THE AFLW All-Australian team could be the year of the comeback, with a number of players having shaken off serious injury and illness to thrive in 2026.

Daisy D'Arcy and Liv Purcell have starred in their first seasons back from torn ACLs, and make AFL.com.au's prospective All-Australian team, while Chloe Scheer is another who has dominated after a long stint on the sidelines.

Hawthorn ruck Lucy Wales underwent two traumatic operations late last year after a burst appendix damaged her bowel, but has made a stunning return to football and is favourite to be All-Australian ruck.

A sprinkling of Irish once again may flavour the side, with Erone Fitzpatrick a chance to don her first blazer, alongside regular faces Áine McDonagh and Aishling Moloney.

Last year's Telstra AFLW Rising Star Zippy Fish is a near-lock to make the team for the first time, while Brisbane's slide down the ladder is reflected with zero selections.

Our prospective 2026 All-Australian team

FB: Chelsea Biddell, Tahlia Gillard
HB: Zippy Fish, Harriet Cordner, Daisy D'Arcy
C: Ella Roberts, Georgie Prespakis, Tyla Hanks
HF: Erone Fitzpatrick, Áine McDonagh, Chloe Molloy
FF: Tahlia Randall, Chloe Scheer
Foll: Lucy Wales, Charlie Rowbottom, Jasmine Garner
Int: Ash Riddell, Aishling Moloney, Jenna Richardson, Isabelle Pritchard, Liv Purcell

Next in: Maddy Prespakis (midfield), Kiara Bowers (midfield), Ebony Marinoff (midfield), Matilda Scholz (ruck), Tarni White (half-back), Dayna Finn (wing), Maddy Hendrie (key back), Jackie Parry (key forward), Paige Trudgeon (key back)

How do you pick an All-Australian team?

This reporter was privileged enough to serve on the AFLW All-Australian selection panel for six seasons, and it's both a blessing and a curse.

Naming your own team comes from a combination of stats, gut feels, recommendations, and hours upon hours of watching football, and from there, a panel convenes to create a side – it's a combination of everyone's views on just who have been the best players for that season.

The panel is a combination of former players, coaches, media and AFL officials.

The questions are varied. One or two rucks? Wings or pure midfielders? Do we have enough rebound/small defenders? Are we comparing player X's 2026 season to her stellar reputation, or her actual on-field output in comparison to her peers?

There will forever be players who are absolutely integral to their club's performances – a tagger, a dependable lockdown defender, a selfless half-forward. But when it boils down to it, have they been in the very best performers across the entire league, when there's just 21 spots on offer for 540 players? Usually (and unfortunately) not. That's for a club to reward through its own best and fairest voting.

AFLCA votes can also help provide a guideline, or at the very least, a safety net to make sure that no one slips through the cracks. But the nature of those votes mean that a star player in a poor side is often overly rewarded, and is no guarantee that said player is among the competition's best 21 for the year.

When it comes to tall defenders, I found an important stat to help guide the direction of the discussion was contested defensive one-on-ones (to get a stronger read on who was engaged at the pointy end of the ground), and cross-referencing players with a high number against their contested defensive loss rate. High one-on-ones and a low loss rate? You're generally among the very best.

This year, Chelsea Biddell has been involved in the most contested defensive one-on-ones, and her loss rate is just 22.6 per cent, far lower than her contemporaries.

The wing v midfielder discussion is always heated. Once again, the deciding principle is usually whether the player in question has been among the very best in the league in that season.

In my opinion, the 2026 wingers have not been as influential as in years past, and the midfielders have been better performers than their counterparts on the wing, hence opting for Ella Roberts and Tyla Hanks, who have been genuine game-changers.

When it comes to who makes the cut as a midfielder, I've naturally favoured those with well-rounded games, both on the inside and outside, with ball use also essential. Abbey Dowrick has dominated clearances, but isn't as balanced in all categories, while Liv Purcell has just been marginally ahead of Maddy Prespakis in nearly all elements.

I love a full-ground involvement from a ruck, and Lucy Wales has been a class above this year. Her tap-out work has been among the best, coupled with leading her cohort in clearances, tackles and marks, which edges her ahead of Matilda Scholz.

For whatever reason, the forwards often pick themselves. I've never been a huge fan of cramming midfielders into half-forward spots – but there's a panel discussion for a reason, and it's a debate I often lost!

This year, there's been a clear group of seven forwards who have starred, with a few injury blips ultimately costing Mia Austin. I've opted for Aishling Moloney ahead of Jackie Parry because of the score involvement and goal assist counts – the Irish Cat may not have kicked quite as many goals as her teammate, but she's created more than anyone in the league.

I've opted for one defender, one forward and three midfielders on the bench, as I feel it best reflects a team, but the makeup of the interchange is fluid, and changes year on year.

Regardless, it's been a stellar year for individual AFLW performances, and we've been spoilt for choice.

Let the debate commence!