Let's say you were building an AFL team from scratch and could draft any current player to join you. Who would be your first pick? I'm not talking about an aging star for a season or two before they hang up the boots, rather the players that have the greatest runway to achieve greatness over the longer term. In short, who do you want for the next 10 years?
If such a wacky, hypothetical scenario presented itself, I've already got my draft board handy. Well, at least my first 10 selections. Narrowing the names down to 10 is very tough!
Of course, there are many notable (and you could certainly say 'extremely stiff') absentees, including reigning Brownlow medallist, Matt Rowell, two-time Norm Smith Medal winner, Will Ashcroft, and last year's top draft pick, Willem Duursma. Midfield jets Chad Warner, Noah Anderson, and Max Holmes have also failed to make the cut, as has mercurial Hawk Nick Watson and Giants ball magnet Tom Green, who will be 26 years of age and coming off an ACL injury when we next see him on the field. My list of 10 names feature no Brownlow Medal winner, no defender, and only three players from a Victorian club.
So, who would you want to build a team around for the next decade? Here are my top 10 picks, in order:
10. Josh Treacy
Drafted: Pick 7, 2021 (rookie) | Age: 23 | Position: Key forward
Games: 94| Goals: 152
What a player Treacy has become. Consistent. Reliable. Efficient. Super effective around goal. Since the beginning of 2024, Treacy has booted 121 goals, the eighth-most in the league and the youngest of anyone who has managed more. He's also kicked multiple goals in 16 of his past 18 games and is firming as a near lock to make this year's All-Australian team. Treacy may already be in season six, but 10 years of production takes us to 'just' age 33. That's the same age as Geelong superstar Jeremy Cameron today. I'm not saying Treacy can, or will have, a Cameron-esque career, but nobody should be surprised if the Docker forward finished up with 600+ goals next to his name.
9. Logan Morris
Drafted: Pick 31, 2023 | Age: 21 | Position: Key forward
Games: 58 | Goals: 112
Few young key forwards have hit the ground running quite like Morris at the Lions. Last year, Morris joined Jeremy Cameron, Jack Darling, and Lance Franklin as the only players in the last 25 years to boot 50 goals in a season before their 21st birthday. He's firmly on track to match the effort this year, where he's tallied 35 goals through his first 13 games. It's impressive considering the retirement of Joe Daniher has meant Morris is often manned up by the opposition's best defender. Unsurprisingly, news dropped earlier this week that there are a host of clubs preparing packages to tempt Morris away from the Lions when he comes out of contract at the end of the 2027 season.
8. Errol Gulden
Drafted: Pick 32, 2020 (Swans Academy) | Age: 23 | Position: Wing
Games: 105 | Goals: 76
It's easy for us to forget just how elite Gulden is, given he's played just 12 games since the beginning of last season and fallen very much off everyone's radar. Not only is the dynamic Swan a truly exquisite ball user (best in the competition?), he's someone who can find a mountain of possession. In the two seasons prior to his injury interrupted campaigns -- as a 20/21-year-old -- Gulden tallied 52 Brownlow Medal votes, finishing equal-fourth for the award in 2023. The modern game values line breakers, elite decision makers, and players who possess A-grade skills. Lucky for us Gulden has all three qualities in spades. Could easily end his career with six or seven All-Australian selections.
7. Luke Jackson
Drafted: Pick 3, 2019 | Age: 24 | Position: Ruck
Games: 132 | Goals: 108
The media, fans, and his teammates call him a unicorn, and for very good reason. I've forever been somewhat of a ruck skeptic, but there's no denying Jackson's positive impact. The Dockers ruck is certainly not your typical tap-and-do-little-else type, capable of doing so much more on the footy field, and he often does. He wins hard ball, can use it effectively (by hand and foot), and has the ability to go forward and hit the scoreboard. In each of his last three completed seasons, Jackson has kicked at least 20 goals. This year, he's already booted 12 goals. Jackson could very easily be the best ruck in the game for the next eight years with a sizeable gap to whoever might be No. 2.
