Dwayne Russell has listed the Top 20 AFL players that he loves commentating.
The SEN and Fox Footy caller has based this list on those he believes are the most exciting to call due to their high marking, goal sense, skills and all-round match-winning ability.
“I’ve made a list of my Top 20 guys that I love to call and that I’m looking forward to calling in 2024,” he said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
See Pipe’s Top 20 list below:
1 - Toby Greene (GWS)
“Toby Greene is number one. He makes things happen every time he's near it.
“On the ground at stoppage, in the air, he flies for big marks, he kicks amazing goals.
“He's a triple threat and he's got an aura.”
2 - Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
“I’m a big Charlie Curnow fan, so maybe I'm a little biased.
“I love the guy. There's an aura about Charlie Curnow as well.
“The air of anticipation when he's near the ball, it’s almost always the big crowd to give him that backing track to everything he does.
“He’s always a threat to go crazy and win a game and kick three or four quickly.
“So you go to a game with Charlie Curnow involved and you think ‘what's Charlie gonna do today?’ He could kick 10, he could take a big mark, but the crowd's gonna be really going crazy.
“I love a player that whips a crowd into a frenzy like Charlie Curnow does with Carlton.”
3 - Charlie Cameron (Brisbane)
“A threat in the air, a threat on the ground, running at the pack or getting the ball over the back in space.
“He can beat you in so many ways and give you a highlight in so many ways. He’s box office.
“Big marks, great goals and he's a threat to win both mark of the year and goal of the year every game he plays.”
4 - Joe Daniher (Brisbane)
“Two Brisbane players in the top four.
“You can't take your eyes off Joe Daniher. High flyer, long goals and big bloopers to go with it.
“You go to games thinking ‘which Joe's gonna be there today?’
“But good Joe or bad Joe, it's still a great Joe to call.
“So the other thing about Joe that I love, he does it in such a nice kind spirit. Your heart breaks with him when his heart breaks.”
5 - Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
“He's as good as we've seen as a midfielder, forward, back or playmaker.
“He's Pendlebury plus he kicks a freak goal or two these days.”
6 - Shai Bolton (Richmond)
“He's taking over, I think, as Richmond's number one for me and probably will this year.
“It's been Dusty for a decade, but I'm going to games this year that Richmond are involved in thinking it might be Shai that does the freak stuff in the air and goals more than Dusty.”
7 - Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)
“I’m a fan, always have been. An athlete who makes things happen.
“Marks, clearances, goals, a match-winner.
“You feel when Jezza is out there, three or four goal margins down for Geelong and the game's never over. You need those guys as a caller to hang your call on sometimes because it is true.
“Games Jeremy Cameron plays in are never over because he can break you in three or four minutes of greatness.”
8 - Izak Rankine (Adelaide)
“Every time he's near the ball, he's a threat.
“His next touch could be the highlight of the year - a mark or a goal.”
9 - Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne)
“Likewise, every time he's near the ball there's a threat.
“His next touch is the highlight of the year - mark or goal.
“You love players like that.”
10 - Tom Papley (Sydney)
“No one brings more energy and volatility of emotion than Tom Papley.
“He's a livewire that has the best infectious celebration in the game.
“He can take a big mark, he can kick great goals. Even when he clears the ball from the centre, he does it with excitement.”
11 - Jordan De Goey (Collingwood)
“Self explanatory - when Jordy is on, something happens.
“The reason he's outside the Top 10, he's not a big mark taker and hasn't been as consistent as the other stars in the Top 10, yet.
“I can't wait to get to Jordan De Goey games this year though. I don't get many Collingwood games TV games.
“So you absolutely love it when you got a Collingwood game and Jordan's on.”
12 - Dustin Martin (Richmond)
“Dusty's still in the top 12. He's still box office.
“He still makes things happen, wins games, turns games.
“One Dustin Martin touch can change the whole narrative of a game, and as a commentator, you love people like that.
“He's been doing it for so long. It's nice that I don't rely on him being the highlight reel anymore, but he has set the bar and others have risen to it.
“He’s still the OG, he's still the original, he's still the modern day original.”
13 - Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs)
“Aaron Naughton is a big in-the-air threat.
“He's got a mark of the year in him at some stage and he's a goal kicker. His goal kicking is a bit of a car crash sometimes, but he's another one you can't take your eyes off.
“As a caller, any long kick into the Dogs’ forward line, you have to move your binoculars forward to see where’s Naughton. That's always in your mind - ‘Bulldogs are going forward, where's Naughton?’”
14 - Taylor Walker (Adelaide)
“Taylor Walker is still the king of Adelaide.
“I know I put Izak Rankine ahead of him, but Taylor's the king.
“Big goals, big marks, big moments, game changer. You can go to any game that he's in hoping he can kick eight or nine or 10.
“He gives you an all-day story as well. This is another thing as a commentator, the all-day stories are gold.
“As a caller, you need the occasional big bag and that all-day story, not just moments because Taylor Walker gives you that four-quarter kind of story.”
15 - Nick Blakey (Sydney)
“You need wild and crazy haphazard runners from defence.
“Blakey's style is the new love of footy. It's an old love, but it's also a new love.
“Get-it-and-go players that don't care what's ahead, ‘I’m taking you on’.
“Intercept-and-go guys are gold and Nick Blakey is gold.”
16 - Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)
“Hard, tough, just wants the ball more than anyone and plays like his life depends on it.
“He takes a hit, he gives a hit, he takes marks sometimes, but his hard, tough, inside play is old school and I think we all love that old school style that Zak Butters plays with.
“I think he's pretty much universally loved across the comp.”
17 - Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
“Another Port player, Connor Rozee.
“Smooth, classy, cream, big marks, big goals.
“If he's a more consistent player this year, he's probably going to be in my Top 10 by the end of the year.”
18 - Michael Frederick (Fremantle)
“18 might be a surprise for you, Michael Frederick.
“He could be in the Top 10 by the end of the year.
“He's super quick, talk about quick players. He can kick freak goals.
“When he runs, he lights up your whole life as a commentator and as a lover of footy, he lights your life up.
“If he does a few more celebratory somersaults this year, we'll all be better for it.”
19 - Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs)
“This might be the year from Jamarra.
“He can do it all. High marks, big highlight goals.
“I hope he has an All-Australian year because as a caller, like the others, you always need to know when Jamarra is in the area before you see that long kick forward by the Dogs.”
20 - Jake Stringer (Essendon)
“I’ve got Jake Stringer in, just.
“He’s still Top 20 but he doesn't do it often enough to be Top 10, but he's still the package that might explode.”
Listen to Dwayne's list below: