2022 All-Australian snubs: Which players were unlucky to miss out?

Amid Wednesday night’s unveiling of the all-Australia team of 2022, debate erupted for players unfortunate enough to miss out on the award despite what appeared to be suspensions heading into awards night.

While all players have had stellar seasons, it still led to conversations about who were the more worthy picks.

Here’s who we think were unfortunate enough to miss in the 2022 all-Australia team:

James Sicily (Hawthorn)

The Hawthorn defenseman is easily unlucky to miss the team and should have been included for the first time in his career.

Averaging 24 touches across half the defense, Sicily have had an excellent season and are the general of Sam Mitchell’s defence.

The 27-year-old is one of the top defenders, ranking #1 in player ratings, departures, undisputed possession, yards gained, marks, rebound 50s, inside 50s and scoring engagements, and second in intercept possession.

Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast)

Gold Coast’s Jarrod Witts was as stiff as it gets when the ruckman somehow missed his first all-Australia jacket.

Max Gawn was the only traditional ruck man selected on the team, with Mark Blicavs also having the ability to play the role.

However, Witts had the most hitouts in the league with almost 100 and led Gawn with 300, which also included the most hitouts to advantage (286) at an effectiveness of 34 percent.

The former Pie also led in most clearances, point starts and placed second in fantasy points behind Demon Skipper.

Although Witts is admittedly second fiddle to Gawn, his season nonetheless warranted a first All-Australian jacket.

Tom Lynch Richmond

Statistically, Tom Lynch had the best season of his career in 2022.

Averaging 3.33 goals per game, Lynch hit 60 for the year and most likely would have won the Coleman Medal had he played all the games.

The former Sun, who has been goalless in just two games, has scored four or more majors on eight occasions, including a streak of 21 goals in his last four games that carried him to the finals.

Lynch fell behind Charlie Curnow four times, terrorized opposition parties and will be a key figure in Richmond’s Premiership slant.

Charlie Cameron (Brisbane)

There’s not much more Charlie Cameron could have done in 2022 to earn an All-Australian jacket.

With 47 goals as a small forward, second to Melbourne’s Bayley Fritsch, Cameron was a big plus for the Lions.

On the elite rankings for assists, shots on goal, tackles inside50, marks in lead, inside50 marks, the Brisbane Cannon had a stellar year.

However, the selectors thought otherwise and settled on Tyson Stengle and Isaac Heeney.

Tom Barrass (West Coast)

The West Coast defenseman has been immense in the backline, despite the barrage of opposing attacks in a turbulent year for the Eagles.

Tom Barrass, who was absent from Jeremy McGovern for part of the season, continued to fight fiercely and noble but was unable to reverse the unfortunate chain of events.

Second in points and intercept marks, Barrass was unlucky to miss the all-Australia team.

The key defender was involved in two wins in 2022 and could be another reason he was ruled against.

Rory Laird (Adelaide)

The Adelaide midfielder was extremely unhappy missing out on selection and would likely receive more recognition playing for a Victorian side.

Rory Laird was second in average disposals (33 per game) as well as eight tackles and eight clearances.

Laird also broke the record for most tackles in a game with 20 against Collingwood.

The Crow also averaged seven goal contributions per game and proved an effective two-way midfielder.

Now that we’ve gone through who was lucky enough to miss out on the all-Australia team in 2022, let’s see who was lucky enough to MAKE the team:

Brayden Maynard (Collingwood)

Did Brayden Maynard have an all-Australian caliber year?

Aside from being the heart and soul player for Collingwood, Maynard wasn’t statistically his best in 2022.

The Magpie defender was arguably better in shortened quarters in 2021 and 2020.

Maynard consistently puts his body on the line and does all the little things for his side that helped propel them to a top-four finish after climbing from 17th last year.

The 25-year-old was called up to the all-Australia team as a half-back but has played in midfield at times to limit the influence of key Rovers in opposing sides.

Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)

Connor Rozee’s 2022 season has been the best yet, but does that justify a pick on the all-Australian side?

With Port Adelaide down 0-5, Ken Hinkley brought Rozee into midfield and it was a stroke of genius.

The talented youngster managed to break open games with his intelligence, speed, cleanliness and ball-in-hand efficiency to finish fifth in the AFLCA honors.

Rozee found more possession and became damaging in the front half and needed to make the squad in 2022 but nobody predicted he would make the team.

Despite this, Rozee has had an excellent season and is expected to reach new heights in 2023.