It’s no longer a question of whether Gary Ablett is the best player in the AFL, rather where he fits among the game’s all-time greats according to veteran AFL scribe Mike Sheahan. 

The Gold Coast champion topped Sheahan’s annual Top 50 players list for the second straight year, the fourth time in six years. 

Only AFL great Wayne Carey has done the same since Sheahan’s celebrated list first began in 1990. 

In his exclusive column for the Herald Sun, the former chief football writer told readers Ablett was the obvious No. 1 candidate. 

“As good as Selwood, Pendlebury, Swan, Judd and company are or have been, Ablett stands supreme, and everyone in the game knows so,” Sheahan wrote.

“When he finishes, he will have played 300-plus games, won two or more Brownlows and been named by the players Most Valuable Player of the year at least five times.

“It will be a record that will demand a rating among the best 10 players in the history of the game.”

It’s hard to argue with Sheahan’s sentiment, after watching Gary complete one of the most remarkable individuals’ seasons in AFL history.

He averaged 31 disposals and picked up 124 clearances and 313 contested possessions, ranking among the league’s leaders in the latter. 

“No one plays the game with more authority, more finesse, or with greater efficiency. No one runs harder and quicker for longer, no one reacts as quickly to the quirks of the oval ball, no one copes better with the stifling attention of a tagger, no one kicks goals like he can.”

“He has won five MVPs, his legendary father of the same name won one; the best player I have seen, Wayne Carey, won two.

“Enough of the maestro, the difficulty in my task was placing those behind Ablett.”

Reining All-Australian captain Joel Selwood was named behind Ablett, just ahead of Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Pendlebury.

Fremantle star Nat Fyfe followed at No. 5, while Dane Swan and Ryan Griffin also featured in the Top 10.