Australian team 1.0: Max Gawn tracking towards league record as Will Ashcroft headlines eight first

The first month of the 2026 AFL season has come and gone, and the ladder is finally beginning to take shape.

This year, we will have a rolling All-Australian team once a month with the hopes of eventually naming one that is as close to the actual All-Australian team as possible.

The rules of the ABC Sport All-Australian team are the same as a real team — a total of 23 players are selected, with five of them on the bench, and the team must make sense positionally.

Of course, it is very early in the season, and these selections are fluid. Players can roll in and out of the line-up and back in throughout the year, as long as their form warrants it.

With that, here is the first edition of ABC Sport's All-Australian team.

B: Tom Barrass, Tom McCartin, Callum Wilkie

Hawthorn is out to a strong 3-1 start this season, and the shutdown work of Tom Barrass in defence is a big reason why.

The 30-year-old has already amassed 12 coaches' votes, is third among all defenders, and leads the Hawks with 6.3 spoils per game through four games.

Tom McCartin has put together his best start to a season defensively, leading a Swans defence that has conceded a league-lowest 65.8 points through the first month.

McCartin leads the Swans in defensive one-on-one contests (3.8 per game) and has won a hair over 73 per cent of those, while averaging 6.5 spoils per game.

Callum Wilkie leads all defenders in the AFL in coaches' votes with 18, two ahead of Port Adelaide's Aliir Aliir, after averaging 26.3 disposals and 10.5 marks per game.

Wilkie averages five one-on-one contests a game, and has won a stupendous 90 per cent of those thus far, and is also averaging 10 interceptions per contest.

HB: Tom Stewart, Josh Worrell, Jack Sinclair

After finishing last season injured, Tom Stewart is back to being arguably the best defensive quarterback in the game, averaging 8.5 intercept possessions per game.

Stewart is also averaging 7.8 rebound 50s per game, is second among defenders, and is still elite at turning defence into offence in an instant thanks to his intercepting prowess.

Josh Worrell is averaging a career-high 26.3 disposals per contest and also leads the league in rebound 50s (eight a game) among defenders.

He isn't just a ball-winner in the back 50 either, averaging 3.5 spoils per game whilst also remaining undefeated in defensive one-on-one contests through four games.

Jack Sinclair has amassed 31.5 disposals per game, in what would comfortably be a career-high mark for the two-time All-Australian.

Ross Lyon likes to toggle Sinclair through centre bounces from time to time, but he is still very much a prolific back half distributor for the Saints.

C: Ed Richards, Zak Butters, Shai Bolton

After winning his first Bulldogs best and fairest and being named an All-Australian last season, Ed Richards has become one of the league's best midfielders.

Richards is the leading metre-eater in the Bulldogs midfield, averaging 555.3m per contest, but is just as prolific on the inside, where he averages 5.7 clearances. He also averages 9.3 score involvements per game, the most of any Dogs midfielder.

Zak Butters has shown why he is the most in-demand midfielder in the competition, averaging 29.8 disposals and seven clearances per contest.

Butters is the prototypical inside-outside dual threat in the middle, averaging nine score involvements and six inside 50s per game. There are very few midfielders more damaging in the competition, if any.

Shai Bolton didn't deliver as Fremantle had hoped in his first season at the club, but has started 2026 brilliantly, recapturing his previous All-Australian form.

Bolton is Fremantle's fourth-most regular centre bounce attendee and is averaging a career-high in clearances per game (4.2), while also remaining a goal-kicking threat out of the midfield in a way Freo's other midfielders are not.

HF: Isaac Heeney, Josh Treacy, Jack Gunston

Isaac Heeney remains the most dangerous midfield-forward in the competition, and has kicked eight goals in three games while averaging 20.7 disposals per contest.

Heeney leads the Swans in coaches' votes with 16 and is averaging 8.3 score involvements per game.

Josh Treacy has been the headline act in a power-packed Fremantle forward line, kicking 14 goals in his first four games, including two consecutive four-goal hauls.

Treacy has pulled down 8.8 marks per contest, a figure which includes four marks inside 50 per game, leading the way for the Dockers.

Jack Gunston continues to defy Father Time and finds himself second on the AFL's goalkicking list with 16 majors through four matches.

While Gunston's excellence in front of goal rightly earns all the plaudits, he is also an expert at using his body to create space inside 50 for his teammates.

F: Kysaiah Pickett, Ben King, Christian Petracca

Kysaiah Pickett has been dynamite to start the 2026 season, and is a major reason why a new-look Melbourne side has surprised the league.

Pickett is averaging 23.2 disposals, six inside 50s and 4.8 clearances per game, all career-high marks, and has also kicked a goal in each of his first four games.

Ben King has been threatening to rip the competition apart for years and is finally delivering on that promise, kicking 19 goals through the first four matches.

King has increased his goals tally in each of the last four years, topping out a career-best 71 goals last year, and looks set to smash that number again this year.

Christian Petracca was Gold Coast's big addition last year, and had supercharged an already explosive line-up before his hamstring injury.

Petracca is averaging 25.7 disposals and a league-leading 12 score involvements per game, while also averaging 4.3 clearances in fewer midfield minutes compared to his prime Demons days.

FOLL: Max Gawn, Marcus Bontempelli, Nick Daicos

Max Gawn is well on track to make a record-breaking ninth All-Australian team after a dominant first month of football.

Gawn is averaging 22.5 disposals and 5.5 clearances per game, both career-highs, as well as 38.5 hitouts per game — his highest mark since 2019.

Marcus Bontempelli is at the peak of his powers and has been at the heart of the Bulldogs' early-season dominance, averaging 29.2 disposals per game while kicking eight goals in four games.

Bontempelli is surrounded by a strong midfield group, which means the Bulldogs can use him more often inside the forward 50, where he is a match-up nightmare for any defender.

Nick Daicos is fourth in the league in coaches' votes and has single-handedly kept Collingwood afloat through the early part of the season.

Daicos is the league-leader in disposals per game (36.7) and is also averaging nine inside 50s, 8.7 score involvements and 4.7 clearances per game.

INT: Brodie Grundy, Nick Watson, Will Ashcroft, Caleb Serong, Matt Kennedy

Brodie Grundy has become underrated due to his metronomic level of consistency, but his numbers are more or less right in line with his All-Australian years.

Grundy is averaging a goal a game to go along with 18 disposals and leads the league with 12.3 hitouts to advantage per game. He is also averaging 3.8 stoppage clearances per game, the third most of any ruckman.

Nick Watson is arguably the most damaging small forward in the competition, having kicked 10 goals in four matches, the most of any non-key position forward.

Watson also averages the most tackles (3.3) and second-most pressure acts (11) out of anyone ranked top-10 in goalkicking so far this season.

After winning the last two Norm Smith Medals, it finally feels like Will Ashcroft is the top dog in Brisbane's high-powered midfield.

Ashcroft is averaging career-highs in disposals (29.5) and clearances (seven) per game, as well as 4.3 inside 50s and 5.5 score involvements.

Caleb Serong has always been a reliable ball-winner, but he's making the possessions pay dividends on the scoreboard this season.

Serong's 7.8 score involvements per game is comfortably a career-high mark, and he's also racked up a career-high 527.8m gained through his first four matches this season.

Matt Kennedy has been a revelation this season for the Bulldogs, averaging 30 disposals, eight score involvements and eight clearances per game.

Kennedy's emergence as a legitimate inside force has allowed the Bulldogs' other stars to thrive, and he is a big reason why the Dogs are second in the league in clearances per game.

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