One of the longest AFL seasons we’ve ever had has finished – sort of. The eight finalists for 2024 are locked in and while we all take a breath to enjoy a weekend off from football, now feels like an appropriate time to shine a light on some of the unreal individual seasons we’ve just witnessed. Putting my own, somewhat Americanised spin on the league’s most prestigious accolades, here are the SBF AFL award winners.
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Rookie of the Year
Winner – Harley Reid
Podium Place – Darcy Wilson, Colby McKercher
Unlike the Rising Star award, the SBF Rookie of the Year trophy can only be awarded to players in their first AFL season, If you watched any West Coast games this season, it won’t shock you to see the reigning No. 1 pick in Harley Reid listed as the winner. The Eagles’ new franchise player missed a handful of games throughout his rookie campaign, but that didn’t stop Reid from chalking up impressive numbers – ranking 1st for total clearances and 3rd for total disposals amongst his rising star peers. There are others in the mix but let’s be honest, they’re all competing for second in this award.
Coach of the Year
Winner – Sam Mitchell
Podium Place – John Longmire, Chris Fagan
You probably aren’t familiar with the 1959 Collingwood Magpies, so let me educate you. After claiming the club’s 13th premiership in ’58, the Pies started the season with five losses from five games and their premiership defence looked bleak. They were able to turn their fortunes around thanks to 12 wins from the next 13 matches – miraculously qualifying for the finals. Since then, no other V/AFL team has lost their first five matches and still managed to make the finals. That was until Sam Mitchell’s men went on their own improbable streak.
After falling to Gold Coast in Round 5, Hawthorn proceeded to win 14 of their final 18 matches and secure a place in the top-8 for the first time since 2018. The Hawks bought into Mitchell’s philosophy and an infectious energy and enthusiasm took over what we now consider to be one of the most entertaining teams in football. The other contenders for COY honours (John Longmire and Chris Fagan) deserve credit for the success at their clubs, but they can’t hold a candle to Mitchell and the Hawks following a historic turnaround.
Defensive Player of the Year
Winner – Matt Rowell
Podium Place – Harris Andrews, Sam Collins
The last time I handed out the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022, Sam Taylor took home the honours ahead of the likes of Tom Barrass and Steven May – with fellow key defenders including Sam Collins, Jacob Weitering and Harris Andrews all in the mix for this year’s trophy. There are different ways you can measure defensive impact in AFL terms and after leading the entire league in tackles AND pressure acts for the second consecutive season, I’m giving Matt Rowell his flowers.
Just like in the NBA, when a guard wins DPOY honours over a shot-blocking big man it can be met with confusion and disdain, so I don’t expect everyone to agree. However, you only have to tune in to a few minutes of a Gold Coast game to see the way that Rowell impacts a contest defensively – not with spoils or intercept marks, but rather with consistent pressure when the ball is present around stoppages. Registering over 100 more pressure acts than any other footballer this season, Matt Rowell is my choice as the best defender in the AFL for 2024 and you can’t change my mind.
Offensive Player of the Year
Winner – Dylan Moore
Podium Place – Toby Greene, Marcus Bontempelli
Affectionately known as the Tom Hawkins Shield, goals scored, goal assists and score involvements go a long way to determining the winner of this award. We all know that Jesse Hogan is the Coleman winner, although most footy fans won’t know who led the league for goal assists or score involvements in 2024. Brent Daniels and Marcus Bontempelli were the respective leaders for those stats, and finishing 2nd for assists and 4th in involvements was Dylan Moore. The All-Australian Hawk established his reputation as one of the most important pieces in success this year, becoming the first player since Jake Melksham in 2018 to record 30+ goals and 30+ goal assists in the same season. Even though Bont had an impressive offensive season of his own, I can’t overlook Moore for this trophy.
Most Improved Player
Winner – Jake Waterman
Podium Place – Sam Durham, Jesse Hogan
I’d love for the AFL to look into implementing an award like this to their end-of-season program – highlighting a player who took their game to new heights when no one saw it coming. Tyson Stengle was the inaugural winner in 2022 when he produced a 50+ goal season and I’m giving West Coast’s key forward Jake Waterman the same treatment for raising the bat with a half-century of his own. Despite playing for the 16th-placed side, Waterman enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024 by kicking 53.23 in front of the sticks to finish 5th in the Coleman Medal race and earning an unexpected All-Australian blazer. His return translated to over 20% of the Eagles’ total score this season and Snake’s evolution into an A-grade forward will hopefully provide the club with a key pillar of their future.
