LISTEN | James Hird Names His Top 5 Players Who Can Influence This Year's Top 8

Triple M's James Hird has named the top five most influential players in the AFL from teams currently in the top eight - and there's a surprise at number one!

Hird listed four players - including the likes of new Essendon recruit Dylan Shiel as well as some bona fide stars of the AFL - before getting to number one.

And there was a twist: it wasn't a player at number one.

"It comes to the St Kilda Football Club. Joey and I had a big discussion about who that player should be," he said.

"Joey's call - I agree with - was that it's not a player. It's the coach. He has turned that club around in five weeks."

JAMES HIRD'S TOP 5:

Don’t miss a moment of The Rub and subscribe to the Catch Up podcast on the Triple M app! Download it on iTunes or Google Play.