The Australian Football League is the only professional Australian Rules Football league in the world. There are currently 18 teams in the competition, located in five Australian states. Such is the popularity of the AFL, there is much debate surrounding the best teams and players. If you want to show your knowledge of the sport, why not try your luck with a wager? You can use a Bet365 bonus code available exclusively at JohnnyBet. In the meantime, read about who are believed to be the top 10 AFL players since 2000.
Joel Selwood
Despite concerns of a serious knee injury at a young age, Selwood has developed into a fantastic player and captain having been taken at pick 7 by Geelong in the 2006 AFL draft. Considered one of the most consistent players in the AFL, Selwood is known for his aggressiveness and determination to succeed. Selwood is a five time All Australian, including three times as captain.
Matthew Scarlett
Despite being regarded as a traditional AFL full back, there was more to Scarlett’s game than defending. He can be credited as one of the players who transformed a position during his career, often leaving his man to make an interception and launch an attack for his team. Scarlett is a six-time All-Australian.
Dustin Martin
Many fans choose to focus on the 2017 and 2019 seasons when discussing the contribution of Martin. Yes, they were both outstanding campaigns but ever since making his debut in 2010, Martin has been one of the most entertaining and influential players in the AFL. Martin has already won close to every award in the sport and still has time to add more to his collection.
Nick Riewoldt
You only must look at the CV of Riewoldt, which includes being named in the All Australian team five times, including once as captain, to understand why he makes the top 10 AFL players since 2000. Riewoldt is a six-time best and fairest and if you want to see what it means to put a shift in for your team, Nick is your man.
Matthew Pavlich
Pavlich has eight club leading goalkicker awards for his time at Fremantle and in addition to the 700 goals, it is easy to see why he is regarded as one of the best players of the past 20 years. He was the first player based in Western Australia to achieve the 300 game milestone. Notably, there was more to his game than being a great forward. Pavlich was a versatile player, especially in his younger days, often rotating through the midfield from his key forward post. He is one of the greatest to ever don the Fremantle guernsey.
Chris Judd
Judd is the first of the top 10 AFL players since 2000 to have starred for two teams, West Coast Eagles and Carlton. Judd may not have been at his best during his spell at Carlton but for a period of four years at West Coast, he was sensational. If you have never seen the six-time All-All Australian in action, search for videos online because you will see some of the most explosive football of all time.
Nathan Buckley
In terms of being the closest to perfection in midfield, Buckley at his best is difficult to top. From 2000 onwards, Buckley played 138 games for Collingwood and peaked at 29.5 touches per game in 2000, which was a tremendous record for that era. The 2003 season is considered Buckley’s best year and he picked up a well-deserved Brownlow Medal for his efforts. Buckley’s performance against Fremantle in 2001 is still one the best individual displays of any AFL player.
Michael Voss
Despite playing through most of the 1990s, Voss’ durability means he continued to perform at the highest level in the early 2000s. His list of honours between 2001 and 2003 tells its own story and Voss won two best and fairests, three All-Australian team selections, three ‘best captain’ titles, and two AFLPA MVP awards. If we look specifically towards the end of 2000, Voss averaged 31.2 disposals across six games, polling Brownlow votes in five of those games.
Lance Franklin
When Franklin retires from playing football, it will quickly dawn on everyone that will never see his like on the field again. As an eight-time All-Australian (one as captain), four-time Coleman medallist, two-time premiership Hawk, and 11-time club leading goalkicker, Franklin became only the sixth player in VFL/AFL history to kick 1,000 career goals. He completed the 1,000 career goals feat in 2022 but if you want to see Franklin at his devastating best, check out his highlights from the 2008 season; he cleared 100 goals that year and cemented his formidable duo with Jarryd Roughead.
Gary Ablett Jr.
No player in the history of the AFL has won more MVP awards (5) than Ablett. No player has polled more Brownlow votes than Ablett. No player has racked up more AFL Player Ratings points, Champion Data ranking points, and more disposals than Ablett. The statistics say it all but what was most impressive about Ablett’s game was that fact he could do everything on the field. There are so many special individual moments in Ablett’s career, it would take another top 10 list to do them justice.
