Snubs, stat-padders, and time for Rising Star rethink? Winners and losers from AFL All-Australian team, Awards Night
The AFL All-Australian crew has been named for 2024 – and it has been… controversial.
Some extremely notable snubs – most clearly Harris Andrews in defence and Zach Merrett, effectively, wherever, has seen the crew and its choice panel shortly slammed by followers.
The controversy over whether or not specialist wingmen ought to be rewarded within the crew continues to divide opinion; as does the ‘shiny new toy’ phenomenon, the place gamers having fun with a breakout or career-best 12 months, i.e. Jake Waterman, overtake established stars with greater expectations, i.e. Charlie Curnow, regardless of similar or inferior output.
For all that, the AFL Awards themselves went about as anticipated: Geelong’s Oliver Dempsey took out the Rising Star Award, turning into the Cats’ first winner since a sure Joel Selwood, whereas Marcus Bontempelli, for the third time in 4 seasons, was topped the AFL Gamers Affiliation’s most dear participant.
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Nevertheless, they weren’t with out controversy both; Nick Daicos’ win of the AFL Coaches Affiliation MVP has sparked conspiracy theories from Carlton followers, having completed 4 votes forward of star Blues Patrick Cripps.
Only a reminder that Nick Daicos solely received the AFLCA participant of the 12 months award as a result of Fly did this in R21. Did not deserve even 1 vote, however his unethical coach thought he’d attempt and get him the award as a substitute of voting the match pretty #AFLAwards pic.twitter.com/mkOJGPtj34
— MJP123 (@PeraJnr) August 29, 2024
Some issues by no means change,proper?
Listed below are the winners and losers from the 2024 All-Australian crew and AFL Awards Night.
Winners
The Bont
The official finest participant within the AFL, as voted by its gamers, the accolades simply maintain coming for Marcus Bontempelli.
However even by his requirements, he’d have wanted assist lugging all his new trophies again to the automobile on Thursday night time. Named one of the best captain within the league by the AFL Gamers Affiliation, he’d add a 3rd Leigh Matthews Trophy – now solely behind Gary Ablett for most wins within the award’s 43-year historical past – and simply for good measure, a sixth All-Australian blazer, shifting previous Scott West for probably the most by any Western Bulldog, and behind solely Patrick Dangerfield (eight) and Max Gawn (seven) of present gamers.
Lastly, having twice been the crew’s vice-captain, his standing because the league’s finest chief was ratified when he was named to skipper the 2024 crew.
Simply Bont issues.
West Coast
Amid one other tough season for the Eagles, during which they completed sixteenth, received simply 5 video games with a sub-70 share and sacked Adam Simpson mid-year, there was the odd shining gentle.
Lots of them had been rewarded on AFL Awards Night, making West Coast one of many extra profitable cellar dwellers with regards to particular person accolades lately.
Whereas ineligible for the Rising Star Award, Harley Reid was named the AFLPA’s Finest First 12 months participant, becoming reward for a season during which he has often shone regardless of his membership’s plight.
Extra contentiously, a pair of teammates had been rewarded with choice within the All-Australian crew: intercept king Jeremy McGovern along with his fifth nod at centre-half again, and spearhead Jake Waterman within the ahead pocket.
Neither are unworthy choices, with Waterman specifically an excellent point of interest, ending with the league’s second-most marks inside 50 regardless of the Eagles rating seventeenth within the AFL for inside 50s.
However the high quality of the gamers they edged out of the 22, most notably Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews and two-time reigning Coleman Medallist, was at all times going to leads to the western pair’s spots being hotly debated, given how poorly their crew went this season.
Ollie Dempsey
Simply seven video games in his first two seasons in Geelong left the 21-year outdated nonetheless eligible for the Rising Star award in the beginning of the season, and after incomes his nomination in Spherical 1 for a three-goal efficiency towards St Kilda, the younger wingman went from energy to energy.
Averaging a objective help per recreation – equal-tenth within the league – and almost a serious of his personal on high of that, few wingmen within the competitors, by no means thoughts of his age, might match Dempsey’s important scoreboard affect, along with his good disposal, sturdy overhead marking and glorious positioning making the younger star’s finest notably eye-catching.
Ending with most votes from 9 of 11 judges – and rated second- and third-best respectively by the opposite two – Dempsey was a runaway winner of the Ron Evans Medal; and he endeared himself additional with a cheeky reveal throughout his winner’s speech.
