With an average of 10.6 first-time AFL All-Australians being named each year for the past decade, we can expect almost half of this year's side to be made up of fresh faces.
35 of those debutants came in the past three years alone, with a balance of next-generation sensations and long-serving veterans breaking through to earn their maiden blazers.
Adelaide sharpshooter Taylor Walker became the oldest player to win their first All-Australian nod in the AFL era last year, waiting 16 years to land his maiden selection.
The likes of Nick Daicos, Errol Gulden and Caleb Serong secured their first All-Australian jumpers in 2023 while still in the early stages of their respective careers, with a number of emerging stars likely to follow suit in 2024.
The trio of young stars were among the 12 players to earn their All-Australian debuts last year, with a further 15 among the initial squad but didn't make the final cut for their first blazers.
Looking to the season ahead, we look at 40 players who are yet to earn their first All-Australian selection who could be in contention for a blazer in 2024...
2. Midfielders
The midfield unit is always difficult to reduce to just eight or so names, with the top stars of the completion often calling the middle home.
Six of 2023's midfield cohort were first-time selections, with all of Nick Daicos, Zak Butters, Errol Gulden, Josh Daicos, Jordan Dawson and Caleb Serong being named in the reigning 22-man side.
Their selections came ahead of fellow squad members Noah Anderson, Tom Green, Jai Newcombe and Jordan De Goey, all of whom will be looking to go a step further last year.
Green and Anderson will be among the first players named in conversations around first-time All-Australians this year, with the pair destined for great things at GWS and Gold Coast respectively.
A full season forย De Goey would likely see the Magpies midfielder secure his third All-Australian squad nod at the very least, with suspension and injury setting the tattooed match-winner back in recent seasons.
Not many can say they earned an All-Australian squad spot and were elevated onto a senior list in the same year, but that was the case for Newcombe in 2023, with the gritty Hawks midfield an All-Australian chance given his trajectory in rapid time under Sam Mitchell.
Brisbane's Hugh McCluggage made four successive All-Australian squads prior to last year, often missing out on a wing spot to inside ball winners, while Sydney's Chad Warner also earned a squad nod in 2022.
Richmond's Tim Taranto has never been named in an All-Australian squad despite claiming the Giants' best and fairest honours in a grand final year in 2019 and enjoying a stellar 2023 season after making the move to Punt Road.
Along with Gold Coast's Matt Rowell, Roos gun Luke Davies-Uniacke, Hawk Will Day and Lion Josh Dunkley, Taranto is sure to be among the names looking at a maiden squad selection at the very least.
