Brodie Grundy stands ready as the umpire holds the ball aloft. He reads the bounce to perfection and palms the ball directly into Scott Pendlebury’s hands.

Pendles evades an opposition midfielder, but has another one quickly closing in to tackle. In the split second before he’s wrapped up, a quick handball is fired out wide.

No one saw Steele Sidebottom on the receiving end, but all of a sudden he has the ball and is bursting through the middle of the ground.

Sidebottom sends the ball long inside 50. At the top of the goal square stands Jordan De Goey. Once thought of as an onballer himself, the 191cm beast easily out-muscles the opposition full back.

De Goey marks, goals and is swamped by excited teammates. Not Collingwood teammates however. All Australian teammates. The very best players in the game throughout the 2018 home and away season.

Grundy, Pendlebury, Sidebottom and De Goey make up a quartet of Magpies who have been named in the 40-man All Australian squad on Monday 27 August.

All four have had outstanding seasons, and all have played key roles in leading Collingwood back into the finals for the first time since 2013.

Can each of them make the cut with the All Australian side is trimmed down to 22 on Wednesday night?

Our biased opinions say definitely, but here are the resumes to push the case.

Brodie Grundy
Never Previously All Australian. 22 games in 2018. 174 kicks, 80 marks, 284 handballs averaging 7.9 kicks, 3.6 marks, 12.9 handballs. 847 hit outs (Second in the AFL in total hit outs) averaging 38.5 per game. Eight Goals, Eight Behinds. 120 clearances, 56 Inside 50m, 25 Rebound 50m. 116 tackles.

Best performance: Take your pick. Grundy evolved from dominant force in the ruck, to genuine star midfielder on a number of occasions in 2018. However we simply can’t go past a round four clash with Adelaide as the standout performance of the season. The South Australian spent his birthday weekend on home soil, and produced one of the best big-man games you’re likely to see. 33 disposals, 40 hit-outs and 12 clearances was highlighted by a running goal in the second quarter which gave the Magpies a 22-point lead and silenced the home crowd.

Why he’ll make it: No tall in the AFL has the ability to combine elite ruckwork with outstanding skills around the ground. Fourteen times Grundy collected over 20 disposals, while also ranking tenth in the league for clearances and fourth in the competition in hard-ball gets. It is one thing to give your midfielders first use, but another to do all that, and then win your own ball anywhere on the ground.



Scott Pendlebury
All Australian 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. 21 games in 2018. 256 kicks, 55 marks, 328 handballs averaging 12.2 kicks, 2.6 marks, 15.6 handballs. Nine Goals, Four Behinds. 110 clearances, 83 Inside 50m, 36 Rebound 50m. 124 tackles.

Best performance: When you surpass 30 disposals nine teams in a season, it’s hard to pick a standout game. But we can’t go past a round 16 win over traditional rivals Essendon. The Bombers clearly came to play, and led at half time and three quarter time by the narrowest of margins. But Pendlebury was at his brilliant best as the Magpies kicked five goals to two in the final term. Every single one of his touches hit a target in the last quarter, as he finished with 34 possessions, nine tackles and 11 clearances.

Why he’ll make it: Because the only thing that sounds better than ‘five-time All Australian’ is ‘six-time All Australian’. Few in the game have the continual success rate of Pendlebury, who made the final 22 five years in a row from 2010 to 2014. His tackle and clearance numbers rank higher this season than his earlier years, and he’s been a key factor in the Magpies climbing back into finals contention.



Steele Sidebottom
Never Previously All Australian. 22 games in 2018. 296 kicks, 105 marks, 355 handballs averaging 13.4 kicks, 4.8 marks, 16.1 handballs. 12 Goals, 13 Behinds. 84 clearances, 95 Inside 50m, 35 Rebound 50m. 84 tackles.

Best performance: A round three clash with Carlton at the MCG. Why? Because Sidebottom winning the ball at will is a given most outings. But seeing the 27-year-old hit the scoreboard is another element which takes his game to the next level. Sidebottom did it three times against the Blues as the Magpies recorded a 24-point victory. He also had more disposals than anyone else on the ground and kicked off a rich vein of form which continued through the early part of the season.  

Why he’ll make it: Because it’s outrageous to think he never has before! Ten years have gone by without Sidebottom making an All Australian team. In his favour this year is more midfield time, the highest disposal numbers of his career, and other career highs in handballs, clearances, inside 50s, contested possessions and uncontested possessions. The time is now for Steele Sidebottom to get what he’s deserved for so long.



Jordan De Goey
Never Previously All Australian. 17 games in 2018. 196 kicks, 72 marks, 94 handballs averaging 11.5 kicks, 4.2 marks, 5.5 handballs. 36 Goals, 16 Behinds. 36 clearances, 65 Inside 50m, Nine Rebound 50m. 45 tackles.

Best performance: Six goals under the roof at Etihad or five on the road against the Lions? It’s a toss-up, but we probably can’t go past an outing at the Gabba which was arguably match winning. De Goey was the focal point up forward in a high-scoring tussle with the Lions in round seven. He hit the scoreboard in each quarter, and had a direct hand in 10 of the Magpies 25 scoring shots – with 5.2 and three goal assists.

Why he’ll make it: Sheer impact. The All Australian team is selection “as if to play a match”, and De Goey could very well be that match winner. While midfield spots are often hard to come by, there aren’t many forwards in the competition who possess his explosiveness, power and ability to push into the middle. His 2018 resume also comes from a smaller sample size than most, considering he missed two games at the beginning of the season, and another two in rounds 19 and 20.