6. Zak Butters
Drafted: Pick 12, 2018 | Age: 25 | Position: Midfield
Games: 152 | Goals: 72
A decade of Butters takes us to age 35. It's a slight risk, but one I'm very much eager to take in order to land arguably the most dynamic footballer in the competition. The undersized but never backwards stepping Port Adelaide superstar has one of the most unique skillsets in the league. Butters can go toe-to-toe at the contest with any other midfielder in the land but often does his best work in space, using his dash, dare, drive, and some wicked angles, to set up attacking thrusts. It's no surprise the Tigers have reportedly tabled a mammoth $18 million dollar deal for him to become their next marquee player to build around. Players like Butters just don't come around very often.
5. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
Drafted: Pick 11, 2021 | Age: 23 | Position: Midfield
Games: 96 | Goals: 32
There are sure to be many who believe 'Nas' deserves to be higher up my draft board, but I'm pretty comfortable ranking the gun Saint fifth. The back half of last season catapulted Wanganeen-Milera into footy stardom, Brownlow Medal contention, and earned him the most financially lucrative single season contract in AFL history. He's got the poise, the ball smarts, the versatility, the vision, the leadership traits, and just about everything else you would ever look for in a young footballer. The big question on everyone's mind is whether Wanganeen-Milera will remain at St Kilda beyond 2027 or instead look to return to South Australia. It's guaranteed to be a fascinating watch.
4. Jason Horne-Francis
Drafted: Pick 1, 2021 | Age: 22 | Position: Mid-forward
Games: 93 | Goals: 80
Perhaps it was the way in which his move from the Kangaroos to Port Adelaide came about, but Horne-Francis has to be the most unfairly maligned young gun in the competition. A genuine match-winner who can either rip a game apart in the middle of the ground or prove an impossible match-up in the forward 50m, Horne-Francis should be viewed as one of the most valuable assets in the game today. Now, it may be true that the gap between his devastating games and his poorer ones is hefty, but given he's not yet celebrated his 23rd birthday (seriously, you probably thought he was a few years older, huh?), I'm convinced that's not going to be an ongoing theme.
3. Sam Darcy
Drafted: Pick 2, 2021 (F/S) | Age: 22 | Position: Key forward
Games: 51 | Goals: 101
It's a footy tragedy that Darcy suffered a season-ending ACL rupture earlier in the year. The Bulldogs spearhead had entered the campaign as one of the genuine fancies for the Coleman Medal, a ridiculous position for any 22-year-old to find themselves in. Darcy has developed into a near unstoppable force in the forward half and might already be the best contested mark in the entire competition. Sure, his injury setback is far from ideal, but I'm not overly concerned about his ability to return and hit his prior heights when we see him again in 2027. I expect a career of 700+ goals, a slew of All-Australian blazers, and probably a few of those Coleman Medals by the time he hangs up the boots.
2. Harley Reid
Drafted: Pick 1, 2023 | Age: 21 | Position: Midfield
Games: 53 | Goals: 35
While it's true that in the early days I questioned whether or not Reid would deliver on the immense pre-draft hype, I'm happy to fall on my sword and admit yes, he very much will! The No. 1 pick from 2023 has matured over the past 18 months, added even more muscle (if you can believe that), and is looking every bit like one of the elite midfielders in the competition. Reid is a player that can have a devastating impact on a game without winning a mountain of ball, but that's not to say he can't find the footy, too. Few can stop him now, so good luck stopping him for the next decade! Oh, and I'd be utterly stunned if he didn't end his career as a Brownlow medallist.
1. Nick Daicos
Drafted: Pick 4, 2021 (F/S) | Age: 23 | Position: Midfield
Games: 107 | Goals: 77
He's just 23 years of age, already the best player in the game, and whether you like it or not, firmly on track to become one of the five greatest players to ever live. Don't believe me? I've looked into this before. This year, Daicos is averaging 35 disposals, seven inside 50s, and over a goal per game, once again leading the way on ESPN's Brownlow Medal predictor. But the scariest aspect to Daicos' game is that he's not yet close to the prime years of his career. What will his production be like four years from now?! The Collingwood superstar is my first pick if I'm starting a team from scratch, and I'm not thinking twice. Frankly, any other choice is the wrong one.