All-Australian 2024: The five hottest debates that will shape this year’s side

It’s the topic that divides footy fans like no other, and the 2024 All-Australian team can still change heavily over the final two rounds. These are the five most contentious spots up for grabs.

Late in seasons, when the months of rule changes and tackling debates pass, footy’s great argument stems around its most alienating team, the All-Australian side.

Fans whose dreams of September glory are long gone cling to it, hoping to see some reward for the stars of their favourite sides.

Disputes are had over whether there should be actual wingers in the team, or just pick midfielders that are capable of playing there.

In 2024, it seems the team is about to get a facelift.

Incumbents such as Tom Stewart and Christian Petracca won’t feature, and the team’s most constant figure looks also to be on the outer.

For close to a decade, Max Gawn has reigned supreme as the AFL’s pre-eminent ruckman, without much competition.

Gawn launched the Demons to the minor premiership in 2021 with a kick after the siren in Geelong, then was front and centre of their historic premiership as the skipper.

Tristan Xerri and Max Gawn are the frontrunners for the AA ruck spot. Picture: Michael Klein

And for five years, the legend was almost unanimous as the clear All-Australian ruckman.

Not anymore.

In 2023, Tim English took the mantle in footy’s most prestigious side.

This year looms as an even greater shock in the form of North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri.

Xerri is a remarkable story.

He started as a forward at the Roos, then requested a trade to St Kilda in 2021 that failed to eventuate.

In 2023, he was handed the number one ruck role over Roos legend Todd Goldstein.

Now, the rumbling big man – a former No. 72 draft pick – is the AFL’s most improved player and is on his way to an All-Australian blazer.

Xerri has become one of the most feared players in the league, averaging an elite 7.8 tackles per game as a ruckman.

While Gawn is still enjoying a terrific season, Xerri is the big man with momentum at the right time of the season as optimism builds about the team from Arden St and Melbourne’s campaign limps to a dismal end.

While the two are hard to split in profile from Champion Data ratings, perhaps it’s expectation and standards that will result in Gawn missing out.

While Gawn declared this week he will play the rest of 2024 despite the Demons’ finals hopes being dashed, Xerri’s two extra games this year could be decisive.

Regardless, it seems the big man in the helmet will be standing on stage with the AFL’s best in less than two weeks.

The ruck battle is the most fascinating, but there is still plenty to be decided in this team, with the final two rounds of the season possibly making a huge difference to who makes footy’s most illustrious side.

JACOB WEITERING VS JEREMY MCGOVERN

Like Carlton’s finals hopes, Jacob Weitering seemed a lock for this team a month ago.

Now this week’s clash in Perth between the Eagles and Blues could decide who likely partners Harris Andrews as the other key defender.

Weitering’s case from a narrative perspective had it all.

A consistent squad member that had been consistently overlooked, he was the wall keeping the dam from bursting down back for the Blues.

It seems the flood has come, however.

McGovern is one of footy’s forgotten men, as the Eagles toiled away in obscurity for years, and the premiership hero sat out consistently due to injury.

In 2024, McGovern is back to his best – if not in career-best form.

The eye test still stacks up for the Blue in those 1v1 contests, but statistically, McGovern has the edge.

The Eagle’s ability to distribute out of the backline gives him a distinct advantage over Weitering and as Carlton flounders, it seems their star fullback is set to miss out again.

VERDICT: McGovern over Weitering

Weitering may miss selection again. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

DYLAN MOORE VS IZAK RANKINE

Statistically, they’re the two that are hardest to separate, both igniting their forward lines with hard running and a coolness when it’s their time to go back and finish off the play with a goal.

Rankine is the more mercurial, Moore operates with an ease of efficiency and grunt that is a joy to watch.

Tyson Stengle seems to have the edge as the first small forward picked, and it is once again likely we will see one or two midfielders patrolling the half-forward flanks in the 2024 team.

In May, it looked like this was going to be Rankine’s spot, before that dreaded hamstring injury against the Pies, then in July he was given a four-game ban.

Moore has been the constant for arguably football’s hottest team.

As the Hawks continue to fly, Moore being front and centre of their offensive prowess gives him the edge.

VERDICT: Moore over Rankine

Dylan Moore has been a spark all year for the Hawks. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

ADAM TRELOAR VS ZACH MERRETT

Zach Merrett finds himself in an odd spot.

One of the most respected players in the league, but rarely discussed as one of the best midfielders in the game.

That was all changing to start this year until the collapse of the ‘Essendon Edge.’

While Merrett’s play can’t be to blame for the Bombers likely missing finals, if you consider the seasons Nick Daicos, Lachie Neale and Patrick Cripps have had, he seems to be the one most likely to sit on the bench.

Unless, he doesn’t make the team at all. That is where Adam Treloar comes in.

Treloar has been incredible for the Bulldogs this season, hitting the scoreboard more regularly and racking up possessions with ease.

If not for his remarkable skipper Marcus Bontempelli, Treloar would likely be a viable Brownlow contender.

Could the narrative of their respective sides determine the choice?

Or maybe selectors will just reward Treloar’s longevity with the first blazer of his career.

VERDICT: Treloar over Merrett

Adam Treloar is in spectacular form. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

CHARLIE CURNOW VS BEN KING

It’s been an interesting season for Charlie Curnow.

He’s been leading the Coleman race for nearly every round, but was recently overtaken by Jesse Hogan – and his season may be over.

The two-time Coleman winner hasn’t been able to hit the heights of his last two years, albeit consistently hitting the scoreboard.

Now, sidelined by an ankle injury, he may not even finish second to Hogan, who has locked down one of the key forward roles.

With the years of the big bags every week gone, who could selectors turn to?

The answer to that question is Ben King.

King is an fascinating case, he regularly hits the scoreboard, but it seems many fans are still crying out for him to be the true focal point and spearhead behind a Gold Coast surge to a maiden finals berth.

King has been the more proficient contested marker of the footy, and could have two games to pass Curnow on the goalkicking table.

Similarly to Gawn, are the lofty standards expected of Curnow going to hurt him when it comes to All-Australian selection?

It could if King dominates against the lowly Dees and Tigers to finish the season.

For now, the big Blue just sneaks in.

VERDICT: Curnow over King

Originally published as All-Australian 2024: The five hottest debates that will shape this year’s side