On Monday morning, the AFL announced the 40-man All-Australian squad for 2018.
The squad included at least one player from 16 of the league’s 18 teams, with St Kilda and Gold Coast the only two to have no nominated players. Remarkably, 22 of the squad’s 40 players had never previously been selected.
There were a number of surprise inclusions in the squad, with Brisbane’s Harris Andrews, Port Adelaide’s Tom Jonas and Richmond’s Kane Lambert perhaps lucky to be selected over the likes of Nat Fyfe, Gary Ablett, Stephen Coniglio and Ben Cunnington.
But only 22 players can be selected, so who makes the cut?
Rory Laird
Laird has been a mainstay in the Crows’ backline this year, missing only two games through injury. Despite missing these games, he is still ranked sixth in the league for total disposals, with an average of 32.2 per game, and an efficiency of 77.6 per cent. Laird is also ranked 10th in the AFL for rebound 50s.
Alex Rance
Last year’s All-Australian captain has showed his defensive reliability in 2018, averaging 5.5 marks and 3.4 rebound 50s per game. Rance is a lock for this team due to his defensive pressure, as he also averages 9.3 one percenters per game and has an astonishing disposal efficiency of 83.8 per cent.
Alex Rance (Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Tom Stewart
Stewart is only in his second season of AFL footy, after being drafted at pick 40 in 2016. Since then, he has become a stalwart in Geelong’s backline. He is ranked equal third in the AFL for rebound 50s, averaging 5.6 per game, and also averages a handy 6.2 marks per game.
Jake Lloyd
Lloyd’s stats in 2018 are too good to pass up. He is ranked first in the AFL for kicks and 10th for disposals, averaging 28.3 per game at an efficiency of 79.1 per cent. Is also ranked 2nd in the league for rebound 50s, with 132 from his 22 games this season.
Shannon Hurn (Captain)
Hurn has lead the way for an Eagles side some expected to slide down the ladder at the beginning of the season, so he gets my nod for captain. He is leading the AFL in marks, and is second only to Jake Lloyd for kicks, but his remarkable disposal efficiency of 87.4 per cent sets him apart from other All-Australian nominees.
Elliot Yeo
Yeo has rocketed into Brownlow contention with a string of outstanding performances in the last few weeks. He is ranked third in the league for inside 50s, and fourth for tackles. For a defender, he also averages a more than handy 5.2 marks and 4.4 clearances per game.
Elliot Yeo of the West Coast Eagles. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Scott Pendlebury (Vice-Captain)
Having been an All-Australian every year between 2010-2014, Pendlebury has been a consistent performer and excellent leader for Collingwood this year. He is ranked in the league-wide top 20 for disposals, tackles, inside 50s and uncontested possessions.
He has an average of 27.8 disposals per game, to go with his averages of 5.9 tackles and 5.3 clearances.
Patrick Dangerfield
Dangerfield’s 2018 season is by no means as good as the 2016 season in which he won the Brownlow, but his performances this year have warranted a sixth All-Australian selection. Has averaged 28.3 disposals and a goal per game, as well as 4.6 tackles, 5.5 clearances and 5.1 inside 50s.
Dangerfield the Dangerman (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Lachie Neale
It’s hard to overlook the second-highest disposal-winner for a team of the year, so Neale gets the nod. He is also ranked third in the league for clearances and fifth for contested possessions. He averages 30.3 disposals, 15 contested possessions and 7.1 clearances.
Shaun Higgins
Higgins has played through the midfield and in the forward line this year, averaging 27.4 disposals and 5.1 clearances.
I have selected him in the forward line as he is second in the league for inside 50s and ranks in the top 20 for both goal assists and score involvements.
Tom Hawkins
Despite being held goalies during two games this year, Hawkins still managed to finish third in the race to the Coleman Medal, finishing the season with 58 goals from 20 games.
His role in spearheading the Cats’ forward line was highlighted by back-to-back seven-goal hauls in Rounds 18 and 19 against Melbourne and Brisbane, and a six-goal game against Fremantle in Round 22. Hawkins averaged four goals a game in the last seven rounds of the season, and is ranked 7th in the league for marks.
