Jeepers, Xerri, Naughton and Merrett probably harshly done by here.

I'd like to think Gawn is the ruck with Jackson on the bench as the 2nd ruck/rover/unicorn sort of player. He'll be incredibly harshly done by if Grundy gets in off the back of half a season of good form (admittedly it was a very good half a season, but pre-bye Grundy was nowhere whilst Gawn has bee consistently good all season).

i'll go...

B: Vlastuin - Taylor - Keane
HB: Zorko - Andrews - Dale
C: Wanganeen-Milera - Anderson - Jaicos
HF: Heeney - Cameron - Pickett
F: Gunston - Thilthorpe - Rankine
Foll: Gawn - Dawson (Capt.) - Richards
I/c: McCluggage - Naicos - Jackson - Bontempelli
Sub: Smith

there's no real wingmen to pick from - it's pick the best mid to play out on the wings, again

Picking Sam Darcy who played 16 games over Naughton who played more games and kicked more goals is baffling.

The AFL has a new love child

No Bowser in the squad - that's ridiculous.

9 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Jeepers, Xerri, Naughton and Merrett probably harshly done by here.

I'd like to think Gawn is the ruck with Jackson on the bench as the 2nd ruck/rover/unicorn sort of player. He'll be incredibly harshly done by if Grundy gets in off the back of half a season of good form (admittedly it was a very good half a season, but pre-bye Grundy was nowhere whilst Gawn has bee consistently good all season).

Luke Hodge this morning has Max as the ruck and as the Deputy Vice Captain. Tha Age said gawn missing out would be like Jeremy Cameron being ommitted - No.8 coming up.

Jackson in on the bench far more worthy than Grundy. Grundy starred against rubbish oppo.

Do find it a little funny that 3 rucks are in the Squad and they've all played for Melbourne recently.

Can anyone remember how many we had in the squad in 2021?

4 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Can anyone remember how many we had in the squad in 2021?

Extended (7): Bayley Fritsch, Max Gawn, Jake Lever, Steven May, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Christian Salem

Fritta and Salem only ones not to make cut

Xerri is the biggest player on the ground most weeks and has had just 33 marks for the year. He has had 4x as many tackles (132).

Its like Big when he woke up one day and had Matt Rowell or Tom Liberatore infused into his body.

Edited August 26, 2025Aug 26 by Jjrogan

36 minutes ago, binman said:

No Bowser in the squad - that's ridiculous.

He's had a good year. But is he obviously in the best 23? I'm sure there's a few possible selections like him that also missed this extended list.

58 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Jeepers, Xerri, Naughton and Merrett probably harshly done by here.

I'd like to think Gawn is the ruck with Jackson on the bench as the 2nd ruck/rover/unicorn sort of player. He'll be incredibly harshly done by if Grundy gets in off the back of half a season of good form (admittedly it was a very good half a season, but pre-bye Grundy was nowhere whilst Gawn has bee consistently good all season).

Good mate is a mad Doggies fan. A couple of months ago we were discussing how Naughton had been his usual disappointing self. Under delivering on ability

Since then he's made us look stupid. He's had a stellar back third of the season. Much like Grundy. But he was average up until then.

Agree on Merrett

54 minutes ago, binman said:

No Bowser in the squad - that's ridiculous.

Did not even feature in the 22 under 22, still very underrated

I reckon the selectors were ‘spot on’ with Max and Koz, who should both be wearing a new blazer on Thursday night.

Bowser very unlucky not to make the squad after a fantastic season. He just continues to fly under the radar.

I can't emphasise how relieved I am that Pickett is in the squad. I would've been fuming if he wasn't.

15 minutes ago, Hopeful Demon said:

I can't emphasise how relieved I am that Pickett is in the squad. I would've been fuming if he wasn't.

He deserves to make the final team.

Averaging just shy of 20 touches, 3.3 clearances and 2 goals per game. That is elite stuff.

When you look at the other small forwards in the squad, it's hard to argue that he isn't the best of the lot.

Elliot and Pickett should be the two small forwards in the final team.

Gawn ruck and Jackson on the bench.

So its Grundy vs Gawn for the starting ruck? Am i right he doesnt have other competition? (edit) i can see LJ is in there too.

I have a bad feeling Gawn wont make the cut. Havent seen much of Grundy play other than seeing his supercoach scores. How do they stack up against each other?

Edited August 26, 2025Aug 26 by GS_1905

Just now, GS_1905 said:

So its Grundy vs Gawn for the starting ruck? Am i right he doesnt have other competition?

I have a bad feeling Gawn wont make the cut. Havent seen much of Grundy play other than seeing his supercoach scores. How do they stack up against each other?

Jackson is the third ruck on the list.

Grundy and Gawn are pretty even in their stats for the year, except marks. Gawn absolutely dominates Grundy in marks. He averages 5.7 per game, 2.3 contested, whereas Grundy averages only 3.4 and less than 1 contested per game.

Max is also third in the competition for contested possessions in general.

Jackson is behind both in all stats except goals, averaging 1 per game which is elite for a ruckman.

If you are picking a real team, you pick a combination of Gawn and Jackson every day of the week over Grundy.

2 hours ago, roy11 said:

Do find it a little funny that 3 rucks are in the Squad and they've all played for Melbourne recently.

Greg Stafford strikes again

7 hours ago, binman said:

No Bowser in the squad - that's ridiculous.

He's not ranked in the top 100 players in the League, let alone in the best 44.

6 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

So its Grundy vs Gawn for the starting ruck? Am i right he doesnt have other competition? (edit) i can see LJ is in there too.

I have a bad feeling Gawn wont make the cut. Havent seen much of Grundy play other than seeing his supercoach scores. How do they stack up against each other?

Gawn was $1.05 to make AA ruck on Sportsbet before they closed the market. He's a dead set certainty.

Prospective Team selected by afl.com.au reporters

If Gawn gets number 8 = indisputable GOAT.

Was born in ‘93 so can’t speak about the likes of Simon Madden, but I did see Cox for the majority of his career and in terms of impact on games and being influential, there has never been another like Gawn. Max tackles, underrated endurance runner and one of the better 2 way runners in the comp in how he gets back to protect the often under-siege defense, contested ball winner…

Yeah, his goal kicking leaves a lot out there to be desired, but is Novak Djokovic the best server or volleyer?

Seeing how people try and downplay his greatness due to his goal kicking issues is absolute [censored].

Edited August 27, 2025Aug 27 by VNightCityLegend

Fan voted team

Fans are smart.😁👍