To preview the start of the 2022/23 A-League Men season, Kick360 writers have joined forces to vote on the top 10 players in the competition.
Tasked with ranking the players on the basis of their general ability, quality and overall impact on their respective sides, each ranking was not solely limited to performances in 2022 but rather a ranking of the players’ general skillset with more weight given to recent performances.
The work of Craig Goodwin and Jamie Maclaren in the last few A-League seasons clearly did not go unnoticed by Kick360’s writers as both were selected by 10 of the 11 journalists who cast a vote. Several new faces featured prominently among the lists, none moreso than Melbourne Victory marquee Nani who consistently found himself in the top few players in the league according to Kick360.
Jake Brimmer was another favourite among the voters as he received plaudits for his Johnny Warren Medal winning campaign for Melbourne Victory. Interestingly, eight of the 10 players to feature in Kick360’s ultimate list of the top 10 players in the A-League can be considered as attackers. Only Leo Lacroix and Jay O’Shea do not regularly find themselves in advanced positions.
Florin Berenguer and Beka Mikeltadze appeared to divide opinion as both players found themselves in first place in at least one list while also struggling to make the top 10 of several other writers.
Ultimately, Adelaide United’s attacking machine Craig Goodwin was voted the No.1 player in the competition after a stellar season where he led his side to a semi-final. 30 different players appeared across the 11 lists. Last season’s runners-up Melbourne City had seven players feature while new foreign signings and the return of Luke Brattan appear to have rejuvenated Sydney FC in the eyes of Kick360 writers as five of their players received a mention.
Perhaps most interestingly, Western Sydney Wanderers were the only team in the A-League that did not have a single representative on any of the 11 rankings provided by Kick360 writers.
Kick360’s Top 10 Players in the A-League Men
- Craig Goodwin
- Nani
- Ulises Dávila
- Jamie Maclaren
- Jake Brimmer
- Leo Lacroix
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Charlie Austin
- Florin Berenguer
- Jay O’Shea
We asked several of our writers to justify their selections below. Feel free to join in the conversation across Kick360‘s social media channels and discuss who deserves to be in the top 10.
Petar Petrov
- Florin Berenguer
- Nani
- Jamie Maclaren
- Craig Goodwin
- Ulises Dávila
- Luke Brattan
- Leo Lacroix
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Marco Tilio
- Jake Brimmer
Football certainly is a very dynamic sport. It’s fascinating how my list has changed, in less than a year, but at the same time, the principles upon which I base my top 10 has not.
Impact, technical ability, and end product. These are the main qualities that I based my picks on, and they have also defined my top three here.
For me, Berenguer has been the biggest game-changer, in the last year or so. Nani is the most technically gifted player, and Maclaren has shown over and over again that, when it comes to delivering the end product he’s the best in the league.
Dávila, Goodwin, Brattan, Lacroix, and Beka all embody these qualities, to a certain extent, and Tilio and Brimmer have both shown that they posses the ”je ne sais quoi” that can make them real class players.
But the most important thing that I realised while I was assembling this list was that, even though people regularly try to downplay the A-League Men, the competition itself is actually full of quality players and some of them could easily play at the highest level in different circumstances.
Tom Williams
- Nani
- Ulises Dávila
- Aleksandar Prijović
- Craig Goodwin
- Jay O’Shea
- Jake Brimmer
- Leo Lacroix
- Luke Brattan
- Jamie Maclaren
- Florin Berenguer
Compiling this list was very difficult. There are a lot of talented players in the A-League and it is not easy to compare players whose roles and positions are different. With that said, my list is firmly based around general quality and how much of a difference an individual makes to their respective team.
Naturally, Nani earns his spot in first place on the sheer basis of his performances in the MLS and the form that he has shown in pre-season. Ulises Dávila was serviceable last season in a dysfunctional side with a poor midfield which is testament to his quality. He is a Johnny Warren Medallist and I expect Dwight Yorke to give Dávila freedom to express himself on the park and orchestrate Macarthur’s attack from the No.10 position. He has been in sterling form in pre-season and received the Mark Viduka Medal for best afield in the Australia Cup Final.
Aleksandar Prijović could easily be in first place off the back of his heroics in Western United’s Championship triumph but last season’s Joe Marston Medallist just comes in behind Nani and Dávila due to their capacity to impact games across the pitch. From there it becomes a little more difficult.
Jay O’Shea might be a controversial selection but with a potent attack in front of him he would be a weapon. Despite finishing 11th, Brisbane were one of the A-League’s best teams last season in possession as they ranked third for expected goals but were let down by haphazard finishing. O’Shea was a seminal part of that as he offered precise delivery from set pieces and much needed assuredness on the ball in midfield. Brisbane would be a much worse team without him.
