ADELAIDE PATRICK DANGERFIELD - Harry Thring Not only is the 2013 All Australian his club's best player, but with the added responsibility of acting co-captain , Dangerfield must have another big season if the Crows are to atone for last year. His output is unquestioned -Dangerfield averaged 23 disposals and close to two goals a game last year but it will be his ability to consistently lead the side through tough times on which he'll be judged this season. As the main man in a talented but emerging midfield group including fellow acting co-captain Rory Sloane, it will be up to Dangerfield to set the tone with his trademark ferocity and power at the contest. Upon their unveiling as acting skippers, Sloane spoke of Dangerfield's two incredible long-rangegoals against Fremantle in round 20, 2012, claiming those two acts helped inspire the side to victory. On his day he's unstoppable and inspirational.





BRISBANE LIONS

DANIEL RICH

With Simon Black retiring and Jonathan Brown in the twilight of his career, there's little doubt the mantle of most important now falls on Daniel Rich's shoulders. The deputy vice-captain gives a workmanlike Lions midfield something a little different, with his penetrating and deadly accurate left foot kick. Rich not only kicks inspirational long range goals, his delivery to the leading forwards in second to none. Rich's growing influence was obvious last year. When he missed six games with a shoulder injury, the Lions won just twice and were toothless against the Swans, Magpies and Blues. Once the 23-year-old returned, they fired, winning seven of 12 matches and almost sneaking into the finals. With Black now gone, Rich – along with Irishman Pearce Hanley – will receive the opposition's best tagger every week. He must continue improving for the Lions to have a good season. - Michael Whiting

CARLTON

MATTHEW WATSON

- Ben Collins The nomination of 16-game backman Watson will surprise many, given the 21-year-old's inexperience and the fact the Blues aren't short of high-end talent, led by skipper Marc Murphy, Chris Judd, Lachie Henderson, Jarrad Waite, Michael Jamison and boom recruit Dale Thomas. But if the big blond left-footer can hold down a key position in defence – and late last season he showed he can, before suffering a season-ending broken foot – it will enable Carlton to deploy the strong-marking, straight-kicking Henderson to a more permanent forward role. And we all know how the Blues are crying out for a key forward or two to base their attack around. Significantly, during Watson's five games last year – rounds 16-20 – he was workmanlike while swingman Henderson averaged three goals. Sure, the former No. 18 draft pick will need to make a quantum leap in performance, which he knows only too well , but such rapid progress could prove a decisive development for the Blues.





COLLINGWOOD TRAVIS CLOKE Travis Cloke has been so resilient in recent seasons that his importance is often overlooked, but Collingwood relies on its key forward more than most. Having kicked more than 50 goals in each of the past three seasons, he provides a key target for a talented midfield and gives the team's small forwards a player to feed off. Under Nathan Buckley, Collingwood uses handball more often and doesn't kick as long regularly but still looks to Cloke to get them out of trouble and gain space. The Magpies will also be banking on Brodie Grundy bearing the ruck burden all season. Without him, the Pies will be weakened but not defeated while Ben Reid gives the team versatility and would be a huge loss. However Cloke is the one player opponents can't control and Collingwood can't afford to be without him for long periods this season. - Peter Ryan





ESSENDON

JOBE WATSON

- Callum Twomey The fact that a few names come to mind immediately shows the improvement within the Bombers. David Zaharakis isn't the club's best player but he's a very important one given his class and pace through the midfield, while Dyson Heppell is already one of Essendon's top-quality performers. Jake Carlisle takes on a new role in the forward line this season, having excelled in the backline, so has clear value, while t he loss of Tom Bellchambers will hurt and place more responsibility on Paddy Ryder. But the fact is that Essendon's most important player is also its best: captain Jobe Watson. The Brownlow medallist gets things going in the midfield, kicks goals, sets plenty up and does it on a consistent basis. If Mark Thompson is picking his team, Watson is still surely first chosen.





