2005 All Australian team

[CyberKev]

I was away on holiday and didn't get a chance to put up a thread on this immediately after the team was announced, but I think it still warrants some discussion...


The 2005 All-Australian team:

B: David Wirrpunda (West Coast Eagles), Ben Rutten (Adelaide), James Clement (Collingwood)
HB: Joel Bowden (Richmond), Trent Croad (Hawthorn), Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
C: Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda), Scott West (Western Bulldogs), Lenny Hayes (St Kilda)
HF: Shannon Grant (Kangaroos), Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle), Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide)
F: Peter Everitt (Hawthorn), Barry Hall (Sydney), Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs)
Rucks: Dean Cox (West Coast Eagles), Luke Ball (St Kilda)
Rover: Ben Cousins (West Coast Eagles)
Inter: Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide), Simon Goodwin (Adelaide), Brent Harvey (Kangaroos), Leo Barry (Sydney)

 

[Red Bear]

Brett Kirk shoulda been there...

 

[CyberKev]

It certainly copped some flak, but I didn't have too many problems with it. Were I a selector, I probably would have ran with:

2005 ALL AUSTRALIANS​

B: Lindsay Gilbee (Bulldogs); Ben Rutten (Adelaide); James Clement (Collingwood)

HB: Luke Hodge (Hawthorn); Ken McGregor (Adelaide); Darren Milburn (Geelong)

C: Jason Akermanis (Brisbane); Scott West (Bulldogs); Travis Johnstone (Melbourne)

HF: Mark Riccuito (Adelaide); Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle); Shannon Grant (Kangaroos)

F: Brad Johnson (Bulldogs); Barry Hall (Sydney); Mark Williams (Hawthorn)

R: Dean Cox (West Coast); Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda); Ben Cousins (West Coast)

I: Peter Everitt (Hawthorn); Trent Croad (Hawthorn); Lenny Hayes (St Kilda); Brett Kirk (Sydney)

As with every year, a slew of deserving players miss out, and one could make a quality seconds side:

2005 ALMOST ALLS​

B: David Wirrpunda (West Coast); Darren Glass (West Coast); Leo Barry (Sydney)​

HB: Joel Bowden (Richmond); Matt Maguire (St Kilda); Andrew McLeod (Adelaide)

C: Chris Judd (West Coast); Luke Ball (St Kilda); Adam Cooney (Bulldogs)

HF: Shane Crawford (Hawthorn); Matthew Richardson (Richmond); Russell Robertson (Melbourne)

F: Nathan Brown (Richmond); Fraser Gehrig (St Kilda); Steve Johnson (Geelong)

R: Jeff White (Melbourne); Anthony Koutifides (Carlton); Chad Fletcher (West Coast)

I: Nathan Thompson (Kangaroos); Jonathon Brown (Brisbane); Nigel Lappin (Brisbane); Paul Williams (Sydney)

 

[lockyno1]

How Judd and Kirk got in is beyond belief! Add to that how on earth can you have 3 HAWTHORN players in the side when they came third last for crying out loud!

 

[CyberKev]

How Judd and Kirk got in is beyond belief! Add to that how on earth can you have 3 HAWTHORN players in the side when they came third last for crying out loud!

1) There were a number of midfielders that were better performed than Judd this year and the selectors were spot-on in leaving him out.

2) Kirk was stiff.

3) All 3 Hawthorn players deserved their spots, even if I would have had Croad on the bench and not in the starting line-up. Hodge would easily have been among the top half a dozen players in the comp, Everitt is clearly the second best ruckman to Cox and arguably the best go forward ruckman going around, and while you can find genuine alternatives to Croad at CHB & CHF, you'd be hard pressed to find a better bench option to fill either role.

In 1991 Hawthorn stormed home with 13 straight wins to take the premiership and had no representatives in the AA side. This year they won a mere five games, but were unlucky not to finish with four reps in the side.

This suggests nothing more than the 1991 side was a top team, with strong players across the park, while the 2005 version was a side with a clump of top quality footballers, an over-representation of raw youngsters, and a few duds to boot.

 

[lockyno1]

Cyber, I am sorry by Milne and Roberson both were robbed when Everitt is in the starting lineup. Kennelly or Chick should have been at CHB! Hodge, ok fair enough although I would have picked someone like McLeod there! Everitt should be on the bench.

 

[Misanthrope]

Who does the All Australian team play against? :lol:

 

[lockyno1]

Who does the All Australian team play against? :lol:

Most of them play in the International Rules series against Ireland!

 

[CyberKev]

Cyber, I am sorry by Milne and Roberson both were robbed when Everitt is in the starting lineup. Kennelly or Chick should have been at CHB! Hodge, ok fair enough although I would have picked someone like McLeod there! Everitt should be on the bench.

Robertson had serious claims to a spot perhaps, Robertson would fill a similar role to Brad Johnson, but the latter had a blinder year, and you couldn't select Robertson ahead of him.

