Robbo’s Top 50: Christian Petracca, Marcus Bontempelli headline Mark Robinson’s Top 50 AFL players for 2021
There were plenty of tough calls when sorting the best of the best from the 2021 AFL season. Who is on top of Mark Robinson's list?
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Mark Robinson is back – and so is his top-50.
And after a rollercoaster season that ended in an epic Perth grand final, there were plenty of tough decisions when sorting the best of the best of 2021.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL TOP 50 AND HAVE YOUR SAY ON EVERY PLAYER
Sam Landsberger spoke to the Herald Sun chief football writer about his Top 50 players of the 2021 AFL season.
SAM LANDSBERGER: Chief, you’re back to do your top 50. And it is bloody good to talk to you.
MARK ROBINSON: Thanks, Sammy. It’s been a strange couple of months. I went down with a heart issue about Round 17 and haven’t been writing or been on 360. But I’ve certainly been watching. So the top 50 is a goer.
SL: Three of your top five are from one club – Petracca, Oliver, Gawn. Has that happened before?
MR: I was going to ring Mike Sheahan and ask whether he might have played with Cousins, Judd, Cox and maybe even Kerr circa 2004-06. I think most people would agree with Petracca and Oliver in the top five, but it’s more about how people judge Max Gawn. It’s funny, his numbers might not be as big as other years, but his impact was greater in my opinion.
Kayo is your ticket to the best local and international sport streaming Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >
SL: It looks like you’ve gone for loads of leadership in the top 10.
MR: Football is more than just output. I’ve got Jack Steele at No.8 – his output is enormous, but his leadership for the Saints is exemplary. He stands up every game no matter the score. Touk Miller is another one. I’ve got him at No.10. Touk’s a gun, he was fifth in the AFL Coaches’ award as well and maybe fans will get on board the Touk boat.
SL: It was Bailey Fritsch with a bullet. You’ve got him right behind Tom Hawkins at No.15.
MR: You’ve got to take into consideration performance in big games. Tom Hawkins kicked the most goals for the season (62) and Bailey Fritsch kicked the second-most (59). He’s a lot better player than I thought he was, to be honest. I thought he was a bit theatrical – stayed down on the ground for too long – but he showed that he’s a big-game player.
SL: David Mundy is in at 36. Would he be the oldest bloke to ever make the 50?
MR: Yes, he would be. I’ve got David Mundy at No.23, just ahead of Sean Darcy who won the B&F. Mundy had some matchwinning games, but I suspect Darcy is going to be a lot higher in the years to come. In fact, he could be the premier ruckman of the competition in two years’ time.
SL: There was no room for the Jordans – De Goey and Ridley. Are there any apologies to make?
MR: Always. I think it’s the first year I haven’t got Scott Pendlebury. That said, coaches and umpires should apologise to defenders for not giving them near enough votes in their awards. I have 14 in this group, starting with Tom Stewart at No.9. Stewart is the best defender in the game and when he went down that was a huge, huge hit to Geelong’s premiership chances. I’ve got three Demon defenders in the top 27. Christian Salem didn’t make the All-Australian team and that’s fine, but, geez, he had a ripping finals series.
SL: Does Sam Taylor have an All-Australian jumper in front of him?
MR: Plenty of football supporters will think, ‘Sam Taylor, who’s that?’ He’s one of those young Giants defenders making a name for himself and surely is a future All-Australian.
SL: Sam Walsh has leapt into the top 10 as a 21-year-old. When was the last time a player made that sort of splash by his third season?
MR: Juddy at West Coast and Buddy were the best second and third-year player I’ve seen. They were electric. This bloke (Walsh) isn’t electric, but he’s got the same work ethic as Judd. The next captain.
SL: I’m really intrigued about Buddy and Taylor Walker …
MR: Bud’s in, he played 18 games and kicked 51 goals. The other one, the chest-beaters wanted to see Taylor Walker out of the game and I’ve put him in the top 50. At the halfway mark he was leading the Coleman and was one of the revelations of the season. His second half wasn’t as good, but it was still solid, and then there was the racism incident at the end of the season. Everyone makes mistakes, Taylor made a mistake, and he’s got to rectify that mistake.
SL: It was a mistake of a different kind, but Toby Greene also made one and he’s sitting pretty at No.4.
MR: Good point. Toby committed a serious on-field crime and I could not believe other players were defending him. How entitled were those players believing the incident was overblown. It was a very, very poor decision by Greene, and it was very, very poor by senior players to defend his actions. Still, he’s a match-definer.
SL: It feels like we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Watching all this footy at home, what other moments got you off the couch?
MR: Max Gawn’s preliminary final was amazing, at No.2 was when Bont snapped that goal in the third quarter of the Grand Final and at No.3, which is why he is No.1, was Christian Petracca. A stunning GF in the vein of Dustin Martin. Petracca makes people smile. He’s got this uncanny skip when takes the ball, a power skip, he gets it, skips, and then throttles away. He’s an interesting man, Christian. He admits he gets very nervous before games but then plays as if he’s in the playground. I’m comfortable having him at No.1.
SL: Cam Rayner, Michael Hurley, James Sicily … there’s a few big names hoping to return in 2022. Can we also include the Herald Sun’s Chief Football Writer?
MR: I’m just having a breather for a while, but I’ll be back for pre-season in 2022.
Through the fire: How Rioli found happiness after ‘very dark days’
Willie Rioli’s best footy comes when he’s happy according to his cousin Dean – but there was serious doubt he’d ever get back here. MATT TURNER tells the Port star’s story of perseverance.
Eight years since Port’s last loss to Sydney: Where are they now?
Port has the wood over Sydney – in fact, the Swans haven’t beaten the Power in eight matches. So where are the players from that Swans win in round 20, 2016, now?