The 2009 All-Australian team represents the best performed Australian Football League (AFL) players during the 2009 AFL season. It was announced on 14 September 2009, as a complete Australian rules football team of 22 players and a coach. An initial squad of 40 players was previously announced on 1 September 2009. The team is an honorary team and does not actually play any games.
Contents
Selection process
The selection panel for the 2009 All-Australian team were Andrew Demetriou (non-voting chairman), Adrian Anderson, Kevin Bartlett, Gerard Healy, James Hird, Glen Jakovich, Mark Ricciuto and Robert Walls.
Selected team
Nick Riewoldt was named as captain of the All-Australian team for the first time. The top two teams for the season, Geelong and St Kilda each had five players selected. Nine players were selected for the first time, with Matthew Scarlett and Simon Goodwin receiving their fifth selection.
The most controversial selections were the selection of Collingwood pair Leon Davis and midfielder Dane Swan as forwards, despite kicking only 34 and 18 goals respectively, ahead of Mark LeCras who kicked 58 goals for the season and Jason Porplyzia who kicked 52 goals.
Initial squad
A squad of 40 players, consisting of 12 defenders, 12 forwards and 16 midfielders and ruckmen was announced on 1 September 2009. The top four teams after the home and away season provided 24 of the 40 players selected in the initial squad, with the bottom eight teams only providing seven players. Three clubs, Port Adelaide, Melbourne and Richmond did not have any players nominated.
Controversial omissions from the squad include former Brownlow Medallists Simon Black and Jason Akermanis and prolific midfielders Scott Thompson, Bryce Gibbs, Jobe Watson, Joel Corey, Aaron Davey, and Daniel Cross. Dane Swan was surprisingly named as a forward, despite playing mainly as a midfielder and only scoring 17 goals during the season.