The eight VFL stars who should be given opportunities at AFL level

Campbell Brown has named the eight players who starred in the VFL in 2024 who he believes should be given a chance by an AFL club.

The Hawthorn premiership player watches plenty of VFL in his role as a broadcaster for Channel 7 so is well-versed in the state league.

Brown has named one player without an AFL contract for 2025, one with a deal for next year, one delisted player and five VFL-listed stars he believes can step up to the elite level.

Noah Cumberland (Richmond)

“For whatever reason he has not been able to cement his spot in that Richmond forward line,” Brown said on AFL Trade Radio.

“He has X-factor galore, he’s good above his head, he can kick a fantastic goal. He’s got a bag of five against Brisbane in 2022. He has kicked multiple goals on 10 occasions (from 25 career games).

“The knock on him is that he doesn’t necessarily always play to a forward structure. He plays on instinct, but so did Cyril Rioli and Buddy Franklin and some of these guys. That’s not a comparison on ability either.

“I think Noah Cumberland would be a great fit at another club. He could be a guy who slots in, plays every weeks and kicks you his two goals. He creates opportunities and is a tough match-up.

“He should be look to leave because if he can’t get a game at Richmond when they had a year like they had… he only played seven games.”

Deven Robertson (Brisbane)

“They’ve got so much depth through their midfield especially with Will Ashcroft coming back, Jaspa Fletcher has emerged as a really good player, Levi Ashcroft will come in, there are players coming back from injury.

“He has played 43 games, only two this year. He played in the Grand Final last year and did an ok job.

“He played 16 last year and went into the off-season having played in a Grand Final, so you wouldn’t be expecting to con back the next year and only play two AFL games.

“He’s tough, he’s hard, he’s probably not polished, but he’s a guy that you could slot into your side.”

Curtis Taylor (North Melbourne)

“It did surprise me that he got delisted.

“He’s only 24, he’s built a good base with 76 games. He’s had a back injury, he did his calf this year, he sort of struggled to get his body right.

“If you want to know what he's capable of go to Round 15 and watch his game against Collingwood. He had 22 touches, kicked a goal, laid six tackles - that is what he's capable of and that was coming off and interrupted pre-season.

“So he's a guy that I think can slot into another AFL side and you've got a ready-made player right from day dot of pre-season.

“At 24 he's still got his best football ahead of him.”

Riley Bice (Werribee)

“There's plenty of AFL clubs into him.

“He's an Albury boy that came down to play for Werribee, a half-back flanker in the mould of ‘The Lizard’ (Nick Blakey), run, carry and dash, lightly framed but a really good user of the footy.

“A few of the recruiters just questioned how he was on a ground ball. He would soccer it a few times and things like that.

“But his (VFL) Grand Final was superb and one of the reasons Werribee won. You put some bulk on that frame and I think he will be getting drafted.”

Sam Davidson (Richmond VFL)

“There's a guy called Sam Davidson that played at Richmond, who sort of came from the clouds a little bit this year.

“He’s got the blonde locks and he won the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal. So that’s on his resume. The last 17 players that have won that have gone on to play AFL football.

“He's a good player.”

Boyd Woodcock (Southport)

“He played at Port Adelaide, about a dozen games for Port through 2020 and 2021.

“He’s been playing NEAFL and VFL, a really good footballer, midfielder, can hit the scoreboard.

“He's 24 years of age, runner-up in the JJ Liston in 2022 and 2023, third this year. Just a very consistent workhorse place for Southport.

“They've got a plethora of former AFL guys and he's the one that I would give another opportunity to.

“He was playing AFL footy at at 19 years of age. He was a boy at Port Adelaide and now he's a man and knows his craft.

“He's got pretty good spread, he can find the footy, I think he's a really well-rounded footballer and could easily slot into an AFL side.”

Jack Henderson (Werribee)

“He won the best on ground medal (Norm Goss) in the VFL Grand Final and just took his game to the next level.

“He can play half-back, was thrown in the midfield this year when Werribee lost a lot of their stars, kicked two big goals in the third quarter in the Grand Final to drag his side back.

“Elite runner. Former Werribee coach Micky Barlow said he's dropping 16kms a game at high intensity. He would run players ragged.

“He's the sort of guy that if you are down to pre-season training, you’d ask how will he go in an AFL environment? He would run every play ragged

“And then as a coach and a recruiter would go, ‘Oh geez, we didn't know that about the guy’.”

Dom Brew (Werribee)

“I make no apologies about him.

“He's the captain of Werribee, I absolutely love him, almost my favourite footballer of all-time.

“Give the man a job and he will do it without questioning from the first bounce to the last bounce, irrespective of score, how he's playing, what's happening around him.

“He's just a competitive beast unlike anyone that I've ever seen, including Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell. He’s a competitive animal.

“He would be the last person on earth I'd want to play on. The heart and soul of Werribee.

“I’m sick of hearing coaches and everyone talk about players with polish, that's important, it's really important.

“But give me a guy that will just fight to the death for you because in tight games, the tackle, the smother, the spoil, the clearance win - anything that isn't the perfect play he can do.”