Now I know there are still a few rounds left of football for 2017, but a few games will not change who should and should not be in the All-Australian squad.
Picking this team was a really hard decision seeing as the competition was so competitive and saw a lot of players come out of the woodwork.
The squad
FB: Sam Docherty, Alex Rance, Rory Laird
HB: Elliot Yeo, Robbie Tarrant, Zach Tuohy
C: Josh Kelly, Dustin Martin, Rory Sloane
HF: Toby Greene, Joe Daniher, Lance Franklin
FF: Eddie Betts, Ben Brown, Jeff Garlett
F: Sam Jacobs, Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood
I/C: Clayton Oliver, Michael Hurley, Josh Kennedy (West Coast), Dayne Zorko
So there is the team. I know there a few surprises and shockers, but everyone’s AA teams should be and will be different.
Sam Docherty
Carlton has won five games this season. The team rebuild, originally touted to take between four and seven years, may not be the long after all. The Blues boast a lot of great players, but in 2017 none have been as impressive as Sam Docherty. Averaging 28.4 disposals, 9.2 marks and 3.6 tackles, Docherty has emerged as the most consistent defender in the AFL. Putting Docherty in this team was by far the easiest decision.
Alex Rance
Rance being the AA full-back should surprise no one. Rance has emerged as the greatest key defender of the past 20 years. The 2017 season is also one of Rance’s best years, mainly due to the fact Richmond will be finishing top four for the first time in over ten years! He is one of the main contributing factors alongside Dustin Martin’s almost guaranteed Brownlow this year.
Rory Laird
Laird is one of the most impressive players of this whole AA squad. He is one of the most efficient little men in the league and an absolute beast, averaging over 30 disposals as a run off back flanker. In 2017 Laird has not amassed fewer than 20 disposals, not to mention one of the greatest opening season performances in history with a whopping 40 disposals and four tackles.
(Image: Michael Willson/AFL Media)
Elliot Yeo
It was only a matter of time before Yeo made an All-Australian team. If I only had five guarantees on who I thought would actually make AA, Yeo would be in the five. Yeo has proven to be, at the young age of 23, one of the most important players for the Eagles who will either be the rise or the fall of the Eagles 2017 finals campaign. Yeo has become one of the most reliable defenders in the league.
Robbie Tarrant
A lot of people will be surprised with this selection. What helped my decision with sticking Tarrant at half-back is that for a player like him to be so consistent in of the most inconsistent teams in the AFL, North Melbourne is remarkable. Tarrant is currently ranked fifth for average disposals among key defenders and also ranked third for metres gained among key defenders. That is a very prestigious group to be part of. What also helped my decision was the fact that he is the most reliable intercept mark in the league.
Zach Tuohy
Zach is another selection that may baffle a few readers. Tuohy slid so surprisingly easily into the Cats defensive squad after making the move from Carlton at the end of last year. He has become one of their main fixtures in the defensive half, with a reliable and efficient disposal rate.
Josh Kelly
Kelly is one of the most fought after players of the 2017 free agency period. Kelly has proved why he is so prestigious this year, easily being the Giants best player of 2017. Kelly provides great spread, quickness and absolute pinpoint accuracy kicking. If the Giants find their feet late leading into the 2017 finals, expect Kelly to be a main focal point.
Dustin Martin
Ever since Patrick Dangerfield got a one-week suspension the words on everyone’s lips have been “the Brownlow is Martin’s to lose”. Those words are spot on: expect Dusty to win with about 31 votes and be clear of the runner up by about five votes. I never like to admit that a player can be the main reason for a team’s overall success, but here I have to. It’s not that he has carried a well performing Tigers team, but when Dusty is firing, the Tigers can’t lose.
(Image: AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Rory Sloane
Sloane nearly didn’t make the cut – shocking, I know! In the middle of the year Sloane looked out of sorts in consecutive games mainly due to the fact he could not budge off taggers, but that does not just come down to him – his teammates were not backing him up or helping him whatsoever. That being said, I honestly can say that the main reason he did make the cut is that it isn’t solely his fault that he’s going to be missing games.
