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Find your Sport Nation frequencyGerard Healy names his most underrated player in the AFL
SEN • July 17th, 2025 9:09 am
Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy has named his most underrated player in the competition.
In Healy’s eyes, that mantle belonged to Collingwood midfielder Jack Crisp, but with Crisp now a two-time best and fairest winner and premiership player, he’s had to look elsewhere.
Speaking with Cam Luke on SEN Sportsday, Healy named Brisbane defender Ryan Lester as one player who he considers seriously underrated.
While the 32-year-old has played 224 games for the Lions since debuting in 2011, Healy admits that it’s even taken him some time to truly appreciate how important he is to Brisbane’s defence.
Now as a premiership player, Healy loves how Lester just gets the job done for coach Chris Fagan week in, week out.
Luke: “We don't want to hear Sam Darcy's name. We don't want to hear Izak Rankine. We don't want to hear Noah Anderson. We want genuinely underrated players.”
Healy: “We also don’t want to hear ordinary players have had two good ones. They’ve got to have an impact over time.
“I mean, Jack Crisp was the poster boy for underrated players, but he's not underrated anymore. He's won best and fairests.”
Luke: “When you have a Grand Final like he did as well, underrated is gone.
Healy: “I'll give you a one and I was guilty of underrating him early in the piece. Ryan Lester.”
Luke: “This is what happens when you play at a good football club, and you have an incredibly deep midfield full of high-profile players … and then you have Harris Andrews doing his work next to you. It's very easy to escape the profile like he has.”
Healy: “Well, Ryan Lester, I thought he was gone about five years ago. I think I might have said so on commentary.
“Well, he has just been a super player for them, he's played above his height, and he's done a great job.
“I think it was two weeks ago, he was nearly their best player, but he just keeps on getting the job done on one-year contracts.”
Luke: “A lot of these underrated players have one-year contracts. Maybe it's not just us who underrate them but also list management at different times.”
Lester finished sixth in the 2024 Brisbane best and fairest in a premiership year.
