Grading draft hopefuls is a very subjective process. What one person may like in a player, may be seen as a flaw by another draft watcher. As a result it is very difficult to compare players as many people will have different perspectives and ratings of players. As a way to combat this I have devised a statistical rankings formula, similar to Dream Team and Supercoach points, where players are ranked according to their statistical output with higher weightings given to particular stats depending on their position, and games played in senior or reserve grade given a weighting to allow for the step up in class. This is by no means my personal rankings of the players, nor is it where I expect them to land on draft day but it does provide an insight into the seasons of the players. My Champs rankings can be found here.

Here are the end of season rankings for 2014, with scores taken from after the Champs:

1. Reece McKenzie (Northern Knights) – 156.2
2. Jack Hayes (Woodville-West Torrens) – 131.6
3. Taylor Grace (Sandringham Dragons) – 125.0
4. Tim Jones (Western Storm) – 124.5
5. Christian Petracca (Eastern Ranges) – 124.5
6. Jack Steele (Belconnen) – 123.6
7. Damien Cavka (Calder Cannons) – 123.4
8. Isaac Heeney (Cardiff) – 122.3
9. Caleb Hislop (Burnie) – 117.3
10. Patrick McCartin (Geelong Falcons) – 117.0
11. Liam Dawson (Aspley) – 114.7
12. Brett Turner (West Adelaide) – 111.0
13. Brayden Maynard (Sandringham Dragons) – 109.6
14. Tom Read (Sturt) – 109.0
15. Jayden Foster (Calder Cannons) – 108.6
16. Nick Dixon (Geelong Falcons) – 108.2
17. Angus Brayshaw (Sandringham Dragons) – 108.2
18. Jackson Nelson (Geelong Falcons) – 107.7
19. Jack Sinclair (Oakleigh Chargers) – 107.3
20. Jayden Short (Northern Knights) – 106.8
21. Kade Answerth (Oakleigh Chargers) – 106.4
22. Michael Mattingly (Corowa-Rutherglen) -106.3
23. Lachie Weller (Broadbeach) – 106.0
24. Liam Duggan (Western Jets) – 105.6
25. Tyler Keitel (East Perth) – 105.3
26. Harrison Wigg (North Adelaide) – 104.5
27. Will Fordham (Sandringham Dragons) – 104.4
28. Nathan Drummond (Murray Bushrangers) – 104.2
29. Nick Mellington (Murray Bushrangers) – 102.6
30. Jared Hardisty (Claremont) – 102.0
31. Kyle Langford (Northern Knights) – 101.7
32. Jarrod Garlett (South Fremantle) – 101.6
33. Jayden Laverde (Western Jets) – 101.4
34. Toby McLean (Oakleigh Chargers) – 101.0
35. Alex Carr (Gippsland Power) – 101.0
36. Ethan Haylock (Woodville-West Torrens) – 99.6
37. Sam Switkowski (Northern Knights) – 99.4
38. Peter Wright (Calder Cannons) – 97.4
39. Billy Evans (Bendigo Pioneers) – 97.2
40. Billy Stretch (Glenelg) – 96.8
41. Jack Cripps (East Fremantle) – 96.5
42. Billy Frampton (South Fremantle) – 96.0
43. Tom Wilkinson (Sandringham Dragons) – 95.8
44. Peter Bampton (Norwood) – 95.7
45. Connor Menadue (Western Jets) – 95.6
46. Harris Andrews (Aspley) – 95.6
47. Zac Ballard (Northern Knights) – 95.2
48. Connor Blakely (Swan Districts) – 94.3
49. Touk Miller (Calder Cannons) – 94.2
50. Jordan Cunico (Gippsland Power) – 94.0

Reece McKenzie, the powerful key forward from Northern Knights, tops the rankings on the back of a blistering finish to the season where he recorded two scores of over 200 points. To put this massive achievement into perspective, only five scores of 200 points have been awarded since I have used this ranking system – Christian Petracca’s 215 against Geelong Falcons last season, Jack Steele’s 202 against Calder, Jack Hayes’ 214  for Woodville-West Torrens and McKenzie’s 209 against Northern Territory and 240 against Eastern Ranges.

Versatile South Australian tall Jack Hayes came in second, compiling huge numbers in the SANFL Under 18s after returning from the Championships where he played as a key defender. However he played a different role for his club roaming around the ground as he pleased and pinch hitting in the ruck.

