Reigning Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven has been included in the 40-man All Australian squad that was announced on Monday, although the selectors couldn’t find a spot for Captain Nick Riewoldt.
Steven, who was previously included in the squad in 2013, is St Kilda’s only representative in the exclusive group, which will be trimmed to a final 22 on Thursday night.
Across 22 games in 2016, Steven averaged 28.0 possessions (No. 16 in the AFL), 11.3 contested possessions, 5.3 inside 50s (No. 3), 5.5 clearances (No. 19), 5.6 tackles and 52.2 pressure points (No. 18).
A total of 16 clubs had at least one player selected, with Adelaide (six), Greater Western Sydney (five) and Sydney (five) supplying the most representatives. Brisbane and Essendon were the two teams not to have a nominee.
Of the group of 40, 24 players were nominated for a potential maiden All Australian guernsey, while nine of last year’s 22 were included in the 2016 squad.
Five-time All Australian Riewoldt would be considered one of the most unlucky players not to be included in the squad. The star forward averaged career-high numbers for possessions (20.8), uncontested ball (15.9) and marks (10.6) in 2016, as well as finishing with 41 goals for the year.
Adelaide: Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Rory Laird, Tom Lynch, Rory Sloane, Daniel Talia
Carlton: Sam Docherty, Kade Simpson
Collingwood: Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar
Fremantle: Lachie Neale
Geelong: Patrick Dangerfield, Corey Enright, Joel Selwood
Gold Coast: Tom Lynch
Greater Western Sydney: Stephen Coniglio, Toby Greene, Tom Scully, Heath Shaw, Callan Ward
Hawthorn: Jack Gunston, Sam Mitchell, Cyril Rioli
Melbourne: Max Gawn
North Melbourne: Robbie Tarrant
Port Adelaide: Jasper Pittard
Richmond: Dustin Martin, Alex Rance
St Kilda: Jack Steven
Sydney: Lance Franklin, Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker, Dane Rampe
West Coast: Andrew Gaff, Josh Kennedy, Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey
Western Bulldogs: Marcus Bontempelli, Matthew Boyd
