PORT ADELAIDE has three players in line for their first Therabody All-Australian selection following the release of the preliminary 40-man squad on Monday evening.
Midfielders Ollie Wines and Karl Amon and defender Aliir Aliir have been named in the squad.
Wines’s has averaged a career-high 32 disposals and six clearances per game this season, putting himself firmly amongst the favourites for the Brownlow Medal.
Amon’s season has been a picture of consistency. The 26-year-old, who played his 100th game at the weekend, is averaging 24 disposals and ranks eleventh in the competition for metres gained, having taken his game to a new level with a move on the ball from his customary wing position.
Aliir has been a revelation since his arrival at Port Adelaide. He ranks sixth in the competition for contested marks and third for intercepts, possessing an innate ability to read the ball in the air.
Seven players from Melbourne are among the 40-man squad – the most of any club. That includes captain Max Gawn, midfield stars Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver and forward Bailey Fritsch, who is among 21 players aiming for their first-ever All-Australian inclusion.
Brisbane is behind Melbourne with five players named (Charlie Cameron, Jarryd Lyons, Hugh McCluggage, Daniel Rich and Dayne Zorko), while an improving Sydney side has four players chosen (Lance Franklin, Callum Mills, Tom Papley and Luke Parker).
Franklin is aiming for a record ninth All-Australian blazer, which could take the champion key forward beyond Gary Ablett jnr, Patrick Dangerfield, Robert Harvey and Mark Ricciuto as the only player to ever achieve the feat.
Only three clubs miss out on any representatives in the All-Australian squad altogether, including reigning premier Richmond and the bottom-two teams North Melbourne and Collingwood.
Just seven players – Gawn, Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Hawkins, Jack Macrae, Nic Naitanui, Petracca and Jack Steele – are hoping to make successive teams, having also been named in the final 2020 side, while the record for the most first-time inclusions came in 2012 when there were 15 players receiving their first blazers.
The final 22 will be revealed on Thursday evening.
The full 2021 Therabody All-Australian squad
Adelaide
Rory Laird
2017, 2018 All-Australian.
Paul Seedsman
Never Previously All-Australian.
Brisbane
Charlie Cameron
2019 All-Australian.
Jarryd Lyons
Never Previously All-Australian.
Hugh McCluggage
Never Previously All-Australian.
Daniel Rich
Never Previously All-Australian.
Dayne Zorko
2017 All-Australian.
Carlton
Harry McKay
Never Previously All-Australian.
Sam Walsh
Never Previously All-Australian.
Jacob Weitering
Never Previously All-Australian.
Collingwood
Nil
Essendon
Zach Merrett
2017 All-Australian.
Darcy Parish
Never Previously All-Australian.
Jake Stringer
2015 All-Australian.
Fremantle
Sean Darcy
Never Previously All-Australian.
David Mundy
2015 All-Australian.
Geelong
Tom Hawkins
2012, 2019, 2020 All-Australian.
Tom Stewart
2018, 2019 All-Australian.
Gold Coast
Touk Miller
Never Previously All-Australian.
GWS
Toby Greene
2016 All-Australian.
Jacob Hopper
Never Previously All-Australian.
Hawthorn
Tom Mitchell
2017, 2018 All-Australian.
Melbourne
Bayley Fritsch
Never Previously All-Australian.
Max Gawn
2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 All-Australian.
Jake Lever
Never Previously All-Australian.
Steven May
Never Previously All-Australian.
Clayton Oliver
2018 All-Australian.
Christian Petracca
2020 All-Australian.
Christian Salem
Never Previously All-Australian.
North Melbourne
Nil
Port Adelaide
Aliir Aliir
Never Previously All-Australian.
Karl Amon
Never Previously All-Australian.
Ollie Wines
Never Previously All-Australian.
Richmond
Nil
St Kilda
Jack Steele
2020 All-Australian.
Sydney
Lance Franklin
2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 All-Australian.
Callum Mills
Never Previously All-Australian.
Tom Papley
Never Previously All-Australian.
Luke Parker
2016 All-Australian.
West Coast
Nic Naitanui
2012, 2020 All-Australian.
Western Bulldogs
Marcus Bontempelli
2016, 2019, 2020 All-Australian.
Bailey Dale
Never Previously All-Australian.
Jack Macrae
2019, 2020 All-Australian