FREMANTLE

NAT FYFE

In previous years you couldn't go past Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands or Luke McPharlin. But in 2013 the Dockers proved emphatically that success is no longer tied to the health of those three champions as Fremantle won regularly in their absence. Sandilands' finals series shows he is still a vitally important asset and when Pavlich kicks goals the Dockers are hard to beat. But their most important player is Fyfe. Winning the best and fairest in the club's most successful year is usually a fair indicator but Fyfe's match-winning ability, and versatility, is vital to the Dockers success. He was second in clearances, inside 50s, and equal first in contested possessions for the Dockers in 2013. He also pushes forward to take contested marks and kick important goals. He bagged 18 in 2013 but did miss two gettable and costly set shots in the first 10 minutes of last year's Grand Final. He will want to atone for those misses in 2014 and if he does, the Dockers will be very hard to beat. - Alex Malcolm

















Nat Fyfe has quickly become one of Fremantle's most important players. Picture: AFL Media





GEELONG

TOM HAWKINS

- Adam McNicol James Podsiadly's departure to Adelaide means the 'Tomahawk' is now the elder statesman of Geelong's forward line. And Hawkins needs to regain both fitness and form if the Cats are to make a tilt at this year's premiership. After booting 62 goals from 100 shots and winning his club best and fairest in 2012, Hawkins' output was severely diminished by a bulging disc in his back last season. As a result, he finished his 2013 campaign with 49 goals from only 60 shots. Hawkins remains on a modified training program, and he'll probably be on a modified program for the rest of his career, but Chris Scott, his fellow Geelong coaches and teammates are very confident that their sharp-shooter can return to his best in 2014. If he doesn't, it will be up to youngsters like Nathan Vardy and Josh Walker to carry the load.





GOLD COAST

RORY THOMPSON

Let's start by saying Gary Ablett is exempt from this discussion. The little master is still the Suns' most important player, but there's a few others nipping at his heels now. In a team full of exciting midfield talent, young fullback Rory Thompson has quickly established himself as the man hardest to replace. Thompson had an outstanding 2013, taking the opposition's best forward in 21 matches and proving he could play on the big brutes like Travis Cloke and Drew Petrie and the more mobile types in Lance Franklin and Nick Riewoldt. If Thompson gets injured the Suns can still turn to the serviceable Matthew Warnock – who has been terrific in his two seasons – but it's not a long-term option for coach Guy McKenna. Clay Cameron and Henry Schade are still developing in the reserves, but are a little way off, while Steven May can play in defence, but not on the bigger bodies. Thompson staying upright is crucial for the Suns' continued improvement. Special mention here could also go to Harley Bennell, whose pace and supreme finishing from a wing or half-forward is coveted by the Suns. - Michael Whiting

















Gold Coast defender Rory Thompson is a crucial piece of the Suns' puzzle. Picture: AFL Media





GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

PHIL DAVIS

- James Dampney Greater Western Sydney has an incredibly talented midfield and a young forward line the envy of most in the competition. But the Giants have been terribly undermanned in defence and simply unable to put the clamps consistently on the opposition. That is why Davis looms as their most important player in 2014. The only man to play every game in GWS' debut season, Davis then missed nine matches last year with a back injury to hugely deplete the back six. At the age of 23, and possessing a 196cm, 96kg frame, Davis needs to stand up and lead the line this season. Jeremy Cameron will again be relied upon to kick goals, although in Jonathon Patton, Tom Boyd, Adam Tomlinson and Kristian Jaksch, he should have more help this year. Callan Ward is a rock in midfield and in defence, while Shane Mumford's presence in the ruck offers an enormous boost , along with Heath Shaw and Josh Hunt, who add some experience alongside Davis in the backline. But Davis may just end up being the fulcrum that determines whether the Giants can lift their win total this coming season.

