Making an All-Australian team is an amazing achievement.
It is an accolade that sits nicely on the CV and is frequently referenced throughout the career of any player good enough to get there.
But there are plenty who are so close, just miss out for whatever reason or are always in the mix but never quite take the next step over the course of a season.
We have taken a look at each of the 18 clubs and who we believe will next make the All-Australian team for the first time.
In order to do this, we have not included previous All-Australians but have included those who have made 44 or 40-man squads and not been selected in the final team.
Check out all 18 clubs below!
Izak Rankine
This list was made for Izak Rankine.
The 23-year-old Crow is coming off a career-best season at West Lakes and has the talent to not just be an occasional All-Australian, but a feature of the team for much of the next decade.
Rankine is tipped for plenty of improvement in 2024, his second season at the Crows, after booting 36 goals in 2023.
If he can kick 45-plus goals next year, pencil him in for All-Australian honours. And even better for Crows fans, he’ll only get better in the coming seasons.
Seb Mottram
Hugh McCluggage
An easy choice for Brisbane, Hugh McCluggage might be the unluckiest player in the competition to never be named an All-Australian.
A consistently brilliant performer, McCluggage has made the squad on four occasions (2019, ‘20, ‘21 and ‘22) but is yet to make the final side.
Coming into the 2024 season aged 26, McCluggage is primed to take another step in his career and collect a maiden All-Australian blazer.
If not in 2025, McCluggage will surely get a gong in one of the following seasons. He also appears more likely to win a wing, midfield or bench spot before the likes of Will Ashcroft, Keidean Coleman and Zac Bailey truly enter contention.
Lachlan Geleit
Jacob Weitering
Any danger of Jacob Weitering getting a well-deserved All-Australian blazer? The Carlton star has made the squad four years in a row without receiving the final nod.
He has been ultra consistent for the Blues for a number of years now and is clearly one of if not the best one-on-one defenders in the competition.
Surely 2024 is the year Weitering finally gets the nod he’s deserved for nearly half a decade now.
Nic Negrepontis
Jordan De Goey
One of the competition’s more dominant players, Jordan De Goey has come close, twice making the All-Australian squad but has never been selected in the team.
The Collingwood superstar clearly has the talent to make the side, and probably should have by now in his career, but has never been consistent enough across a home and away campaign to be honoured with a blazer.
If he puts together a consistent season and isn’t injured, De Goey will be good enough to make the side. Will that happen in 2024? That’s all up to him.
A midfield, bench or half-forward spot beckons for the powerful star.
Lachlan Geleit
Jordan Ridley
Jordan Ridley appears the perfect first-time All-Australian candidate for the Bombers.
The intercepting defender has a very solid body of work behind him over the course of the past four years so is well and truly under notice.
His best season to date came in 2020 when he burst onto the scene to win the Crichton Medal while being selected in the 40-man All-Australian squad. That was when he played in the same back six as Michael Hurley.
While Ridley’s numbers have improved across the board ever since, he has not quite had the same overall impact.
However, with Ben McKay now at the club, Ridley could truly excel again as the third defender with elite intercept and quality rebound ability.
Andrew Slevison
Luke Jackson
Luke Jackson made the squad in 2023 and is a fair shot to make the leap to the final 22 in 2024.
While he will have to split ruck duties with Sean Darcy, Jackson will have a significant impact both in the ruck, around the ground and inside 50 and projects as a truly versatile weapon.
We’ve seen Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox make an All-Australian team together in the past, so there’s certainly precedent for someone splitting the ruck responsibilities to get in.
It’s worth remembering that Jackson is only 22 and has already been dominant in a Grand Final and made an All-Australian squad – his upside is enormous.
Nic Negrepontis
Gryan Miers
There’s no obvious suitor at the Cattery to jump up into All-Australian calculations. But Gryan Miers wasn’t far from the team in 2023 and at 24 years of age he can take another step next year.
The small forward, Geelong’s connector between the midfield and forward line, broke the league record for goal assists in 2023 but struggled to convert himself, kicking just seven goals and 13 behinds.
If Miers can take a big leap in front of goal (he kicked 28 goals in 2019) and maintain or even improve his efficiency with ball in hand, he has a big chance for a bench spot or better next year and beyond.
Seb Mottram
Ben King
2024 is the year for Ben King to go to another level.
An ACL rupture in early 2022 saw King’s 2023 pre-season interrupted, yet he still kicked 40 goals from 20 games.
Injury-free, King’s proven he has the talent to take the competition by storm.
With a bolstered midfield and more help up forward next year as the Suns mount their biggest challenge for finals action in 2024, the 23-year-old has plenty of factors in his favour to take a leap into the competition’s elites.
It all depends on how King’s body holds up. But the fact he kicked 47 goals in just his third season of AFL footy bodes well for the hope he can kick 60+ majors in 2024.
Seb Mottram
Tom Green
It would take a brave person to bet against Tom Green being the Giants’ next All-Australian.
The 22-year-old midfielder was impressive in both 2021 and 2022, but truly broke out in 2023 which resulted in his inclusion in the initial 44-man squad.
Green finished equal second in the GWS best and fairest alongside Stephen Coniglio and behind Toby Greene. He was one of the more dominant midfielders in the AFL last season.
He possesses attributes as a bullocking inside player who tackles maniacally, can break away from stoppages and has fairly good skills.
It appears as though the sky is the limit for Green who is bearing down on a maiden All-Australian blazer.
The emerging Finn Callaghan shouldn’t be too far behind him.
Andrew Slevison
Jai Newcombe
With 51 career games under his belt, Jai Newcombe is ready to make the next step in his career.
