How many A-graders does your club have?

After the conversation got rolling on SEN's Hungry for Sport, we took a look at the A-grade talent on your list and who threatens to take the next step.

ADELAIDE

A-Graders: Rory Sloane, Eddie Betts, Matt Crouch, Daniel Talia, Bryce Gibbs

Borderline: Taylor Walker, Rory Laird, Brodie Smith

Unlikely you’d rate any of the club’s A-graders in the league's best 10 players but evenness is a strong suit of the Crows. Walker’s dismal finals series – he was nicknamed blister as he only turned up after the work was done – was evidence he is not the player his profile suggests. Ditto Josh Jenkins

BRISBANE

A-Graders: Dayne Beams, Dayne Zorko

Borderline: Nil

Has a number of players on the way up but very few who’ve already arrived. Beams is a standout capable of performing regardless of the scoreboard, while Zorko is a forward-of-centre match-winner who has won the club’s past three best and fairests. Luke Hodge’s influence will be pronounced but from a pure playing perspective, his best days are behind him.

CARLTON

A-Graders: Marc Murphy, Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty, Matthew Kreuzer

Borderline – Nil

Boast a sprinkling of top-end talent but at this stage of its development there is a sizeable gap to the next tier. In time the Blues have a bevy of young stars they will be hoping can quickly take the next step and surge the club up the ladder. Kreuzer elevated himself last season and Murphy is maligned but when fit is a star playmaker.

COLLINGWOOD

A-Graders: Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom

Borderline: Adam Treloar, Jeremy Howe

Pendlebury and Sidebottom are automatics but Trelaor’s inability to consistently hit targets hurts him. Howe does things no one else can but doesn’t impact games for long enough to be considered a genuine star. Taylor Adams' ability to butcher the ball limits his impact greatly. A full-season from Jamie Elliott could see him rocket into contention.

ESSENDON

A-Graders: Joe Daniher, Zach Merrett, Michael Hurley

Borderline: Dyson Heppell

Heppell is still finding his feet after a year out and could elevate back into the elite list next year. Daniher, Hurley and Merrett are there, and importantly still very much on the up. Will need a host of younger players to start pushing for the team to get where many believe they can in 2018.

FREMANTLE

A-Graders: Nat Fyfe, Lachie Neale

Borderline: Brad Hill, Stephen Hill

List composition as its stands lacks overall class. Fyfe struggled at times in 2017 but cannot be left out. Neale is one of the game's best ball-winners. The Hill brothers are playmakers but could be argued are not to the level to be considered A-grade talent. Hard to find any other Docker even close at this stage of their career and that’s the reason uncertainty pervades the short-term future of Ross Lyon’s team.

GEELONG

A-Graders: Gary Ablett, Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood

Borderline: Mitch Duncan

No question about the gun trio who have been in the top echelon for many years. Others, however, are hard to find. Duncan is coming off a great year but needs to back it up to jump into the A list category. Harry Taylor was once considered top class but age is wearying him. Tom Hawkins is maligned but handy enough without enjoying star status.

GOLD COAST

A-Graders: Tom Lynch, Steven May

Borderline: Nil

Bar co-captain Lynch and May, the Suns' list demographic is built on youth with what the club hopes will be long and successful careers. Question is, will Lynch be in Suns’ colours beyond 2018 and how many of the top-end draft picks taken last year and this will rise to the challenge? There is a reason Gold Coast is raging wooden spoon favourite.

GWS

A-Graders: Dylan Shiel, Phil Davis, Josh Kelly, Toby Greene

Borderline: Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio, Nick Haynes, Jon Patton, Lachie Whitfield

Possesses a raft of elite talent and an even larger group of underlings knocking on the door. Davis doesn’t have a huge profile but is among the best full backs in the game, while Kelly, Shiel and Greene have the runs on the board. If the likes of Patton, Whitfield, Coniglio, Haynes and Ward jump into the next bracket, then the Giants are going to be right in the mix come the last day in September.

