The Great Entertainers: Highlighting the most exciting player from all 18 clubs

Nothing puts bums on seats quite like winning, but sometimes at the footy, you just want to be entertained.

Here is our list of the players from all 18 teams who keep the turnstiles clicking and the remote controls at the ready.

Izak Rankine

The ridiculously-talented Crow has made a habit out of kicking freakish goals across his five seasons in the AFL.

Bananas, dribbles, snaps and soccer finishes have all featured on the Rankine highlights reel, as have some spectacular grabs.

Rankine has now added increased midfield minutes to his CV and with his burst and speed out of clearance, he has somehow become even more watchable. At 24 and with a touch more than 80 games of experience to his name, Rankine truly is one of the AFL’s great entertainers, although the Crows can do without him being suspended.

Josh Rachele must also get a shout-out for his vibrant goal celebrations, often engaging the Crows faithful at the Adelaide Oval.

Andrew Slevison

Charlie Cameron

It has become widely known that there is a song that accompanies the deeds of Charlie Cameron when he performs at the Gabba.

Country Roads, Take Me Home, blasts around the venue whenever Cameron fires one between the big sticks, preceding his now infamous motorbike revving celebration.

He is a genuine showman who enjoys producing the sublime with his splendid skills. Cameron can make the difficult look simple, and sometimes the simple look difficult, but whatever he does it’s always stylish and electrifying.

His teammate Cam Rayner also does some things that dazzle the Brisbane crowd.

Andrew Slevison

Charlie Curnow

Without doubt one of the most exciting players in the competition. He is on track to win the Coleman Medal for the third straight season having dominated as a key forward since returning from knee issues earlier in his career.

He is one of the most dynamic forwards in the game, capable of taking big marks and bang goals from well outside 50.

Curnow is the full package as a key forward, capable of starring in the air and using his craft to kick goals from the ground as well.

Nic Negrepontis

Bobby Hill

Collingwood has a plethora of entertainers to pick from. There are high-flyers everywhere in black and white including Jeremy Howe and Jamie Elliott, but Bobby Hill stands above the rest for what he can do on the ground as well.

Take one look at his Grand Final performance where he won the Norm Smith Medal. His four goals and his famous mark over Brandon Starcevich won’t be forgotten.

He might also have the 2024 Mark of The Year in the bag as well.

Everything he does is a highlight. Prolific on-ballers Nick Daicos and Jordan De Goey also can produce awesome highlights given their skill level.

Lachlan Geleit

Jake Stringer

When he plays well, so does Essendon. The mercurial forward has been inconsistent across his career, but few players are more capable of swinging big games.

Stringer is a powerful player who can take big marks inside 50 and kick goals from anywhere. But he’s also an excellent clearance midfielder and Essendon’s best midfield usually includes Stringer in the guts.

He started his career at the Bulldogs, kicking 56 goals in the 2015 season. While he hasn’t reached those heights in the latter stages of his career, he has become a more consistent player.

Nic Negrepontis

Luke Jackson

It’s a new era at Fremantle and no one represents that better than Jackson.

While other names on this list are electric small forwards and powerful midfielders, Jackson is a different type of entertainer.

The athletic tall is the competition’s most exciting when he’s up and running, doing freakish things for his height as he plays as almost a fourth midfielder.

When he’s sent forward, Jackson can take high marks and also kick goals as a ground level player. Michael Walters and Nat Fyfe have been great entertainers at Freo, but Jackson has surpassed them for x-factor in 2024.

Lachlan Geleit

Jeremy Cameron

The Cats have had no shortage of entertainers over their long history, which we can trace back to the days of Bob Davis.

If Bobby were with us today, he’d roll out his favourite line – “fair dinkum unbelievable” – if he was asked to describe Jeremy Cameron.

A prodigious talent from the day he made his debut for GWS in 2012, Cameron has taken his game to another level since joining the Cats in 2021. But it’s not just the big plays and the goals – this guy is a serious entertainer.

Witness him ripping open an imaginary beer can late in the 2022 Grand Final when the Cats were romping to their 10th flag or “losing” his premiership medal to one of his cows while slightly over-refreshed in the aftermath of the victory.

Michael Lovett

Mac Andrew

He is unlike any player we have seen, a high-leaping defender who is elite both in the air and on the ground. At 202cm, he can do it all.

While he is taller than the average key position player, he is more slightly built and as a result, he needs to rely on his x-factor traits to dominate the opposition and that he does.

Andrew impacts across the ground whether it’s intercepting at remarkable heights, taking running bounces out of defensive 50 and finding teammates with some beautiful kicking.

He is only scratching the surface and will no doubt continue entertaining Suns fans – and the rest of us - for the next decade.

Lachlan Geleit

Toby Greene

The Giants skipper is a highlight machine. So often, he has come up clutch in a key moment when the Giants have needed him the most.

