Who are the players you just love watching? You know, not necessarily favourites from the team you support, but the players from across the league who stop you in your tracks and make you tune in anytime, anywhere?
Welcome to ESPN's sixth annual Top 20 Must-Watch Players list.
This isn't just a countdown of the competition's biggest names, but a ranking of the players we simply can't wait to watch in action in 2024. It's a mix of the game's superstars, big names who have switched clubs, young guns who look ready to explode, those returning from injury, top draftees, or basically anyone we will be watching with interest thus year.
Today, we have players 20-11. The players ranked 10-1 will be revealed next week.
Click here to look at the 2023 edition.
Click here to look at the 2022 edition.
Click here to look at the 2021 edition.
Click here to look at the 2020 edition.
Click here to look at the 2019 edition.
20. Errol Gulden
When you finish the season polling 22 Brownlow votes -- and it really should have been 24! -- from the final 10 home and away games, you simply have to enter the following year as one of the league's must-watch players. Gulden's breakout 2023 campaign had him ranked first for both metres gained and inside 50s, and it's that outside run, combined with his immaculate ball use by foot and the ability to hit the scoreboard, which has made him such a box office player so early in his career. Right now, he's making a very real case for being the best player in the sport under 25 years of age.
19. Lachie Neale
Neale's resume at Brisbane is staggeringly good. Since making the move from Fremantle ahead of the 2019 season, Neale has amassed three All-Australian blazers, three Brisbane best and fairests, and two Brownlow Medals. All of that in just five years! He continues to prove he's one of the competition's premier midfielders, and with his side desperately hunting a premiership, you just know Neale will be doing his absolute best to rise to another level to help deliver that flag.
18. Tom Lynch
A bit of a forgotten man at Punt Road, having missed almost all of 2023 with a serious foot injury, Lynch is a Coleman Medal-contending player when fit. In fact, if he didn't miss a chunk of games in 2022, he probably would have won it! Will we get to see the best of the 30-year-old again? Can he help propel the Tigers into finals contention under first-year coach Adem Yze? These are the questions which have him on our list of must-watch players for 2024.
17. Colby McKercher
The first player picked in the 2023 draft to stay in Victoria, McKercher joins a very, very talented list of young North stars hoping to help the club begin its climb up the ladder. Having played across half back in North's trial games, it suggests McKercher will get opportunities to play senior footy early, and given he was described as a "maestro" and "the best pure midfielder in the pool" by ESPN's draft expert Jasper Chellappah, you can see why North fans are excited to watch this kid play and grow.
16. Connor Rozee
If 2023 is anything to go by, newly appointed AFL club captains take a giant leap in production, and Rozee might just be the latest to benefit from the role. The dynamic Power star formed a formidable midfield pairing with Zak Butters last season, and his numbers and production rose across the board. But the best part was Rozee continued to hit the scoreboard with extreme regularity, booting 21 goals for the year, something which makes him stand out from many of his midfield contemporaries. Can't wait to see how he thrives with the captaincy.
15. Jed Walter
If Walter hadn't been a Suns academy prospect, the hype around this man would be significantly higher than it is. The runaway No. 1 big prospect from last year's draft, Walter is an exciting young key forward who already has a man's body. Unfortunately, we won't see Walter in the early stages of season 2024 after breaking his collarbone at training in late January, but expect to see him feature alongside Ben King soon enough. Can he help usher in an era of Suns success?
14. Izak Rankine
There is hardly a player in the competition as exciting to watch as Adelaide match-winner Izak Rankine, and there is every chance he ends the 2024 season as the best small forward in the competition. A big call? Perhaps, but the smooth-moving livewire and his innate goal sense produced a career-best return of 36 majors in 2023, and there's no reason why he can't continue improving. The forward 50 dynamo, who has also shown an ability to influence the game with stints through the midfield, is electric at ground level, crafty with ball in hand, and has a finesse that leaves fans spellbound.
13. Dustin Martin
He may be well and truly in the back end of his career, but there's still very few players who have overtaken Martin when it comes to box office entertainment. Last year, the three-time Norm Smith Medal winner also proved he's still very much a star of the game, averaging 23 disposals and, for the seventh season in succession, over a goal per outing. Martin still possesses his patented 'don't argue', is deadly around the big sticks, and has an ability to wow the crowd at any given moment. You simply cannot take your eyes off him.
12. Zak Butters
If Butters plays anywhere close to the level he produced in 2023, he's not only going to be one of the league's must-watch stars, but a genuine chance to scoop the Brownlow Medal. The Port midfielder well and truly broke through last year, establishing himself as a top tier talent with his dash, brave and precise ball use, and, of course, his no fear approach to the contest. Butters pipped Marcus Bontempelli, Nick Daicos and Christian Petracca to the coaches award and, at just 23 years of age, you figure he's only going to continue improving. Can't wait to see what he can do in 2024!
11. Jack Ginnivan
Every year there's a different reason to tune in and watch Jack Ginnivan. First it was his 'I don't care' attitude, getting under the skin of an opposition crowd, and the ability to win games off his own boot (and shrewdly draw high tackle free kicks), bursting onto the scene with a 40-goal season in 2022. Then, just weeks after winning last season's premiership with the Magpies, Ginnivan made his way to the Hawks in a trade that raised many eyebrows. Can he hep fast track the Sam Mitchell rebuild? What sort of partnership can he establish with veteran Luke Breust and hyped draftee Nick Watson? The colour of his stripes might be different, but the intrigue around him remains the same.
Stay tuned for part 2, featuring the top 10, coming Monday.