AFL All Australian team named as Max Gawn claims ninth blazer and Jordan Dawson makes brave speech

So there you have it, the 2026 All Australian team has been named, the first batch of major awards have been handed out and now it’s all systems go for the finals.

Kinda. We’ve got the Wildcard Round up first, with games on Friday and Saturday night to look forward to. The blog will be back for those ones, so I hope you can join us again for them. Until then, goodnight.

The highlight of the evening was this speech from Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson. Dawson was tonight named Best Captain and Most Courageous Player, and used his speech after winning the latter award to speak about mental health, something especially important to Dawson in the wake of his brother’s death earlier this year.

“It’s been a struggle. It’s not easy. It’s a range of emotions and they come at different times. For me it’s about creating safe spaces in the footy club and at home, and at understanding there will be times when it’s hard to go to work and that it is OK to feel a certain type of way. And to talk to people. It’s still raw, it’s always going to be hard to talk about. I’m so lucky I have such supportive people around me.

“The mental health space is something new to me, but something I want to learn more about. I want everyone to know who is struggling with their mental health that you are definitely loved and that the world is a better place with you in it. You are enough. We all love you, you have friends and family around you.”

Max Gawn has been named the captain and Jordan Dawson his vice captain.

Despite Dawson beating Gawn out for Best Captain this year, Gawn is selected to lead this team. As Gawn himself points out, it may well be more an honourary selection given this is his record ninth selection in the AA team.

Gawn also points out that Dawson’s speech about mental health earlier tonight was so good that he would rather the honour have gone to Jordan.

BP: W. Milera (ADEL) FB: C. Wilkie (StK) BP: J. Impey (Haw)

HBF: L. Ash (GWS) CHB: H. Andrews (Bris) HBF: J. Clark (Frem)

W: B. Smith (Geel) C: M. Bontempelli (WB) W: O. Dempsey (Geel)

RUCK: M. Gawn (Melb) RR: J. Dawson (Adel) R: N. Daicos (Coll)

HFF: S. Bolton (Frem) CHF: J. Treacy (Frem) HFF: K. Pickett (Melb)

FP: N. Watson (Haw) FF: C. Curnow (Syd) FP: L. Morris (Bris)

INT: L. Jackson (Frem), N. Wanganeen-Milera (StK), M. Reid (Frem), Z. Bailey (Bris), Z. Butters (PA)

L. Jackson (Frem), N. Wanganeen-Milera (StK), M. Reid (Frem) Z. Bailey (Bris), Z. Butters (PA)

This is where the debates can really start to kick off, the last few selections. Can you believe they picked Player X over Player Y? Game’s gone.

In saying that, surprised there is no room for Izak Rankine or Ed Richards for one. Seeing many people talking Will Ashcroft, but I can cop that because the first of his year was average (second half was incredible, granted). Probably would have nudged them in over Reid and maybe Butters, but what do I know?

Let the debate commence, I guess.

HFF: S. Bolton (Frem) CHF: J. Treacy (Frem) HFF: K. Pickett (Melb)

FP: N. Watson (Haw) FF: C. Curnow (Syd) FP: L. Morris (Bris)

A very Freo flavour on the half-forward line, a couple of exhilarating smalls in Kozzie and the Wiz, and then the two leading goalkickers of the season in Charlie Curnow and Logan Morris.

I wonder if Logan held that spot this time last week, or if his eight goals on the weekend got him over the line?

W: B. Smith (Geel) C: M. Bontempelli (WB) W: O. Dempsey (Geel)

RUCK: M. Gawn (Melb) RR: J. Dawson (Adel) R: N. Daicos (Coll)

Some of the biggest names in the history of the game among this batch of players. Max Gawn now has a record nine All Australian blazers. Marcus Bontempelli is one behind with eight. Nick Daicos has four in his first five seasons.

Dawson and Smith are also among the true elite of the league. while Dempsey is the best true wingman in the game and it’s great to see the All Australian selectors pick an actual wing in that position.

BP: W. Milera (ADEL) FB: C. Wilkie (StK) BP: J. Impey (Haw)

HBF: L. Ash (GWS) CHB: H. Andrews (Bris) HBF: J. Clark (Frem)

We’ve got three first-timers in the back six, with Milera, Impey and Ash all earning their first blazers. Wilkie and Clark now have a couple, and Andrews has plenty.

Right, so that’s that for tonight’s individual awards. Now we are going to be handing out some jackets to some All Australians.

