Gold Coast star Gary Ablett headlined the AFL All Australian squad announcement on Tuesday as the league’s top four sides dominated the 40 player select list.
Hawthorn, Geelong, Fremantle and Sydney each provided five nominees each while zero players from top eight finishers Richmond and Carlton made the squad.
The 2013 All Australian Squad
Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
Richard Douglas (Adelaide)
Travis Cloke (Collingwood)
Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
Dane Swan (Collingwood)
Jobe Watson (Essendon)
Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
Michael Johnson (Fremantle)
Chris Mayne (Fremantle)
David Mundy (Fremantle)
Michael Walters (Fremantle)
Corey Enright (Geelong)
Andrew Mackie (Geelong)
Steve Motlop (Geelong)
Joel Selwood (Geelong)
Harry Taylor (Geelong)
Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
Jeremy Cameron (Greater Western Sydney)
Lance Franklin (Hawthorn)
Josh Gibson (Hawthorn)
Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne)
Scott Thompson (North Melbourne)
Daniel Wells (North Melbourne)
Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide)
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Jack Steven (St Kilda)
Dan Hannebery (Sydney Swans)
Kieren Jack (Sydney Swans)
Josh Kennedy (Sydney Swans)
Jarrad McVeigh (Sydney Swans)
Nick Malceski (Sydney Swans)
Josh Kennedy (West Coast)
Eric Mackenzie (West Coast)
Ryan Griffen (Western Bulldogs)
Will Minson (Western Bulldogs)
A number of noticeable snubs surfaced just hours after the squad’s announcement on Tuesday evening.
Richmond stars Trent Cotchin (26 possessions per game, top 15 in total contested possessions and clearances) and Brett Deledio (23 ppg, 15th for inside 50s) failed to the make the cut for a team that went 15-7 of the course of the home and away season, but weren’t as consistently lethal as the year before while defender Alex Rance also missed out after some quality lock down performances against key opposition forwards.
Carlton, maybe the most undeserving finalist in recent memory, as a team were too inconsistent to warrant any serious selection, however Andrew Walker should be feeling pretty hard done by after reinventing himself as a defender in 2013, averaging 23 possessions per game while being among the best in rebound 50s and kicks per game.
Maybe the most noticeable omission was Western Bulldog Tom Liberatore, who managed some alleged off-field distractions to collect 26 touches per contest while finishing first in clearances, third in contested possessions per game and fourth in tackles.
Other players missing from the squad include Michael Hibberd (23.6 possessions, fourth in total rebound 50s), Pearce Hanley (21 possesions, 4.9 marks, 11th in total inside 50s), Tom Rockliff (27.4 disposals per, ninth in handballs, 11th in possessions), Ryan Crowley (who certified his position as the AFL’s top tagger) and Michael Barlow (26.5 possessions, 5.9 tackles per game, ninth in contested possessions per game).
The final squad of 22 will be announced on Monday, September 16.
Get amongst CraveOnlineAU on Twitter and Facebook for daily sport, music, entertainment and gaming news.
Follow Robert White on Twitter @RobertWhitebrrr.
Paul Kane, Getty Images.
