“So the last game doesn't count?”
When it was revealed the AFL would announce the 46-man All-Australian squad before the completion of the home-and-away round, it definitely raised a few eyebrows.
The puzzling decision doesn't make a lot of sense when considering players could still be jostling for position in the squad in Round 24.
But what makes it even more baffling is the double standard. The AFL came down hard on clubs, to the point of threatening a financial sanction and flagging Rule 29 if they were to manage players leading into the Wildcard Round and finals.
And yet they won't include the performances from Round 24 in the deliberations for the All-Australian squad? Which in turn could impact the final team.
“That's hard to believe, I think,” Collingwood premiership player Tom Mitchell said on The Agenda Setters.
“Like, the AFL are saying teams can't rest players and not value the last game — they're not valuing the All-Australian team if they're allowing that to happen.
“Because I did some research, actually: there was one year, 2016, Nick Riewoldt kicked nine in the last game of the season.
“So if this was the case back then, that nine goals wouldn't have been considered.”
St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt agreed: “No, you're right. And it can happen, so that's a good example.
“So Hawthorn play West Coast in the last game of the season. Jack Gunston, for example, what if he kicks nine, kicks 10, kicks 11 against West Coast? Which Jack is capable of doing, and he's not a part of the squad.
“All of a sudden, he's second in the Coleman, has missed the squad, which I think he'll make, by the way. But, yeah, it's a strange one from the AFL.”
