There may be no game this Thursday, but the AFL are quite crafty in terms of keeping people talking about footy, aren’t they? Even if they put their foot in it as a way of engaging discussion.
Outside of drama around players being sent back onto the field with injuries that would have been greatly exacerbated by a knock (get well soon, Christian Petracca), they have released a list of the players talked about as part of the meeting of All-Australian selectors this week.
The usual suspects were discussed – Cripps, Bont, Butters, Curnow… the blokes that dominate chatter when it comes to the best players in the game. However, when we look at the list a little deeper, there is an omission. There are a few, actually, and there are a few names that probably shouldn’t be on the list, as well, but one omission stood out among the rest.
You can have a gander at the list in the outside below.
Okay, got them all memorised? I might test you later.
The big question when it comes to this expansive list of players is as follows – How is Sam Collins not in the discussion when it comes to key defenders?
I’ll follow that up with another question – when was the last time a defender led the league in both intercepts and one-percenters? Because that is where Sam Collins sits heading into Round 14.
If I jump into the record books… or the record internet page, in this case, we find that the last time a player ended the season with the double was back in 2017, when Alex Rance registered 242 one-percenters and 236 intercepts to lead the competition.
And was Rance ignored when the AA team was being discussed?
Of course, he wasn’t! He made five of them!
Also, he played for Richmond. That helped.
That, and the fact that he completely deserved the honour, as well.
Putting it out there; the only reason that Sam Collins is not in the equation when it comes to All-Australian key defenders is because he is playing Off-Broadway. I look at the timing of these Suns games, and unless selectors are actually scheduled to be part of the broadcast, I doubt they watch them. I doubt some of them watch all games, even though it is kind of their job. They see the Suns winning at home and falling over on the road, and they shrug their shoulders and move on to the next game. They like the stats and the visibility of blokes like Ben King, Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Mac Andrew, and Sam Flanders (42 touches on the weekend really helped his name being in the discussion), but the workmanlike professionalism of Sam Collins is easy to overlook.
But maybe other defenders have just been better?
Yeah, maybe… but I doubt it.
Sam Taylor makes the discussion despite missing time. If we’re being honest, here, he has not been a patch on his form in 2022, or even last year.
Ben McKay is in the mix at his new club, and I reckon there is an argument for him. He has made that defence way more solid in 2024.
Alex Pearce has been huge for the Dockers. He would be the man I would have as the closest competition to Collins.
James Sicily has had a very hit-and-miss season. I don’t actually believe he should even be in the discussion.
Steven May’s yelling at his teammates seems to be paying off. He has been good without being great.
Cal Wilkie is toiling away on a St Kilda team going nowhere and is a quiet achiever. Worth the discussion.
And the pair of Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass are playing on the third-worst defensive team in the league and still able to be effective. But as good as they are, they have been unable to stem the flow of the goals against.
Really, any of them could be assessed as being worthy, but more worthy than Collins?
The Suns are now plonked right in the middle of the ladder, both in terms of results, and in terms of points scored against. With McGovern and Barrass being touted as potential AA players ahead of him on a team that will finish in the bottom three, Collins must be wondering what else he has to do to force the AA selectors to take notice of him. Maybe lead the league in Rebound 50s, as well? He’s 63rd, for the record.
I know this was just a “discussion” and sometimes when you have a discussion, details are missed. I know there may have been great intentions from some to discuss Collins’ season to date and how good he’s been in anchoring this Suns team.
But they didn’t.
76 players had their name brought up. 76 will be worked into a shortlist of 40 come the end of the home and away season, and the bloke who has been the most consistent big defender in the game couldn’t get a mention.
You know, it’s no wonder there have been players who have sought out brighter lights to play under, when they’ve been at the Suns. Gold Coast are in the midst of becoming a good team, but when you have a guy playing so well, and carrying so much responsibility, being completely forgotten and disrespected by the All-Australian selectors, and not even get a mention in discussions at this stage of the season, I can understand why they left. At times, it is like they’re invisible
This season, Sam Collins has been anything but invisible. If you’ve taken the time to watch Gold Coast games, you would have seen this with your own eyes. At the very least, deserves a mention. And really, he deserves a lot more.
He has been better than Barrass. Better than Taylor. And better than McKay and Sicily.
I actually think he has been the best. It’s a pity for Sam that I’m seemingly on an island with that.
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