All-Australian selector Kane Cornes has commented on several players who missed out on making the 2023 side.
As is every year, many felt several players were unlucky to miss out on selection and Cornes attempted to offer up a reason or reveal the feedback he heard as to why they weren’t picked.
Cornes spoke about those omissions with Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy on SEN Sportsday.
Check out some of his explanations on several players below.
Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
“There are always good players that miss out. He was certainly unlucky, we discussed him at length.
“He’s not the first player that’s unlucky to miss out.
“I wonder whether the Dogs if their season overall hurt them, this is just an observation.
“To have three midfielders from the Western Bulldogs in a season as disappointing as it was. I’m not sure how that sits.
“They win the clearances often, but it doesn’t amount to wins.”
Jack Viney (Melbourne)
“Libba and Viney from me, I think those two if there was a sub, they would be vying for that.”
Lachie Neale (Brisbane)
“I got some really strong feedback from an assistant coach not from Brisbane that said, ‘You are absolutely kidding yourself to leave Lachie Neale out of that side’.
“In his mind, he was the unluckiest player to miss out. I didn’t see it that way.”
Dustin Martin (Richmond)
“There were a few upset about Dustin Martin.
“No, he wasn’t in the team at the halfway mark.”
Jordan De Goey (Collingwood)
“He was in at the halfway point of the season, absolutely in, but he dropped away.
“He came good late, but ever since he was suspended you could see his drop-off. That was reflective of a couple of players at Collingwood, perhaps that’s a bit of a motivation thing.
“He’s a good record in finals though, Jordan De Goey.”
Kyle Langford (Essendon)
“No, he was not that close (to replacing Charlie Cameron).
“I think Charlie’s last fortnight cemented his spot in the team.”
Nick Blakey (Sydney)
“Nick Blakey was very close.
“Very, very, very close.”
Mason Wood (St Kilda)
“I don’t think he had an All-Australian calibre season when you line him up with the other players.”
Check out the official 2023 All-Australian team HERE and all of the individual winners at the AFL Awards HERE.