madisen David-Tahere (Pioneer)
A reliable defender across half back with hands like glue, Davis-Tahere demonstrates leadership qualities with her cool, calm and collected attitude steers the Pioneer ship.
13. Delsey Campbell (Rovers)
An old school full forward, Campbell can outmuscle opponents in one-on-one contests and her elite marking in contests gives teammates a reliable target in front of goals.
12. Shaniya Cooper (Alkamilya)
At home on the wing where her leg speed and ability to track the football are well suited, Cooper is also a key defender where her marking and disposal skills are keys to the Panthers’ style of play.
11. Kyanne Campbell (Pioneer)
Has pace to burn and a lethal kick for goal, Campbell continues to turn players inside out where she can swap her goalkicking role for a series of positional moves.
10. Caitlin Couch (West Alice Springs)
Already a two-time Margaret Liddle medallist as the league’s best and fairest winner, Couch’s ability to find the football and make maximum use of it has taken her to the SANFLW where she won a premiership medallion with South Adelaide this year.
9. Delaicee Power (Rovers)
Gutsy and explosive, Delaicee dominates centre clearances where she consistently wins contested possessions and provides plenty of forward entries for teammates.
8. Tamara (Reggie) Walker (West Alice Springs)
Relentless, passionate and highly skilled across half back, Reg has established herself as a stalwart of the CAFL’s Senior Women’s competition.
7. Kaitlyn Armstrong (Alkamilya)
Smart and accurate in front of goals, Armstrong will inevitably deliver if her side needs a goal, including kicking 50 metre goals off one step, making her a nightmare to try and defend.
6. Samantha Hoogenveen-Hill (Pioneer)
Elite and crafty, Hoogenveen-Hill creates patterns of play that confuses defenders, including an uncanny ability to kick goals from anywhere. One of the leagues most valuable forwards.
5. Libby Taylor (Federal)
Taylor’s pace, stamina and overall efficiency make her one of the league’s premier players. A league best and fairest, Taylor’s disposal numbers are a good indicator of her class.
4. Brylee Kerrin (Rovers)
Evasive and precise with her disposal, Kerrin has the pace and evasive skills to burn opponents before finding a teammate. Dangerous around goals, Kerrin can also play through the middle with distinction.
3. Ebony Abbott-McCormack (Rovers)
The most consistent and versatile player in the women’s competition who is always where the ball is. Abbott-McCormack can play with authority up forward, where she leads the goalkicking with 30 majors, in the ruck or down back, making her a walk-up start for any representative side.
2. Jasmine Boyers (Alkamilya)
A ruck, midfielder who can run all game with her big engine. Injury short circuited her 2024 season but her tremendous skills entitle her to a high ranking among her peers.
1. Lara Harding (Rovers)
A ball magnet through the middle of the ground, Harding’s clean and efficient disposal combined with her fearless approach to hard-ball gets makes her one of the league’s premier players.
SENIOR MEN
25. Shayden Close (Rovers)
A prodigious kick of the football, strong mark and hard ball getter, Close is an important cog in his side’s push for finals football.
24. Kane Sevallos (Pioneer)
Tennant Creek based Sevallos is a big possession getter around the ball and up forward where he can kick a goal. Has plenty of pace and all-round skills that carry him well in senior football.
23. Cheyne Miles (Pioneer)
The Eagles’ tap ruckman has led his side’s first ruck for several seasons with his fearless approach to contests and brilliant tap work that brings his running players into the game.
22. Lucas Ross (Rovers)
Another midfielder who makes maximum use of every possession where his skills by hand and foot have again elevated the Double Blues into finals contention.
21. Deacon Braun (Souths)
A ball magnet through the middle of the ground for the blue and whites, Braun’s in and under work and ability to find teammates further up the ground or in front of goals.
20. Jackson Cole (Pioneer)
The consumate midfielder who can win contested possessions and find space to gather loose balls and teammates looking for disposal options when they have the football in their hands.
