Twenty-two year old Dayne Beams has been named for the first time in his four year career, while Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury were again included after superb seasons.
Swan has now been selected in four consecutive All-Australian teams and trails only Nathan Buckley (seven) as the most capped Collingwood player in the club’s history.
View the list of all Collingwood players to receive All-Australian selection.
For Beams, the selection is the biggest accolade to date in his breakout season. He played 21 home and away games, averaging 21.2 disposals (up on 22.8 in 2011) and kicked a career-high 27 goals.
Drafted to Collingwood with the 29th overall selection in the 2008 National Draft, Beams made rapid progress over the course of his first three years at the club before exploding in 2012.
The old adage ‘crisis creates opportunity’ rang true for Beams who filled the void created by the injury-enforced absence of Luke Ball after the premiership teammate suffered a knee injury in round three.
In the 18 home and away games that followed, Beams gathered 30 or more disposals on 16 occasions and stamped himself as a bona fide star of the competition.
For the accomplished Swan and Pendlebury, their fine 2012 season underlined the consistency that has been a hallmark of their games in recent years.
Swan, the 2011 Brownlow Medallist, averaged a whopping 35.7 disposals during the home and away season and operated at more than a goal per game for the second year in succession.
The triple Copeland Trophy winner’s season’s high watermark was undoubtedly his ANZAC Medal winning performance against Essendon in round five. Swan gathered 42 possessions and kicked three goals in a masterful display. He also managed to win 40 or more disposals on a career-high six occasions, topped by his 49 in the loss to Hawthorn in round 17.
Vice-captain Pendlebury was class personified despite missing four games mid-season due to a cracked tibia.
He averaged 29 disposals for the second successive season and laid more than five tacklers per game. Pendlebury also kicked a career-best four goals in the tense two-goal win over Geelong in round eight including the sealer from more than 60m out.
It is the fifth successive season that Collingwood has had representation in the All-Australian team. In 2011, the Magpies had six players named in the All-Australian team, equal with 1990 as the most in its history. Of the six, only Swan and Pendlebury were named this year.
Collingwood’s 2012 All-Australians
Dayne Beams: Never previously selected. 21 games in 2012. 337 kicks, 97 marks, 319 handballs (fourth in the AFL), averaging 16.0 kicks, 4.6 marks, 15.2 handballs. Third in the AFL in total disposals. 27 goals, 14 behinds. 121 clearances, 96 inside 50m, 34 rebound 50m. 83 tackles. ??
Scott Pendlebury: All Australian 2010, 2011. 18 games in 2012. 269 kicks, 70 marks, 261 handballs, averaging 14.9 kicks, 3.9 marks, 14.5 handballs. 10 goals, seven behinds. 109 clearances, 67 inside 50m, 41 rebound 50m. 93 tackles. ??
Dane Swan: All Australian 2009, 2010, 2011. 18 games in 2012. 382 kicks (second in the AFL), 123 marks, 260 handballs, averaging 21.2 kicks, 6.8 marks, 14.4 handballs. Fifth in the AFL in total disposals. 22 goals, 21 behinds. 116 clearances, 78 inside 50m, 40 rebound 50m. 58 tackles.
The 2012 All-Australian team
B: Sean Dempster (St Kilda), Luke McPharlin (Fremantle), Darren Glass (West Coast)
HB: Beau Waters (West Coast), Ted Richards (Sydney), Grant Birchall (Hawthorn)
C: Trent Cotchin (Richmond), Jobe Watson (Essendon), Dayne Beams (Collingwood)
HF: Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide), Lance Franklin (Hawthorn), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)
F: Stephen Milne (St Kilda), Tom Hawkins (Geelong), Dean Cox (West Coast)
FOLL: Nic Naitanui (West Coast), Scott Thompson (Adelaide), Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
INT: Brett Deledio (Richmond), Josh Kennedy (Sydney), Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood), Dane Swan (Collingwood)
CAPTAIN: Darren Glass (West Coast)
VICE-CAPTAIN: Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
COACH: TBA (coach of the 2012 premiership team)
How the team was selected ?
The All Australian selectors were not asked to nominate the leading players in each section of the field - forwards, defenders, midfielders and ruckmen - but simply to name the best players of the season. However, the final team of 22 was selected to best-fit team balance as if to play a match. ??
The All Australian selection panel is: Andrew Demetriou (chairman), Adrian Anderson, Kevin Bartlett, Luke Darcy, Danny Frawley, Glen Jakovich, Leigh Matthews and Mark Ricciuto.
Dayne Beams, Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury and partner Alex Davis arrive at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne for the 2012 All-Australian Dinner.