And so often, it has been a freakish act to put his team in a winning position or even clinch the contest. Over the years he has been must-watch for many reasons - some of them the wrong reasons - but his ability to make something out of nothing at a crucial juncture is uncanny.

His ascension to club and All-Australian captain in recent years shows the remarkable character arc he has undertaken in his career.

Andrew Slevison

Jack Ginnivan

Hawthorn fans have come to love Will Day, the club’s solitary bona fide A Grade midfielder.

But after just 15 games, Jack Ginnivan has brought flair, excitement and much-needed edge back to the Hawks with his energy and carefully-crafted goal celebrations but also his on-field intelligence and better form than he displayed for Collingwood.

No Hawk receives a warmer welcome during the pre-game introductions and the prospect of him and Nick Watson in tandem will make the Hawks a fun team for years to come. They might even get a Friday night game next year.

Ashley Browne

Kysaiah Pickett

Melbourne fans are often in awe of the spectacular skills Kysaiah Pickett displays.

He has a penchant for kicking a miraculous goal, loves launching himself at an aerial ball and can also spark some buzz by playing right on the edge (even if it has cost him a few games through suspension).

His hanger last weekend highlights just what ‘Kozzy’ is capable of.

Superstar Christian Petracca is also box office for the Demons with his burst from clearance and outrageous ability to kick a sensational goal often on show.

Andrew Slevison

Luke Davies-Uniacke

Davies-Uniacke is emerging as one of the most dynamic midfielders in the game.

He possesses a burst of speed and acceleration that few midfielders have and looms as the leader of the club’s on-ball unit.

He can resemble a young Chris Judd at times with his burst from stoppage and he is strongly built for 188cm midfielder.

He broke out in late 2022, showing glimpses of stardom and has become a consistent top-level player in the competition since then, outside of a few injuries.

Classy forward Paul Curtis is capable of the sublime, whether it be a hanger over a pack or a crafty snap inside forward 50.

Nic Negrepontis

Mitch Georgiades

The 2022 Mark of the Year winner has returned in 2024 with a bang.

The high-flying forward played just two games in 2023 after suffering a serious knee injury but hasn’t missed a beat this campaign.

The electric forward is leading Port Adelaide for goals kicked despite missing five games earlier in the campaign as he ticked off stages in his return.

Georgiades flies at the footy with reckless abandon, and aged just 22, he can do it on the ground as well.

Other players with some serious x-factor include midfield stars Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis, but they can’t sit on heads like Georgiades does.

Lachlan Geleit

Shai Bolton

He can get the Tigers faithful on their feet with a towering grab, a brilliant snap or a dribble, as well as his speed and power when he goes through the middle.

He is Richmond’s human highlights reel. Bolton has star power that would be more evident if he could bridge the gap between his absolute best and his quieter patches.

Dustin Martin still has his moments, but he has passed the baton at Tigerland to Bolton who has built a strong back catalogue of rewatchable moments starting with the 2021 Mark of the Year.

Andrew Slevison

Nick Blakey

With apologies to Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney, how do you choose between Nick Blakey and Tom Papley?

The electrifying bursts off half-back versus the greatest celebrator in the game today? The man who sets up so many of Sydney’s goals versus the one who kicks so many of them? Sorry Paps, but it’s the Lizard, just.

When the ball ends up in his hands, you just know something is going to happen as he takes the game on at breakneck speed, bouncing the ball through traffic, 1980’s moustache bristling and mullet flowing behind him.

It makes the hairs on your neck stand up and an entire stadium rise as one.

Brendan Rhodes

Jack Higgins

The pint-sized Saint is a traditional goal sneak in every sense.

While not blessed with incredible athletic traits or size, Higgins makes his impact through his footy smarts and pulling off things that other forwards can only dream of.

Already a Goal of the Year winner, Higgins has a trick bag that is as deep as any. He just knows where the big sticks are and will put it through wherever he finds it inside 50.

He is also one of the AFL’s best celebrators and there’s no doubt plenty of young St Kilda fans would have the number #1 on their backs.

Lachlan Geleit

Harley Reid

The box-office youngster arrived in Perth with a bang and the No.1 draft selection from 2023 has not disappointed.

The fend offs, contested marks, raw power and youthful exuberance makes Reid not only a great entertainer for the Eagles, but for the whole competition. His energy has also given his West Coast teammates a boost.

Midfielders with Dustin Martin-like qualities don’t come around all that often, but so far Reid deserves those comparisons.

West Coast fans will be thrilled at the thought of watching this budding superstar for the next 10 years at Optus Stadium.

Lachlan Geleit

Marcus Bontempelli

The Dogs’ skipper can do just about everything on a football field.

He leads by example with his fierce attack on the ball and his courage in contested situations.

However, it is not just the hard stuff that he does well. ‘The Bont’ boasts one of the finest left boots in the league and opens up opposition defenses with his impeccable kicking skills.

The five-time All-Australian and Charles Sutton medalist can also take a strong grab and kick clutch goals when his Dogs need them.

Andrew Slevison