“Jez [teammate Jeremy Cameron] told me earlier today to make sure I got up here and thanked the Tribunal as well, for ruling out Harley Reid and Sam Darcy!” he quipped, to common mirth across the Crown On line casino room.
He’s an excellent egg, younger Ollie – and what number of 21-year olds would thank God after successful a medal, a la champion Cats forebear Gary Ablett?
Errol Gulden
Whether or not Gulden continues to be a wingman is up for debate – he spends an terrible lot of time round stoppages lately – however with fixed debate across the worth of the specialist place (extra on that later), his burgeoning stat traces meant the famous person Swan was at all times going to fit into the crew of the 12 months.
Whereas not fairly as devastatingly glorious as his 2023 marketing campaign, the 22-year outdated averaged a career-high 27.4 disposals per recreation, led the league in inside 50s, and former a vital cog within the Swans crew which secured the minor premiership, and heads into September as flag favourites.
For non-Collingwood followers, he grew to become much more standard with a cheeky dig at Nick Daicos’ choice on the opposite wing, within the course of sticking up for his place and proving that, whereas he may not be a full-blooded wingman any extra, he’ll at all times be one at coronary heart.
“I’d argue the wing’s one of the hardest spots… you’re kind of isolated one on one a fair bit,” Gulden mentioned in an interview with Fox Footy’s Jack Riewoldt.
“It’s nice to get a bit of recognition – and good to see Nick on the other wing; he played [there] the last kind of five minutes of that game against the Dees on the weekend, he went pretty well!”
Chad Warner and Errol Gulden have fun a objective. (Picture by Michael Willson/AFL Pictures by way of Getty Pictures)
Stat-padders
Private bugbear time: greater than in most different years in current reminiscence, this season’s All-Australian choice panel appear to have taken specific curiosity in uncooked numbers.
That’s my rationalization, anyway, for how Ryan and Whitfield – and to a lesser extent, McGovern – made it into the 12 months’s finest crew, on the expense of a number of of the sport’s finest defenders (extra on a number of of them later).
Sure, Ryan took a league-high 198 marks in 2024, however simply 9 of them had been contested and solely 42 – ranked thirty fifth within the league – had been intercepts.
Watch any Dockers recreation, and the quantity of occasions they swap the play by way of Ryan, on his personal in defensive 50, for an uncontested mark and a easy 30-metre move to a different unguarded opponent out extensive, goes a good distance in the direction of explaining the outstanding numbers he put up.
As does his extraordinary kicking effectivity of 87.8 per cent – it’s genuinely not possible to have a determine that top until you’re constantly beneath no stress and taking low-percentage, low-reward choices.
Certain, Ryan was fifth amongst common defenders for one-on-one contests, first for rebound 50s, sixth for spoils and eighth for intercept possessions. However all that proves is there have been a number of others in each class higher than he was.
Let’s name a spade a spade – Ryan is a stat-padder. An essential participant for the Dockers, sure, however so was Aaron Corridor for North Melbourne in 2021 when he racked up swathes of uncontested marks and low cost kicks within the backline, and he was rightfully nowhere close to All-Australian choice.
Luke Ryan in 2024 amongst Basic Defenders:
#5 Contested One on Ones
#6 Spoils
#9 Intercept Marks
#8 Intercept Possessions
#1 Rebound 50s
#1 Efficient Kicks
87.8% Kicking Effectivity
#6 for 1percenters#AllAustralian— Damo (@DamoSC) August 29, 2024
In all honesty, if a Dockers defender was going to be chosen within the crew, it ought to have been Jordan Clark – much more aggressive with ball in hand than Ryan, his elite pace and willingness to take the sport on noticed him end seventh within the league for bounces at greater than two per recreation, whereas score elite amongst defenders for inside 50s and rating involvements.
Throw Whitfield in an identical boat, too – whereas not as obtrusive as Ryan, he’s one other participant whose crew love the ball in his arms a lot they’re prepared to provide it to him freely, but he’s far from as damaging as he could possibly be given that quantity of accountability.
Whitfield charges elite amongst common defenders for efficient kicks and rebound 50s, but solely above common for rating involvements and inside 50s – positive, he received loads of the ball, however a number of midfielders, most notably Zach Merrett, had far larger affect on matches and certainly had a larger declare on the Big’s spot on the interchange bench.
