Champion Data's top 10 players after Round 12, 2024

Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne has handed down the updated top 10 players in the competition after Round 12, with a few changes to the Round 8 list.

The new ratings system - 100X - works by analysing how far above or below expectation players have performed per 100 minutes, meaning all positions on the ground can be compared.

Check out the fresh rankings below.

1. Isaac Heeney (Sydney)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 1

“Heeney is number one again, but the gap is shortening and it’s shortening quickly,” Hoyne said on SEN’s Sportsday.

“His last four weeks have been good, but nowhere near the levels he was. That was unrealistic for him to go at those levels he was performing in the first eight weeks.

“Still number one but with a group charging hard at him.”

2. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 2

“‘Bont’ is number two and charging hard, only marginally below where Heeney is at the moment.”

3. Izak Rankine (Adelaide)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 9

“Rankine is at three and being dearly missed by Adelaide.

“A couple of players around him have dropped off a little bit. That would be the main reason for him (going up despite being injured).”

4. Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
Previous ranking at Round 8: Unranked

“Christian Petracca is actually having his best season in four years.

“He comes in at number four and is going along extremely well.”

5. Max Holmes (Geelong)
Previous ranking at Round 8: Unranked

“He is absolutely flying at the moment!

“You take your mind back to 2022 before he got injured and missed the Grand Final, he was clearly the best wingman in the competition.

“This year they started him across half-back and had a huge influence there. The last three weeks he has been moved to a permanent centre-bounce midfielder and the returns that they are getting have been enormous.

“He is the definition of a ratings player. He has 26-27 disposals but it is all impact.”

6. Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs)
Previous ranking at Round 8: Unranked

“A bit of a surprise is Aaron Naughton coming in at six.

“Highest ever rating for him. His previous highest was 33rd in the competition.

“His work at ground level this year is clearly better than any key forward in the competition. Accuracy in front of goal has been a huge strength for him this year.”

7. Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 6

“Nick Daicos is coming in at seven.

“We talked about him four weeks ago, he was coming with a bullet when he was inside the top 20.

“He’s coming with a bullet even harder now. In four weeks’ time I expect him to be top three.”

8. Matt Rowell (Gold Coast)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 5

“I really like what Gold Coast have down with Rowell over the last couple of weeks.

“His profile of late is starting to change. We’ve always recognised him as being a 60-80 per cent contested possession winner, but over the last month, three of his four games he’s almost been a 50-50 split between contest and uncontested.

“On the weekend, he had a game-high nine score involvements in a really tight game of footy (against Essendon).

“It’s good to see him evolve.”

9. Max Gawn (Melbourne)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 8

“He’s having his best season in six years.”

10. Nick Blakey (Sydney)
Previous ranking at Round 8: 7

“Four weeks ago he was further up, so is one of those players whoo is dropping a little bit.”

Honourable mentions:

Caleb Serong is 12th, Chad Warner is sitting 13th, and Patrick Cripps is 16th.