Cats player Tom Hawkins (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Devon Smith
After being traded to Essendon from GWS during the 2017 trade period, Smith has been one of the Bombers’ most important players in 2018. He leads the AFL in tackles, having amassed 27 more than the next best player, and averages over 3 clearances, inside 50s and marks per game.
Jordan de Goey
From his 17 games in 2018, de Goey is averaging 2.1 goals per game, as well as 4.2 marks and 3.8 inside 50s. His match-winning capacity was shown in Round 12 against Melbourne, when he amassed 30 disposals, seven tackles, 12 inside 50s and 6 goals.
Jack Riewoldt
After kicking 10.6 against the Suns in round 21, Riewoldt sealed his third Coleman Medal by kicking five goals against the Bulldogs on Saturday. He is averaging 6.2 marks and 14.2 disposals per game, good for a key forward in anyone’s books. Simply couldn’t be overlooked because he won the Coleman.
Jack Riewoldt celebrates (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Josh Caddy
Caddy finished 10th in the race for this year’s Coleman Medal, having kicked 44 goals in his 20 games across the season. His season boasted 5 bags of four goals and a 6-goal haul against St Kilda in Round 10. During this game, Caddy also had 24 disposals, took 6 marks and laid 7 tackles.
Brodie Grundy
Much speculation has been made of who will get the ruck position in the All-Australian team, with Grundy vs Gawn the expectation. Brodie Grundy gets my nod, even though he is third in the AFL for hitouts.
Grundy gets my nod for the starting ruckman as he is placed 10th in the league for hitouts, and averages 20.8 disposals and 5.3 tackles, outstanding numbers for a ruckman.
Patrick Cripps
Cripps has been a shining light for Carlton in a dark season. On Saturday night he broke the record for the most contested possessions in a season, and despite being in a bottom-placed side, is ranked equal fourth in the league for disposals, second for clearances and equal seventh for tackles.
These are only some of the reasons why Cripps is one of the favourites for the Brownlow.
Tom Mitchell
Mitchell’s 786 disposals for season 2018 have come at an incredible average of 35.7. He is first in the league in this field, third for contested possessions, first in clearances, equal seventh in tackles and fourth in inside 50s.
Mitchell’s ball-winning ability means that he is likely to have an influence on the game, which is why he also is in the frame to win the 2018 Brownlow Medal
Tom Mitchell of the Hawks. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Max Gawn
With his 37 hitouts against the Giants on Sunday, Gawn became the first player to reach 1000 hitouts in the home-and-away season. Subsequently, he leads the AFL in this statistic in 2018, with a remarkable average of 45.5 per game. Gawn also sits at 13th in the league in score involvements this year and averages 4.6 marks per game.
Max Gawn of the Demons (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Lachie Whitfield
Whitfield is ranked eighth in the league for both kicks and marks, and has also been a prolific ball-winner across half-back for the Giants, averaging 26.5 disposals. In the Giants’ round 17 win over Richmond, Whitfield amassed 35 disposals, to go with 12 marks and 6 tackles.
Clayton Oliver
Oliver was one of the surprise packets of the 2017 season, and he has continued that good form into 2018. He is ranked third league-wide for handballs, disposals and tackles, whilst also being fifth for clearances and seventh for inside 50s.
Steele Sidebottom
Ranked equal fourth in the AFL for disposals, Sidebottom has averaged 29.6 disposals in 2018, coming at an efficiency of just under 74 per cent. He also averages 4.3 inside 50s (ranked 15th in the league) and 4.8 marks.
Sidebottom is ranked fourth in the AFL for uncontested possessions, having gathered 434 across the seasons at an average just short of 20 per game.
Adam Simpson
Simpson has coached the Eagles to second this season, and with a host of West Coast’s key players absent, has managed to continually coach his side to victory.
The Eagles are already in the premiership frame this year, but with a full-strength playing list next year, West Coast could go all the way.
Who missed out?
As is the case with any team selection, there is no shortage of players who missed out. Dustin Martin is perhaps the most notable of these, over whom I selected Patrick Dangerfield.
Jack Gunston, Luke Breust, Lance Franklin and Ben Brown, all of whom finished in the top ten in the Coleman Medal race, are unlucky to have missed out, and Andrew Gaff and Jack Macrae were also closely overlooked.
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