NEWLY-CROWNED Four'N Twenty All Australian midfielder Jobe Watson headlines the record-breaking 15 players that earned their debut place in the side on Monday night.

The Essendon skipper, who averaged a career-high 29 disposals in 2012, won the first guernsey of his 10-year-career.

The number of first-time All Australian players was the largest in history since the then-VFL began picking a team of the year from 1982.

Adelaide's Scott Thompson topped the list for games played among the group of 15, with 222 games, ahead of Luke McPharlin (209).

Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui needed just 77 games to earn his first call-up, beating out fellow first-timers Dayne Beams (82 games), Josh Kennedy (84), Trent Cotchin (86) and Patrick Dangerfield (88).

Tom Hawkins, Cyril Rioli, Beau Waters, Sean Dempster, Grant Birchall and Ted Richards rounded out the group of 15.

Vice-captain Gary Ablett and forward pocket/resting ruckman Dean Cox now sit equal-first on the list of current-day players to receive the honour after Monday night's award.

Ablett and Cox drew equal with Chris Judd and Matthew Pavlich with six guernseys after their acknowledgement on Monday night.

Recently retired Cat Matthew Scarlett also has six selections.

It is the second time Ablett has been named vice-captain, and follows on from his appointment as captain last year.

Glass was named captain of the 2012 team, becoming the first Eagle to be bestowed the honour, after Ben Cousins was vice-captain of the 2005 side.

Glass is the first West Australian named captain since Brett Peake was captain of the 1986 side picked from that year's State of Origin games.

St Kilda goalsneak Stephen Milne, who won a second consecutive All Australian guernsey, is the oldest in the side at 32 and has played the most games (258).

Naitanui, Beams, Cotchin and Dangerfield are all the youngest at 22.

Prolific Collingwood midfielder Dane Swan led the disposal average with 35 a match, while centre half-forward Lance Franklin averages 3.7 goals a game, the best of the side.

Hawkins sits second with 2.8 a match.

Hawkins is the only selection from Geelong, a year after the Cats won three guernseys after six in 2010. The mark is down from a high of nine Cats in 2007.

There are 12 premiership players in the team. Ablett and Hawkins have each played in two flags with Geelong while Dempster was a member of the Sydney Swans' 2005 premiership team, Glass, Waters and Cox lifted the cup with the Eagles in 2006.

Hawthorn trio Birchall, Franklin and Rioli were part of the club's 2008 premiership team while Swan, Beams and Scott Pendlebury were victorious Magpies in 2010.
 
Only one NAB AFL National Draft No. 1 pick made it into the team - Brett Deledio. The Tiger is one of 12 first-round draft picks. Swan, at No. 58 in the 2001 draft, was the lowest draft pick, except for the two rookie draft selections, Cox and Milne.

Six players had fathers who played VFL/AFL football: Ablett (father Gary, 242 games, Hawthorn, Geelong; brother Nathan, 34 games, Geelong and Gold Coast), Dempster (father Graham, 64 games South Melbourne), Watson (father Tim, 307 games, Essendon), Hawkins (father Jack, 182 games, Geelong), Kennedy (father John Jnr, 241 games, Hawthorn; grandfather John Snr, 164 games, Hawthorn) and Deledio (father Wayne, 1 game, Carlton).

Other family connections include Magpie Beams (brother Claye plays for Brisbane Lions) and Hawthorn star Rioli (Uncle Michael Long,190 games, Essendon; uncle Maurice Rioli, 118 games, Richmond; cousin Dean Rioli, 100 games, Essendon).

West Coast featured the most players with all four players nominated (Cox, Waters, Glass, Naitanui) selected.

Hawthorn and Collingwood both had three in the final team with 11 separate clubs boasting a player.

Unsurprisingly, the bulk of players came from top-eight sides with only six players from teams that didn't make the finals.