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Analysis Rolling All-Australian team for 2021

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Here's my attempt at the second 22:

Jordan Ridley - Harris Andrews - Jack Crisp
Christian Salem - Jacob Weitering - Adam Saad
Paul Seedsman - Jarryd Lyons - Karl Amon
Jake Stringer - Lance Franklin - Dayne Zorko
Bayley Fritsch - Jack Riewoldt - Charlie Cameron
Sean Darcy - David Mundy - Rory Laird
Hugh McCluggage - Callum Mills - Travis Boak - Joe Daniher
 
Stringer for Papley.

Zorko for Macrae, Bont on ball - he's been a top 2 midfielder this year. Has to be at least 1 midfielder robbed and with Parish, Walsh, Miller all accumulate/clearance types I'd take out Macrae.

Steele v Wines for the centre spot - who cares, both top 4 mids, one has to be on the bench.

Not entirely sure they've nailed the key defenders but May was robbed last year so whatever.

Would love a winger but Seedsman and Amon probably both fall short. Amon and McCluggage both play so much on ball now it's hard to argue.
 

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For those questioning the second ruck on the bench...would you prefer the benches of four midfielders (eg 2017 - M Crouch, Yeo, Selwood, Shiel, 2014 - Lewis, Pendlebury, Boak, Rockliff) with no one in the first 18 capable of even giving a decent chop out in the ruck (2017 would perhaps be McGovern or Daniher to support Ryder, 2014 would be only Roughead as even being remotely capable to support Sandilands).

If you want to pick a team that is functional in real life, then it's pretty obvious what the bench should look like. Anyway, it might just be a matter of opinion as to what you think an All Australian team should have. Personally, I have zero issues with Bont being shuffled onto the HFF and no true wingers on the wing and that the two selected can at least play there in spells, but thinking that four mids on the bench is fine is a bit more problematic.
 
Gawn plays with a backup ruck, Naitanui plays with a backup ruck, and both had comfortably better seasons than Papley and Stringer. Not too hard to figure out.
Gawn spends 95% TOG, would argue he doesn't need a backup. Nicnat spends 60-65%? TOG, hardly an AA indictment
 
Tom Papley: 41 goals and 21 assists
Jake Stringer: 39 goals and 13 assists

Papley deserved his spot. He had more goals and assists than any other small/medium forward.

Papley kicked 41 goals playing permanent small forward in a top-6 team. Danger and Martin almost kicked that many goals playing permanent mid. 1.9 goals a game is not AA worthy for a permanent small forward.


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Papley kicked 41 goals playing permanent small forward in a top-6 team. Danger and Martin almost kicked that many goals playing permanent mid. 1.9 goals a game is not AA worthy for a permanent small forward.


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Papley had more goals and goal assists combined than every other small or medium forward in the comp.
 
Yep…. stats tell the tale:

Goals : Stringer 2.2 v Papley 1.9

I50’s: 4.9 v 3.0

GA’s: 0.7 v 1.0

SI’s: 6.9 v 6.5

Tackles: 3.8 v 1.5

Disp: 16.8 v 13.5

DE: 65% v 59%

Metres: 374 v 245

Clearances: 4.6 v 1.2

Very, very unlucky - as if anyone is picking Papley over Stringer if given the choice first week of finals based on the season they had.


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It’s a pointless exercise comparing the stats of these two players, they play totally different roles.

Papley plays deep small pressure forward.

Stringer plays forward slightly higher up the ground and has stints in the midfield, especially centre bounces.

Hence that is why he has more of the ball, tackles and I50s.

Stringer, rightly or wrongly, was competing for a spot against Bont and Petracca.
 

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Based on the stats Jake has had this season there is no doubt Martin would be in - no doubt whatsoever.

Dusty didn’t make it in 2019.

Here is Stringer 2021 v Dusty 2019 (these stats inc finals so it’s 23 games v 18 games)

Disposals: Dusty 26.1 v 16.8

Goals: 1.4 v 2.2

GA’s: 1.0 v 0.7

I50’s: 5.6 v 4.9

Contested marks: 0.8 v 0.4

Clearances: 4.3 v 4.5

SI’s: 7.3 v 6.9

Metres: 458 v 375

So during AA voting Dusty missed 2 games and Stringer 4.

Richmond were top-4. Dusty came 12th in coach’s votes. Stringer didn’t make top-20

Now I think Stringer was unlucky and should have been in over Papley. But any suggestion Dusty has been given extra love from AA selectors is wrong…. how he missed in 2019 still baffles me.

Averaging 26 touches and 2.4 (goals + goal assists) is AA worthy. (For Bont this season it’s 27.2 and 2.2. For Petracca it’s 28.6 and 1.7)



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All the angst over Stringer is idiotic. If you were picking a team today, he'd be in your 22 for sure. But that's not how All-Australian works.

The guy only played 18 games, had 6 games where he scored 1 goal or less and had less than 20 possessions. That's half the season where he was either missing, was a relatively ineffective forward, or a relatively ineffective midfielder. He didn't get more than 20 possessions in a game until round 14.

The guy only kicked 39 goals and only had 5 games or more where he got more than 20 possessions (and never 30) - those are not numbers that scream 'robbed of All-Australian' as either a forward or a midfielder, do they?

And then on top of it people argue he should have got the spot allocated to a genuine permanent small forward, who plays a completely different role than him. What a stupid hill to die on.
 

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Not sure where the macrae hate is coming from, he’s the top mid in the league for score assists, he’s more than a statpadder that people make him out to be. Best quarter is usually the 4th as well. He should be in Merrett spot, Steele on field and Merrett bench. Steele will finish top 5 in the brownlow again comfortably.

There’s no spot for stringer except Parish’s spot, papley is the only small in the team that plays like one, Green plays like a KPF.
 
Papley had more goals and goal assists combined than every other small or medium forward in the comp.

Papley had 62 v Stringer 52. Stringer played 4 less games. Stringer provided so much more value in addition to goals and goal assists.


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Papley had 62 v Stringer 52. Stringer played 4 less games. Stringer provided so much more value in addition to goals and goal assists.


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Stringer had a great year. I had him in my side. Tom Papley had a great year. I had him in my side. The selectors disagreed with one of my selections.

And yeah, I watch Jake every week mate. He, after all, does play for the team I support and the amount of time I've been on this website should tell you how much I love footy.

The fact is, Papley wasn't a poor selection. Anybody saying otherwise needs to look at the facts, forwards are always judged on totals rather than averages. And, totals wise, Papley had more goals and goal assists than any other small or medium forward this year.
 

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Analysis Rolling All-Australian team for 2021

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