Which player from your AFL club is set to take the next step in 2024?
Every year there are players that leap into stardom and command headlines all season long. So the SEN.com.au have looked ahead into their crystal balls to predict who that might be for next year.
For those who can step up into All-Australian calculations and others who can be the missing piece of the puzzle for their clubs, here are 18 players set to explode in 2024.
Izak Rankine
He’s among Adelaide’s highest paid players and will prove why in 2024.
Izak Rankine enjoyed a strong start to life as a Crow and showed flashes of what he could do. The small forward enjoyed a career best year despite an interrupted pre-season and showed that while he’s elite in front of goal, he’s not afraid to give them off.
He’ll turn 24 during next season and has played 68 AFL games. With his obvious talent coming into his prime and Rankine now in his second pre-season at West Lakes, pencil him in for All-Australian in 2024.
Seb Mottram
Cam Rayner
The Lions head into the 2024 season with an experienced list that has demonstrated time and time again what it’s capable of.
One of those players to be a regular is Cam Rayner. But unlike his teammates, while he’s shown his ceiling, rarely has Rayner performed to it.
2024 might be the year he finally takes the next step. Rayner spent most of the 2023 pre-season in defence, a move that lasted just a few games of this season.
With the right lead-in to 2024 and if he stays healthy, Rayner is the best positioned he’ll ever be to go from an occasional star to among the game’s best.
He’s got all the skills to do it.
Seb Mottram
Jesse Motlop
Jesse Motlop has played 33 games in his first two seasons and by the end of 2023, likely took the mantle as Carlton’s best small forward.
Coming into his third season, Motlop is a strong pre-season away from making a leap and becoming a 22-game, 35-to-40-goal player.
He has incredible forward craft and seems to bob up in big moments, doing so in the semi final win over Melbourne.
After returning to the Carlton side in Round 18, Motlop averaged 1.6 goals per game. His goal should be to replicate that across the entirety of 2024.
Nic Negrepontis
Fin Macrae
The Collingwood midfielder is clearly rated by coach Craig McRae and 2024 could be a sense of now or never for him at the AIA Centre.
Drafted in the first-round in 2020, Macrae enters his fourth season ready to play senior football after making 12 AFL appearances so far.
An inside ball winner with quick hands and a high footy IQ, Macrae could step right into the void left by Taylor Adams.
Lachlan Geleit
Archie Perkins
The no.9 pick from the 2020 draft is primed to have a massive fourth year at Essendon.
Perkins has 62 games of experience under his belt, while kicking 43 goals as a half-forward who can go through the middle.
He kicked 18 goals and averaged 15 touches last year, but has the scope to kick 30 and average 20.
The 21-year-old was part of the Bombers crew that went to the USA for off-season training suggesting he is fully committed to breaking out in 2024.
Ben Hobbs is another emerging Don who has the ability to explode next year.
Andrew Slevison
Jye Amiss
2024 might just be the year Jye Amiss puts his name alongside the likes of Aaron Naughton, Max King, Ben King and Oscar Allen as some of the best young key forwards in the AFL.
He will be entering his third season in the league, having already performed strongly in finals and kicked 41 goals in a season.
A big pre-season adding strength and forward craft could see Amiss explode next season and the sky is the limit.
Could he kick 55-60 goals in 2024? Fremantle improving generally will also increase his opportunities.
Nic Negrepontis
Toby Conway
The hype out of Geelong on Toby Conway couldn’t be much greater.
Injuries have limited the 2021 pick no.24 to date but Conway was blooded in the final game of 2023 after strong VFL form. Geelong didn’t top up with another experienced ruckman in the trade period and the 20-year-old big man has been backed in to partner Rhys Stanley for much of 2024.
Expect him to play plenty of senior footy and if the track watchers have it right, Conway could stamp his credentials as a genuine star of the future in 2024.
Seb Mottram
Mac Andrew
The former no.5 draft pick showed plenty in 2023.
The athletic defender has had his off-field issues but appears to have worked his way through those and it’s showing on the field.
Andrew is a great third tall defensive option behind Charlie Ballard and Sam Collins and will no doubt be trusted more and more by Damien Hardwick as he continues to mature.
He has some serious aerial traits.
Bailey Humphrey was quite impressive in his debut season and should take another step forward as a half-forward who can go through the middle.
Andrew Slevison
Finn Callaghan
2024 might just be the year Finn Callaghan explodes into one of the best midfielders in the competition.
