The 22 Under 22 team (stylised as 22under22) is an honorary representative
Australian rules football team created by the
AFL Players' Association that seeks to recognise the best young talent in the
Australian Football League (AFL) and
AFL Women's
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the league ...
(AFLW) competitions each year. To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 or under for the entire season (including finals). An initial squad of 40 is selected by the AFL Players' Board, before fans select a final team of 22 by voting via social media.
Selection process
The 22 Under 22 team is the only AFL award decided by fans. Supporters were asked to pick their best teams via
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
, or vote for individual players via
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.
The concept proved to be popular amongst AFL players, with many high-profile footballers voting and sharing their teams on social media. Current stars
Gary Ablett,
Drew Petrie
Drew Petrie (born 15 October 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He came out of retirement in 2017 to pla ...
,
Brad Sewell,
Luke Ball
Luke Patrick Ball (born 25 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the and football clubs in the Australian Football League. From 2003 to 2009 he played 142 games for the St Kilda Football Club whe ...
,
Andrew Swallow and
Isaac Smith all selected sides, as did former players
Cameron Mooney,
Daniel Harford
Daniel Harford (born 19 March 1977) is the senior coach of the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's league and a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Footb ...
and
Warwick Capper.
Several AFL journalists, including Mick Warner and Warwick Green, also voted and shared their teams.
AFL teams
2012
In the lead-up to the first 22 Under 22 team being announced, the AFL Players' Association selected a retrospective side from the 2012 season.
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
's
Patrick Dangerfield
Patrick Dangerfield (born 5 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club.
Drafted by Adelaide in 2007, Dangerfi ...
was named captain, while young stars
Trent Cotchin
Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist, an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest ...
,
Dayne Beams
Dayne Beams (born 12 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He also previously played for, and captained, the Brisbane Lions duri ...
and
Nic Naitanui were amongst those selected.
2013
The inaugural 22 Under 22 team was announced at the 2013 "Be the Influence" AFL Players'
MVP Awards on 10 September.
Essendon Essendon may refer to:
Australia
*Electoral district of Essendon
*Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington
* Essendon, Victoria
**Essendon railway station
**Essendon Airport
* Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League
United Ki ...
midfielder
Dyson Heppell was named as the side's captain, with
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
's
Jack Ziebell
Jack Ziebell (born 28 February 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ziebell received a nomination for the 2009 AFL Rising Star award in round ...
selected as the vice-captain.
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
had the most players selected of any club, with five Suns being picked in the final team –
Jaeger O'Meara,
Dion Prestia
Dion Prestia (born 12 October 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 95 games over six seasons with the Gold Coast Suns, after bei ...
,
Rory Thompson,
Tom Nicholls and
Trent McKenzie.
Rather than being awarded a medal or trophy, each player selected was presented with a
New Era 22 Under 22 cap, designed by former North Melbourne player
Daniel Pratt.
2014
The 2014 22 Under 22 team was announced at the 2014
AFL Players Association awards on 9 September. midfielder
Dyson Heppell was named as the side's captain for the second year in a row, with forward
Jack Gunston
Jack Gunston (born 16 October 1991) is a professional Australian footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Gunston was raised in Melbourne in Beaumaris and attended Haileybury College, play ...
selected as the vice-captain.
had the most players represented in the side, for the second year in a row, with six representatives –
Harley Bennell
Harley Bennell (born Harley Nannup; born 2 October 1992) is a former Australian rules footballer who last played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted with the second selection in the 2010 A ...
,
Kade Kolodjashnij,
Steven May,
Trent McKenzie,
Dion Prestia
Dion Prestia (born 12 October 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 95 games over six seasons with the Gold Coast Suns, after bei ...
, and
David Swallow.
2015
The 2015 22 Under 22 team was announced at the 2015
AFL Players Association awards on 15 September. forward
Jake Stringer
Jake Stringer (born 25 April 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2013 to 2017. Stringer was selec ...
was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Luke Parker selected as the vice-captain.
had the most players represented in the side, with four selections –
Jeremy Cameron
Jeremy Cameron (born 1 April 1993) is a professional footballer with the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2012 to 2020. Cameron has kicked the mo ...
,
Dylan Shiel
Dylan Anthony Shiel (born 9 March 1993) is a Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was one of 12 underage recruits that GWS had access to as part of their list conces ...
