Several Crows look set to soar up the Official AFL Player Ratings hierarchy when Adelaide’s season begins on April 5.

Patrick Dangerfield (No.4) and Rory Sloane (No.7) will start the new season inside the top ten of the AFL Player Ratings ladder, which ranks fellow midfielders Gary Ablett, Scott Pendlebury and Joel Selwood as the three best players in the competition.

Sydney is the only other club to feature two players, Lance Franklin (No.8) and Josh Kennedy (No.10), inside the top ten.

Sloane was one of the most improved players in the top 50 last season according to the Player Ratings formula, improving from position No.21 from the start of the year.

All Australian backman Brodie Smith climbed almost 70 spots up the table in 2014, the fifth-biggest rise in the competition, and will begin his 2015 campaign ranked No.34. The lure of more midfield time could see Smith’s rating soar even higher as the season progresses.

Sam Jacobs was another big improver last year. He vaulted from No.147 to finish a career-high No.43 as the second-best ruckman in the competition behind North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein (No.16).

The ratings focus on a player’s last 40 games, so another strong season could see ‘Sauce’ take the mantle as the League’s highest ranked ruckman.

David Mackay’s Player Ratings trend looks promising. He stormed up the order last season from a pre-season rank of No.186 and will push for a top-100 spot this year from position No.111.

2010 Crows Club Champion Richard Douglas will begin Season 2015 in position No.47. The tough midfielder has previously been ranked as high as No.17.

Eddie Betts is the only other remaining Crow in the top 100 at position No.71. Betts has also previously held a ranking inside the top 50.

New captain Taylor Walker (No.332) and Brad Crouch (No.280) look likely to lift their ratings, as both men continue their resurgence from long-term injuries.

Ball magnet Matt Crouch (No.566) was Adelaide’s best first-year player last season and, along with Charlie Cameron (No.594), can be expected to push up the order with more senior opportunities.

The ratings system, which was introduced in 2012, are based on a statistical algorithm that measures a player’s impact on each passage of play from their last 40 games. Players gain or lose rating points depending on their overall influence on the game.

AFL Player Ratings - Adelaide's Top Ten