Arguably one of the most underrated midfielders of his generation, Ben Cunnington’s contested work at stoppages is a thing of beauty, with the veteran seemingly creating time and space out of thin air with his iconic fend-off.
North’s first top five selection since Daniel Wells in 2002, Cunnington took some time to adapt to senior football, struggling to alter his contested and physical style of play against fully grown men.
Since he found his feet though, Cunnington has been one of the most important on-field contributors to North Melbourne over the course of his decade at the top level, and one of the most iconic players of the modern era to pull on the royal blue and white.
North Melbourne debut: Round 5, 2010
Career Brownlow votes: 71
2022: The emotions were as high as they could be when one of North Melbourne's spiritual leaders returned to AFL football in Round 22 after his battle with testicular cancer.
The veteran underwent surgery to remove a tumour in July 2021 followed by a nine-week course of chemotherapy to treat a secondary diagnosis in November.
Understandably, Cunnington wasn't as damaging as he had been throughout early 2021, but in 2023 he'll be back to full fitness, freeing up Jy Simpkin and Luke Davies-Uniacke while guiding new Roo George Wardlaw who possesses similar traits to the beloved No.10.
