Kane Cornes' top 50 AFL players: 50-31

SEN's Kane Cornes has released the first instalment of his top 50 AFL players ahead of the 2026 season!

Counting down on 7NEWS, Cornes has officially listed players 50 through 31, featuring some contentious calls including Geelong superstar Bailey Smith.

Despite finishing third in the Brownlow and earning his first All-Australian blazer, Cornes believes Smith isn't damaging enough to push the upper echelon of the list, settling in at 42.

“You could make the case he should be higher, but I didn’t want the top 50 dominated by midfielders.” Cornes told 7NEWS.com.au.

“I love the way he plays... but I just think there are more damaging mids in the top 50. Top 40 is still pretty good.”

Also featuring within the first instalment is Port Adelaide's Jason Horne-Francis.

A favourite of Cornes', Horne-Francis suffered a drastic slide from Kane's 2025 edition, slipping from 20 last season to 39.

“He just hasn’t done it consistently enough, unfortunately, with a bit of injury and a bit of the way (Port Adelaide) play him,” Cornes said.

“They like to use him forward so he just gets squeezed out of the midfield a bit.”

See Cornes' rankings from 50-31 below:

50. Aaron Naughton

49. Sam Walsh

48. Tom Liberatore

47. Dayne Zorko

46. Mitch Georgiades

45. Will Ashcroft

44. Josh Treacy

43. Zac Bailey

42. Bailey Smith

41. Jordan Clark

40. Bailey Dale

39. Jason Horne-Francis

38. Jaspa Fletcher

37. Toby Greene

36. Charlie Curnow

35. Connor Rozee

34. Josh Dunkley

33. Tom Green

32. Andrew Brayshaw

31. Dylan Moore

The remainder of Cornes' list is set for release over the coming week.