Early All Australian picks

Dan Lonergan

Updated June 21, 2012 22:09:51

As we know in football, predictions are often right but at the same time they are wrong. I thought with the season just over the halfway mark it would be a good time to pick my All Australian team.

As one would expect, it contains mainly players from clubs in the top eight like West Coast, Collingwood, Essendon and the much-improved Adelaide. This team, which is obviously not set in stone, contains players we haven't seen before at All Australian level, but there are still some familiar names.

Ben Rutten (Adelaide): This would be his second All Australian selection. He has led the Crows' backline magnificently so far this season

Darren Glass (West Coast): Arguably the best full-back in the comp. He's had another great season.

Scott Selwood (West Coast): He has become a fine player this year, although mainly as a defensive midfielder, but could easily play the small back role.

Brett Deledio (Richmond): He has been outstanding either off half-back or in the midfield to put the Tigers in finals contention.

Ted Richards (Sydney): What a season he's having. Hardly beaten.

Heath Scotland (Carlton): A number of players could fill this role, like Brent Reilly of the Crows and the Bulldogs' Robert Murphy, but maybe Scotland has been a tad more consistent.

Brent Stanton (Essendon): A brilliant outside midfielder. Averages 28 possessions a game and has kicked valuable goals.

Jobe Watson (Essendon): Like Stanton, he has been a star. What a combination they have been.

Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood): Until injured, probably the best player in the league in the first half of the season.

Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide): He's now a star and is one of the reasons why the Crows are in the top four.

Lance Franklin (Hawthorn): Although his kicking has been poor, he virtually picks himself with those match-winning performances.

Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood): One of the main reasons why the Pies have won eight in a row. He has loads of class and is a wonderful decision-maker.

Taylor Walker (Adelaide): Another massive improver, which is why the Crows have improved.

Jack Riewoldt (Richmond): Hasn't always been at his best this year, but like Franklin has still had some big moments. Just ahead of cousin Nick for mine at this stage.

Lewis Jetta (Sydney): Fast becoming a star. Very exciting.

Ivan Maric (Richmond): Tossed up between him and Dean Cox, but went for the former Crow, who has been more consistent. What a revelation for the Tigers!

Scott Thompson (Adelaide): If possible has taken his game to another level. Averaged more than 30 touches a game.

Gary Ablett (Gold Coast): Speaks for himself. His side has been an easybeat but he has been superb, picking up nearly 40 possessions a match.

Josh Kennedy (Sydney): One of the best contested ball players in the league. A Brownlow medal prospect.

Trent Cotchin (Richmond): Always going to be a star. He's arrived.

Dane Swan (Collingwood): Like Ablett, he continues to be consistently outstanding.

Nick dal Santo (St Kilda): Already a three-time All Australian. He constantly delivers at a high level. Team-mate Lenny Hayes was in contention as well in an amazing return so far from his knee reconstruction.

This is of course an opinion exercise, but I am confident that this team stands up well.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted June 21, 2012 22:09:51

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Hodge bats away early favourites tag

Updated March 26, 2012 15:46:37

The AFL's 18 club captains have voted Hawthorn as the team to beat for the 2012 premiership, but Hawks skipper Luke Hodge does not quite see it.

Hawthorn was nominated by 11 of 17 possible skippers as the club most likely to contest the grand final.

Hodge, a part of the Hawks' side that lost last year's dramatic preliminary final to Collingwood, was not quite so sure.

"As far as we're concerned, the two most consistent teams over the last three or four years have been Geelong and Collingwood and they're the ones you have to try to knock off if you're going to be any good," Hodge said.

"You've also got Carlton coming up, St Kilda's still got a lot of their players and West Coast have improved."

West Coast (four votes), Geelong (two) and Collingwood (one) polled the remaining votes from those skippers who did not rate Hawthorn as their likely grand final opponents.

Despite the majority of his counterparts voicing the same expectation of the Hawks, Hodge said he would not be listening.

"Once you get into a footy club they teach you very early to block out the external opinions and pressures and stuff like that," he said.

"As far as the pressure on us, we'll have a better assessment of where we're at after our first two games."

Hodge suggested his side would use testing clashes with Collingwood (round one) and Geelong (round two) as benchmarks to determine how they're actually tracking in 2012.

"We know we've prepared ourselves as well as we could. Most of our guys have got through the majority of the preseason, which is always handy.

"We've got 40-odd players to pick from for the first game which is always great.

"We'll have more of an opinion on how we're going after the first couple of games and go from there."

One skipper polled in the league's annual survey thought Hawthorn would actually miss the finals, while just two believed Essendon and North Melbourne would be there.

There were 13 different clubs that received at least one vote to make the finals, with Brisbane, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney all written off.

Hawthorn's star forward Lance Franklin was an overwhelming favourite to again win the Coleman Medal as leading goalkicker, as he did last season.

Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury was rated the favourite to take out the Brownlow Medal.

Greater Western Sydney number two draft selection Stephen Coniglio was picked by most skippers to win the Ron Evans medal as the AFL Rising Star.

The full voting was:

Which seven other clubs do you think can make this year's top eight?

Collingwood (17), Carlton (17), Geelong (17), West Coast (17), Hawthorn (16), Fremantle (12), Sydney Swans (nine), Adelaide (eight), St Kilda (six), Western Bulldogs (two), Essendon (two), North Melbourne (two), Richmond (one), Brisbane (nil), Gold Coast (nil), GWS (nil), Port Adelaide (nil), Melbourne (nil).

