I tried this once last year and it was very well received, so I’ll try to do more of them this year.

The FanFooty Fifty is my ranking of the top 50 fantasy players, with the main criterion being “pointscoring potential”. However, a player’s position does also play a part in his ranking, so that non-centre premiums get ranked higher due to their rarity; price is NOT a factor; players injured for the next home & away game do not appear, of course.

1. Dean Cox: Picked first in good fantasy sides despite interrupted pre-season
2. Chad Cornes: Lock to average 100+… not so true of most who did so in 07
3. Kane Cornes: Two consecutive 105+ years can’t be ignored
4. Dane Swan: Two consecutive 100+ years at such a young age is impressive
5. Jimmy Bartel: Brownlow hangover keeps him relatively low despite record 2007
6. Joel Corey: Would benefit from more attention on Bartel, especially early
7. Matthew Pavlich: Best fantasy forward last year and will salute again in 08
8. Brad Johnson: Just shaded by Pav on upside at the age of 31… solid as a rock
9. Paul Chapman: Explosive when fit and he’ll finally be fit to start this year
10. Nick Riewoldt: Still need him to play closer to goal to maximise fantasy scoring
11. Heath Scotland: Coach Ratten will let him run free like Pagan did in 07
12. Daniel Cross: Potential to reach Kane-like heights, if not Bartelesque
13. Scott Thompson: Unchallenged king of the Crows midfield now
14. Joel Bowden: Can start a year poorly but will end up averaging 95+ as usual
15. Andrew Carrazzo: South African performance cast doubts on his midfield TOG
16. Lenny Hayes: Lot of faith being put in him by fantasy coaches not to get injured
17. Matt Priddis: Pre-season injury to Kerr means a sudden increase in responsibility
18. Tarkyn Lockyer: Terrible NAB Cup game but he’ll be good in his normal role
19. Jonathan Brown: 22 games last year but not quite consistent enough for top 10
20. Cameron Bruce: Melbourne have to get better this year, surely…
21. Gary Ablett jnr: Not a fantasy forward any more which will hurt his popularity
22. Jordan Lewis: Time for Lewis to inherit Crawford’s role in the Hawks midfield*
23. Sam Mitchell: Ceiling is below 100 but will always deliver consistently
24. Nigel Lappin: Ageing and under threat in midfield rotation from a host of kids
25. Adam McPhee: Will become especially valuable in SC if his move forward sticks
26. Jeff White: If Cox goes down, White assumes the #1 fantasy ruck mantle
27. Scott West: Energiser Bunny has nothing on Westy… must slow down slightly
28. Leigh Montagna: Dal Santo got the tags in 07 but Monty will attract them now
29. Heath Shaw: Looks like he’s the new Pies quarterback after Clement’s retirement
30. Luke Hodge: Played injured for a lot of 07 so has some upside if fit in 08*
31. Brent Stanton: Gets no press but he’s the star in the Dons midfield now
32. Jed Adcock: Still has some upside left after everyone got on board in 07
33. Simon Goodwin: Might get rested forward more in 08 which makes him hot in SC
34. Nick Stevens: Judd will attract attention away from him and he will deliver
35. Luke Power: Becoming inconsistent but will crack tons every other week
36. James McDonald: Quietly averaged 96+ in last two years while focus was elsewhere
37. Adam Cooney: Took on a lot of responsibility in 07 and was good enough for it
38. Chad Fletcher: Plenty of Eagles midfield points to share around
39. Scott Lucas: If Knights doesn’t mess with him like Sheedy did, he’ll deliver
40. Adam Goodes: First full pre-season in years means he’ll start much stronger
41. Tyson Stenglein: Plenty of Eagles midfield points to share around
42. Adam Simpson: Still needs to be The Man in Roos midfield with others not starring
43. Sam Fisher: Goddard will start slowly so Fisher will start where he left off in 07
44. Peter Burgoyne: Back eligibility means he will be very popular this year
45. Nick Malceski: One of the premium backs who will make it into a lot of teams
46. Daniel Kerr: Pre-season injury doesn’t help at all… he’ll be back though
47. Matthew Boyd: Excellent numbers last year but Cross/Griffen will limit him in 08
48. Tyson Edwards: Worrying move into the backline in NAB Rd 1 killed his numbers
49. Matt Rosa: Plenty of Eagles midfield points to share around
50. Josh Fraser: Battled in Abu Dhabi but showed he’s still capable of solid scores

Warming Up: Chris Judd, Domenic Cassisi, Brendon Goddard, Steve Johnson, Quinten Lynch, Joel Selwood, Brad Green, Chris Knights, Shane Tuck, Ryan O’Keefe

Note that Lewis and Hodge are suspended for round 1, but I included them anyway. A big part of these lists is reader feedback, so don’t hesitate to attack my ratings of individual players, and suggest changes you’d like to make to either the 50 or the “Warming Up” section, which is players who just missed out on the main list. I’ll be glad to hear your opinions!