The 23-year-old has improved year on year and made the All-Aus squad in 2023.
A tough on-ball that can burst onto the outside, Newcombe could easily win a midfield or bench spot if he increases his averages and hits the scoreboard more often than he has in previous campaigns.
At this stage, Newcombe looks destined to one day become an All-Australian. The question may just be if 2024 is the year it happens.
Lachlan Geleit
Kysaiah Pickett
Pickett is already in the conversation as one of the top small forwards in the competition and with a consistent year under his belt, a berth in the All-Australian side could be on the horizon for him in 2024.
Pickett’s innate ability to always hit the scoreboard and apply elite forward pressure consistently, was a major reason why the Demons were able to still contend this season, despite having issues in their forward line.
And with the competition at the position regarded as one of the weaker positions on the ground, Pickett is widely recognised as one of the most likely small forwards to get the next spot in the All-Australian team.
Trent Rivers could be a dark horse to steal this honour away from Pickett if he was to go to another level across half back.
Zac Sharpe
Luke Davies-Uniacke
After truly emerging as a star midfielder in 2022, Luke Davies-Uniacke improved again in 2023, but injuries and the overall performance of the team ultimately held him back.
Breaking into the All-Australian midfield is tough – you’ve essentially got to be one of the four or five best mids of the season, competing against some of the greats of the game.
But Davies-Uniacke is ready to break into that mix in 2024, particularly as the Roos’ on-ball talents improve around him.
Expect LDU to be among those vying for a spot in 2024, assuming he gets a clean run at the season.
Nic Negrepontis
Jason Horne-Francis
At this rate, half of the All-Australian midfield is going to be made up of Port Adelaide players.
Horne-Francis is the youngest piece of the Power’s lauded midfield and is poised to be the next one of the crop to take the competition by storm.
The former no.1 pick has shown flashes of pure dominance throughout his first two seasons, however he is yet to put everything together and evolve into the unstoppable force many expect.
With multiple stars already in the Power’s midfield, Horne-Francis will likely be facing plenty of internal competition for an All-Australian slot, yet there is simply no other player on this list without a blazer that has the same upside.
More time up forward could see Horne-Francis receive more opportunity in this squad, but the competition for an All-Australian spot there isn’t any less fierce.
Jack Makeham
Tim Taranto
Tim Taranto produced a stellar debut season for Richmond in 2023.
He won the Jack Dyer Medal as the club’s best and fairest, polled a career-high 19 Brownlow Medal votes and averaged a career-best 28.8 disposals in yellow and black.
The former Giant was agonisingly close to being included in the 44-man squad this year, with many onlookers suggesting he was extremely stiff to miss out.
There is a lengthy list of quality midfielders in the AFL so it will no easy feat, but if Taranto can replicate what he did last year then he’s every chance.
His fellow ex-GWS midfielder Jacob Hopper (2021), dashing half-back Dan Rioli (2022) and intercept defender Nick Vlastuin (2020) have all been closest of those Tigers who aren’t already All-Australians.
Andrew Slevison
Max King
Max King is destined to feature in multiple All-Australian sides over the next decade.
The young forward has been riddled with injury since joining the league in 2020 and it's meant AFL fans have been deprived of seeing the St Kilda spearhead go to work.
If King gets a full run at it in 2024, we could even see him feature in next year’s side because if he plays 24 games, he'll have nearly 90 shots on goal, and he looks like he's overcome that inaccuracy in front of goal.
With the likes of Tom Hawkins, Taylor Walker, Tom Lynch and Jeremy Cameron entering their final stages of their stellar careers, it leaves a vacancy for the younger generation of key forwards to stamp their authority on the competition.
We saw it this year with Charlie Curnow and Nick Larkey making the All-Australian team and I think King will make that jump next year.
He looks the obvious Saint to feature in claim their maiden All-Australian blazer with Jack Sinclair and Callum Wilkie making the team last season.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Nick Blakey
The electric half back made the squad of 44 in 2023 and could go one step better in 2024. Selector Kane Cornes also said that the 23-year-old was “very, very, very close” to making last year’s side.
Coming into his prime seasons, Blakey should only improve from here and will no doubt be more of a chance if Sydney push up the ladder as many expect in the coming campaigns.
The only thing that could hold him back is a change in role that suits the Swans more but doesn’t show off his individual brilliance as much.
Lachlan Geleit
Oscar Allen
Having received the nod for the 40-man squad last season, Oscar Allen is tantalisingly close to making his All-Australian debut.
One of the few concrete pieces in West Coast’s future plans, Allen has been a constant threat in spite of the turmoil that has surrounded the Eagles, finishing equal fifth in the 2023 Coleman race with 53 goals.
West Coast’s new co-captain has all the tools to be one of the competition’s very best key forwards, but it’s looking like he won’t be recognised until he receives some assistance from his midfielders.
With the Eagles steadily continuing their rebuild and many stalwarts of the All-Australian forward line getting up there in age, a blazer is on the cards for Allen soon enough.
Jack Makeham
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
It feels like it’s only a matter of time before Jamarra establishes himself as one of the competition’s elite forwards.
The 21-year-old kicked a career-best 35 goals in 2023 and was only scratching the surface of his immensely high ceiling, having shown the ability to win a game off his own boot with multiple five-goal hauls.
Coming into a contract year, Ugle-Hagan is expected by many to take that next step in 2024 and assert himself as the primary cog in the Bulldogs’ forward line.
Even if it doesn’t come next season, the young gun clearly has the tools to contend for All-Australian selection for years to come.
Jack Makeham