{"id":467886,"date":"2025-08-29T01:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=467886"},"modified":"2025-08-29T02:15:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T02:15:00","slug":"baffling-captain-call-stuns-after-huge-all-australian-snub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=467886","title":{"rendered":"Baffling captain call stuns after huge All-Australian snub"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/person\/jeremy-cameron-25rk\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Jeremy Cameron\">Jeremy Cameron<\/a>\ufeff was left stunned after being named captain of the 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/afl\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"AFL\">AFL<\/a> All-Australian team, admitting he had never captained a side in his life.<\/p>\n<p>Despite five team captains being named in the final team of 22 at the AFL Awards night on Thursday night, selectors bestowed the honour on Cameron.<\/p>\n<p>Adelaide&#x27;s Jordan Dawson was named vice-captain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/afl\/news-2025-bailey-smith-psych-ward-reveal-comments-mentalt-health-acl-injury-geelong-cats-20250828-p5mqru.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>&#x27;Dark time&#x27;: Smith reveals he spent time in psych ward<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/news-2025-the-mole-exclusive-mal-meninga-supports-justin-holbrook-newcastle-knights-coaching-job-20250828-p5mqsg.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Top contender &#x27;primed&#x27; for Knights job after key endorsement<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/news-2025-reed-mahoney-canterbury-bulldogs-position-bench-hooker-cameron-smith-johnathan-thurston-comments-20250828-p5mqsi.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>JT, Smith urge &#x27;one-dimensional&#x27; Dogs to ditch line-up experiment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When his name was announced, Cameron raised an eyebrow before giving a bewildered interview with Fox Footy.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"f3962073-594a-4e61-a054-c7149ec73e2a\" src=\"https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/f3962073-594a-4e61-a054-c7149ec73e2a\" alt=\"Jeremy Cameron of the Cats is named captain of the AFL All-Australian Team.\" data-width=\"4950\" data-height=\"2784\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&quot;I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;ve captained any team in my life, mate,&quot; he said with a laugh. &quot;Honestly, I&#x27;ve never captained anything.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Danger (Patrick Dangerfield) has asked me a couple (of) times to do the pre-game speech, and I&#x27;ve knocked him back. I&#x27;ve had absolutely no practice at all. I like sitting back and listening in and then just playing the game.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It&#x27;s all new to me.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Asked \ufeffwhat he would &quot;bring to the table&quot; to rev up the side before a game, Cameron was at a loss.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Honestly, I&#x27;m not sure,&quot; he said to laughs from the audience.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I&#x27;d probably grab the five captains that are actually up there and ask them what I should say.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It&#x27;s a wonderful team, it&#x27;s a privilege to be named the captain. I&#x27;m still trying to figure out why.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Dawson had been named the AFL Players Association&#x27;s Best Captain.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"ddfe556a-0537-4588-856c-5266addf8f38\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ddfe556a-0537-4588-856c-5266addf8f38\" alt=\"The 2025 All-Australian team.\" data-width=\"1396\" data-height=\"785\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time the All-Australian team has been named with a non-traditional captain in recognition of their achievements in the game.<\/p>\n<p>Former Cat Tom Hawkins (2022), current Geelong skipper Dangerfield (2020), Swans and Hawks champion Lance Franklin (2018) and ex-Tiger Alex Rance (2017) were previously named captains despite not holding leadership positions at their respective clubs.\ufeff<\/p>\n<p>Several key players were notably absent from this year&#x27;s team, the most obvious being Adelaide defender Josh Worrell.<\/p>\n<p>Despite averaging over 20 disposals a game this season, Worrell was overlooked for three first-time selections in the team&#x27;s back six.<\/p>\n<p>Ranked \ufeffsecond in the competition for intercept possessions, Worrell had played a key role in delivering the Crows to the minor premiership.<\/p>\n<p>It came on the same night that Max Gawn added to his case of being the game&#x27;s best ruckman, equalling the record for the most All-Australian selections in history.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"6e201f1c-3a18-47ca-a59d-e9195d7739d5\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6e201f1c-3a18-47ca-a59d-e9195d7739d5\" alt=\"Jordan Dawson of the Crows and Max Gawn of the Demons are named in the AFL All-Australian Team.