Ben Stratton among those overlooked in All-Australian squad as eight Richmond players get nod
THERE’S plenty of big names among the 40-man squad, but also some stars missing. And Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson thinks one of his men is unlucky. HAVE YOUR SAY
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EIGHT players from reigning AFL premiers Richmond have been included in a 40-man All Australian squad.
Gold Coast and St Kilda are the only clubs without a player nominated for the All Australian team.
The final 22 players will be named on Wednesday.
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Richmond’s Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt, Alex Rance, Trent Cotchin, Josh Caddy, Dylan Grimes, Shane Edwards and Kane Lambert are in the squad. Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast have four players each.
Magpies captain Scott Pendlebury is joined by teammates Jordan De Goey, Brodie Grundy and Steele Sidebottom, who all could win All Australian honours for the first time.
Geelong’s Mark Blicavs, Paddy Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins and Tom Stewart join West Coast’s Andrew Gaff, Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern and Elliot Yeo in the squad.
Some notable players overlooked for the squad include Geelong captain Joel Selwood, Fremantle skipper Nat Fyfe, Port Adelaide winger Jared Polec and Hawthorn backman Ben Stratton.
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson believes Stratton deserved inclusion.
“He’s been a tad stiff for 10 years,” Clarkson said.
“This has been the first (season) that anyone has given him any credit for what he’s done but he doesn’t need the credit from outside the walls of our footy club.
“He’s the most highly rated inside the walls for what he does for us.”
THE 40-MAN ALL-AUST SQUAD:
ADELAIDE: Rory Laird
BRISBANE LIONS: Harris Andrews, Dayne Beams
CARLTON: Patrick Cripps
COLLINGWOOD: Jordan De Goey, Brodie Grundy, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom
ESSENDON: Devon Smith
FREMANTLE: Lachie Neale
GEELONG: Mark Blicavs, Paddy Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins, Tom Stewart
GOLD COAST: NIL
GWS: Callan Ward, Lachie Whitfield
HAWTHORN: Luke Breust, Jack Gunston, Tom Mitchell
MELBOURNE: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver
NORTH MELBOURNE: Ben Brown, Shaun Higgins
PORT ADEL: Robbie Gray, Tom Jonas
RICHMOND: Josh Caddy, Trent Cotchin, Shane Edwards, Dylan Grimes, Kane Lambert, Dustin Martin, Alex Rance, Jack Riewoldt
ST KILDA: NIL
SYDNEY SWANS: Lance Franklin, Jake Lloyd
WEST COAST: Andrew Gaff, Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern, Elliot Yeo
WESTERN BULLDOGS: Jack Macrae
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Originally published as Ben Stratton among those overlooked in All-Australian squad as eight Richmond players get nod