Toby Greene
Recently voted the most hated player in the AFL, Greene still proves that no matter the hate, he can dominate. Able to assist a goal from any position or score a game-winning goal, Greene is so versatile at being a game changer.
Joe Daniher
At the start of 2017 no-one would have predicted that Daniher would be a favourite to be selected at All-Australian half-forward. Daniher has emerged as the most exciting forward of 2017, including taking high-flying marks or even clutch late goals – not to mention that Daniher is likely to take home the Coleman medal, something else no-one would have predicted.
Lance Franklin
I know a lot of people will have Buddy as the half-forward or even full-forward, but I was torn by the fact that he wasn’t quite good enough to pip Daniher or Brown but was not bad enough to miss out or even start on the bench. Franklin is still every chance of winning the Coleman, he just cannot go missing like he has done in a few individual games this year.
Eddie Betts
Eddie is the most exciting player in the league, hands down! Betts is not one of those players who only has exciting goals or marks – Betts can do all that but is also the most reliable small forward in the league. During the year Betts looked to be favourite to win the Coleman – he is a bit shy of that, but he will still finish in the top five.
(Image: AAP Image/David Mariuz)
Ben Brown
By far Brown has been the best player for North Melbourne in the 2017 season. If not for a possible season-ending concussion, I would have picked Brown to win the Coleman. Saying he may miss the rest of the season is a bit of a stretch, but I can see the Roos possibly resting him for the rest of the year and not risking him further. Brown has had easily a career-best year, slotting 51 goals and booting six goals in two individual games.
Jeff Garlett
I have to admit that Garlett was a very late inclusion. I just feel as though he needs some recognition – he is unfairly left out of all best-current-small-forward talks, and it’s just not true. After a pretty dismal year last year, Garlett has gone goalless on only four occasions, and he booted five goals against Gold Coast in a very good win.
Sam Jacobs
The 2017 season isn’t a great year for standout ruckmen. Toby Nankervis was looking like a clear standout in the first half of the year but has since dropped off. Jacobs gets the nod for consistently having a very good year. Sauce Jacobs has recently joined elite company, winning his third Showdown Medal.
Patrick Dangerfield
A lot of people, including me, were expecting Danger to win the Brownlow medal back to back. Unfortunately for Danger, an illegal tackle has now rubbed him out of a very possible second Brownlow win. Other than downfall, Dangerfield has once again become the best midfielder in the league.
Joel Selwood
Captain Courageous, as Selwood is known around the league, sets an example on the field that is next to none. A lot of worries were surrounding Danger and Selwood last year, mainly for the fact people weren’t sure that they could play with other. Not only did they prove they can, but they have become the most formidable midfield duo in the entire league.
(Image: AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Clayton Oliver
Clayton Oliver is a young gun and future Brownlow medallist. Though he copped a lot of criticism for a ‘dive’ in the middle of the year, Oliver has not let it get in his way. He has put together a very successful second professional season and is only going to get better every season – which should be worrying for all other 17 clubs!
Michael Hurley
It’s a bit stiff not starting Hurley at half-back, I know, but I am going to be honest: if I did this team ten times, Hurley and Tarrant would swap every time. There is no doubt Hurley is a big chunk of the reason Essendon have been so successful this year. With Hooker banished to the forward line 90 per cent of the time, Hurley has become the general of defence, and boy has he earned that job!
Josh Kennedy
Were he not injured for even a moment of the 2017 season, he would no doubt be starting at full-forward, but unfortunately for Kennedy that is not the case. Still, Kennedy averages a whole goal more than any other forward in the league and is in the top five for the Coleman – even though he missed so many games.
Dayne Zorko
I would have loved to put this little machine on the field, but the Lions’ record just hurts that decision so much – and not only their record but their effort and competitiveness, too. Zorko, though, will win the Lions best and fairest in an absolute landslide. Averaging 25 disposals and a whopping 7.2 tackles a game, Zorko has become the best tackler in the league.
Thank you for reading, everyone – please leave your appropriate responses in the comment section and get the ball rolling!
Macca
Guest
kreuzer just got named as the ruckman in the AFL team of the week for round 21 - he now played 19 games for the year (including one where he was knocked out and missed half of it) and has been picked as the ruckman in the AFL team of the week 7 times, or 36.84% of his games.
