2025 Rolling ALL-Australian Team

[Foxman98]

Keep using your stats for a player in a team heavily offence focussed at the expense of defensive considerations...

Of course it's going to look good on FootyWire Stats.

I'd rather players that win me games of football, like a Jordan Dawson, who I expect has nowhere near the offensive stats that Richards has...

Because Dawson has a better cast of role players to support him,

Dusty never defended yet is the greatest of the modern era for his scoreboard impact

 

[Corn Cobbers]

Do the Dogs have the following records?
Most wins to not play finals
Highest percentage to not play finals
Most all Australians in the squad for a non finals side

Anything else?

Their stats are totally warped by all those soft Marvel kills v crap sides like North, Ess and St K

 

[adogsfan5]

By this logic Tom Atkins is mighty stiff not to be in the squad with his 205 tackles this year as a mid

God it’s grim seeing the goal posts keep moving. I’ll let myself out. Enjoy.

 

[Foxman98]

They're stats are totally warped by all those soft Marvel kills v crap sides like North, Ess and St K

St Kilda beat both Freo and Geelong at said ground

North drew with Brisbane

Nothing is given in football

Essendon are shit though agreed

 

[Corn Cobbers]

By this logic Tom Atkins is mighty stiff not to be in the squad with his 205 tackles this year as a mid

You sure don't look like a side with 5 AA squad members, regularly unable to go with the top half of the comp

 

[Fadge]

Richards had a far better game on Sunday than did Noah and Rowell on Friday despite his tag

'Far better'?

All 3 were well down on their usual output.

 

[Foxman98]

You sure don't look like a side with 5 AA squad members, regularly unable to go with the top half of the comp

Our biggest losing margin for the year was 22 points

Yes we lost to everyone outside of GWS but to say we didn't "go with them" is untrue

 

[Orange crush]

'Far better'?

All 3 were well down on their usual output.

Richards was down .... Noah and Rowell were putrid

 

[Lingsface]

Feel sorry for Merrett couldn't of done much more than he has.

 

[Foxman98]

God it’s grim seeing the goal posts keep moving. I’ll let myself out. Enjoy.

Quite funny,

Sorry GC Version of Gary Ablett your team was shit and didn't make finals and you were the only good player so they gave you the ball to having incredible stats but they don't count because again you didn't make finals and your team looked for you

 

[Bald Headed Flog]

Elliot dropped off massively since the Pies generally have. Gunston more deserving.

They’re not competing for the same role

 

[RAPPA]

Darcy’s selection is just seduction of the hype from the selectors. 48 goals in 17 games, 29 of which were against teams outside the top 8. His time in the AA team will come but getting selected for the initial squad is a laugh

 

[Lingsface]

After rd 10- Merrett top 3 in the Brownlow, is my guess.

 

[Foxman98]

They’re not competing for the same role

Elliott pretty much locked in for token actual small forward

 

[Bald Headed Flog]

Keep using your stats for a player in a team heavily offence focussed at the expense of defensive considerations...

Of course it's going to look good on FootyWire Stats.

I'd rather players that win me games of football, like a Jordan Dawson, who I expect has nowhere near the offensive stats that Richards has...

I don’t think this argument makes sense. You can’t discount a players offensive output because their team is the number 1 offence, just like you can’t downplay the impact of Worrell and Keane just because Adelaide were the best defence.

Adelaide’s defence is good because of players like Worrell and Keane. Dogs offence is good because of players like Richards and Darcy.

Would the fact that ROB is a great tap ruck count against Dawson? He’s in a midfield setup that plays to his advantage, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t deserving of AA.

 

[Foxman98]

After rd 10- Merrett top 3 in the Brownlow, is my guess.

You are forgetting the 5-6 week period Brad Scott decided he was a half back or half forward and Will Setterfield and Darcy Parish were the way

 

[Bald Headed Flog]

Darcy’s selection is just seduction of the hype from the selectors. 48 goals in 17 games, 29 of which were against teams outside the top 8. His time in the AA team will come but getting selected for the initial squad is a laugh

Darcy averaged more goals against top 8 sides than bottom sides. If you’re going to use this argument, then if anything it’s unfair he didn’t get the chance to beat up on good teams more often

 

[Lingsface]

I know I am complaining but looking at the team, I could only argue against Zac Bailey

33

Zac Bailey

Age

26

Ht

181cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.7

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

5.9

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.9

3star

D

12.9

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

5.6

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.4

3star

CL

0.7

3star

D

13.4

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

6.8

5star

M

3.2

4star

T

2.8

5star

CL

0.6

3star

and Libba being left out. A pretty good effort by the selectors.

