David Mundy and Sean Darcy have been recognised for their impressive 2021 seasons with selections in the initial 40-man Therabody All Australian squad.
The squad will then be narrowed down to a final team of 22, which will be announced in on Thursday during AFL Awards night, broadcast on Fox Footy.
The selections of both Mundy and Darcy are remarkable because of their age, with the pair exceeding the expectations placed on players of a similar age in their roles.
At 36, Mundy played every game in 2021 with an average of 25.1 disposals per game. It is only the second time in his career that the midfielder has exceeded the 25-disposal mark in a season, averaging 26.9 disposals in his only All Australian season in 2015.
As well as his lone All Australian selection in 2015, this is the fourth time Mundy has made the squad, alongside his 2010 and 2013 seasons.
Mundy also had an important scoreboard impact in 2021, with his 15 goals the equal-second most in his career.
Darcy was named as one of three rucks in the squad alongside Max Gawn and Nic Naitanui, with the 23-year-old excelling in a role that is usually dominated by the game’s more experienced players.
Darcy ranked fourth for hitouts to advantage in 2021, an impressive feat considering he played more as a forward for eight games in 2021 when fellow ruck Lloyd Meek was in the team.
His hitout to advantage win percentage of 19 per cent trailed only Nic Naitanui in the AFL (20.8 per cent).
Darcy also averaged 4.7 clearances per game in 2021, more than Max Gawn (4.5) and Brodie Grundy (4), trailing only Nic Naitanui (7.2), Oscar McInerney (5.3) and Tom Hickey (5) out of the AFL’s ruckmen.
His 12 goals was the equal-most for rucks who attended 1000 or more ruck contests in 2021, alongside Todd Goldstein.
2021 THERABODY AFL ALL-AUSTRALIAN SQUAD
Rory Laird
2017, 2018 All Australian.
Paul Seedsman
Never Previously All Australian.
Charlie Cameron
2019 All Australian.
Jarryd Lyons
Never Previously All Australian.
Hugh McCluggage
Never Previously All Australian.
Daniel Rich
Never Previously All Australian.
Dayne Zorko
2017 All Australian.
Harry McKay
Never Previously All Australian.
Sam Walsh
Never Previously All Australian.
Jacob Weitering
Never Previously All Australian.
Zach Merrett
2017 All Australian.
Darcy Parish
Never Previously All Australian.
Jake Stringer
2015 All Australian.
Sean Darcy
Never Previously All Australian.
David Mundy
2015 All Australian.
Tom Hawkins
2012, 2019, 2020 All Australian.
Tom Stewart
2018, 2019 All Australian.
Touk Miller
Never Previously All Australian.
Toby Greene
2016 All Australian.
Jacob Hopper
Never Previously All Australian.
Tom Mitchell
2017, 2018 All Australian.
Bayley Fritsch
Never Previously All Australian.
Max Gawn
2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 All Australian.
Jake Lever
Never Previously All Australian.
Steven May
Never Previously All Australian.
Clayton Oliver
2018 All Australian.
Christian Petracca
2020 All Australian.
Christian Salem
Never Previously All Australian.
Aliir Aliir
Never Previously All Australian.
Karl Amon
Never Previously All Australian.
Ollie Wines
Never Previously All Australian.
Jack Steele
2020 All Australian.
Lance Franklin
2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 All Australian.
Callum Mills
Never Previously All Australian.
Tom Papley
Never Previously All Australian.
Luke Parker
2016 All Australian.
Nic Naitanui
2012, 2020 All Australian.
Marcus Bontempelli
2016, 2019, 2020 All Australian.
Bailey Dale
Never Previously All Australian.
Jack Macrae
2019, 2020 All Australian
