Jon Anderson and Mark Robinson name their Super Rankings team of the year

UNLIKE the All-Australian team, you don’t need to play a certain number of games to make the Super Rankings team of the year, and that’s good news for some players. Check out who Ando and Robbo have selected.

James Sicily would have been an All-Australian certainty before his injury in Round 17. Picture: Michael Klein

JACK Darling, Jared Polec, Nat Fyfe and James Sicily may not have made the 40-man All-Australian squad, but they were never in doubt for our 2018 Super Rankings team of the year.

Based on the Top 20 players of each round, as selected by myself and Mark Robinson, it is not reliant on a minimum of 17-18 games, as All-Australian selection often seems to be.

Take Fyfe as an example, a powerhouse who produced 10 of the best individual games of the season before being injured. His season was reduced to 15 matches.

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Or West Coast forward Darling, who has had his finest AFL season, but one in which he missed four games.

Then there is Hawthorn’s Sicily, surely a certain All-Australian selection had he not been injured in Round 17.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ANDO AND ROBBO’S TEAM OF THE YEAR

This team is based on how many times we ranked players in the Top 20 each round.

In Max Gawn’s case, it was a stunning 12 times.

He was a clear leader for most prolific, ahead of Brodie Grundy and Tom Mitchell on nine selections.

Jack Darling was a shoo-in for the Super Rankings team of the year. Picture: AAP

Like Brownlow voting, nominations become more scarce for defenders, although Rory Laird’s huge numbers ensured six Top 20 nominations.

Aliir Aliir mounted a compelling case in a stunning 11-game cameo from the halfway mark of the season, while Harris Andrews showed just how good he is going to be.

It was a similar situation for key forwards. Lance Franklin was surprisingly nominated only twice, one behind Tom Hawkins.

The selection of only two Richmond players, Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt, would surprise some, although maybe it says something about the evenness of the AFL’s premier team.

Others unlucky to miss selection include midfielders Gary Ablett (7), Stephen Coniglio (6), Joel Selwood (6) and Marcus Bontempelli (5).

Ando and Robbo’s Super Rankings team of the year.

Originally published as Jon Anderson and Mark Robinson name their Super Rankings team of the year