Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes has declared Essendon’s Jake Stringer and Carlton’s Jacob Weitering as the two unluckiest stars to miss out on All-Australian selection.
Headlined by five Demons – this year’s minor premiers – Melbourne dominated selection in the 22-man squad last night as superstar ruckman Max Gawn claimed his fifth All-Australian blazer as well as the captaincy.
The next most represented club was the Western Bulldogs, who had three players earn selection.
Scroll below for the full team!
But as is the case every year, fans were left furious with a number of non-selections, with the two hottest topics of debate Stringer and Weitering.
Stringer had an exceptional season, booting 39 goals across 18 games, while splitting his time between the forward line and the midfield. He averaged 4.5 clearances per game.
In the case of Weitering, the Carlton key defender was dominant down back all season for the Blues, with Champion Data ranking him as ‘elite’ in disposals, marks, spoils, one-on-one contests and rebound 50s.
https://twitter.com/Steph_Chiocci/status/1430869325523476485
Cornes, a two-time All Australian, conceded selectors face a “tough job” trying to piece together the squad.
“I think the backline is so strong,” Cornes told SEN.
“The unlucky players for me were Jake Stringer and Jacob Weitering.
“I’m OK with the All-Australian team. I know it’s topical and it causes a lot of debate.
“It’s a tough job.”
Meanwhile, North Melbourne great David King said Stringer’s omission was one of the worst he had seen in a number of years.
“Jake Stringer’s omission from the AA team is the greatest selection error in years,” King tweeted.
https://twitter.com/AFL/status/1430869229016784902
The 2021 ALL-AUSTRALIAN TEAM
B: Jake Lever (Melbourne), Steven May (Melbourne), Tom Stewart (Geelong Cats)
HB: Daniel Rich (Brisbane Lions), Aliir Aliir (Port Adelaide), Bailey Dale (Western Bulldogs)
C: Zach Merrett (Essendon), Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide), Sam Walsh (Carlton)
HF: Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Tom Hawkins (Geelong Cats), Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
F: Tom Papley (Sydney Swans), Harry McKay (Carlton), Toby Greene (GWS Giants)
FOLL: Max Gawn (Melbourne), Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs), Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
I/C: Jack Steele (St Kilda), Nic Naitanui (West Coast Eagles), Touk Miller (Gold Coast Suns), Darcy Parish (Essendon)
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