The 22Under22 final team for 2019 was announced at the 2019 AFLPA MVP Awards last night. We look at the numbers that define the team.
Top 10 Most Popular:
Harris Andrews — 7,174 votes
Connor Rozee — 7,120 votes
Aaron Naughton — 7,079 votes
Eric Hipwood — 7,025 votes
Liam Ryan — 7,005 votes
Sydney Stack — 6,908 votes
Clayton Oliver — 6,551 votes
Callum Mills — 6,488 votes
Sam Walsh — 6,456 votes
Tim English — 6,293 votes
Most Representatives:
Brisbane Lions (four representatives)
Carlton (three representatives)
Debut years to remember:
Connor Rozee: After winning a flag in the SANFL with North Adelaide, Rozee has slotted seamlessly into the Power’s forward line. Elite goal-sense and crafty as any young player inside forward 50, Rozee’s breakout performance came in round three when he kicked 5.2 from 21 disposals against the Lions. Has the potential to play anywhere on the ground and make a significant impact.
Sydney Stack: Stack has been the surprise story of 2019 after joining Richmond late in pre-season and playing a starring role in defence and up forward. The West-Australian sensation thrilled crowds all year, highlighted by a fierce bump on Jack Viney on ANZAC Day Eve and a soaring specky over Hunter Clark in Maddie’s Match against St Kilda. A real character of the game.
Sam Walsh: Debut seasons don’t get much more impressive than Walsh’s in 2019. Despite another challenging year for the Blues, their prized-draftee exceeded all expectations as a gut-running midfielder. Walsh gathered incredible amounts of the ball for his age and used it with skill and precision, consistently named among Carlton’s best performers throughout the season.
Other players to have achieved this feat include, Jaeger O’Meara (2013), Tom Langdon (2014), Kade Kolodjashnij (2014), Marcus Bontempelli (2014), Luke McDonald (2014), Jake Lever (2015), Adam Saad (2015), Jacob Weitering (2016), Callum Mills (2016), Andrew McGrath (2017) and Jaidyn Stephenson (2018).
Three-times a charm:
Five players were selected in the 22Under22 team for the third time in their careers (Harris Andrews, Callum Mills, Clayton Oliver, Eric Hipwood and Andrew McGrath).
All-Australians:
One (Harris Andrews)
First-timers:
Remarkably, 14 first-timers graced the 22Under22 team in 2019 (Sydney Stack, Dan Houston, Hugh McCluggage, Sam Walsh, Connor Rozee, Liam Ryan, Aaron Naughton, Harry McKay, Tim English, Tim Taranto, Josh Dunkley, Wayne Milera, James Worpel and Cameron Zurhaar).
