Already the topic of much discussion, the AFL’s new player rating system is set to separate the best from the rest with statistical analysis like never before.

North Melbourne has four players in the top 50 and its number one may be a surprise to some.

Daniel Wells is the highest-rated at number 16 in the league, Brent Harvey is at 17, captain Andrew Swallow at 31 and Scott Thompson at 50.

Despite his excellent 2012 and start to 2013, Lindsay Thomas (110th overall) is still North's second highest-rated forward behind Drew Petrie.

How does it work?

A player's rating is determined by adding together his points tally based on a rolling window of the previous two seasons. For example, after Round 6 of the 2013 season, a player's rating will be based on matches from Round 7 of the 2011 season onwards.

However, only a player's most recent 40 matches are used in the calculation of his rating. A player's most recent 20 matches are given maximum weight in determining his rating and matches 21 through 40 are progressively reduced from 100 per cent weighting to five per cent for the earliest game in the window.

For Thomas, that fact is likely to see him make his way up the ranks. His quiet finish to 2011 will effectively become redundant in the 40-game system in the coming weeks. It means if Thomas continues his run of good form, he'll shoot even higher up the rankings in quick time.

Players' effective disposals in the attacking half tend to bring more points. Wells’ ability to be damaging forward of centre results in him leading the way for North, just ahead of Brent Harvey.

For ruckmen, hit-outs to advantage are most valuable. Considering Todd Goldstein is currently ranked second in that area this season, it's no surprise he ranks alongside player and player as the league’s top rucks.  

Sound confusing? Watch the video above for an example as the play happens.

Top midfielder
AFL - Gary Ablett (1st overall, 1st midfielder)
North Melbourne - Daniel Wells (16th overall, 13th midfielder)

Top defender
AFL - Shannon Hurn (37th overall, 1st defender)
North Melbourne - Scott Thompson (50th overall, 6th defender)

Top ruckman
AFL - Nic Naitanui (13th overall, 1st ruckman)
North Melbourne - Todd Goldstein (71st overall, 3rd ruckman)

Top forward
AFL - Lance Franklin (12th overall, 1st forward)
North Melbourne - Drew Petrie (68th overall, 9th forward)

North Melbourne's Top 10
1 - Daniel Wells (16th overall)
2 - Brent Harvey (17th overall)
3 - Andrew Swallow (31st overall)
4 - Scott Thompson (50th overall)
5 - Drew Petrie (68th overall)
6 - Todd Goldstein (71st overall)
7 - Leigh Adams (99th overall)
8 - Lindsay Thomas (110th overall)
9 - Jack Ziebell (123rd overall)
10 - Michael Firrito (134th overall)