Kane Cornes’ top-50 AFL players countdown: Number’s up for Bailey Smith in 50-31 reveal

If Geelong superstar Bailey Smith thinks he is now a top-10 player in the competition, he needs to think again.

The dynamic 25-year-old has received somewhat of a reality check ahead of the 2026 season with Channel 7 expert Kane Cornes releasing the first instalment of his eagerly awaited top-50 AFL players list.

WATCH: Kane Cornes to reveal top-10 players, Monday and Tuesday, on 7NEWS.

After a year recovering from an ACL injury, Smith returned to AFL action with a bang in 2025, lighting up the season for his new club, Geelong, and earning himself All-Australian honours along the way.

As well as picking up an AA blazer, Smith was a Brownlow Medal fancy — he finished third (with 29 votes) behind Nick Daicos (32 votes) and Matt Rowell (39) — and was runner-up in the Cats’ best-and-fairest count.

But, despite all of that, Cornes can only just squeeze Smith into his annual top-50 list.

Cornes has dropped Smith in at No.42 — which will undoubtedly spark debate among fans — behind Brisbane premiership duo Jaspa Fletcher (38) and Josh Dunkley (34), Fremantle mid Andrew Brayshaw (32), Hawthorn small forward Dylan Moore (31), and various other stars.

But for those who think Smith should be higher, Cornes explains that just making the top 50 is an exceptional effort.

“You could make the case he should be higher,” Cornes told 7NEWS.com.au.

“But I didn’t want the top 50 dominated by midfielders.”

Cornes said he admired Smith’s gut-running during games and “loves the way he plays”.

“But I just think there are more damaging mids in the top 50 ... Top 40 is still pretty good,” Cornes insisted.

Meanwhile, Jason Horne-Francis — who many consider to be something of a Cornes’ “love child” — has had a dramatic slide down the order.

The former No.1 draft pick has slipped from 20 in Cornes’ top-50 last year, to 39 ahead of this season.

“He just hasn’t done it consistently enough, unfortunately, with a bit of injury and a bit of the way (Port Adelaide) play him,” Cornes told this masthead.

“They like to use him forward so he just gets squeezed out of the midfield a bit.”

Bulldogs high-flyer Aaron Naughton is another eyebrow-raising inclusion, with Cornes often critical of the key forward for not producing on a consistent basis.

Naughton finished last year with 60 goals to his name, behind Ben King, Jack Gunston and league-leader Jeremy Cameron.

Kane’s top-50 AFL players: 50-31

50. Aaron Naughton

49. Sam Walsh

48. Tom Liberatore

47. Dayne Zorko

46. Mitch Georgiades

45. Will Ashcroft

44. Josh Treacy

43. Zac Bailey

42. Bailey Smith

41. Jordan Clark

40. Bailey Dale

39. Jason Horne-Francis

38. Jaspa Fletcher

37. Toby Greene

36. Charlie Curnow

35. Connor Rozee

34. Josh Dunkley

33. Tom Green

32. Andrew Brayshaw

31. Dylan Moore

Click here to see Kane’s top-50 players from 2025

AFL expert Kane Cornes will reveal his top-10 players, Monday and Tuesday, on the 6pm 7NEWS.