Over the last month of the season there has been a groundswell of support for the likes of Gary Ablett, Tom Rockliff and Matt Priddis to be no-brainer All Australian players. Well, no brainer if you avoid the one statistic that actually does matter, winning.
In a statistical world where data seemingly reveals a new measure every week, it is easy to make a case for or against a player based on any number of statistics. The one measure that has not changed in more than 100 years though, is wins and losses.
Put simply, not enough is made of being a top performer in a top performing AFL team.
In other leagues around the world where a season best team is decided, team performance is a big deciding factor in the final make up of a side. In last year’s PFA Team of the Year for the English Premier League all 11 players named were part of the top eight sides.
In the NBA it is an absolute certainty that players in the first NBA team play for playoff teams. Of the 15 players selected to All-NBA honours last year, only one was not on a playoff team. The two years previous every player was a part of a playoff team.
Given that winning is a massive part of the Australian sporting culture it is perplexing that so often All Australian teams are made up of players from teams who did not play finals.
Last year seven players came from sides who finished outside the top eight. That means one third of the All Australian team came from players who could not lead their team to finals. In 2011 and 2012 the number of players was four and in 2009 and 2010 it was a much more believable two players who made the team despite not playing finals.
Consider the following group of names who could be in consideration for All Australian duties. Ablett, Priddis, Rockliff, Eric MacKenzie, Brodie Smith, Dayne Beams, Scott Pendlebury, Daniel Talia, Lynden Dunn, Shannon Hurn, Rory Sloane, Bryce Gibbs, Eddie Betts, Will Minson, Sam Jacobs, Shane Mumford, Callan Ward and Nick Riewoldt. That’s 18 players, an entire team, who despite having great seasons are not going to play finals football on current standings.
More should be made of having a great season, but doing it in a successful team. If a player is not involved in finals the question needs to be asked, did they do everything they could to lift their side towards finals?
Surely winning 50 per cent of a team’s games should be a break even for All Australian players outside of rare occasions. Put any one of these contenders against a similar player who is part of a top eight or top four team and shouldn’t the player who has been part of that successful team get the reward?
All Australian always has and likely always will be contentious. How the game changes in the future is always going to be a complete unknown. The only statistic that can be guaranteed to always be meaningful in 100 years time is wins. Let the All Australian team take the conjecture out and support the stat that matters most.
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