Sandringham overager Taylor Grace finished third after a fantastic season where he accumulated possessions with ease. Tasmanian midfielder Tim Jones had a fantastic series of matches in the TAC Cup and came in fourth while many people’s tip to be the number one selection, Christian Petracca came in fifth after a move into the midfield.

Notable players to miss out on the top 50 include promising tall Sam Durdin (109th) who dominated in the finals for West Adelaide Under 18s but struggled against the bigger bodies as a key defender in the SANFL seniors, Collingwood father-son prospect Darcy Moore (100th), Murray utility Caleb Marchbank (60th), Oakleigh star Jordan De Goey (62nd), Geelong’s versatile swingman Hugh Goddard (67th), Calder excitement machine Paul Ahern (137th) and speedy Western Australian Jarrod Pickett (53rd).

Top players by position:

Key defenders

1. Harris Andrews (Aspley)
2. Caleb Marchbank (Murray Bushrangers)
3. Hugh Goddard (Geelong Falcons)
4. Oscar McDonald (North Ballarat Rebels)
5. Bailey Jordan (Northern Knights)
6. Adam Creeper (Subiaco)
7. Nick Jackson (Aspley)
8. Dan Howe (Murray Bushrangers)
9. Darcy Moore (Oakleigh Chargers)
10. Dylan Winton (Peel Thunder)

Running defenders

1. Harrison Wigg (North Adelaide)
2. Kyle Langford (Northern Knights)
3. Dan McKenzie (Oakleigh Chargers)
4. Brenden Abbott (Claremont)
5. Teia Miles (Geelong Falcons)
6. Jason Castagna (Northern Knights)
7. Clem Smith (Perth)
8. Michael Manteit (Sandringham Dragons)
9. Dillon Viojo-Rainbow (Western Jets)
10. Edward Vickers-Willis (Sandringham Dragons)

Tall forwards

1. Reece McKenzie (Northern Knights)
2. Jack Hayes (Woodville-West Torrens)
3. Patrick McCartin (Geelong Falcons)
4. Jayden Foster (Calder Cannons)
5. Tyler Keitel (East Perth)
6. Peter Wright (Calder Cannons)
7. Jack Cripps (East Fremantle)
8. Abe Davis (UNSW Easts)
9. Jeremy Finlayson (Sydney Hills Eagles)
10. Sam Bevan (Claremont)

Small forwards

1. Jayden Laverde (Western Jets)
2. Toby McLean (Oakleigh Chargers)
3. Jack Lonie (Dandenong Stingrays)
4. Bailey Dale (Dandenong Stingrays)
5. James Rose (Sturt)
6. Jake Johansen (Port Adelaide)
7. Declan Hamilton (Port Adelaide)
8. Aidan Anderson (Swan Districts)
9. Henry Carey (Sturt)
10. Josh Hone (Sturt)

Ruckmen

1. Tom Read (Sturt)
2. Billy Frampton (South Fremantle)
3. Isaac Muller (Murray Bushrangers)
4. Rowan Marshall (North Ballarat Rebels)
5. Sam Baulderstone (Norwood)*
6. Mark Kovacevic (Calder Cannons)
7. Sam Tagliabue (Essendon)*
8. Marc Pittonet (Oakleigh Chargers)
9. Braydon Preuss (Mt Gravatt)
10. Sean McLaren (Sandringham Dragons)

*denotes mature age

Midfielders

1. Taylor Grace (Sandringham Dragons)
2. Tim Jones (Western Storm)
3. Christian Petracca (Eastern Ranges)
4. Jack Steele (Belconnen)
5. Damien Cavka (Calder Cannons)
6. Isaac Heeney (Cardiff)
7. Caleb Hislop (Burnie)
8. Liam Dawson (Aspley)
9. Brett Turner (West Adelaide)
10. Brayden Maynard (Sandringham Dragons)

Some handy mature age prospects

1. Nick Newman (Frankston)
2. Matthew Panos (Norwood)
3. Josh Glenn (Central Districts)
4. Sam Baulderstone (Norwood)
5. Adam Marcon (Williamstown)
6. Sam Tagliabue (Essendon)
7. Michael Hartley (Coburg)
8. Jack Johnstone (Williamstown)
9. Adam Saad (Coburg)
10. Dylan Nelson (Swan Districts)