HAWTHORN JARRYD ROUGHEAD - Ashley Browne The Hawks had their 2014 photo shoot the other day and an online message board had some fun with this and asked supporters to caption some of the 'behind the scenes' photos that surfaced, including one of a pensive-looking Roughead. And may well he be deep in thought because he shapes as his club's most important player this year. As Hawthorn marched to the 2013 premiership it showed it could keep winning with just about every player out of the side at some stage or another. Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Cyril Rioli, Josh Gibson, Brian Lake, Grant Birchall…they all missed games. But not Roughead, who played every game and kicked 72 goals en route to winning the Coleman Medal. Roughead played the power forward role to perfection - strong in the air, great with his hands, creative at ground level and accurate in front of goal. The Hawks played Lance Franklin further up the ground last year and Roughead thrived as the focal point with the likes of Cyril Rioli, Luke Breust and Jack Gunston playing at his feet. Franklin has gone to the Swans now, so there is no going back for the Hawks – Roughead needs to keep delivering his solid three goals a game average if the Hawks are a chance to claim back to back flags.





MELBOURNE MITCH CLARK You look at Melbourne's disastrous 2013 season and countless reasons spring to mind as to why it happened. The coaching situation and the off-field circumstances are the most obvious. On the field, a sparse midfield and a defence that, in the end, found it impossible to cover all the leaking holes in the boat were also contributing factors. But the club also struggled in attack. The Demons were ranked last in the League for points scored last season, behind even the inexperienced Greater Western Sydney. There is no doubt Clark's absence was a killer. The tall forward kicked 29 goals in half a season in 2012. Last year, he managed seven majors in just four games as a niggling foot injury destroyed his season before it had even begun. Nathan Jones' presence in the midfield is something the Demons can rely on consistently, while Colin Garland and James Frawley are central figures in halting the opposition's scoring power. But Clark is the Demons' money-man and his value to the side was exposed in the harshest of ways last season. If Clark can stay fit, the Demons will be an infinitely better side under Paul Roos. - Ben Guthrie

















Mitch Clark is desperate to put two injury-riddled seasons behind him. Picture: AFL Media

NORTH MELBOURNE DREW PETRIE - Nick Bowen Petrie, Andrew Swallow and Daniel Wells have been North's most consistent performers in recent seasons and veteran Brent Harvey remains its biggest game-breaker, but no one is more important to the Roos than Petrie. Petrie has been the Roos' go-to man in attack since being settled as a permanent forward in 2011, leading the club in contested marks in each of the past three seasons and topping the Roos' goalkicking in 2011 (48) and 2012 (58) before finishing second to Lindsay Thomas last year (48). North has deep stocks of young key forwards, but none can match Petrie's strength overhead or his ability to create crumbs for his small forwards. As promising as Aaron Black was last year , at 192cm he is 5cm shorter than Petrie and acknowledges his contested marking needs work. Robbie Tarrant and Majak Daw have the size and strength to play close to goal like Petrie, but both remain works in progress, having played just 38 and six AFL games respectively. Petrie's ability to stay fit and keep producing at 31 will be pivotal to North's 2014 finals chances.

PORT ADELAIDE JUSTIN WESTHOFF It's hard to look past Power superstars Travis Boak and Chad Wingard as the club's most important players for 2014 –they both won All Australian honours last year. But Westhoff's versatility is going to prove crucial to Port's hopes of backing up its brilliant 2013 season. The 27-year-old played the best football of his career last year as a forward, defender and as a ruckman. He can take big contested marks either in attack or in defence, but Westhoff's ability to run the ball and act as a link from one end to the other is a serious asset. With the interchange cap heightening the risk of playing two dedicated ruckmen, his stints in the midfield - offering Matthew Lobbe time up forward - will also prove valuable. As his early 2013 form proved, when Westhoff is at his best he's a match winner. He can be such an awkward opponent to match up on and there's no doubt his output this year will be key to his side's success. - Harry Thring