The Archinater
Guest
i think that Marcus Bontompelli and Scott pendlebury should definitely be on it! anyway Toby Greene doesn't deserve to be in the team
Damo Little
Guest
Lacks Ablett and Tipungwuti
Mattyb
Guest
Bolton
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
I agree Mattyb. Macca also seems to think it is a conspiracy against Carlton not to have 2 players in the AA side. Personally I could not justify any player from Carlton playing in the Adelaide SANFL side (well maybe Menzel - that is where he plays).
Mattyb
Guest
It's a lost cause Pedro,his team is fighting it out for yet another wooden spoon,again going backwards and he's arguing for multiple All Australians now. You'd think with all these All Australians this sad and tragic club would actually be going somewhere. Next he will be telling us that the poor leadership has nothing to do with the wheels continually falling of every season,year after year. He's been playing this born to rule game for years now.
Macca
Guest
"Interpreter please!" Has that "extensive education deserted you?
Macca
Guest
Who is talking about Brisbane? After all the all important ladder has them the worst! Anyway why not - both deserve a spot and I really doubt the if the AA selectors judge both to be deserving they will leave one out because they can only have one Carlton player.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Interpreter please! I am having trouble reading (let alone comprehending) the ramblings of a Carlton flog that believes all roads lead to Carlton and all Carlton players are champions, despite their ladder position. Legends in their own lunchbox.
Mattyb
Guest
So you think the AA selectors are going to pick two players from the worst side in the comp? The point is you would have just found something else to argue about. Anyway,I'm more than happy for you to have the final word as I know how very important things like that are to you.
Macca
Guest
"The funny thing is though that even if Kruezer was in the side Docherty would have to come out" Only in your head Mattyb. And I would have thought such a huge Carlton fan would know how to spell Kreuzer!
Mattyb
Guest
Jacobs would be well ahead of Kruezer for section,as would Ryder. The funny thing is though that even if Kruezer was in the side Docherty would have to come out, and then the Carlton born to rule fan boys would argue about that. There's no way the AA sectors are going to pick two players from the worst looking side in the league, that's going backwards from a pretty low starting point. Carlton people have little idea just how tragic their club now is. Talk about being greedy and wanting far more than they deserve. Personally I highly doubt Docherty makes the side either.
Gareth Hunter
Roar Pro
I know leaving out Mitchell was a mistake. You never really know your mistakes until you receive feedback and re read a million times. I also regret leaving out Robbie Gray, who has had a standout year. But in saying that, I stick by my article and my choices. Cheers for the feedback mate! :)
Trevor
Guest
Mitchell should be in to replace Sloane who didn't do much for about 8 weeks at one stage once he got tagged.
Macca
Guest
"I am pretty sure that is you saying Kreuzer shouldn’t be picked in the AA side" no that is may saying I didn't say that he should - there is a massive difference. Saying he should is definitive, saying he shouldn't is definitive - I am not saying either of those things, I am saying he, along with Ryder and Jacobs are worthy of selection. Can you see the difference or did that "extensive" education go to waste? "affecting your ability to read." Didn't your "extensive" education teach you that there is a difference between reading and comprehending - for your sledge to be effective your should be criticising my ability to comprehend - just like I did to you in my previous post before you completely failed to comprehend what I was saying yet again. And in your "extensive" education did they not cover Socrates, or do they only do that in Victorian primary schools? "“When the debate is lost, slander becomes the t0 0l of the l0 ser.” Guess that demonstrates who won the debate and what name can aptly be applied to you.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
"... that doesn’t mean I thought Kreuzer should be picked" Macca 9/8/2017! I am pretty sure that is you saying Kreuzer shouldn't be picked in the AA side but hey I have an extensive education and you obviously went to a Victorian Primary School and hope to graduate soon! You need to lay off them burgers matey - it is clouding your judgement and affecting your ability to read. Carlton are languishing 17th with a side full of rejects and average footballers, including Kreuzer. One day you Bluebaggers will understand that the aim of the game is to make the finals and then hopefully win some more games in that year and maybe hold the cup up. There is no great value in unsuccessfully trying to get a player in an unofficial Victorian based AA listing! I am pretty clear on who I want leading the ruck for my team in September. What about you? Who will be leading the rucks at Carlton ... oh hang on ... where will you be taking the caravan this September?
