The saying ‘aged like fine wine' is one not normally found in the confines of AFL discussion. However, for these ‘old mates', the wine has never tasted better, with Scott Pendlebury's ANZAC Day performance last week showing the extent of treating age as just a number.
Some of the competition's all-time legends are still among the league's best despite being out of their primes, with some even now playing the best footy of their careers.
Here's my ranking of the top 10 players in the AFL who are aged 30 and above. I am basing this list on current form rather than assessing their careers and the age cut-off criteria will be turning 30 years before the 2026 season started.
1Marcus Bontempelli (30 years)
At number one is none other than ‘The Bont' himself, who has personified what it means to be a consistent force of dominance for a side that would be spiraling without him. The Bulldogs captain can really do everything you could want from a football player of his magnitude and while his 2026 campaign isn't off to the start he could want, there's still the omnipresent belief around the footy world that he is truly the best we have in the game.
