Possible 2019 All-Australian Debutants

One of the more ironic aspects of Australia’s most popular sport is that it has nothing in the way of a representative game.

No All-Star match. No State of Origin. No opportunity to bring together the sport’s very best to see how they’d go playing with - and against - each another.

However, what the AFL does have is the All-Australian team.

And while this particular set of players will never have the opportunity to ply their trade against an actual real-life opponent, players do receive a fancy jacket at a televised event.

It’s the best the AFL has to offer by way of spotlighting the seasons' best performers, even if the process undertaken is cloaked in relative mystery.

As there are just 22 spots available each year, it is inevitable that some excellent players simply miss out on a coveted spot within the fictitious team.

So, the brains trust here at Stats Insider have decided to construct a 2019 team of All-Australians, made up entirely of players who have thus far never received the honor, but who’ll likely be smashing down the door at September’s ceremony.  

BACKLINE

Lewis Jetta (West Coast) - Premierships in 2012 and 2018 with two different clubs, Jetta’s evolution to becoming one of the league’s best small defenders has also coincided with the Eagles return to prominence. Jetta is ranked fourth among Eagles for meters gained (396 per match) while his disposal efficiency (80.98%) represents a career high. The former Swan has also produced 38 inside 50s this season which is a brilliant number for a defender.

Harris Andrews (Brisbane) - It’d be extremely surprising if Andrews doesn’t claim one of the key defensive posts when this year’s All-Australian team is announced. The local Brisbane boy has been a key pillar in the Lion’s amazing 2019 turnaround, leading the league in one percent acts, averaging more than 11 per game. Five-time All Australian Alex Rance’s best season from a ‘one percent’ perspective was in 2017 when he averaged 9.7 a game which is further evidence of just how brilliant Andrews’ 2019 has been.

Daniel Rich (Brisbane) - In many ways it feels that at 29-years old, and after 199 games, Brisbane’s Daniel Rich is only now feeling truly comfortable as an AFL footballer. By every statistical measure Rich is having his best AFL season to date, though it’s Rich’s elite foot skills which have always paid the bills and his disposal efficiency has peaked this season at 80.9%. Only Sydney’s Jack Lloyd is averaging more than Daniel Rich’s 518 meters gained per game.

Bachar Houli (Richmond) - Like Rich, here’s another near 200 gamer who hasn’t yet received an All-Australian gong. No Tiger in 2019 has averaged more than Houli’s 27.8 touches per game while the former Bomber is also seventh in the competition for meters gained, producing 503 per match.

Robbie Tarrant (North Melbourne) - It’s a source of great consternation among Kangaroo fans that their defensive ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ is yet to receive an All-Australian nod while contemporaries such as Michael Hurley and Daniel Talia have multiple jackets. Tarrant leads the Roos in one percent acts this season with 6.8 per game, while his 87.7% disposal efficiency is not only his career high, but also the best mark among all key defenders.

Nick Vlastuin (Richmond) - In 2012 as a junior, Vlastuin achieved All-Australian Under 18 status, and in 2019 he may just get his first ever-senior call up. His progression and maturity have been enormous for the Tigers this season, especially in the face of so many injuries at Punt Road. Few players in the competition are as versatile as the former top-ten pick from Eltham which is why he’s one of Hardwick’s first picked in a squad flush with talent.

MIDFIELD

Ben McEvoy (Hawthorn) - A Hawk premiership player in 2014 and 2015, McEvoy has yet to receive an All-Australian nomination, and if not for the presence of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy, would probably be in with a huge shot of making his breakthrough in 2019. After more than 200 games, the Mount Beauty product has never been more important to Hawthorn and is arguably having his strongest season yet, with a career high in disposals (12.9) while still averaging almost 30 hit outs per match.

Luke Shuey - CAPTAIN (West Coast) - Something doesn’t feel right about a premiership winner, Norm Smith medalist and Best and Fairest having never received an All-Australian call up. Shuey is the heartbeat of the Eagles midfield and in 2019 is averaging career highs in both disposals (26.9 per match) as well as meters gain (443). For the first time in his career, Shuey is producing more than five inside 50s per match. In fact, Shuey’s 5.50 number in 2019 is bettered only by Dayne Zorko, Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Pendlebury who have a lazy 12 All- Australians between them.

Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne) - The only thing more ridiculous about Ben Cunnington never having received an All-Australian call up is the fact he’s never even qualified for the initial 40-man squad. Granted, Cunnington isn’t the most graceful footballer out there, but in terms of being a midfield tyrant who’d jump on grenades for his team, Cunnington has few peers. Thankfully, the Warrnambool boy is putting together his very best season which will make it almost impossible for selectors to deny him a place in the 2019 team. The 200 gamer is positioned within the league’s top three for both contested possessions and clearances, while only Patrick Cripps has accumulated more centre clearances this season.

Tim Kelly (Geelong) - Come September, the Western Australian will probably have a little more on his mind than an All-Australian gig with a premiership to play for as well as a possible Brownlow Medal speech to write. Few players in the history of the sport have had a more profound impact through their first 39 games than what Kelly has. They might as well give him his jacket now.