,
Devon Smith
Devon Sheldon Smith (born 21 October 1981 in Hermitage, Grenada) is a cricketer who features as a opening or top order left-handed batsman. Smith has played for the West Indies and the Windward Islands in regional tournaments. Smith also ho ...
, and
Adam Treloar
Adam Treloar (born 9 March 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2012 to 2015 and the Co ...
.
2016
The 2016 22 Under 22 team was announced on 13 September. midfielder
Marcus Bontempelli
Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previ ...
was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Zach Merrett
Zach Merrett (born 3 October 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A medium sized midfielder standing at 1.79 metres (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighing 83 ...
selected as the vice-captain.
2017
The 2017 22 Under 22 team was announced on 12 September. midfielder
Marcus Bontempelli
Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previ ...
was named as the side's captain for the second consecutive season, with midfielder
Zach Merrett
Zach Merrett (born 3 October 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A medium sized midfielder standing at 1.79 metres (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighing 83 ...
selected as the vice-captain also for the second consecutive season.
2018
The 2018 22 Under 22 team was announced on 30 August. midfielder
Marcus Bontempelli
Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previ ...
was named as the side's captain for the third consecutive season, with midfielder
Clayton Oliver
Clayton Oliver (born 22 July 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Oliver is known for his capabilities on the ...
selected as the vice-captain.
2019
The 2019 22 Under 22 team was announced on 29 August. key defender
Harris Andrews
Harris Michael Johnston Andrews (born 11 December 1996) is an Australian rules footballer and the co-captain of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Andrews was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 1996. He moved to B ...
was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Josh Dunkley
Joshua Dunkley (born 9 January 1997) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been drafted as a father-son pick to the .
Early life
Dunkley was born in Sydney, the secon ...
selected as the vice-captain.
2020
The 2020 22 Under 22 team was announced on 22 September. midfielder
Andrew McGrath was named as the side's captain, with key defender
Jacob Weitering selected as the vice-captain.
2021
The 2021 22 Under 22 team was announced on 26 August. midfielder
Sam Walsh was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Andrew Brayshaw
Andrew Brayshaw (born 8 November 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early career
After an impressive junior career for his school, Haileybury, ...
selected as the vice-captain.
2022
The 2022 22 Under 22 team was announced on 23 August. midfielder
Andrew Brayshaw
Andrew Brayshaw (born 8 November 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early career
After an impressive junior career for his school, Haileybury, ...
was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Sam Walsh selected as the vice-captain.
AFLW teams
2017–2019
No AFLW 22 Under 22 teams were awarded in the 2017 to 2019 seasons. On March 24 the AFLPA announced a retrospective team covering those three seasons.
2020
The 2020 AFLW 22 Under 22 team was announced on 20 April. defender
Chloe Molloy
Chloe Molloy (born 6 December 1998) is an Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Collingwood Football Club from 2018 to season seven. Molloy is a dual AFL Women's All-Austr ...
was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Madison Prespakis
Madison Prespakis (born 2 November 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022. A midfielder who won multiple ...
selected as the vice-captain.
2021
The 2021 AFLW 22 Under 22 team was announced on 20 April. defender
Chloe Molloy
Chloe Molloy (born 6 December 1998) is an Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Collingwood Football Club from 2018 to season seven. Molloy is a dual AFL Women's All-Austr ...
was named as the side's captain for the second consecutive year, with midfielder
Madison Prespakis
Madison Prespakis (born 2 November 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022. A midfielder who won multiple ...
once more selected as the vice-captain.
2022
The 2022 AFLW 22 Under 22 team was announced on 29 March. midfielder
Monique Conti
Monique Conti (born 9 December 1999) is an Australian rules footballer and basketballer. Conti currently plays for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), having previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2018 to 2019, and ...
was named as the side's captain, with midfielder
Madison Prespakis
Madison Prespakis (born 2 November 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022. A midfielder who won multiple ...
once more selected as the vice-captain.
S7 (2022)
The season seven AFLW 22 Under 22 team was announced on 22 November. midfielder
Monique Conti
Monique Conti (born 9 December 1999) is an Australian rules footballer and basketballer. Conti currently plays for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), having previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2018 to 2019, and ...
and midfielder
Madison Prespakis
Madison Prespakis (born 2 November 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022. A midfielder who won multiple ...
were once again named as the side's captain and vice-captain.
References
{{reflist, 30em
Australian rules football awards
Awards established in 2013
2013 establishments in Australia