Harris Andrews has cemented his reputation as the competition’s premier key defender with his second selection in the 2020 AFL All Australian side.
The 23-year-old was last night named at fullback in the all star side alongside teammate Lachie Neale who also makes his second appearance in the midfield.
The duo backed up their maiden selections in 2019 with another outstanding season as the Lions claimed second spot on the ladder for the second year in a row.
Andrews, the Lions’ vice-captain, ranked in the top three in the AFL for spoils, one per centers and contested one-on-one victories from 15 games.
Andrews’ who is confident of receiving more good news next week with his anticipated return from a hamstring injury for Friday night’s qualifying final against Richmond at the Gabba, was delighted to once again join the best of the best but admitted he’d be postponing any celebrations to focus on the greatest prize.
“I’m thrilled, it is extremely humbling to be named alongside the other guys that have been selected in this team, they are great players,’’ he said.
“It is very exciting to get some reward for effort but at the same time we have got bigger fish to fry in the coming weeks.
“I am very grateful for my teammates and the opportunity they give me to play well and I just can’t wait for the next few weeks.’’
Neale also earned his second All Australian blazer.
The 2019 Merrett-Murray medallist was once again the model of consistency, playing every game in 2020 and producing big numbers around the ground.
His prolific ball winning form saw him lead the AFL in total disposals and ground ball gets and rank top five in centre clearances, contested possessions and score involvements.
“It is a pretty good group and one I’m really proud to be a part of,’’ he said.
There’s some exceptional players in there and it is a credit to the way we have gone about it as a club this year to have a couple of representatives in there and a few in the squad again, so it is a good result and a really special team to be involved with.’’