This is a new weekly feature I’m trying out for the FanFooty blog: a ranking of the top 50 fantasy players. Everyone loves to talk about which player is better than another player and footy is no different, as has been shown by Mike Sheahan’s top 50 in the Herald-Sun newspaper. A big shoutout also should be made to the Big Board feature of Yahoo’s fantasy coverage, maintained by Brandon Funston, which fulfills a similar role for NFL, MLB and other fantasy-flavoured sports in the US.

A word or two on eligibility: the criteria is “pointscoring potential”, but a player’s position does also play a part in his ranking, so that non-centre premiums get ranked higher due to their rarity; price is NOT a factor; injured players do not appear, of course.

1. Jimmy Bartel: Does this man ever have an opponent? Haven’t seen one lately
2. Kane Cornes: Cheapest player in the AFL but consistency is unarguable
3. Matthew Pavlich: Two massive weeks lifts him above BJ for best forward
4. Brad Johnson: Most consistent forward in the game, even with injuries
5. Dane Swan: Last year’s star keeps his mojo even when tagging Bruce
6. Tarkyn Lockyer: Has shaded Swan in scoring but too reliant on Heath Shaw
7. Cameron Bruce: Leaps taggers in a single bound… less goals than 06 though
8. Scott Thompson: Will profit from Goodwin’s demise even under tags
9. Matt Priddis: No question, he’s this year’s Swan… until Cuz returns
10. Andrew Carrazzo: No signs of letting up on fabulous breakout season
11. Nick Riewoldt: Back to his best… 4 100s from last 5
12. Dean Cox: Back to most important ruck in the game
13. Scott West: Will get more attention after Cross’s injury
14. Heath Scotland: Starting to get worryingly patchy within games
15. James Hird: Six 90+s in a row… age not wearying
16. James McDonald: Still benefiting from attention all being on Bruce
17. Leigh Montagna: Saints midfield quietly returning to fitness
18. Chad Cornes: Tagged for first time this week… didn’t cope
19. Joel Corey: Two 100s in a row is pleasingly consistent
20. Chris Judd: 83 and 71 in last two… thigh soreness is real?
21. Sam Mitchell: Too inconsistent to rate in the top 20
22. Dustin Fletcher: 247 in last two means Bombers backline is working
23. Paul Chapman: Recovering steadily from hammy
24. Brad Green: Backed up 162 with 80… a tad disappointing
25. Nick Malceski: Goodes’ return to form is keeping taggers away
26. Scott Burns: Eight 85+ in a row, he’s rock solid
27. Nigel Lappin: 114 and 117 in last two, it’s the old Nigel
28. Sam Fisher: In hot form with 117 and 118 in last two
29. Jason Winderlich: Two tons on the trot means he’s fit and firing
30. Joel Bowden: Four 100s in previous four before this week
31. Chris Knights: Might struggle in future without Goodwin
32. Gary Ablett jnr: Hasn’t cracked the ton in four games
33. Luke Hodge: 80s and 90s don’t cut it for Hodge
34. Adam Simpson: One ton in last six is not impressive
35. Brock McLean: Seems to be over his injuries
36. Troy Selwood: Averaging 96.5 from four… may drop off soon
37. Matt Rosa: Two 120+s in a row, he’s red hot
38. Tyson Edwards: Dependable even without Goodwin
39. Tyson Stenglein: A rising tide lifts all Eagles midfielders
40. Josh Fraser: Consistency is invaluable in thin ruck stocks
41. Peter Everitt: Has taken over from Jolly in Swan ruck
42. Tim Notting: Lions midfield is up and running
43. Josh Drummond: 246 in last two can’t be ignored
44. Luke Ball: Well and truly over early problems
45. Matthew Boyd: Will get more work without Cross
46. Peter Bell: 466 in last four is excellent form
47. Scott Lucas: Moved to FF this week which is a worry
48. Brett Kirk: Building up a string of good numbers
49. Michael Johnson: Looks comfortable in Freo backline
50. Cameron Ling: Run-with roles aren’t stopping production

Warming Up: Shane Tuck, Brad Sewell, Simon Black, Steve Johnson, Adam McPhee, Jordan Lewis, Lenny Hayes, Jess Sinclair, Nathan Foley, Jeff White, Daniel Giansiracusa, Jonathan Brown, Brendon Lade, Andrew Walker, Jake King.

A big part of these lists is reader feedback, so don’t hesitate to attack my ratings of individual players, and suggest changes you’d like to make to either the 50 or the “Warming Up” section, which is players who just missed out on the main list. I’ll be glad to hear your opinions!