ON THE night he was recognised with a record ninth All Australian blazer, Melbourne champion Max Gawn has also been named captain of the team of the year.
Gawn was one of five club captains to make the final All Australian team that was unveiled at the 2026 AFL Awards night in Melbourne on Tuesday, with the Demons great also handed the captaincy for the second time (he was given the same honour in 2021), while Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson was named vice-captain.
Marcus Bontempelli earned his eighth All Australian selection, joining Gary Ablett Jnr, Garry Ablett Snr (four in the VFL, four in the AFL), Patrick Dangerfield, Lance Franklin, Robert Harvey and Mark Ricciuto to sit just one behind Gawn.
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Minor premier Fremantle had the largest contingent with five players selected, including first-timers Josh Treacy, Murphy Reid and Luke Jackson.
At 20 years and 24 days at the end of the season, Reid is the youngest All Australian since Ricciuto in 1994, and just the sixth second-year player to win selection in the 18-team era, joining Chad Wingard, Jeremy Cameron, Tom Stewart, Tim Kelly and Nick Daicos.
In all, there are nine players to earn their first blazer, including Hawthorn pair Jarman Impey and Nick Watson, Greater Western Sydney's Lachie Ash, dashing Crow Wayne Milera, Geelong winger Ollie Dempsey and young Brisbane star Logan Morris.
Collingwood star Daicos was selected for a fourth consecutive year, while Lions co-captain Harris Andrews was also named for a fourth time, with Coleman Medal winner Charlie Curnow and departing Port Adelaide star Zak Butters (three each) adding to their collections.
Ten players retained their spots from the 2025 team; Gawn, Dawson, Bontempelli, Daicos, Andrews, Jordan Clark, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Bailey Smith, Zac Bailey and Kysaiah Pickett.
A record five Indigenous players - Milera, Impey, Pickett, Wanganeen-Milera and Shai Bolton - were selected, beating the previous mark of four set two decades ago when Shaun Burgoyne, Lindsay Gilbee, Adam Goodes and Andrew McLeod got the nod in 2006.
Brisbane had three players named, Adelaide, St Kilda, Hawthorn, Geelong and Melbourne had two each, while Collingwood, Sydney, Port Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs had one each.
The Swans were projected to have more before Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey were all deemed ineligible due to a club suspension last week, with Curnow the club's only selection.
Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce could be considered among the unluckiest omissions having been named in the initial squad of 46 players, as could two-time Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft, who finished fourth in the coaches' votes this season.
Just two key defenders were selected - Andrews and Callum Wilkie - along with four running defenders in Milera, Impey, Clark and Ash.
Others who could consider themselves unlucky are Adelaide star Izak Rankine, Port's Aliir Aliir and Hawk Jai Newcombe, who all missed the team after being picked in the side selected by AFL.com.au's team of journalists, while Sydney ruck Brodie Grundy couldn't get a spot ahead of Gawn and Jackson.
The humble Gawn said he was "incredibly lucky" to have the late Jim Stynes as a mentor, declaring lessons from his fellow Melbourne ruck great crucial in his rise to greatness.
"It's all about being the best version of yourself," Gawn said on stage at Melbourne's Centrepiece on Tuesday night.
"It's hard enough playing footy out there at the MCG trying to not be someone that you are.
"So to have that in the back of my mind every time I get on the ground allows me to be me."
Team members by club
Fremantle - 5
Brisbane - 3
Adelaide - 2
Geelong - 2
Hawthorn - 2
Melbourne - 2
St Kilda - 2
Collingwood - 1Â
Greater Western Sydney - 1
Port Adelaide - 1
Sydney - 1
Western Bulldogs - 1
Carlton - 0
Essendon - 0
Gold Coast - 0
North Melbourne - 0
Richmond - 0
West Coast - 0
2026 All-Australian team
FB: Wayne Milera, Callum Wilkie, Jarman Impey
HB: Lachie Ash, Harris Andrews, Jordan Clark
C: Bailey Smith, Marcus Bontempelli, Ollie Dempsey
HF: Shai Bolton, Josh Treacy, Kysaiah Pickett
FF: Nick Watson, Charlie Curnow, Logan Morris
Foll: Max Gawn (c), Jordan Dawson (vc), Nick Daicos
I/C: Luke Jackson, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Murphy Reid, Zac Bailey, Zak Butters