Lachie Neale (Brisbane) - If Lachie Neale is denied another spot on the All-Australian team in 2019, we’ll have definitive evidence that the selectors simply aren’t watching the sport. Over the last few years no one has got their hands on the football more often than Neale while he’s at the forefront of everything the Lions do. Neale has accumulated at least 20 possessions in 38 of his last 39 matches and for a guy averaging 32 touches a game, his 79.2% disposal efficiency is simply outrageous.  

Adam Treloar (Collingwood) - Treloar has come close to breaking through as an All-Australian, qualifying for the extended 40-man squad in both 2016 and 2017. His 2019 campaign however has been his strongest to date, leading the league with 33.6 disposals per match while for the first time in his career averaging six clearances a match.

FORWARDS

Isaac Heeney (Sydney) - At just 23 years old, Heeney’s the youngest player in the team and a player with another ten years of worth of opportunities to be fitted for a jacket. The Novocastrian is headed for his first season of kicking 30 goals while also averaging 20 touches per match- the kind of numbers usually reserved for the likes of Dustin Martin and Robbie Gray.  

Jack Darling (West Coast) - At 27-years old, Jack Darling has already extracted an enormous amount out of his AFL career. In 188 games the key forward has booted 358 goals at an accuracy most forwards could only dream of. While Darling does have a premiership medallion, an All-Australian call up would be a fitting honor for a player whose work is so often overshadowed by teammate Josh Kennedy.

Jordan De Goey (Collingwood) - Sometimes footy appears awfully easy for the precociously talented Magpie who can often be found laconically and menacingly stalking the Collingwood forward line, always on the verge of busting a game open. De Goey is on target for his first 50 goal campaign in 2019 while Collingwood have needed each and every one of them as they cling to a top four spot.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (Essendon) - Like De Goey, McDonald-Tipungwuti doesn’t need a heap of the footy to have a major impact on games. In fact, of the 25 players to have kicked 25 goals in 2019, only Josh Kennedy, Eric Hipwood, Tom Lynch and Ben Brown average less than the paltry 11 touches the little Bomber averages per match. Yet where ‘Walla’ doesn’t get much of the football, he makes up with an insane match wining skillset coupled with a fierce defensive side to his game. Tipungwuti’s 25 majors in 2019 have been accompanied by 74 tackles - 16 more than any other player who has kicked more than 25 goals.

Ben Brown (North Melbourne) - Ben Brown has pretty much constituted the entirety of North Melbourne’s attack for the last four seasons, as well as being in perennial Coleman Medal calculations. In just 115 games, Brown’s already kicked 258 goals and in 2019 is just five shy of leader Jeremy Cameron. The two players to have taken more than Brown’s 44 marks inside 50 this season (Jeremy Cameron and Tom Lynch) are both All-Australians.

Michael Walters VICE CAPTAIN (Fremantle) - Michael Walters simply must gain All-Australian status in 2019. The brilliant Docker has already put together a remarkable career, yet 2019 has been his most complete, continually producing inspiring, match-winning performances.  Walters is one of 34 players in the competition to have kicked more than 20 goals this season. Only one is also averaging more than 20 touches in the process. That man is Michael Walters.

INTERCHANGE

Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs) - In this case, Josh Dunkley jumps the Bulldog All-Australian virgin queue which was headed up by Tom Liberatore, Jack Maccrae and Lachie Hunter. However none of those players could argue with the 2019 campaign Dunkley has put together which most recently includes a phenomenal 39 possession, 15 tackle performance against the Demons on Sunday which has helped his Bulldogs remain in Finals calculations.

Jack Steele (St Kilda) - In 2019, the only players averaging more than 20 possessions a match as well as seven tackles a game are Dayne Zorko and Elliot Yeo, two players who have of course previously been granted All-Australian status. In a season that hasn’t exactly gone wonderfully for the Saints, Steele has put his head down and remained a picture of concentrated consistency.

Dion Prestia (Richmond) - Dion Prestia remains one of the most underrated players in the competition. Starting his career with the Gold Coast Suns meant much of Prestia’s work went underappreciated, yet moving to the Tigers hasn’t exactly thrust him into the spotlight, operating in a midfield headed by Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin. Yet Prestia’s importance to the Tigers is certainly not lost internally, with the Lalor boy being an instrumental part of Richmond’s 2017 premiership. Prestia leads the Tigers this season in clearances at 5.7 per game while only Trent Cotchin is averaging more contested football. Prestia is ranked second on the Tigers for tackles, while his 73 inside 50’s on the season is also a team high.

Jake Lloyd (Sydney) - Lloyd made the 40-man short list last season and in 2019 has every chance of going one step further. Lloyd’s tale is a genuine rags to riches one having been picked up as an undrafted rookie by the Swans and morphing himself into a 30 possession per game player. 2019 has been Lloyd’s best season to date averaging a massive, league high 539 meters gained per match. 

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