Hawthorn

A-Graders: Tom Mitchell, Cyril Rioli

Borderline: Ryan Burton

Mitchell’s innate ball winning capabilities (he averaged 35.8 disposals this season) easily puts him into this category, despite some believing he could improve his impact with the footy. Rioli, for all his recent injuries, can still turn a game on his head, while Burton is on his way to superstardom. Two elder statesmen, Shaun Burgoyne and Jarryd Roughead, are interesting case studies, as both could still make a strong claim for the A-grade mantle.

Melbourne

A-Graders: Jack Viney, Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Michael Hibberd

Borderline: Jake Lever, Jesse Hogan, Christian Petracca

After having just one star for so many years in Nathan Jones, who narrowly misses this list, the Demons are now overflowing with talent. Viney and Oliver are midfield bulls, Gawn is one of the league’s premier ruckman, while Hibberd is the quintessential modern day defender. The trio of Lever, Hogan and Petracca are on their way, if they can maintain their best for prolonged periods.

North Melbourne

A-Graders: Ben Brown, Shaun Higgins, Robbie Tarrant

Borderline: Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington

While their chase for another elite commodity has fallen flat over the past few off-seasons, the Roos have one of the competition’s best young forwards in Brown. Despite playing on a losing team, the 24-year-old was still able to boot 63 goals in 2017. Higgins remains one of the game’s prime movers, while Tarrant is an All-Australian calibre defender. Ziebell and Cunnington are two of the AFL’s toughest midfielders, but are some class and polish off being in the elite category.

PORT ADELAIDE

A-Graders: Robbie Gray, Paddy Ryder

Borderline: Chad Wingard, Ollie Wines, Charlie Dixon

Gray and Ryder’s reputations were infinitely enhanced on the back of wonderful 2017 seasons, while some would argue Wines should sit alongside in the A-grade category. Wingard is A-grade talent but has been up and down in recent years. Dixon took a major step and with another strong season will end 2018 in the top bracket.

RICHMOND

A-Graders: Alex Rance, Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin

Borderline: Jack Riewoldt, Nick Vlastuin, Bachar Houli

On the back of a premiership the stars – Rance, Martin and Cotchin – confirmed their elite status while a number of players not previously in the conversation made giant strides. Houli arrived as a game-turning rebounder, while Vlastuin quietly went about establishing himself as one of the game’s best play-reading defenders. Riewoldt’s profile suggests he an A-grader but the reality is he’s a very good player, but a level down on the game’s genuine stars.

ST KILDA

A-Graders: Jack Steven

Borderline: Jake Carlise, Seb Ross, Jack Billings

Steven stands alone as the Saints’ only topliner. Carlisle made inroads after a strong season, while the jury remains out on the capacity to Ross and Billings to make it to the top. Can Ross perform year after year? Can Billings tidy up his disposal and make the transition into full-time playmaking midfielder?

SYDNEY

A-Graders: Lance Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Dane Rampe, Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery

Borderline: Isaac Heeney, Callum Mills

Hard to believe a side stacked with as much talent as the Swans couldn’t win any of their first six games, then after a great recovery, bow out of finals with a disastrous performance against Geelong. If the graph on Heeney and Mills continues in the direction many expect, the Swans could end next year with a league-leading seven A-graders. If that happens, it’s hard not to see the red and white going deep into the finals.

WEST COAST

A-Graders: Josh Kennedy, Luke Shuey, Nic Naitanui, Jeremy McGovern

Borderline: Ellott Yeo

Any player who averages nearly four goals a game in a single season is an automatic inclusion and it’s the reason Kennedy is a star. Shuey goes under the radar to a degree but is a genuine game-changer, while McGovern ranks among the best intercept/contested marks in the game. Have to include Naitanui despite the fact he did not get on the park this year. Yeo established himself as a prime halfback, but can he do it year-on-year?

WESTERN BULLDOGS

A-Graders: Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae

Borderline: Jason Johannisen, Luke Dahlhaus

Slim pickings for a team that only two seasons ago climbed football’s highest mountain. Bontempelli and Macrae performed well in 2017 despite the team’s struggles, but few others improved. Johannisen’s inability to beat taggers is an issue, while Dahlhaus is a willing worker but perhaps lacks the genuine match-winning class to be considered in the A-grade. Can Tom Boyd, Lachie Hunter, Toby McLean or Zaine Cordy make significant strides next season?