Crowd Goes Wild: Athlete Power Rankings

Brendon McCullum. Photo / Christine Cornege

Welcome to the CGW Athlete Power Rankings. It's a highly scientific mix of star power, potential, "branding" and ability to make a mark on the world stage that has led to 10 athletes making the cut for the inaugural, and hopefully annual, The Crowd Goes Wild Athlete Power Rankings.

1 - Brendon McCullum

Photo / Mark Mitchell

Mark:

There is no question he is the leading man in all of New Zealand sport. Last year he broke records, his team broke records and broke our spirit in bagging the Black Caps. How could someone turn us so in favour of our national cricket team? Only a very powerful man could do that.

Andrew: To supplant Kane Williamson, (probably the captain from next year) as the most powerful man in cricket says a lot about Brendon McCullum. Some people desperately wanted to find blood on his hands with the captaincy issue but the past 13 months have been a period like no other for the game and for him.

2 - Richie McCaw

Photo / Getty Images

Mark:

Yeah, yeah, yeah Richie McCaw, he's the All Black captain and no one leads the spiritual well-being of the country like the All Black captain. The thing is he's the undisputed All Black captain after a year when people started to question if he was over the hill. This is what makes a man super-powerful. Richie would have been my most powerful if it weren't for the fact that England is going to win the World Cup this year.

Andrew: It's Richie. End of story. And to think you said Ireland are going to meet England in the final too. Unbelievable.

3 - Lydia Ko

Photo / AP

Mark:

I just love this 17-year-old. She will win the Halberg every year from now until they have to discontinue the awards because she's made a mockery out of them. However, this is not why she is so powerful. This is a young girl who has shown white upper-class middle-aged men that perhaps those people who look a little different from them and who are outstanding at maths are actually true blue Kiwis after all.

Andrew: She's yet to win a major and that will probably happen this year. No arguments from me.

4 - Sonny Bill Williams

Photo / Getty Images

Mark:

Sometimes you just don't need to be that good at what you do to be great. Now don't get me wrong, SBW is a damn good footy player but he's still just one cog in the machine, the footy machine that is. The PR and marketing machine, well that's a different story. In a World Cup year you can't just turn up and play, and New Zealand Rugby still needs to bring in the big bucks to remain top dog so when you've got the most marketable sportsperson in the country you value him no end. And when you're the bloke who brings the bucks in you are numero uno. Want proof? SBW made the Rugby Union change its rules just to accommodate him.

Andrew: Who else can do what he does? He wins titles and makes owners, coaches and administrators bend rules for him when he's interested in rejoining. He fights bums and guys who look like bums and people still pay money to watch it.

5 - Winston Reid

Mark:

Could it be that Winston is about to become bigger than Ryan Nelsen? Already he's the All Whites captain we never see because he's too valuable for his EPL club. If he goes to Tottenham he's going to hit the bigger big time. Winston has X-factor by the truckload.

Andrew: When he's playing in the Champions League and being the wall for Arsenal or Spurs through the pool play and the knockout stages then he'll be higher but this year it's about his potential and what he's worth after West Ham's season.

6 - Steven Adams

Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Andrew:

When ESPN and TNT mention where he's from and a little on his back-story, that's to millions of people. He'll come off his scaled rookie contract at the end of the 2017 season, and then we'll see how much he's truly worth in the NBA.

Mark: Quite frankly I disagree with how high you have bullied me in to ranking him. Yes he's cracked the NBA and yes he's quite cool, but he's not going to be that big in the NBA. I am not pooh-poohing a Kiwi making the big time of basketball but with the availability of NBA to viewers in New Zealand it's still the LeBrons and the Kobes who have the pull.

7 - Valerie Adams

Photo / Greg Bowker

Andrew:

You say she is "so 2013", Mark, and by that you must mean she wins everything. She is relentless and unbeaten for 50-odd competitions. Next year the "threepeat" of Olympic gold is up for grabs and who'd want to be the person who tells her that shot put isn't going to be included in future Olympics as hinted at by an Aussie official last year? I nominate you, Mark.

Mark: She's so 2013.

8 - Kieran Foran

Photo / Getty Images

Andrew:

Foran is the man to lead league back into challenging Australia for supremacy and his partnership with Shaun Johnson is exciting. Plus his NRL team make the playoffs every year. When Foran combined with Johnson it was a "synergistic" reaction. Foran gets the nod over Johnson because he's won an NRL title. In Foran and Johnson we trust and could these be the two who save test league?

9 - Lauren Boyle

Photo / Greg Bowker

Andrew:

When the Olympics are looking to trim the events and make the Olympics broader appealing you can't help but feel for Lauren Boyle and her prowess to swim the 1500m and in record time over the short course set in Wellington. It's been a long time since Loader, and a star in the pool alongside Sophie Pascoe brings swimming to the forefront of the mind again with Rio next year. She's probably not going to catch Katie Ledecky in the 800m.

10 - Mitch Evans

Photo / Supplied

Andrew:

This one is based on potential as much as it is on success. A tough call over the established and more known Scott Dixon -- a winner -- but the potential and connections Evans has in GP2 could mean a seat as a practice driver or as maybe even a fully fledged competitor makes him number 10.