The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, traditionally led by that season's premiership coach.
Despite the name's implication, the All-Australian team is usually ceremonial in modern times. Though the AFL played an All-Star match in 2020, it was the first in 12 years, and the difference in skill level between the All-Australian team and the nearest international competitor is currently too large for any contest to be competitive.[citation needed] Despite this, some of these players have represented Australia in AFL Academy junior teams up to the age of 18, as more than two-thirds of all AFL Academy representatives have gone on to play at senior AFL level.[1]
This change was reverted ahead of the 2014 series, with any player who had been selected at least once in any All-Australian team being eligible for selection.
History
The earliest concept considered to be a precursor to the All-Australian team was an annual team selected by Sporting Life magazine between 1947 and 1955. A panel of sportswriters at the magazine selected a full team of eighteen from all ANFC-affiliated competitions. For a time, AFL historians considered these teams to be official All-Australian teams, but no longer recognises them as such.[2]
The first official All-Australian team was selected in 1953, immediately after the Australian Football Carnival, which was held in Adelaide on that occasion. Based solely upon performances at the carnival, the All-Australian team was selected by representatives of the various state teams. This tradition continued at all subsequent interstate carnivals until 1988.
In 1991, following the VFL's conversion to a national competition and its renaming as the Australian Football League (AFL), an annual All-Australian team based on performances during the AFL premiership season was introduced.[3]
Since 1999, the All-Australian coach is the coach of the premiership-winning side that year.
Prior to 2007, only the final selections in the All-Australian team were announced. Since 2007, the All-Australian selection committee has nominated the 40 leading players of the year in their playing positions at the conclusion of the home and away season, before announcing the final 22 at a later date during the All-Australian Presentation Dinner.[4] The squad was increased to 44 in 2022.[5] The 2023 All-Australian selection panel consists of chairperson Gillon McLachlan, Kevin Bartlett, Eddie Betts, Jude Bolton, Nathan Buckley, Kane Cornes, Andrew Dillon, Glen Jakovich, Laura Kane, Cameron Ling, and Matthew Pavlich.[6]
Members of the All-Australian team are awarded a team blazer, reminiscent of the formal wear traditionally worn by travelling members of national sports teams. Blazers have become synonymous with the identity of the honour.[7]
Despite being awarded the Brownlow Medal retrospectively alongside Trent Cotchin over four years later in November 2016, Sam Mitchell was not selected in the team. However, he was selected in the initial squad of 40. Cotchin was named in the team alongside Jobe Watson, who received the most Brownlow votes and was initially awarded the medal before being stripped of it due to the Essendon supplements saga.
Despite winning the Coleman Medal, Jack Riewoldt was also not selected in the team. He, too, was selected in the initial squad of 40.
Despite winning the Brownlow Medal and club best and fairest in a grand final year, Shane Woewodin was not selected in the team. Notably three Adelaide midfielders were selected despite that club missing the finals with a 9–13 win–loss record.
Despite winning that season's Grand Final, Hawthorn did not supply one player in the team of the year.
VFL/AFL Team of the Year: 1982–1990
The AFL website recognises players who were named in the VFL/AFL Team of the Year from 1982 to 1990 as having All-Australian status. This was a team picked by Victorian selectors. Teams were named every season from 1982 to 1990, except 1985.
Jobe Watson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Watson, the son of three-time Essendon premiership champion Tim Watson, was drafted by Essendon under the father–son rule in the 2002 national draft, and went on to become one of the best midfielders of the modern era. A dual All-Australian and three-time Crichton Medallist, he captained Essendon from 2010 to early 2016, and was the face of the Essendon playing group during the most turbulent period in the club's history.
Scott Pendlebury is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He served as Collingwood captain from 2014 to 2022. Pendlebury is a dual premiership player, also winning the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the 2010 grand final replay, and was the AFLCA champion player of the year in 2013. He is a six-time All-Australian and five-time Copeland Trophy winner, and is the Collingwood games record holder with 403 games. Pendlebury is the league record holder for disposals, handballs and tackles, and also has the most Brownlow Medal votes of any player who has not won the award.
The Ottawa Trojans were a Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario and competed in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1943 to 1947. After winning the 1947 ORFU championship, the team would merge with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1948.
Donald 'Don' Wilfred Gale was an Australian rules football player who played for Wynyard and Burnie in the NWFU and Hobart in the TFL. He was selected in regional and state representative teams.
John Chick was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the VFL during the 1950s.
Patrick Dangerfield is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club from 2008 to 2015. He has served as Geelong captain since the 2023 season.
Luke Shuey is a former Australian rules footballer and former captain of the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He retired at the conclusion of the 2023 AFL season.
Lachlan Oliver Neale is an Australian rules footballer and the co-captain of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Fremantle Football Club from 2012 to 2018 before being traded to the Brisbane Lions in 2019, where he captained a premiership in 2024 and won the Brownlow Medal in both 2020 and 2023.
Brandon Ellis is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Tigers Football Club and the Gold Coast Suns]] in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 176 matches over eight seasons at Richmond, including in the 2017 and 2019 premierships.
Darcy Parish is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Clayton Oliver is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.89 metres tall and weighing 87 kilograms (192 lb), Oliver is known for his capabilities on the inside due to his handball and clearance work. He was a late bloomer in his junior career, where he struggled to play in the TAC Cup in 2014 and he missed selection in the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships. After playing with the Murray Bushrangers in 2015, his achievements included best and fairest wins for the league and the Murray Bushrangers, which resulted in Melbourne drafting him with the fourth selection in the 2015 AFL draft. He made his debut in the 2016 season, which garnered a Rising Star nomination. After his second season in the AFL, he was adjudged the best young player by the AFL coaches.
Hugh McCluggage is a professional Australian rules footballer and vice-captain of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
John Douglas Fitzallen was an Australian rules footballer who played in Tasmania during the 1950s and 1960s. He represented the state several times in interstate matches including the Brisbane Carnival in 1961. He was inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
