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A host of first-time players have been named in a new-look AFL All-Australian team, with 12 stars of the game named in the 22-man side for the first time.
Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard, Carlton’s Adam Saad, GWS’ Sam Taylor, St Kilda’s Jack Sinclair, Richmond’s Shai Bolton, Carlton’s Charlie Curnow, Geelong’s Tyson Stengle and Mark Blicavs, Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw, Sydney’s Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills and Port Adelaide’s Connor Rozee made the team for the first time.
However, plenty of regulars were also named to the 22, with Melbourne captain Max Gawn (sixth selection) and Cats Tom Hawkins (fifth) Tom Stewart (fourth) the most-capped in the team.
Hawkins was also named captain of the team, despite not holding the same position at the Cats, with Blues skipper Patrick Cripps named vice-captain.
Stengle’s selection adds another layer to one of the season’s most enduring stories, with the goalsneak thrown a lifeline by the Cats in pre-season after unsuccessful stints at Richmond and Adelaide.
The 23-year old, who was delisted by the Crows at the start of 2021 following a number of off-field incidents, grasped the second chance with both hands, kicking 46 goals for the home-and-away season.
Stengle was one of an AFL-high five Cats named in the team, alongside Blicavs, Hawkins, Cameron and Stewart, with 12 of the 18 teams earning at least one nomination.
Earlier, Collingwood’s Nick Daicos was unsurprisingly confirmed as the winner of the 2022 AFL Rising Star Award, also claiming the gong of the AFLPA’s Best First Year Player.
Daicos, the son of Magpies legend Peter, was a unanimous choice for the gong, polling a maximum five votes from all 12 judges after what has been described as one of the best debut seasons in recent memory.
Geelong key defender Sam De Koning received four votes from all judges to finish second with 48 votes, ahead of Hawthorn midfielder Jai Newcombe (35) and Magpies teammate Jack Ginnivan (21).
Playing all 22 games, Daicos’ sharp ball use and football smarts have been a major driver in Collingwood’s shock top-four berth, averaging nearly 26 disposals per game across half-back.
He was just the fourth player in the award’s 30-year history to poll maximum votes, joining former Demon Jared Rivers (2004), Brisbane star Daniel Rich (2009) and then-Swan Dan Hannebery (2010).
However, Newcombe denied Daicos a sweep of the rookie awards, winning the AFL Coaches Association’s Best Young Player award, judged on which first- or second-year player polled the most coaches votes throughout the season.
I’m a bit speechless. I wasn’t expecting it myself,” Daicos said after accepting the award.
“My main aim was to have a good off-season and hopefully break into the team as early as I could and fortunately for me that was Round 1.
“We had a great win and luckily I was able to stay in the side from there.”
Daicos was quick to praise his father’s influence on his career to date, saying it ‘means a lot’ to have him in the crowd on the night.
He’s told me he’s very proud… it means a lot to have him in the room,” Daicos the younger said.
“I owe basically all this to him.”
Melbourne and Gold Coast stars Clayton Oliver and Touk Miller became just the second ever joint winners of the AFL Coaches Association’s Champion Player of the Year award, finishing in a dead heat on 98 votes.
The votes for the final two rounds of the season were only publicly revealed on Wednesday night, hinting at a thrilling count; with Oliver’s 10-vote performance in the Demons’ Round 23 win over Brisbane drawing him level with Miller.
Oliver also claimed the award in 2021, joining Gary Ablett Jr as the only players to claim multiple Coaches Association MVP awards, but he will need to win it again in 2023 to match Ablett’s record of three consecutive gongs from 2007-9.
In addition to his All-Australian selection, Curnow also claimed the Coleman Medal, having booted a competition-high 64 goals in the home-and-away season, becoming the second consecutive Blue to win the award following Harry McKay in 2021.
Richmond’s Liam Baker was named the AFL Players Association’s Most Courageous Player, named in honour of former footballer Robert Rose, who was left a quadriplegic in a car accident in 1974.
In a night dominated by black and white, Magpies captain Scott Pendlebury joined Daicos among the award winners, named the AFL Players Association’s Best Captain.
Despite being consigned to the All-Australian bench, Dockers gun Brayshaw, who finished eighth in Coaches Association MVP voting, was a surprise winner of the Leigh Matthews Award for the AFLPA MVP, following an outstanding season to help surge the Freo into the finals for the first time since 2015.
Brayshaw is just the second Docker to claim the prestigious award, with Fyfe winning in both 2014 and 2015.
One of the favourites for the Brownlow Medal, the 22-year old is the youngest winner of the award since St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt in 2004.
AFL Rising Star: Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
Coleman Medal: Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year: Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) and Touk Miller (Gold Coast)
AFL Coaches Association Best Young Player: Jai Newcombe (Hawthorn)
AFL Players Association Best First Year Player: Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
Robert Rose Most Courageous Player: Liam Baker (Richmond)
AFL Players Association Best Captain: Scott Pendlebury
Leigh Matthews Trophy: Andrew Brayshaw
Backs: Tom Stewart (Geelong), Steven May (Melbourne), Brayden Maynard (Collingwood)
Half-Backs: Jack Sinclair (St Kilda), Sam Taylor (GWS), Adam Saad (Carlton)
Centres: Touk Miller (Gold Coast), Clayton Oliver (Melbourne), Callum Mills (Sydney)
Half-forwards: Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Jeremy Cameron (Geelong), Shai Bolton (Richmond)
Forwards: Charlie Curnow (Carlton), Tom Hawkins (Geelong, captain), Tyson Stengle (Geelong)
Followers: Max Gawn (Melbourne), Patrick Cripps (Carlton, vice-captain), Lachie Neale (Brisbane)
Interchange: Mark Blicavs (Geelong), Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle), Isaac Heeney (Sydney), Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
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