The All-Australian Teams
There’s always an argument about which players should make the All-Aus cut each year, so why not create two teams to make sure the worthwhile players ALL get some recognition? I’ve compiled two teams of 22 players (with the six hardest cuts) totalling a pool of 50 players who I thought were the best in the league this season.
FIRST TEAM
FB: Luke Ryan, Harris Andrews, Nick Blakey
HB: Lachie Whitfield, Jeremy McGovern, Dayne Zorko
C: Errol Gulden, Marcus Bontempelli, Chad Warner
HF: Dylan Moore, Jeremy Cameron, Isaac Heeney
FF: Tyson Stengle, Jesse Hogan, Charlie Curnow
FOLL: Tristan Xerri, Patrick Cripps, Nick Daicos
INT: Adam Treloar, Jacob Weitering, Caleb Serong, Lachie Neale
SECOND TEAMS
FB: Dan Houston, Sam Collins, Bailey Dale
HB: Harry Sheezel, James Sicily, Sam Flanders
C: Massimo D’Ambrossio, Andrew Brayshaw, Nic Martin
HF: Hayden Young, Joe Daniher, Toby Greene
FF: Brent Daniels, Jake Waterman, Cam Rayner
FOLL: Rowan Marshall, Zach Merrett, Zak Butters
INT: Max Gawn, Max Holmes, Noah Anderson, Jack Sinclair
Six hardest cuts: Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Gryan Miers, Jason Horne-Francis, Jordan Clark, Harry McKay
I tried to find a balance between rewarding the best players in the AFL while also keeping a structure that resembles a modern-day team. Sydney stars Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney were named somewhat out of position, but I’d rather include them in the team than try to shuffle magnets and force one or both of them out of the side. Three of the four bench spots in the first team belong to midfielders, although it’s common knowledge that the MIDs are usually focused on heavily when it comes to handing out the annual awards.
Gun accumulators like Zach Merrett, Harry Sheezel and Zak Butters were hard to ignore for 1st-team honours, although you can’t pick 22 ball winners to fill out a list. Some will make the case that Dan Houston and Bailey Dale should be promoted to the best-22, but I thought the impact from players such as Lachie Whitfield and Nick Blakey on top-4 contenders was greater. The ruck battle is also fascinating, with Tristan Xerri AND Rowan Marshall ahead of Max Gawn in my eyes for their 2024 exploits. Popular hyphens made up most of the ‘best-of-the-rest’ group with NWM, LDU and JHF all capable of putting a reasonable case forward that suggests they should nudge out some of the other names on the list.
Fantasy Player of the Year
Winner – Tristan Xerri
Podium Place – Rowan Marshall, Lachie Whitfield
Throughout the AFL Fantasy season, I awarded 3-2-1 votes to the top scorers in each of the 414 home-and-away games (votes were split when two players scored the same). The usual suspects Like Lachie Whitfield, Dayne Zorko and Rowan Marshall appear at the pointy end of the leaderboard, however a 109-point performance in the final round against Hawthorn helped Roos RUC Tristan Xerri vault to the top and claim victory by half a vote. Chalking up 14 of his 29.5 votes from the final six rounds of the season, Xerri wasn’t just a game-changing player late in the fantasy campaign. His price rise of $556K helped the North Melbourne colossus effectively double his starting price of $580K while scoring the second-most total points at an impressive 114.5 AVG. Even with an expensive price tag for season 2025, it’s going to be hard to ignore the 25-year-old monster from the start.
MVP
Winner – Patrick Cripps
Podium Place – Nick Daicos, Isaac Heeney
Honestly, we should flip a coin this season to determine the season’s MVP – heads we side with Patrick Cripps, tails and Nick Daicos takes home the trophy. I gave the slightest of edges to Carlton’s skipper thanks to their September dream still being alive, although both individual superstars have gone above and beyond for their respective clubs this year. Once again, Cripps did the majority of the heavy lifting for the Blues, leading the league in contested possessions (360) and clearances (187) to maintain his reputation as a wrecking ball around stoppages. Herculean efforts were consistent during the entire season – with one example being the Round 23 clash vs. West Coast when Crippa put the Carlton leftovers on his back to ensure they came away with a win. It won’t be farfetched to see the star-studded Blue challenge for his second Brownlow win in three seasons and he should be praised for his elite, consistent production this year.