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Kane's Countdown: The 10 best players of the AFL era
SEN • September 25th, 2025 11:21 am
Kane Cornes has named his best 10 players of the AFL era.
The AFL era begun in 1990 after the competition was renamed after the VFL expanded its competition to other states in the 1980s.
With Cornes’ list encapsulating more than three and a half decades, there were plenty of superstar players who missed out.
“This if the official top 10 of the AFL era according to me,” Cornes said on SEN Sportsday.
“There’s some good players that have missed out, apologies to SOS (Stephen Silvagni), (Andrew) McLeod and other legends of the game.
“The other one that's missed out is Chris Judd. His best was as good as the top three on this list, but I didn’t think he had the longevity of others.”
Kane’s Countdown - “The best 10 players of the AFL era”
10 – Dustin Martin (Richmond)
“Dusty is at 10, but don’t worry, we’ve got nine good ones coming up.”
9 – Luke Hodge (Hawthorn, Brisbane)
“I've got Hodge at nine. He is underrated when you look at his big game performance. He's got two Norm Smiths, plus the rest.”
8 – Michael Voss (Brisbane)
“Vossy is at eight, and I apologise to Simon Black who misses out from that team.”
7 – Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong, Adelaide)
“Eight All-Australians, a Brownlow, a premiership, and if he wins another one, look out.”
6 – Lance Franklin (Hawthorn, Sydney)
5 – Jason Dunstall (Hawthorn)
4 – Tony Lockett (Sydney)
3 – Gary Ablett Sr. (Geelong, Hawthorn)
2 – Gary Ablett Jr. (Geelong, Gold Coast)
1 – Wayne Carey (North Melbourne, Adelaide)
“Wayne Carey's the best player that I've ever seen.”