We are going to do it line by line. Starting with the defenders…

The top three are Harry Dean, Willem Duursma and Jagga Smith.

But the winner is Jagga Smith from Carlton.

Jagga was the number three pick in the 2024 draft, and had he not blown out his ACL in preseason last year he may well have won the last Rising Star.

But forced to wait another 12 months, Smith hit 2026 like a bat out of hell. What looked like a tight race for most of the year became a foregone conclusion by the end of the season. Smith just got better and better and better, and by the end was a comfortable winner.

He finished on top ahead of Dean in second, Duursma in third, Cooper Trembath in fourth and Jobe Shanahan fifth.

The final three for this one are Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Jordan Dawson.

The winner, as you might have expected, is Nick Daicos.

Another ticked off by Nick. In his speeches he is playing things relatively straight, keeping the focus on Friday night and a wildcard clash at the MCG against the Western Bulldogs.

The three nominees for this one are Jordan Dawson, Brayden Maynard and Zak Butters.

And the winner, once again, is Jordan Dawson of Adelaide.

There’s courage and then there’s courage. I guess you could say Dawson has both in spades. Tough as a player, physically and mentally, I’m sure part of this award is in recognition of the tragedy he and his family have gone through this year with the death of his brother.

“It’s been a struggle. It’s not easy. It’s a range of emotions and they come at different times. For me it’s about creating safe spaces in the footy club and at home, and at understanding there will be times when it’s hard to go to work and that it is OK to feel a certain type of way. And to talk to people. It’s still raw, it’s always going to be hard to talk about. I’m so lucky I have such supportive people around me.

With a quiver in his lip, Jordan Dawson continues:

“The mental health space is something new to me, but something I want to learn more about. I want everyone to know who is struggling with their mental health that you are definitely loved and that the world is a better place with you in it. You are enough. We all love you, you have friends and family around you.”

The finalists for this one are Willem Duursma, Harry Dean and Joel Fitzgerald.

And the winner is Harry Dean of Carlton.

For a first-year key defender to step into such a challenging position and to perform as he did for an entire season is quite remarkable. Following in his old man’s footsteps, it’s not hard to imagine Dean racking up All Australian jackets over the course of the next decade.

Now we’re into the player-voted awards. Three finalists for this first one – Alex Pearce, Max Gawn and Jordan Dawson.

The winner is Jordan Dawson of Adelaide.

Long been highly respected as a footballer and as a leader, Dawson had to wrestle some significant personal trauma throughout 2026. To do it with such class and strength saw him rise even higher in the eyes of his peers. A very deserving winner.

Charlie Curnow is not in the building tonight, but he suited up for a pre-prepared video message in Sydney which is played to celebrate his Coleman Medal.

With 69 goals, Curnow finished six clear of Brisbane’s Logan Morris. This is his third Coleman, the first two won during his time with Carlton.

One of the big ones, and a bit of a foregone conclusion really. Having built a massive lead throughout the year, there was only ever going to be one winner.

The winner, of course, is Nick Daicos of Collingwood.

This is the first of many awards Nick Daicos is going to pick up over the next few weeks. He is an incredible player who has had an incredible season. The MVP, Brownlow and Pies B&F are in his sights next.

Quickly onto the next one. This one is also voted on weekly by the coaches after each game.

And the winner is Callum Wilkie of St Kilda.

Wilkie has very quickly become the game’s preeminent defender and is a deserving inaugural winner of this new award. Though, typically humble, he spins it another way…

“I’ve set a good precedent. I don’t actually do any defending, I just drop off and intercept.”

Right, the first award of the night is up. This one goes to the player in his first two seasons who accrued the most coach’s votes throughout the season.

And we have a tie!

The winners are Max Hall from St Kilda and Murphy Reid from Fremantle.

Been a lot of debate online recently as to which of these two blokes has had the better season. I guess with the sharing of this award we could call it a draw?

Two different stories though. One a mid-season recruit who has come from the clouds and the other a highly-touted draftee who bizarrely slid. Both wonderful players to watch.

The AFL CEO is up to get the evening properly underway. He’s talking mostly about the league’s strong attendance and viewership numbers, and some of the milestones and memories of the season. But there is one pointed message mixed in there:

“Keeping footy strong from the grassroots up depends on everyone feeling welcome, safe and respected. We are the biggest game in the country, and we must never lose sight of the responsibily that carries. Starting with the example we set for the millions of girls and boys who dream of playing at the highest level.”