Robbo’s Top 50: See the full list and read Mark Robinson’s assessment of every player

Every year, Mark Robinson earmarks the breakout stars of the AFL who will rocket into his top 50. See who Robbo has tipped to explode this season and his full list.

Robbo’s Top 50.

Clayton Oliver (No. 3) says teammate Christian Petracca (No. 1) is the best player in the game.

Buddy Franklin (No. 11), who has spoken exclusively to the Herald Sun in an interview which will appear on Saturday, says Marcus Bontempelli (No. 2) is the best player in the game.

“He is by a fair margin,” Buddy said.

“When we played them at Marvel last year, I ran past him and thought ‘wowee’.

“Trust me he is wow. He is another level, he’s another couple of levels. He’s smooth, he’s big, he’s good.”

The majority of AFL captains agree.

In the annual captains’ survey released on Wednesday, eight captains selected Bontempelli as their 2022 Brownlow Medal winner.

Four selected Oliver and only one selected Petracca.

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Christian Petracca is No. 1 in Robbo’s Top 50. Picture: Getty Images

“I reckon he’s the best player in the competition easily,’’ Oliver said of Petracca.

“What he served up in the Grand Final … Norm Smith, he pretty much carried us to the flag and he’s a genuine star. I think he’s the best player in the league by a fair distance.

“I don’t think you can get much better when you’re the best player in the game.

“But he’s flying at the moment, he’s lost a couple of kilos and looks as fit as he ever has. He couldn’t do much more.”

That said, Oliver did beat Petracca in Melbourne’s best and fairest.

Of course, then there’s Dustin Martin (No. 4).

The greatest finals player to have played the game — who else can boast 12 best on grounds from 12 finals? — coming in at No. 4 tells us footy might be in the midst of a baton change.

I might be wrong, and Martin, who is 31 in June, could overcome personal and physical duress and reclaim his status as the game’s best player.

He held that mantle for four years before injury shut down his 2021 season.

If he does, won’t we be blessed watching it unfold.

The Petracca-Bontempelli comparison through the 2021 season is almost a mirror image.

Petracca’s numbers are first:

That last stat is the only stat where Bontempelli easily eclipses his Melbourne counterpart.

It’s little wonder they are No. 1 and No.2.

Max Gawn (No. 5) is the first big man on the list and rounds out three players in the top five for the reigning premier Demons.

This list is not about where the players start the season, but where they will end the season.

It’s why Aaron Naughton from the Western Bulldogs is Molly Meldrum’s player “with a bullet’’.

He could be the game’s best key forward by the end of the season.

He will have to earn that moniker. Absolutely, he needs help in the Bulldogs’ forward 50 because he will be double and triple teamed in the air, but given a little space and one opponent, Naughton is ready to deliver maximum damage.

Marcus Bontempelli is number two on Robbo’s list. Picture: Michael Klein

Two veterans, Nathan Fyfe and Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale and the best young midfielder, Carlton’s Sam Walsh, round out the top 10.

Franklin, who played 18 games last season, comes in at No. 11 ahead of Tom Hawkins and Harry McKay.

Touk Miller is next and if he was a Melbourne-based player, the majority of the footy world wouldn’t disagree. He’s a genuine top-liner.

The young players to make the top 50 for the first time include Zak Butters (No. 25), Bailey Smith (No. 42), Zac Bailey (No. 47) and Tarryn Thomas (No. 50).

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Originally published as Robbo’s Top 50: See the full list and read Mark Robinson’s assessment of every player