Worpedo has plenty of miles in the tank

HE’S the second-biggest bargain in the AFL.

When it comes to bang-forbuck in the paypacket, it is hard to go past second-year Brownlow Medal contender Tim Kelly.

But while the hard-running Cat will earn as much as $800,000 next year, Hawthorn’s James Worpel isn’t buying a Range Rover just yet.

It’s flown somewhat under the radar, but “The Worpedo” is having a phenomenal season getting around in a Mitsubishi Magna. The Hawthorn hardnut had seven clearances in one quarter against North Melbourne on Friday night to notch a career-best 37 possessions and seven coaches’ votes.

The 20-year-old is on track, surely, to finish top-three in the best-and-fairest.

But at a time where every list manager in the competition is looking for new ways to squeeze the lemon, here’s the best bit for Hawthorn.

The man who played only one too many games last season to qualify to this year’s Rising Star award over Sam Walsh, is on a base salary of $95,000 for the 2019 season.

That’s $5000 less than Kelly because Worpel was taken with pick No.45, putting him in a lower pay band than the gun Cat, who was drafted at No.24.

In addition, both are earning $5000 per game in match payments, meaning Worpel has pocketed exactly $190,000 for the year. That’s peanuts.

To put it in context, the former winery worker will take home about half the average AFL player wage, despite winning the most disposals (average 26.3) and contested possessions (11.6) at Hawthorn this season. He is also second for clearances (5.8).