(In 2011, the captains correctly nominated Geelong, Collingwood, Hawthorn, Carlton, the Sydney Swans and St Kilda to play finals, but missed West Coast and Essendon)

Which other club is most likely to reach the grand final?

Hawthorn (11), West Coast (four), Geelong (two), Collingwood (one).

(captains overwhelming endorsed grand finalist Collingwood in 2011).

Who do you think will win the 2012 Brownlow Medal?

Scott Pendlebury, Collingwood (eight), Lance Franklin, Hawthorn (four), Gary Ablett, Gold Coast (two), Nat Fyfe, Fremantle (one), Daniel Kerr, West Coast (one), Sam Mitchell, Hawthorn (one), Joel Selwood, Geelong (one).

(Three captains correctly nominated Dane Swan in 2011).

Who do you think will win the 2012 Coleman Medal?

Lance Franklin, Hawthorn (14), Jack Riewoldt, Richmond (two), Mitch Clark, Melbourne (one), Travis Cloke, Collingwood (one).

(10 captains correctly nominated Franklin in 2011).

Who do you think will win the 2012 AFL Rising Star?

Stephen Coniglio, GWS (seven), Josh Caddy, Gold Coast (three), Brandon Ellis, Richmond (one), Billy Longer, Brisbane (one), Kane Lucas, Carlton (one), Tom Mitchell, Sydney (one), Jared Polec, Brisbane (one), Billie Smedts, Geelong (one), Clay Smith, Western Bulldogs (one), Chad Wingard, Port Adelaide (one).

(One captain correctly nominated Dyson Heppell in 2011)

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia

First posted March 22, 2012 11:34:05

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Bulldogs to set tough tone early

Updated February 17, 2012 18:04:27

New Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney wants his troops to take a hard-nosed attitude into Saturday night's AFL preseason clash with a largely second-string Collingwood and a youth-stacked Greater Western Sydney.

After an off-season spent implementing a new game-plan, with a heavy focus on tough, contested football, the Blacktown fixture will be the Bulldogs' first outing under their first-year coach.

The former Geelong and Essendon assistant said it was important that the team started their year the way they intended to continue.

"Good habits are best learnt from day one and practised and bad habits can sneak in pretty quickly too," McCartney told reporters on Friday.

"We want our older and more experienced players to develop our younger players and we want our younger players to see how the game is played from day one.

"Does that mean we'll be playing seriously when the ball bounces? I expect our boys to be hard at the ball and do what they're asked to do."

While missing a few big names, the Bulldogs' squad is closer to full-strength than the Magpies', who named only nine members of last year's grand final side, while for many of the Giants, it is their first game at this level.

But McCartney was more interested in honing his own side's game than worrying about how the opposition stacked up.

"We picked people who are ready to play, who we want to see perform for our footy club and practice what we've been working on for four or five months now," he said.

The new coach said he put his squad through a "revision test" on Friday morning, asking players to front the group and explain aspects of the team's playing style, to ensure they were clear on it.

Along with numerous experienced players, McCartney was looking forward to seeing how some emerging players fared, citing Ayce Cordy and Christian Howard as two who had taken steps in their development.

New draftees Clay Smith, Michael Talia and Tory Dickson will also play.

McCartney predicted tough midfielder Smith, the Dogs' top draft pick, would quickly become a fan favourite.

"He plays football the way you like to see it played - he sees the ball and attacks it," he said.

"I'm sure our supporters will get a real appreciation for Clay very early in his career."

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, footscray-3011, vic, australia

First posted February 17, 2012 18:04:27

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AFL action comes early

Updated October 29, 2011 13:07:26

Football fans in Tasmania's south will not have to wait long for their first taste of AFL action next year.

The first AFL game at Bellerive Oval in Hobart will be played between North Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney in Round 2, on April the 8th.

North Melbourne also hosts the West Coast Eagles in Round 15, as part of the Roos' two-game deal to play at the ground.

In the north, Hawthorn's first game at York Park in Launceston is in Round 5 against Sydney later in the year.

The Hawks will host North Melbourne in Round 10 as part of their four games a year deal.

AFL fixtures were released today.

Tags: australian-football-league, tas, bellerive-7018, launceston-7250

First posted October 28, 2011 11:10:32

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Early flight for Power

Expires:Tuesday, September 13, 2011 7:57

Port Adelaide will catch a charter flight to Perth to play against the West Coast Eagles.

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Tags: australian-football-league, adelaide-5000

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Conca wins award a day early

Posted May 23, 2011 18:27:00

The AFL has announced Richmond midfielder Reece Conca as its Rising Star nomination, a day earlier than planned after Tigers team-mate Jack Riewoldt broke the news via Twitter.

Conca won the round nine nomination, which is normally made the Tuesday after the weekend's round.

But Riewoldt let the cat out of the bag with a Twitter message earlier on Monday confirming Conca had won the award.

The 18-year-old has played every match this season for the resurgent Tigers, and was among his side's best in the win over Essendon at the MCG last weekend.

Conca gathered 23 possessions, took eight marks and laid three tackles in the 16-point victory in front of more than 80,000 people.

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, richmond-2753

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