St Kilda great Leigh Montagna has left a scathing review of the All-Australian side, questing three of the selections made for the class of 2020.
Montagna said the selectors made a number of mistakes, with the choice of West Coast pair Liam Ryan and Brad Sheppard particularly questionable.
“I think it was a six out of 10. I think they made a few mistakes in this side,” Montagna said on Triple M's Dead Set Legends.
“I’m not massive on having to pick exactly a wingman, exactly a half forward, I don’t mind that you’ve gotta reward generally the best 22 players of the season, not necessarily it has to be to position.”
Eagles champion Glen Jakovich came under Montagna's blowtorch, suggesting some favouritism may have come from the Western Australian.
“I was surprised by a few and I think whoever was the Western Australian representative and I think it was Glen Jakovich, I think he obviously flexed his muscle,” he said.
“Out of the small forward spots, I thought Butler and Papley were clearly two ahead of Liam Ryan. Ryan’s last six rounds of the year were excellent but for consistency I thought Butler should’ve got it and Papley was obviously really good.
“In the backline, Brad Sheppard I know he had a nice year, he was consistent but I thought Nick Vlastuin, Dylan Grimes, Jacob Weitering, even Tom Jonas and certainly Brayden Maynard all had better years than Brad Sheppard.”
Montagna also questioned the selection of Demon Max Gawn, stating the Melbourne captain was "very lucky" to find a place in the side.
“Simply put, if you finish fifth in your club’s best and fairest in a team that doesn't make finals, I don’t think that equates to an All-Australian season from my perspective,” he said.
“Max Gawn was very lucky to make the side.”