19. Kynan Barnes (Federal)
Barnes’ smart work across half forward and through the middle is a big piece of the Demons’ gameplan, combined with his matchday consistency where the red and whites use him as a guiding light.
18. Robert Smith (Souths)
A utility player who can find the football on all parts of the ground where his positive disposal percentages are keys to Souths rise this season.
17. Taylem Stubbs (Rovers)
A key defender with the Double Blues, Stubbs can find the football in pack situations or when it spills into no-mans land. Can play tall or small depending on the type of opponent he gets and always uses the ball well.
16. Waylon Manson (Pioneer)
The Eagles’ go-to man out of the goalsquare, Manson’s strong marking on the lead or in contested situations and superb drop punt kicking make him a dangerous opponent for rival defenders.
15. Tanner Coulthard (Wests)
A regular on the Bloods’ best player list this season, Coulthard’s precise left foot kicking, in and under work and smart ball use are key assets in his game.
14. Kaleel Ross (Pioneer)
The Eagles’ young gun has impressed in his first season of senior football, possessing all the skills needed to succeed in the game. While still growing in experience, Ross is the future of Red Centre football.
13. Andrew Richardson (Federal)
The Demons’ first year playing coach has a big engine due to his fitness regime and ability to lead from the front with his hard running and clever use of the football.
12. Josiah Minor (Souths)
The Roos’ centre half-forward is a potent force with his powerful marking and ability to kick goals. Minor does not lead a long run-up to kick long distances, often kicking goals from 50 metres off a single step.
11. Royce Close (Rovers)
A forward who can play through the middle, down back and across a wing where his pace and skills are big assets for his club.
10. Daniel Gorry (Federal)
A ruckman-forward who won the Minahan Medal as the best and fairest player in the competition two seasons ago. A strong mark, Gorry’s ruckwork at centre bounces and around the ground ignites the Demons’ engine.
9. Henry Impu (Souths)
The Rolls Royce of the Kangaroos with his run and carry and ability to find the football in contested or uncontested situations. A player who gets the job done on any given Saturday.
8. Marcus McDonald (Pioneer)
A thrill-a-minute goalkicker who can turn a game inside out with his fast leads and big appetite for goals. Began the season with rivals Federal but has settled well into the Eagles’ style of play.
7. Braydon Weily (Federal)
An explosive midfielder who can run all day while providing the football lace-up to his forward players and helping to mop up in defence when his opposing side heads toward goal.
6. Matt Campbell (Pioneer)
One of the Red Centre’s greatest football exports, Campbell has given a lot back to the game in Alice Springs since his playing career at AFL club North Melbourne ended. Can play anywhere across the ground where he read the play and get maximum use from his clever left foot kicking and smart handball.
5. Adam Cullen (Rovers)
The big marking, long kicking Double Blue can play in the key centre half-forward post or across half back if the situation demands. His marking and kicking are chief assets, where he can cover up to 60 metres with his trusted drop punts or torpedos.
4. Pat Coffey (Federal)
The best lockdown defender in the league with his ability to read the play while ensuring his opponent has minimal possessions, Coffey can play on the talls and smalls where his long kicking and accurate short passes to teammates further up the ground are big weapons in his armoury.
3. Shawn Foster (Pioneer)
The premiership Eagle has moved from his familiar goalkicking role to centre half-back this season where Pioneer officials say he is playing the best football of his career. A strong mark on the lead or in the air and capable of breaking a game open with his pace and skill, Foster’s is a genuine utility player.
2. Daniel Stafford (South Alice Springs)
A big marking forward who is rarely beaten in one-on-one contests, “Big Staff” is one of the most recognisable players in the CAFL. The league’s leading goalkicker in season ‘24, Stafford’s last month of football has produced several bags of goals.
1. Abe Ankers (Federal)
Mr Consistency over a long period of time in Alice Springs football, the three-time league best and fairest who makes it his mission to find the football and use it with maximum efficiency. An in and under player possessed with plenty of pace, Ankers can kick a goal or hand it to teammates in a better position.
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Originally published as Abe Ankers and Lara Harding top best player lists for CAFL 2024
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