 

[Foxman98]

I know I am complaining but looking at the team, I could only argue against Zac Bailey and Libba being left out. A pretty good effort by the selectors.

Libba is really only in because he was stiffed in the past

Had a good year but not AA squad level for mine

 

[Corn Cobbers]

Darcy’s selection is just seduction of the hype from the selectors. 48 goals in 17 games, 29 of which were against teams outside the top 8. His time in the AA team will come but getting selected for the initial squad is a laugh

It's pretty rare for anyone to average 3 contested marks, probably worth a squad spot just on that

 

[Fadge]

I don’t think this argument makes sense. You can’t discount a players offensive output because their team is the number 1 offence, just like you can’t downplay the impact of Worrell and Keane just because Adelaide were the best defence.

Adelaide’s defence is good because of players like Worrell and Keane. Dogs offence is good because of players like Richards and Darcy.

Would the fact that ROB is a great tap ruck count against Dawson? He’s in a midfield setup that plays to his advantage, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t deserving of AA.

But the entire argument I'm seeing for Richards is 'offensive stats', which of course they're going to be good when the entire Bulldogs game plan is built around offence first. And most of those numbers are by virtue of big scores against lesser teams, whilst not being able to get his team over the line against better teams.

I look at players' performances in big games as a key measure. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched Adelaide and walked away thinking Dawson turned the match, or was the difference.

 

[PhatBoy]

Quite funny,

Sorry GC Version of Gary Ablett your team was shit and didn't make finals and you were the only good player so they gave you the ball to having incredible stats but they don't count because again you didn't make finals and your team looked for you

Across the highest 20 seasons in history for total contested possessions, only 3 of them - one each from Oliver, Dangerfield and Cripps - would have eclipsed Ablett’s average of 17.5 in 2014. His first 3 seasons at the Gold Coast also had higher per-game averages than 4 players in the list. The only reason Ablett himself isn’t on the list is because his team DIDNT play finals so he didn’t have enough games to accrue the necessary totals.

He was getting acknowledged in all those AA sides because he was winning the ball on his own in the middle in every game he played with no one else helping him and quite literally the only reason his side was competitive at all, most of the time. Really not sure why he’s being mentioned in such a discussion.

 

[Fadge]

Really not sure why he’s being mentioned in such a discussion.

I can tell you why....

A desperate reach.

 

[GWT6]

Other than him not being as important to the game as Polly Farmer or as good a ruckman as Simon Madden.

The question is whether he is better than Cox. And the answer to that would be yes.

Hard to compare him with Farmer, as I've never watched him. From what I know, he changed the game.

As for Madden - probably the most overrated player in history. A dinosaur loved by the media before any real analysis on player impact on the game was done..

Tap ruckman have always been given way too much credit - the best ruckman in the game - the ones that the media talk about giving "silver service" to their midfield, hit as many taps to disadvantage as advantage, and a great tap ruckman has little impact on centre clearances.

The best ruckman impact around the ground - covering the field like a ridiculasly tall midfielder, not lumbering around in a slow jog.
The most valuable ruckman provides the "get out kick" - when no other options, kick it to the one player who is going to win it more than lose it. Gawn is one of the grreat all time at this, also being the stopper behind the ball and a target to draw 3 defenders down forward. Madden vs Gawn would be an absolute embarrassment; Gawn would run free all day.

Gawn's endurance has not been seen in a ruckman before, Jimmy Stynes the only one close.

 

[Bald Headed Flog]

But the entire argument I'm seeing for Richards is 'offensive stats', which of course they're going to be good when the entire Bulldogs game plan is built around offence first. And most of those numbers are by virtue of big scores against lesser teams, whilst not being able to get his team over the line against better teams.

I look at players' performances in big games as a key measure. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched Adelaide and walked away thinking Dawson turned the match, or was the difference.

Collingwood and Freo both play defence-first. Does that mean Josh Daicos and Jordan Clark should have their output downplayed because of the system they operate within? You can’t really make the argument that Richards only looks good because the Dogs system enables that, but defend the selection of Daicos and Clark as if their own systems don’t enable them to be better players.

The Dogs actually have one of the best percentages in games vs top 8. Better than most of the finalists. So to act like they’re not producing offensively against better sides is wrong. The issue is they don’t stop the opposition from scoring, which is the fault of other mids (eg Libba, who I said in other comments should not be in the squad) and defenders.