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.
5Callum Wilkie (30 years)
Defend, defend, defend, that's the motto Ross Lyon lives by and that's the mindset this St Kilda key defender is having every time he steps foot on the field. He won't even step off it after being the only player left to have played every second of gametime, which just speaks to his reliability. Wilkie is simply in the best form of his career, leading the league in marks per game (12.1) and in disposals (25.8) for a key defender; an All-Australian nod has never looked more likely.
