As the AFL season draws to a close for 10 clubs this weekend, many of the game’s greats are preparing to say goodbye – either this weekend or in the finals.

This year’s retiring crop are a special bunch, littered with spiritual leaders (Nick Riewoldt, Robert Murphy and, of course, Luke Hodge) and ball-winning machines (Sam Mitchell, Matt Priddis, Jobe Watson, Scott Thompson and Matthew Boyd).

There are key role players (James Kelly, Josh Gibson and Sean Dempster), plus a touch of genius in mercurial Geelong and GWS forward Steve Johnson, too.

New stars will emerge, such is the cyclical nature of sport, but there is no doubt the AFL will be worse off in 2018 without this special set of players.

“I can’t remember a class of retirees being as good as this, ever,” ex-St Kilda champion Nathan Burke told The New Daily.

Burke, like Riewoldt, is one of just five Saints to play 300 games, and the latter is likely to play his last match on Sunday, given St Kilda’s slim finals hopes.

“He’s had an outstanding career and it’s no surprise,” he said.

“Right from day one, he was always eager to learn and had that great ability to push himself. He has been a great player.

“[St Kilda great] Robert Harvey was exactly the same. I used to see Robert, exhausted, bent over … but then the ball would appear and ‘whoosh’, he’s gone, and he’d have that footy. He just kept on running and Nick was the same.

“His marking was good, he had a special work ethic and he was courageous … like many of the great players, he did the basics really, really well.”

Like Riewoldt, Hodge was a No.1 draft pick who absolutely proved his worth, with the Hawthorn champion winning four premierships, two Norm Smith Medals and two best-and-fairest awards in a glittering career.

“He came in under a lot of pressure and we were struggling, but looking back now, he definitely was the saviour for Hawthorn,” Hawks legend Shane Crawford told The New Daily.

“He was such an inspirational leader and was always thinking of his teammates. He was a great captain.

“He was a country boy who wasn’t afraid to give hard feedback but he’d also be willing to put an arm around you and have a beer with you.”

Crawford, who also won a premiership with Mitchell – a five-time best-and-fairest winner at Hawthorn – said the pair will be “sorely missed” by the game.

Former Western Bulldogs captain Murphy, a key figure in the club’s resurgence and 2016 premiership despite missing out on football’s biggest occasion due to injury, warrants a mention in the same breath as Riewoldt, Hodge and Mitchell, according to ex-Hawk Campbell Brown.

“Hodge, Mitchell, Riewoldt and Murphy head the list for me and I think this weekend is a great time to reflect and appreciate these players,” he told The New Daily.

Johnson and Kelly were both stars in a long period of Geelong success, Watson’s football – and his conduct – was first class and Priddis, Thompson, Boyd had that innate ability to find the football.

And who could forget Gibson – so important to Hawthorn he, not once, but twice, won best-and-fairest awards in premiership years.

Then there’s the many footballers who will see their top-level careers ended shortly, not by choice, and Brown had some sage advice for those who will be doing something different next year.

“It’s pretty important players don’t float through the year after retirement,” he said.

“I’d say they need definitive goals or things they want to achieve … otherwise you get a lot of spare time and you can get a bit bored.

“And boredom can quickly lead to other damaging things.”