Seven Cats All Australian

GEELONG has dominated this year's All-Australian team, with seven of the 10 squad members making the final 22, while Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich has made the team for the sixth time.

This year's team was announced at a gala dinner in Melbourne's Docklands on Monday night.

For the first time, Carlton superstar Chris Judd, who had off a stellar first-year with the Blues by winning the John Nicholls Medal for club champion just last week, was named captain of the All-Australian team.

His vice-captain is 2007 Geelong premiership captain Tom Harley, who produced his finest AFL season and became one of the most admired leaders in the game. Harley is in line to become a back-to-back premiership skipper if the Cats can repeat their premiership feats of 2007.

Although Geelong didn't equal the record nine players selected in last year's All-Australian team, it still has the most representatives by a mile with Matthew Scarlett, Tom Harley (defenders), Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey, Gary Ablett (midfielders), Steve Johnson (forwards) and Corey Enright (interchange) making the side.

For Scarlett, Bartel, Corey, Ablett and Johnson, it was their second consecutive All-Australian honour. Squad members Joel Selwood, Darren Milburn and Andrew Mackie were not included in the final team.

But individually, the story of the night was Pavlich.

Selected on the interchange bench, Pavlich was rewarded with his fourth consecutive All-Australian honour, having also been included in 2002 and 2003.

Pavlich, Dean Cox (West Coast) and Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) were others to retain their spots in the side from last year.

Western Bulldogs duo Adam Cooney and Dale Morris, Adelaide's Nathan Bock, Enright, St Kilda's Sam Fisher, Hawthorn's Lance Franklin, Harley, Collingwood's Paul Medhurst and Fremantle's Aaron Sandilands made the side for the first time.

Scarlett (2003, 2004 and 2007), Harvey (2000, 2005 and 2007) and Cox (2005, 2006 and 2007) were fourth-time inclusions. Carlton's Chris Judd (2004 and 2006) and St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt (2004, 2006) have now claimed a hat-trick of All-Australian guernseys.

For Hawthorn's Luke Hodge (2005), it was his second honour.

In total, 11 clubs were represented, with Carlton, Fremantle, Hawthorn, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs each having two players in the final 22. Adelaide, Collingwood, North Melbourne, Richmond and West Coast had one player in the team.

Simon Black, Daniel Bradshaw, Jonathan Brown (Brisbane Lions), Luke McPharlin (Fremantle), Mackie, Milburn, Selwood (Geelong), Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn), Drew Petrie, Daniel Pratt (North Melbourne), Daniel Motlop (Port Adelaide), Brett Deledio (Richmond), Lenny Hayes, Max Hudghton (St Kilda), Brett Kirk, Ryan O'Keefe (Sydney Swans), Daniel Cross and Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs) were the players overlooked from the 40-man squad.

No one from the Brisbane Lions, Essendon, Melbourne, Port Adelaide and the Sydney Swans made this year's side. 

The 2008 All-Australian umpire was also announced on the night, with that honour going to Brett Rosebury.

The selection committee comprised Andrew Demetriou (chairman), Adrian Anderson, Rod Austin, Kevin Bartlett, Mark Bickley, Gerard Healy, Glen Jakovich and Robert Walls.