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Column inches and digital ink are often shed about the stars of the game.
Footy isn’t a one-on-one game between these standouts — all 22 (or now 23) players need to be working in sync to succeed.
Often, a team’s fortunes rise due to the improvement of a handful of their lesser lights, or players who operate more in the shadows.
This year, a host of players have taken their games to the next level, across every club in the league.
Some are young players still developing naturally, others are seizing opportunities at new clubs.
The three players below qualify for neither of those categories, but they are firmly in the conversation for the most improved players in the league, despite their relatively low profile to date.
Dawson goes easy
Aside from an undefeated Melbourne, the biggest surprise packet so far this AFL season has undoubtedly been Sydney.
The Swans electrified the competition in the opening rounds with daring ball use, looking to get into the corridor at all opportunities. Sides have been forced to scramble to adjust to their aggressive game plan.
A move down back from one of their lesser-known players has been the spark of some of the action.
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Jordan Dawson was lightly recruited in his draft year after playing the under-18 national championships with an inflamed disc in his back. He slid off the draft boards of most clubs, with the Swans able to snap him up at pick 56.
Sydney were intrigued after some promising injury-free late season form with Sturt, and when he first came into the league, Dawson profiled as a developing mid-sized forward.
Dawson’s evolution from forward or outside mid to a quality defender and dangerous back-half ball user has been gradual.
His involvement this year has been critical for lifting Sydney’s adventurous ball use over the last 18 months from interesting to hard-to-stop.
Dawson’s ball use has always been a strength, and his shift down back has opened up the game for the Swans. His raking boot can find targets both near and far, forcing opposition defences to be on edge.
Not only that, Dawson has excelled in intercepting opposition ball, strengthening an area that the Swans had struggled in.
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This year, Dawson has 13 intercept marks and 57 intercept possessions, placing him inside the top 25 in the league in the latter. For a player in his first full year down back, it’s a great achievement.
Given his size, Dawson can keep up with smaller forwards and provide cover for taller targets — a flexible option for a resurgent defence.
The best basketballer who plays football?
If Dawson had a circuitous road to success, then Hugh Greenwood’s is flat-out confounding.
Among all players in the AFL with the vaunted “basketball background”, Greenwood was by far the most accomplished, making the U19 World Championship All-Tournament Team.
He was just 17 when he made his senior debut for the Boomers, an incredible feat.
When Greenwood got back to Australia after four solid years at New Mexico State, he seemed locked into basketball at the Perth Wildcats, for at least the medium term.
Footy clubs kept calling, though, and after a trial Adelaide signed him to a Category B contract. The transition took time, despite his junior state football for Tasmania.
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In a game where physical strength and the ability to win the ball are mythologised, Greenwood fits the bill but slips under the radar. At 191cm and 92kg, he is among the competition’s bigger midfielders, able to bully his way to the ball.
There’s a fair argument that Greenwood is the game’s best pure inside midfielder right now — winning more than his fair share of hard balls despite Gold Coast battling without a specialist ruck for much of the year.
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He’s not an especially prolific possession accumulator, but when he gets his mitts on it, he makes it count.
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Greenwood isn’t the quickest player in a straight line, but he has solid agility and a knack of getting himself to the right spot in contested situations. His ability to find ball on the outside sits a little below the top-level rounded midfielders in the competition, but that’s partially a function of his role.
It’s rare to keep improving at age 29, but Greenwood is doing just that.
Not that Darcy
Sometimes opportunity is the biggest obstacle to success.
After his under-18 season, Darcy Cameron patiently awaited the upcoming draft, eager to hear his name called. Despite speculation that he would be a late or rookie pick, he was totally overlooked.
That would remain his fate for the next two years.
In the meantime, Cameron worked on his craft in the WAFL, developing from a junior ruck to a dominant state league key position forward. In his final WAFL season, he kicked 36 goals and led the league for contested marks.
Finally, at age 21, Sydney called his name.
Despite those WAFL goals, the Swans saw Cameron as more of a ruck, but poor timing still saw him manage just one game. After three seasons he was traded for next to nothing to Collingwood.
The appeal of Collingwood made sense for Cameron. Brodie Grundy prevented any real consideration as primary ruck, and the lack of key forward depth presented a clear opportunity for game time.
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Last year Cameron played regular senior footy but didn’t exactly set the world on fire. He was perhaps the most anonymous player in the most popular team in the league.
He began this year out of favour, with Nathan Buckley opting again for Mason Cox in the forward/ruck role.
Cameron got his chance in round five this year, and has improved out of sight. His output in nearly every important area for a key position forward has increased.
When flying, key position forwards who stand 204cm are hard to stop. Cameron has good speed for his size, and can impose both one-on-one and in packs. The sample size is small, but the signs are promising.
It has been a pretty disappointing year for the Pies, with few bright spots to date. Cameron’s emergence as a true key position forward, if he can keep this run of form up, is one of them.