Melbourne City duo Jamie Maclaren and Florin Berenguer deserve their places in the top 10 but neither were particularly inspiring during the finals last season and both can suffer from sporadic slumps in form. Thus, it’s hard to place either of them any higher than ninth.
Giacomo Bruno
- Jamie Maclaren
- Ulises Dávila
- Jay O’Shea
- Craig Goodwin
- Jake Brimmer
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Joshua Risdon
- Matthew Leckie
- Florin Berenguer
- Leo Lacroix
Every time he graces a football pitch, Jamie Maclaren continues to demonstrates his talent. His goal output season after season since joining the club shows that not only is he the best attacker in the league, but the best player talent wise period.
Ulises Dávila meanwhile continues to mount his case as the greatest North American to ever play in the A-League Men’s competition. A proven game winner who can turn games on a head, his technical ability is a level above any other midfielder in the competition.
Honourable mentions go to Jay O’Shea with the midfielder ageing like a fine wine as one of the most productive midfielders in the league, as too is Craig Goodwin.
Oliver Walker-Peel
- Charlie Austin
- Craig Goodwin
- Jamie Maclaren
- Bozhidar Kraev
- Nani
- Joe Lolley
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Daniel Arzani
- Jamie Young
- Jake Brimmer
Recently released from QPR in the Championship, Charlie Austin has made a strong start to life in Brisbane. Considered by many to miss out on the Johnny Warren Medal last year, Craig Goodwin looks set to fire again for the Reds, while new signing Bozhidar Kraev has impressed in short cameos for the Phoenix.
Nani is a bit of an unknown quantity at 35, but his ceiling gets him into fifth, while Victory teammate Jake Brimmer sneaks into the top ten.
Lucas Rinaldo
- Craig Goodwin
- Nani
- Ulises Dávila
- Leo Lacroix
- Jamie Maclaren
- Charlie Austin
- Florin Berenguer
- Luke Brattan
- Curtis Good
- Jake Brimmer
Gerald Lynch
- Nani
- Craig Goodwin
- Leo Lacroix
- Ulises Dávila
- Jake Brimmer
- Aleksandar Prijović
- Jamie Maclaren
- Jay O’Shea
- Charlie Austin
- Marco Tilio
David Shilovsky
- Nani
- Charlie Austin
- Ulises Dávila
- Craig Goodwin
- Aleksandar Prijović
- Nick D’Agostino
- Jake Brimmer
- Jamie Maclaren
- Leo Lacroix
- Marco Tilio
Neal Symons
- Craig Goodwin
- Ulises Dávila
- Nani
- Florin Berenguer
- Leo Lacroix
- Jake Brimmer
- Jason Cummings
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Aleksandar Prijović
- Daniel Arzani
Cameron Wyper
- Leo Lacroix
- Craig Goodwin
- Valon Berisha
- Nani
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Jamie Maclaren
- Bruno Fornaroli
- Joe Lolley
- Róbert Mak
- Jack Rodwell
Tom Pombart
- Valon Berisha
- Reno Piscopo
- Ulises Dávila
- Joe Lolley
- Jason Cummings
- Jake Brimmer
- Jamie Maclaren
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Aleksandar Prijović
- Charlie Austin
Zac Colebrook
- Beka Mikeltadze
- Jay O’Shea
- Jamie Maclaren
- Craig Goodwin
- Jason Cummings
- Rai Marchán
- Josh Risdon
- Nuno Reis
- Anthony Cáceres
- Valon Berisha
Players who received at least one vote
Adelaide United: Craig Goodwin
Brisbane Roar: Charlie Austin, Jay O’Shea
Central Coast Mariners: Jason Cummings
Macarthur: Ulises Dávila, Daniel Arzani
Melbourne City: Jamie Maclaren, Florin Berenguer, Valon Berisha, Marco Tilio, Mathew Leckie, Nuno Reis, Curtis Good
Melbourne Victory: Nani, Jake Brimmer, Nick D’Agostino, Rai Marchán
Newcastle Jets: Beka Mikeltadze, Reno Piscopo
Perth Glory: Bruno Fornaroli
Sydney FC: Luke Brattan, Joe Lolley, Róbert Mak, Jack Rodwell, Anthony Cáceres
Wellington Phoenix: Bozhidar Kraev
Western Sydney Wanderers: Nil
Western United: Leo Lacroix, Aleksandar Prijović, Josh Risdon, Jamie Young