sammy
Guest
I thought Jacobs looked tired at the end of last year and thought he may be winding down as one of the leagues premier ruckmen. However he has had a very consistent season this year, as has Kreuzer and Ryder. I suspect what has given Jacobs the nod over the other 2 is his performances against Ryder in both showdowns with the one on the weekend being very fresh in everyone's mind. He demonstrated how to get on top of a guy that jumps much higher and is more athletic by the use of positioning and strength. Any of these rucks would be worth of AA and I think it is all credit to Jacobs that he has come out this season and performed well
Macca
Guest
Not sure you are in a position to criticise comprehension; "So we are agreed. Neither you nor I think that Kreuzer should be in the All Australian side." When did I say that? Strike one for you. " AA selection is about the whole season – not 1 day in the season when you perceived Kreuzer won his position in a losing side" Agreed, which is why I started this whole thing siting evidence that over the whole season Kreuzer "is averaging more possessions, More Goals, More tackles, More contested possessions, more marks inside 50, more clearances, more one percenters and more metres gained." Strike 2 for you. "Jacobs averages 8 more hit outs per game (and has had almost 200 more Hit Outs over the 2017 season). That is the prime role of a ruckman (if not then teams might as well play another midfielder)" Again hit outs are pretty meaningless, I demonstrated this by showing that while Kreuzer had 11 more hit outs than Jacobs in their duel this year the Crows won the clearances by 5 - judging ruckmen solely on hit outs is fo0l!sh (which is probably why you do it) - Strike 3 for you. " Jacobs has had just 5 less disposals than Kreuzer in total (0.6 Disposals less on average)" So less is still less though right? And Kreuzer has played a game and a half less than Jacobs? Not sure why you think this helps your case. Strike 4 for you. "Jacobs has assisted Adelaide to the top of the ladder. Carlton are 17th! It is usually harder to get a kick/touches/hold your spot in a good team (compared to Carlton)." Given the large number of players who look good in a good team but can't get a kick in a poor team I will have to ask you for some evidence to prove this theory of yours - but again AA selection is an individual award, team results don't come into it. Strike 5 for you. "Jacobs is simply a better player." So why did Kreuzer towel him up when they played against each other? Strike 6 for you. So again we are left with "I barrack for Adelaide, Jacobs plays for Adelaide, therefore Jacobs is the best"
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
So we are agreed. Neither you nor I think that Kreuzer should be in the All Australian side. PS: Reading seems not to be your strong suit so I will reiterate for you: - AA selection is about the whole season - not 1 day in the season when you perceived Kreuzer won his position in a losing side. - Jacobs averages 8 more hit outs per game (and has had almost 200 more Hit Outs over the 2017 season). That is the prime role of a ruckman (if not then teams might as well play another midfielder) - Jacobs takes more marks (in total and average) than Kreuzer - Jacobs has had just 5 less disposals than Kreuzer in total (0.6 Disposals less on average) . Jacobs has assisted Adelaide to the top of the ladder. Carlton are 17th! It is usually harder to get a kick/touches/hold your spot in a good team (compared to Carlton). - Jacobs is simply a better player.
Macca
Guest
Pedro - if you look above I have offered numerous ways Kreuzers selection could be justified, I have also stated that Jacobs or Ryder would be a worthy selection but to support Jacobs you have merely said he gets more hitouts (which as demonstrated by the stats in the blues crows game is a pretty meaningless stat), the Crows win which as PaulD points out is irrelevant which leaves your main point "he plays for the crows and I barrack for the crows" - so perhaps you should take a look in the mirror before you claim my argument can only be sustained by Carlton supporters. "This thread started when Macca “inquired” as to why Kreuzer wasn’t in this list instead of Jacobs" To be accurate I asked for the author's "thoughts as to why Kreuzer wasn’t picked as the ruckman over Jacobs" given his statistical superiority - that doesn't mean I thought Kreuzer should be picked, just wanting to know the authors thought process and who he justified it - I am hoping it is more than you have offered, that he barracks for the crows.