RICHMOND TROY CHAPLIN Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin are Richmond's stars and the obvious candidates here. However, the Tigers' versatility in attack and growing depth in the midfield leaves them relatively well placed to cover injury to their two biggest names. It's a different story in defence where Chaplin was irreplaceable in 2013 after crossing from Port Adelaide as a free agent. The Tigers boast a number of young tall defenders – including Dylan Grimes, Ben Griffiths and David Astbury – but injuries have plagued the group. Alex Rance has been a consistent presence since 2009, but he was a significantly better player alongside Chaplin. At 195cm, Chaplin often stands the opposition's most dangerous power forward, allowing Rance to peel off his opponent and rebound. Chaplin, who finished third in the Tigers' best and fairest last season, also has the ability to create attack from defence. He is valued at Punt Road as an on-field marshal who improves the players around him, and the 27-year-old will be critical to the Tigers' chances of pushing into the top four this season. - Nathan Schmook









Troy Chaplin has become vital at Richmond since crossing from Port. Picture: AFL Media

ST KILDA JACK STEVEN - Jennifer Phelan There's the obvious case for Nick Riewoldt, given the superstar's elite fitness and ability to run pretty much everywhere, and it's easy to say the 31-year-old is their most significant player. But, as far as the most important player for the rebuilding club's next five years goes, Steven gets the nod. After winning the best and fairest last season and being named in the extended All Australian squad, the talented midfielder is sure to attract more attention this season. His contested ball winning ability, speed and strength makes him an important facet of the Saints' midfield , especially with Nick Dal Santo's departure, and it's important for Steven to carry on his form of 2013 and take that step towards becoming one of the competition's elite. He's in a good position to do that, having taken on the challenge of the increased intensity of the Colorado training camp and having not missed a beat throughout the summer months. The Saints are also bullish about his ability to wear a tag, given he got a taste of it towards the end of last season when the opposition targeted him rather than Dal Santo.





SYDNEY SWANS

JARRAD MCVEIGH

There are a host of Swans vital to the club's cause, but McVeigh just gets the nod ahead of ruckman Mike Pyke. McVeigh showed his incredible versatility last season by starting the year in outstanding form through the midfield and pushing forward. But an injury to Rhyce Shaw forced him into defence and he didn't skip a beat, ending the year with a second best and fairest award and a first All Australian jumper. The co-captain fills so many gaps and is such a strong leader his absence would be most keenly felt by the club. With Shane Mumford traded to GWS, Pyke is clearly the Swans' No.1 ruck option and another critical member of the line-up. He finished second in contested marks and eighth in hit-outs in 2013, while returning an exceptional 28.8 in front of goals. Adam Goodes' return from injury will also be important, while an argument can be made for Lance Franklin or Kurt Tippett. Kieren Jack and Josh Kennedy are remarkablyconsistent in the midfield and Ted Richards leads their settled backline. But a potential loss of McVeigh, who led the Swans in possessions (27.5 per game) and marks (102) last season, would be most keenly felt. - James Dampney

















The Swans' decision to move Jarrad McVeigh into defence was a masterstroke. Picture: AFL Media





WEST COAST

NIC NAITANUI

- Alex Malcolm Naitanui It seems a predictable answer. You could build a case for Shannon Hurn, whose rebound from half-back was sorely missed in 2013 due to closer attention from opposition sides and a season-ending ankle injury in round 13. Eric McKenzie, Josh Kennedy, and Mark LeCras are also very valuable players but none have the impact of Naitanui when he's fit and firing. The Eagles lost four of their first five matches in 2013 when Naitanui was absent with ongoing groin issues. When he returned the Eagles won five of their next six. It is not just Naitanui's ruck work. It's his work around the ground that seems to impact the Eagles the most. He is not a high possession winner but his touches are important. With the exception of round six when Naitanui was the sub, the 2012 All Australian had 13 or more possessions and kicked goals in the four wins against Brisbane Lions, North Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney, and St Kilda, while he had just 11 touches and was goalless in the loss against Richmond. His groins began to fail him thereafter and he was shut down after round 17. The Eagles won just three of their last 11 matches of the season. Adam Simpson is praying for a fit Naitanui in his first season as West Coast coach.