That might be a big call given he’s only 20 and played 26 games but we’ve seen younger midfielders take the game a hold in recent years.
He’s had a shocking run of injury since being taken with pick three in 2021 but his form in the finals series late last year was encouraging for GWS fans.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Mitch Lewis
This list is made for Mitch Lewis.
A key forward who’s proved himself to be as talented as they come, Lewis has been stuck in a poor-performing team without a suitable foil for much of his career.
Combined with injuries, it’s limited him to just 66 games despite being 25 years of age. Despite a late start to the 2023 season he still kicked 36 goals, including 12 in his last five games.
Now he’s got Jack Gunston and Mabior Chol behind him in a team that’s on the up. If his body stays good – admittedly a big if – then Lewis will deserve a spot among the Coleman Medal fancies.
Seb Mottram
Jacob Van Rooyen
Van Rooyen played 20 games in his second season at the level and showed signs of what could be ahead of him with 28 goals.
With a third pre-season under his belt, the athletic forward should continue his upwards trajectory.
If he can stay fit and continue to naturally improve, a 40+ goal season is well within his grasp.
Lachlan Geleit
George Wardlaw
Wardlaw’s rookie season was impacted by niggling injuries, but the signs of a star were there in the second half of the season.
The fourth pick in the 2022 National Draft will only get increased opportunities on-ball for the Roos going forward and should form a strong partnership alongside Luke Davies-Uniacke, Jy Simpkin and Harry Sheezel.
For North Melbourne as a team to make a leap in 2024, they will need a couple of their youngsters to spike and Wardlaw is chief amongst those.
Nic Negrepontis
Jason Horne-Francis
The top selection from the 2021 draft enjoyed a very solid debut season with Port Adelaide last year, but could go to the next level in 2024.
The 20-year-old mixed his time between the forward line and midfield, averaging 17.6 disposals and kicking 16 goals while leading the club for total clearances.
Horne-Francis finished seventh in the best and fairest in 2023 and polled 16 Brownlow votes in a sign of things to come.
As he gets fitter, expect Horne-Francis to fully explode during the 2024 campaign.
Promising forward Ollie Lord also has the scope to break out but might take a little bit of time to develop.
Andrew Slevison
Samson Ryan
The Tigers don’t have an obvious standout in this category.
Emerging ruck/forward Ryan is now entering his fourth season in the system and after a promising 2023, could break through next year.
Ryan kicked 12 goals from 14 games and averaged 12 hit-outs and seven disposals last year. While he may not pick up huge numbers, he could improve that to somewhere around 20 goals now that Jack Riewoldt has retired, as well as improving to 10-12 disposals and 15 hit-outs as Toby Nankervis’ ruck support.
He has only played 15 AFL games but certainly has the scope to step up a level in 2024. While he may not quite explode, we’re backing Ryan to somewhat break out next year.
Andrew Slevison
Max King
Max King has promised so much since debuting in 2020 but is yet to have a clear run at it due to injury.
King could go from one of the most hype forwards in the game to the BEST forward in the competition if he puts it all together.
He could easily have 100 shots on goal next year and if that’s the case, a lot of defenders will be having sleepless nights next year.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Angus Sheldrick
After being drafted in the first Round of the 2021 Draft, Sheldrick has been made to wait, playing just nine senior games so far.
Showed some positive signs in 2023 including a 29-disposal and one-goal performance against West Coast.
The midfielder is a natural successor to Luke Parker and if he has a strong pre-season, it’s easy to see Sheldrick as a consistent member of Sydney’s on-ball rotation in 2024.
Lachlan Geleit
Campbell Chesser
It’s been a rough start to the AFL career of Campbell Chesser, missing his entire first season due to an ankle injury, then dealing with inconsistency and further injury in 2023.
He showed signs through his 14 appearances last season, averaging 11.6 touches per game, yet the midfield prospect wasn’t truly able to find consistency.
If Chesser can manage an uninterrupted pre-season for the first time in his career, he’ll be more than ready to break out and show exactly why he was so highly touted coming into the league.
Jack Makeham
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
It’s an obvious choice for the Bulldogs, but sometimes things are obvious for a reason.
The 2020 first overall pick has been building towards a proper breakout season since his debut, showing flashes of pure dominance however being hampered by inconsistency.
2023 was Ugle-Hagan’s best season yet, kicking 35 goals across the campaign, highlighted by multiple games with four or more majors.
With another year of experience under his belt, the 21-year-old will be looking to take that leap into stardom.
Jack Makeham