Mark Williams & Nathan Brown are certainly better small forwards than Milne, although the opportunist Saint did manage to cobble together 60 goals for the season. I don't think a lot of Milne personally, but wouldn't have had too many problems had he been selected in a pocket. Everitt is the better footballer to be sure, so I guess it comes down to team balance. It should be noted here that, traditionally, AA selectors reserve one FP spot for the number 2 ruckman for the side, and in that scenario there is no way known you'd pick Milne ahead of Brad Johnson in the other one, nor would you waste a bench spot on a player with Milne's limitations.

Chick doesn't play CHB, he tends to play HBF, and despite having a good year his claims were well behind players like Hodge, Milburn & Bowden.

Kennelly would never have been seriously considered for an AA position outside of Sydney fans, given that he is a solid player and nothing more. I like the Irishman and admire what he has achieved, but he is a loose running flanking player (not a key position footballer) and would be a long, long way behind the likes of Croad & McGregor for a bench tall spot, much less CHB.

For all the criticism, the only players chosen that were genuinely surprising for mine were Luke Ball, Kane Cornes & Brent Harvey.

The three players who could seriously consider themselves stiffed were Ken McGregor, Brett Kirk & Jason Akermanis. The last bloke in particular.

 

[meltiger]

Cyber, I am sorry by Milne and Roberson both were robbed

One 11 goal game doesn't an All-Australian make. That St Kilda rat didn't deserve a spot.

I agree on Robertson, I did think he had done enough to sneak home in a pocket somewhere. Not neccesarily ahead of Everitt in particular however.

I'm pleased for Bowden, no matter the hype ... He deserved his spot ahead of Gilbee.

 

[meltiger]

Mark Williams & Nathan Brown are certainly better small forwards than Milne, although the opportunist Saint did manage to cobble together 60 goals for the season.

Brown obviously didn't have a claim after his injury although was in All-Australian form prior to the broken leg. Williams - Performed really well in a team that lost many, many games... Maybe the fear of 4 Hawthorn selections cost him? In saying that, if you make way in the forward line for Robbo, how do you then fit Williams in? Tough call, some good small types running around at the moment.

For all the criticism, the only players chosen that were genuinely surprising for mine were Luke Ball, Kane Cornes & Brent Harvey.

Luke Ball? No way in the world can I agree, this bloke deserves every award they decide to bestow on him. Is a major, major key to his team, certainly more than he is given credit for a lot of the time.

 

[CyberKev]

One 11 goal game doesn't an All-Australian make. That St Kilda rat didn't deserve a spot.

I must admit, I was surprised to check the stats and see Milne had kicked 60 for the H & A season. I wouldn't have had overt problems with him being in the side, there's just something about him that underwhelms me. It surely says more about me than him. Had Nathan Brown stayed fit it would have been a moot point anyway, as he would have sealed a berth as the small forward.

I agree on Robertson, I did think he had done enough to sneak home in a pocket somewhere. Not neccesarily ahead of Everitt in particular however.

I really like Robertson. He's an unsung player who is very difficult to man-up. He would have had greater claims to a starting spot than Everitt, but you still have to select a side like you would normally select a side, and that means having two ruckmen. I would have simply had Everitt on the bench, but were it to come down to a choice between Brad Johnson & Robertson for a forward pocket, I could understand the selectors opting for Brad. Tough choice though.

I'm pleased for Bowden, no matter the hype ... He deserved his spot ahead of Gilbee.

Hodge was always going to be the first HBF chosen, and while I would have ran with Milburn on the other flank, I don't have any qualms with Bowden getting a run. I would have had Gilbee on a back pocket ahead of Wirrpunda, even though I would love to have the Eagles defender at Hawthorn. For mine, the Bowden/Milburn & Wirrpunda/Gilbee splits must have been the tightest ones facing the selectors.

I still maintain that Akermanis should have been one of the first players chosen on one of the wings. The Sydney faithful may be up in arms about Kirk's exclusion, and rightly so, but for mine Akermanis was the hardest done by of all.

 

[lockyno1]

I love Milne, his goals look sensational when he scores them. Take out the 11 goals and you still nearly have 50. But aside from that Roberson should have been in there. Everitt is a ruckman, you can't pick a bloke who has kicked 19 goals this season in the forward line, it is beyond belief! Pick ANYONE ahead of him in the forward line, but he should be on the bench as a ruckman!

 

[CyberKev]

Brown obviously didn't have a claim after his injury although was in All-Australian form prior to the broken leg. Williams - Performed really well in a team that lost many, many games... Maybe the fear of 4 Hawthorn selections cost him? In saying that, if you make way in the forward line for Robbo, how do you then fit Williams in? Tough call, some good small types running around at the moment.

I don't have a problem with Williams missing, particularly given that he was really playing FF anyway.

Luke Ball? No way in the world can I agree, this bloke deserves every award they decide to bestow on him. Is a major, major key to his team, certainly more than he is given credit for a lot of the time.

I love Luke Ball as a footballer and he had a good year, but he didn't warrant selection in the AA side because too many other midfielders had better years.

He effectively got the RR position when he doesn't even play there for St Kilda. In that role, he was certainly behind Dal Santo & Hodge. He plays centre and was certainly bested across the season by West. On top of that, you couldn't give him the rover role after the year that Cousins has had. On form across the year he had also been edged by Kirk, and thus shouldn't have been given a bench role.

Very lucky indeed.