McGovern, too, rated decrease than you’d count on for intercept marks, his forte for a decade; and it wasn’t as if he was starved of provide. Primarily the second tall defender behind Tom Barrass, a good portion of his disposals got here by way of kick-ins, too.
Contemplating there’s a sure star Lion who missed out on choice regardless of being the AFL’s finest intercept marker and second-best spoiler, all whereas seldom dropping a one-on-one contest, it makes you surprise simply how closely the choice panel valued uncooked disposal numbers as a substitute of different, extra telling stats.
Luke Ryan – the king of kick-outs? (Picture by Will Russell/AFL Pictures/by way of Getty Pictures)
First-timers
It wasn’t fairly at 2023 ranges, when a staggering 12 recent faces made the crew, however 2024’s All-Australian crop nonetheless had greater than sufficient first-timers fittingly rewarded with maiden blazers.
Sydney pair Nick Blakey and Chad Warner, so essential within the Swans’ minor premiership-winning season, joined former recipients Gulden (2023) and Heeney (2022) within the crew; Waterman’s outrageous enchancment from mediocre mid-sized ahead to spearhead colossus made his choice as unlikely as anybody’s from the beginning of the season to now; whereas Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan picked himself at full ahead – and nabbed himself a shock fifth inserting within the ALFPA MVP depend.
However there have been three debutants whose tales stood out above all the remaining.
The hard-luck story of the final two All-Australian groups, Carlton followers had been starting to sense a conspiracy marketing campaign towards Jacob Weitering being named; however by advantage of his ludicrous contested one-on-one loss price of 11.3 per cent in addition to his intercept work and management, not even the Blues’ comparatively poor again finish of the season, notably defensively, might deny him his spot.
Simply 4 years after being delisted, although with the promise of being re-rookied for the beginning of 2021, Dylan Moore’s rise from nippy goalsneak to the sport’s hardest-working, most harmful roaming ahead was accomplished after his excellent function within the Hawks’ shock return to finals was rewarded with a spot within the ahead pocket.
However having racked up disposals all through his profession, modified golf equipment twice – the second time in acrimonious circumstances – and handled psychological well being scares, damage, and repeat September heartbreak, whereas by no means dropping his beaming smile, immense work price or that innate capacity to search out the tablet, 31-year outdated Adam Treloar’s maiden All-Australian nod in his thirteenth season, after a career-best 12 months to show essential within the Canine’ massively spectacular again finish to the season, was arguably the most well-liked number of the night time.
And who is aware of; come Bulldogs finest and fairest night time, he’s ever likelihood to pip the Bont – the sport’s finest participant as voted by the gamers themselves – for a primary Charles Sutton Medal, too!
Losers
First-year gamers
Is it time for a Rising Star rethink?
Nominally an award to search out and honour the sport’s finest younger gun, totally different phases of growth for totally different gamers relying on each their function and the energy of the golf equipment they’ve joined has resulted within the coveted award’ guidelines turning into somewhat outdated.
At present, with a purpose to be eligible for a nomination, a participant must have performed 10 video games or fewer heading into that season, and spent not than two earlier years on the checklist.
The outcome, although, is that in 2024, the award was dominated by second- and even third-year gamers; the highest three vote-winners, Dempsey, George Wardlaw and Kai Lohmann, plus Bodhi Uwland in sixth and Matt Roberts in eighth, had accomplished at the least one season on the high stage heading into this one. Dempsey, Lohmann and the ineligible Sam Darcy are all of their third seasons.
“It doesn’t reward guys who are brilliant enough to play in their first season,” two-time Adelaide premiership captain Mark Bickley mentioned on SEN of present Rising Star guidelines.
“It actually rewards blokes who battle their way through for two or three years before they actually hit their straps.
“I’m just not sure it’s totally fair.”
All the identical, it’s in all probability not time to hit the panic button but – the award is much from the only area of established kids over the recent faces it’s imagined to be for.
The final two seasons have seen Nick Daicos (2022) and Harry Sheezel (2023) not solely win Rising Star honours of their freshman years, however show as two of probably the most excellent skills to ever declare the gong. Certainly, Dempsey is simply the second non-first 12 months participant since Daniel Talia in 2012, the opposite then-Melbourne ruckman Luke Jackson in 2021, to win it regardless of not being a debutant.
