Matthew Lloyd has named his top seven surprise-packet players of the 2022 AFL season so far.
There have been plenty of good stories this season, not least numerous players proving the doubters wrong.
The Essendon great named his top 7 players “for different reasons”.
Some were traded, some were out of form, and some had little expectation on them, but all have impressed this season.
Lloyd's top 7 surprise packets of the season right now:
7. Jack Ginnivan (Collingwood)
“He put himself on the map, but Kane Cornes brought him to attention even more,” Lloyd told Sportsday.
“17 goals, a rookie list player, he's come on and been outstanding, (I) didn’t see that one coming.”
__6. Levi Casboult (Gold Coast)
“I thought he was lost to football, Levi Casboult.
“Once he left Carlton… I thought he was finished, he’s kicked 18 goals and been a really strong player for the Gold Coast Suns.”
5. Nic Martin (Essendon)
“I’ve got a Bomber, Nic Martin (at five).
“He wasn’t on an AFL list, he gets put on with Tex Wanganeen in January and I think every club would be saying, ‘how did we miss him?’
“He’s averaging 22 disposals and he's kicked 10 goals for the season.
“He’s been brilliant.”
4. Will Brodie (Fremantle)
“Another one that got away from the Gold Coast Suns, Will Brodie.
“Unbelievable, they wanted him off the books, they wanted Fremantle to take his salary, they even threw a draft pick in there.
“Brodie is averaging 27 disposals a game.”
3. Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
“A Carlton superstar, Charlie Curnow.”
“He had 11 games in 2019, zero games in 2020, four in 2021, and he’s arguably the competition’s best forward.
“25 goals, I wasn’t ready for him to do that.”
2. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
“People will say you’re kidding, Patrick Cripps has won best and fairests.
“Leigh Matthews called him a ‘journeyman’ last year, so he’s a surprise for me that he’s now the best player in the game at Round 8, I didn’t see this one coming either.”
1.Peter Wright (Essendon)
“He is third on the Coleman, he’s playing football I didn’t think he could play.”