The HPN All-Overlooked Team of 2016

Rather than naming an All-Australian side we've decided to take a different tack and try and identify some of the overlooked, underrated players who are unlikely to get a mention in All-Australian honour. If the All-Australian side is the team that represents the best of the league in a hypothetical representative fixture, these guys might be the train-on squad they practice against.

Some of these guys probably should be under consideration, some others won't be but deserve some recognition. Some mostly rate a mention for a statistical reason. The criteria we've used are fairly fluid but are more or less "guys who haven't gotten All-Australian honours in the recent past" and guys we haven't seen mentioned too much in mid-year lists for 2016.

B: Hombsch Fisher N.Wilson

HB: N.Jetta Rowe Rampe

C: Ross N.Jones (c) Coniglio

HF: Watts Bruce Greene

F: Young Dixon Heeney

R: Smith Cunnington Swallow

IC: Stanley Blicavs Laidler Shiels

Breakdown by line

Centre Line

Nathan Jones has been the centrepiece for the Demons for a number of seasons, and he's the literal heart of any All-Overlooked team. His performance is slightly down statistically this year, but primarily because he has some help around him for the first time in forever. On the wings, Stephen Coniglio is constantly overlooked as a top level midfielder at GWS, even though his performance has been phenomenal. With Shiel, Ward, Griffen and even Scully grabbing the headlines this year, Cogs has struggled to see recognition for his stellar performance. Seb Ross is one of the more overlooked players at one of the most overlooked clubs in the league, but over the last two years the little-recognized midfielder has really come into his own. As pick 25 in the super draft of 2011 he's been able to find his own feet under the spotlight of other more recognized talents. This year Ross has upped his effective and total disposals markedly.

Half Back and Back

Dane Rampe might be overqualified for this list, but he has been the constant for the best defence in the league so far this year. Rampe has played every role in the Swans backline this year, and provides the lost rebounding of Shaw and Malceski. If you consider him to be no longer overlooked, then Jeremy Laidler certainly fits the bill. Filling a spot on the All-Overlooked bench, Laidler often fills the role Rampe can't, and plays a critical role for the imposing Sydney defence.

To identify defenders we looked closely at 1%ers, which tends to be dominated by key defenders. This identified Hombsch as the league-leader, and he's been a shining light for a surprisingly weak PA defence. Even to the naked eye, Hombsch has looked like a player of substance in his five years in the league, often tasked with jobs that belie his size. Sam Fisher also figures highly – he has been an All-Australian before, but it was about a decade ago and he has become a bit of a forgotten man toiling away at St Kilda. Neville Jetta, often thought about as the other or even third Jetta, has leapt to the top of the Jetta leaderboard. Jetta is a one man Swiss army knife for the Melbourne defence, able to match up on smalls and talls, to provide rebounding attack or lockdown defence.

Nathan Wilson has been a revelation, providing GWS with a second rebound option with close to the longest kick in the league (and more accurate than McKenzie's cannon). Sam Rowe has been through a lot in his AFL career, not least a bout of cancer. With Carlton Rowe has been shifted all around the ground, finally landing a spot in defence. With Bolton's revival of Carlton's fortunes, it might be convenient to place the focus on the Blues' adapt small defenders, but statistically it's been the talls leading the way. Carlton sit in the top echelon of the league for fewest marks conceded inside 50 per entry, and Rowe is a big reason for that.

Half Forward and Forward

Jack Watts has officially found his role, and he's pretty good at it. Turns out the guy drafted as a tall forward has been really good as a 2nd/3rd forward. He's got 22 goals so far this year, as well as ten goal assists and 23 marks inside 50. In addition he has served a "link-man" role, sitting 6th at Melbourne for inside-50s with 82% disposal efficiency. Josh Bruce has been the Saints best key position forward for the last two years now, and draws the best opposition defender on a weekly basis. Since his move from GWS