Let’s not neglect, both, that if he hadn’t been suspended for a harmful sort out – paradoxically on one other nominee, St Kilda’s Darcy Wilson – Harley Reid, one other first-year famous person, would have been a shoo-in.
If something, the Rising Star Award’s current winners have confirmed that first-year gamers are getting higher and extra able to an instantaneous AFL affect with each passing 12 months. 2024 was a tough one, with Darcy Wilson the highest-polling debutant; however 2025 has each likelihood to be a return to regular service.
Rising Star winner Ollie Dempsey (L) celebrates a objective with Jack Bowes. (Picture by Michael Willson/AFL Pictures by way of Getty Pictures)
Harris Andrews
Name the cops, Harris – you’ve been stone chilly robbed.
Whereas the Brisbane co-captain’s 2023 snub was contentious, the two-time All-Australian lacking out on choice in 2024 was borderline felony.
Some of the contentious omissions in current reminiscence, Andrews claimed 86 intercept marks for the 12 months, 13 forward of the next-best Sam Collins; he additionally ranked second for spoils behind Darcy Moore, whereas his contested one-on-one loss price in defence was simply 14.1 per cent, solely marginally worse than Weitering’s.
Throw in his management, and it’s onerous to give you an excellent motive for Andrews being ignored – he was certainly superior to McGovern for the second key defender’s spot alongside Weitering, however even when he wasn’t, naming Ryan and Whitfield in his stead is considerably bewildering.
Massimo D’Ambrosio
Whereas the previous Bomber has had an excellent maiden season on the Hawks enjoying a vital function on the wing, the discourse surrounding his season has been fascinating.
When Champion Information named him on the wing of their mid-season All-Australian crew, the response was the same old: disdain on the organisation’s use of stats and date that couldn’t probably be extra informative than the attention take a look at, in addition to the amusement of plucking such an obscure participant and placing them within the 12 months’s finest crew. There have been in all probability a number of folks on the market who genuinely didn’t know who he was, both.
But by season’s finish, with D’Ambrosio having gone from energy to energy in a Hawthorn crew out of the blue probably the most thrilling and watchable within the league, notion modified: out of the blue, there was a clamour for the Hawk to be honoured with some of the sudden All-Australian berths ever, particularly when he was named within the 44-man squad alongside Gulden as the one two obtainable wingmen.
So when the crew was introduced and D’Ambrosio was ignored, with the alternative wing spot to Gulden given to a bona-fide on-baller in Nick Daicos, the response from many was typical: that gamers ought to be picked to place.
However put it this manner: if any coach within the competitors was given a selection between these two gamers, with the caveat that they may solely play on the wing, I’m betting 18 out of 18 would take Daicos and attempt to make it work.
Finally, the All-Australian crew isn’t about selecting a structurally sound fashionable 22: in any other case, there can be a small defensive stopper, a stress small ahead, perhaps even a tagger.
It’s about rewarding one of the best gamers within the league with choice in a prestigious crew, with solely the outlines of a traditional crew – two key defenders and key forwards and a ruckman, with the remaining versatile.
To recommend in any other case can be to choose a crew that isn’t one of the best of the season, for my part. And if we wish to devalue the All-Australian crew solely, denying Daicos a blazer after a season which might effectively web him a Brownlow and giving it to D’Ambrosio as a substitute is an effective way to try this.
North Melbourne
The place West Coast made out like bandits, North Melbourne, only one ladder spot and two wins decrease on the ladder, had an evening of disappointment.
Certain, Harry Sheezel received the AFL Coaches Affiliation’s Finest Younger Participant Award at a canter; however Roos followers adamant each he and ruckman Tristan Xerri had been locks within the All-Australian crew had been left bitterly upset, with the latter dropping out for the primary ruck spot to Max Gawn and the previous merely discovering himself down the pecking order regardless of being arguably selectable on each single line of the crew.
It wasn’t simply the All-Australian crew, both: George Wardlaw ran second within the Rising Star Award to Dempsey regardless of his excellent season as an inside midfield bull, disappointing these – together with me – who thought his ferocious assault on the footy made him one of the best and most inspirational selection for the accolade, particularly as soon as Reid and Darcy had been dominated ineligible.
It leaves the Kangaroos with only one All-Australian choice within the final six years – Nick Larkey on the bench in 2023. That just about sums up the place they’re at simply in addition to their horror ladder place, depressing win price and feeble share.