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 ...

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 ...

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,

, 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

was named as the side's captain for the second consecutive season, with midfielder

selected as the vice-captain also for the second consecutive season.

2018

The 2018 22 Under 22 team was announced on 30 August. midfielder

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

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

was named as the side's captain for the second consecutive year, with midfielder

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

once more selected as the vice-captain.

S7 (2022)

The season seven AFLW 22 Under 22 team was announced on 22 November. midfielder

and midfielder

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