\" data-width=\"819\" data-height=\"461\" \/><\/p>\n<p>He joins the likes of Robert Harvey, Mark Ricciuto, Gary Ablett Jr., Franklin and Dangerfield to have been selected on eight occasions. \ufeff<\/p>\n<p>\ufeffIn the midfield, Gawn was named alongside a cohort of first-timers in Hugh McCluggage, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/afl\/news-2025-bailey-smith-psych-ward-reveal-comments-mentalt-health-acl-injury-geelong-cats-20250828-p5mqru.html\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Bailey Smith\">Bailey Smith<\/a>, Noah Anderson and Ed Richards. Jordan Dawson was also named in what was his second time receiving the blazer.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Battle, Jordan Clark and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera joined the list of stars receiving their first All-Australian blazers.<\/p>\n<p>Cameron returned to the stage to receive his second Coleman Medal with 83 goals, a new career-high, for what marked his fifth time in the All-Australian team.<\/p>\n<p>Nick Daicos, meanwhile, is wasting no time adding pieces of silverware to his already established collection after being named the 2025 AFLPA&#x27;s Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n<p>Voted by his peers, the Collingwood young gun has become the fourth-youngest winner of the Leigh Matthews Trophy, having just fallen short of the honour in previous years.<\/p>\n<p>The 22-year-old became the youngest winner of the award since Nick Riewoldt, at 21 years of age, in 2004. \ufeff<\/p>\n<p>Daicos has been instrumental for Collingwood this season, having featured in all 23 games with the club and averaging 30 disposals each game.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"3eb07e42-1292-4e3d-8d6e-83bf81c65b42\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3eb07e42-1292-4e3d-8d6e-83bf81c65b42\" alt=\"Mark Howard speaks with Nick Daicos of the Magpies alongside Leigh Matthews.\" data-width=\"931\" data-height=\"524\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The midfielder sits inside the top six across the league for inside 50s and clearances.<\/p>\n<p>Daicos collected the award just moments after being named in his fourth consecutive 22-Under-22 team.<\/p>\n<p>He admitted he was overwhelmed to receive the MVP award. \ufeff<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It&#x27;s a huge honour to be voted this year&#x27;s MVP,&quot; Daicos said.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;There are so many impressive footballers in the game at the moment, people who I get to play both with and against, and the list of previous winners is quite an overwhelming group to join.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I&#x27;m very grateful for what I get to do each week, and to be recognised by my fellow players.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Adelaide Crows captain Dawson was the runner-up for the award, while Wanganeen-Milera also polled close to Daicos.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"7c30bcef-4b3a-4602-96e7-c80fce4bf475\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/7c30bcef-4b3a-4602-96e7-c80fce4bf475\" alt=\"\" data-width=\"1551\" data-height=\"872\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The last time a Collingwood player received the \ufeffLeigh Matthews Trophy was in 2010 when Dane Swan was crowned the winner.<\/p>\n<p>It was a tie for AFLCA Champion Player of the Year, with both Anderson and Smith taking out the title. \ufeff<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Fremantle youngster Murphy Reid was named as the best young player by his fellow players. Geelong&#x27;s Shaun Mannagh was crowned the winner of the AFL Coaches&#x27; Association&#x27;s Best Young Player. \ufeff<\/p>\n<p>Brisbane&#x27;s Josh Dunkley was voted by his peers as the most courageous player\ufeff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALL-AUSTRALIAN TEAM:\ufeff<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Josh Battle (Hawthorn Hawks), Sam Taylor (GWS Giants), Jordan Clark (Fremantle Dockers)<\/p>\n<p><strong>HB:<\/strong> Bailey Dale (Western Bulldogs), Harris Andrews (Brisbane Lions), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda Saints)<\/p>\n<p><strong>C:<\/strong> Bailey Smith (Geelong Cats), Jordan Dawson (vc) (Adelaide Crows), Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane Lions)<\/p>\n<p><strong>R:<\/strong> Max Gawn (Melbourne Demons), Noah Anderson (Gold Coast Suns), Ed Richards (Western Bulldogs)<\/p>\n<p><strong>HF:<\/strong> Isaac Heeney (Sydney Swans), Jeremy Cameron (c) (Geelong Cats), Zac Bailey (Brisbane Lions)<\/p>\n<p><strong>F:<\/strong> Jack Gunston (Hawthorn Hawks), Riley Thilthorpe (Adelaide Crows), Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne Demons)<\/p>\n<p><strong>INT:<\/strong> Nick Daicos (Collingwood Magpies), Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Caleb Serong (Fremantle Dockers), Matt Rowell (Gold Coast Suns)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Jeremy Cameron\ufeff was left stunned after being named captain of the 2025 AFL All-Australian team, admitting he had never captained a side in his life. <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=467886\" title=\"Baffling captain call stuns after huge All-Australian snub\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":467889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467886"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=467886"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":467892,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467886\/revisions\/467892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/467889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=467886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=467886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=467886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}