Champion Data has rated our list as 10th best.
HOW YOUR CLUB RATESHAWTHORN Defenders 2nd Midfield / Rucks 9th Forwards 1st LIST QUALITY 1st
WEST COAST Defenders 4th Midfield / Rucks 7th Forwards 4th LIST QUALITY 2nd
SYDNEY Defenders 3rd Midfield / Rucks 2nd Forwards 11th LIST QUALITY 3rd
FREMANTLE Defenders 10th Midfield / Rucks 5th Forwards 3rd LIST QUALITY 4th
COLLINGWOOD Defenders 5th Midfield / Rucks 1st Forwards 14th LIST QUALITY 5th
ADELAIDE Defenders 6th Midfield / Rucks 4th Forwards 7th LIST QUALITY 6th
GEELONG Defenders 1st Midfield / Rucks 8th Forwards 12th LIST QUALITY 7th
ESSENDON Defenders 7th Midfield / Rucks 10th Forwards 5th LIST QUALITY 8th
CARLTON Defenders 14th Midfield / Rucks 3rd Forwards 2nd LIST QUALITY 9th
RICHMOND Defenders 13th Midfield / Rucks 6th Forwards 6th LIST QUALITY 10thNORTH MELBOURNE Defenders 11th Midfield / Rucks 11th Forwards 9th LIST QUALITY 11th
ST KILDA Defenders 8th Midfield / Rucks 13th Forwards 13th LIST QUALITY 12th
MELBOURNE Defenders 12th Midfield / Rucks 16th Forwards 8th LIST QUALITY 13th
BRISBANE Defenders 9th Midfield / Rucks 14th Forwards 15th LIST QUALITY 14th
WESTERN BULLDOGS Defenders 17th Midfield / Rucks 15th Forwards 10th LIST QUALITY 15th
GOLD COAST Defenders 15th Midfield / Rucks 17th Forwards 16th LIST QUALITY 16th
PORT ADELAIDE Defenders 18th Midfield / Rucks 12th Forwards 17th LIST QUALITY 17th
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY Defenders 16th Midfield / Rucks 18th Forwards 18th LIST QUALITY 18th
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Champion Data says Alastair Clarkson will coach the most talented list in 2013 as the Hawks seek redemption for last season's heartbreak at the hands of Sydney.
The 2013 AFL Prospectus - the ultimate number-cruncher for football fanatics - has laid bare the quality of each club's playing roster.
Using Champion Data rankings points as a base, for the first time players who played at least five games in the last two years have been given a value.
The top ranked player in each position is rated at 100 points and the bottom rated at zero points, with every other player assessed relative to those in the same position and scaled to fit in-between.
Gold Coast's Gary Ablett, for example, is the top-ranked midfielder and judged to be worth 100 points. The fact the next best onballer, Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury, is back on 92 points highlights how far ahead Ablett is.
Hawthorn's galaxy of stars has given it an average player rating of 56.34 - ranked No.1 in the AFL. The Hawks have star power on every line and have taken their vulnerable defence to a No.2 ranking by acquiring Brian Lake.
But the sleeping giant may well be West Coast, who rank second on the quality index at 54.98. The Eagles bat deep, with 17 players ranking in the top 35 per cent of their positions - two more than any other club.
Premier Sydney sit third with an equal league-low 28 players fitting the five-game criteria in the last two years, highlighting its injury management or good luck.
Incredibly, the Swans have only five players - Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh, Andrejs Everitt, Gary Rohan and Lewis Jetta - who were taken in the top 20 of a national draft when originally brought into the AFL system.
They have killed the bottom-out theory up.
Fremantle are a surprise fourth, driven by a much-improved midfield and a forward line ranked third in the competition despite a lack of key position power.
Collingwood sit fifth, but look ominous. The battle-hardened Pies are now the No.1 list for experience, while remaining only the fifth oldest.
The Magpies boast the best midfield in the AFL with Pendlebury and Dane Swan, but there are questions over their forward line, which ranks just 14th.
Carlton is ninth on the quality ladder and while its midfield strength is no secret (ranked third), its forward line was surprisingly judged to be the second-best in the league.
Jarrad Waite, Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett boost the Blues' rating, but with Waite often injured and without a legitimate back-up, lack of depth may become an issue.
- 2013 AFL PROSPECTUS order at championdata.com.au for $39.95 (RRP). Free delivery for pre-orders before Christmas (within Australia). Deliveries around mid-January, in bookstores February.http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/hawks-boast-afls-top-list-but-eagles-are-set-to-soar/story-e6frf9io-1226536434200
