FRESH off the back of being voted Australia's best Sport Podcast by you legends, the Fantasy fans, I am going to have a look at my Draft rankings for each position.

Pretty tough gig at this time of year, I know, but you get the big jobs when you are coming off The Bacon Cup Draft Flag.

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Defenders

By all means, a straight bat is a smart play in Draft and you will likely play finals in your league by selecting the ever-reliable Swan Jake Lloyd at No.1. Personally, I like to win it all, that's why I'm coming down the pitch and whacking a six over the bowler's head by taking Aaron Hall as the No.1 defender after a career-best year where he averaged 109 and 126 over the last six weeks of the season. There is always a risk with Hall but he is the definition of high reward. Jordan Dawson gets a jump on the back of the opportunities that should arise at the Crows, coupled with the ceiling he displayed in the last round of 2021 with 158. Jack Ziebell is the unlucky one here but as the dependence on him declined at the end of the season, so did the scores with no hundreds in the last five weeks.

Aaron Hall (127, 120, 126, 120, 112, 136 in last six weeks of 2021)
Lachie Whitfield
Jake Lloyd
Jack Crisp
Tom Stewart
Jordan Dawson
Daniel Rich
Dyson Heppell
Jayden Short
Christien Salem

In the mix: Jack Ziebell, Caleb Daniel, James Sicily

Jordan Dawson joined Adelaide from Sydney. Picture: afc.com.au

Midfielders

It's not a tough call at the top with guns Touk Miller and Jack Steele coming off averages of 122 and 121 respectively and showing no signs of slowing in the coming season. You can basically throw a blanket over the star-studded top 10 where Sam Walsh has climbed the ladder slightly and Rory Laird has been disrespected a little following the loss of his defender status. With information regarding role and fitness hard to come by at this time of year, I can't lie that a ripped photo of Taylor Adams' arms contributed to outranking Ben Keays.

Touk Miller
Jack Steele
Tom Mitchell
Jack Macrae
Jarryd Lyons
Sam Walsh
Zach Merrett
Christian Petracca
Clayton Oliver
Oliver Wines
Rory Laird
Marcus Bontempelli
Lachie Neale
Callum Mills
Dayne Zorko
Darcy Parish
Cameron Guthrie
Josh Kelly
Andrew Brayshaw
Taylor Adams

In the mix: Ben Keays, Patrick Dangerfield

Sam Walsh at Carlton training on November 22, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

Rucks

The obvious concern here is the rise of Max Gawn's sidekick Luke Jackson whose impact in the ruck was undeniable in the Toyota AFL Grand Final. Couple this with Max's goalkicking heroics during the finals and we have an interesting predicament moving forward … Could we even see some DPP action? Sean Darcy could be the big mover here if he has some luck on the injury front. I don't think the No.1 pick will be used on the first selection with the same frequency as last year given the uncertainty.

Max Gawn
Brodie Grundy
Sean Darcy
Rowan Marshall
Reilly O'Brien

In the mix: Jarrod Witts

Melbourne's Luke Jackson (left) and Max Gawn celebrate winning the 2021 Toyota AFL Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos

Forwards

After looking quite thin at the beginning of the year in recent times, there is a lot of potential in the forward line if some of these guys can return to top form. At the top of my list is Tim Taranto, who clearly played his best footy as a midfielder last year and surely returns to the role where he scored 140 on three occasions. Likewise, prior to injury Josh Dunkley was the form player of the competition playing predominantly midfield where he didn’t drop under 100 in the first six weeks and had a top score of 151. He could no doubt sit at the top of this list if he starts the season in the centre square. I must admit, I am really tempted to bump Tarryn Thomas up as high as five given his form at the end of the season where he had four scores over 95 in his last five games, including 120 and 126. At the bottom there is a show of faith ... I'm a big Stephen Coniglio fan and if he has a good pre-season he will be back!

Tim Taranto
Josh Dunkley
Mitch Duncan
Jordan DeGoey
Adam Treloar
Dustin Martin
Chad Wingard
Tarryn Thomas
Steele Sidebottom
Stephen Coniglio

In the mix: Zak Butters, Jake Stringer

Greater Western Sydney's Tim Taranto celebrates a goal against Melbourne in R16, 2021. Picture: Getty Images

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