THEY start their careers in unheralded fashion, but often become superstars of the game.

The rookie list has been one of the best innovations in the AFL, yielding many great success stories and it is the subject of this week's episode of Personal Best on AFL.com.au.

To see Matthew Boyd's complete Top-10 list of rookie list elevations, and discover who he rates number one, click on the media player above.

Western Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd is one of those rookie list champions, having played 203 games since his elevation from the list in 2003.

Some of his selections are straightforward - Dean Cox, Brett Kirk and Stephen Milne are among the modern day greats of the game.

But a few lesser lights get a gig as well. Mal Michael and Mark Johnson feature on his list, as does Boyd's low-profile teammate Dale Morris, whose injury-enforced absence this year has been keenly felt by the Bulldogs.

"He's a fantastic one-on-one player, perhaps our most important, but the way he has been able to play on talls and smalls, and is so versatile, makes him one of the best one on one players in the competition," Boyd said.

Personal Best appears every Wednesday on AFL.com.au.