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Sport Nation
Should Dawson have been All-Australian captain?
Nicholas Quinlan • August 30th, 2025 2:03 pm
AFL.com.au’s Josh Gabelich has revealed that Adelaide officials are disappointed by Jordan Dawson not being given the All-Australian captaincy.
Having been named as the AFLPA’s best captain during the AFL Awards on Thursday night, Dawson was seen as a potential contender to receive the honour of being named the All-Australian Captain.
Instead, the captaincy went to Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron, who admitted on stage that he had never captained any team in his life, with Dawson receiving the vice-captaincy.
While it is not unusual for players who are not captains at their own club to receive the honour, as shown by Tom Hawkins in 2022, Lance Franklin in 2018 and Alex Rance in 2017, many were surprised by the decision.
Among those were the Adelaide Crows, who felt that Dawson, given that he has helped the club go from 15th to 1st this season, deserved the captaincy.
“I think they were a bit disappointed, to be honest, because the level of achievement this year,” Gabelich noted on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“First finals series since 2017. Risen from 15th to 1st, and his impact has been massive, not just this year but since he arrived at the club.
“So, I rate that they saw him being the All-Australian captain. They have every right to be disappointed.”
It is only the second time that Dawson has been named to the starting 22 for the All-Australian, having done so in his debut season for the Crows in 2023.
Dawson also becomes the third Adelaide player, alongside Taylor Walker and Mark Ricciuto, to be voted by their peers as the best captain within the competition.
The midfielder will lead his side into the first qualifying final against Collingwood at Adelaide Oval.
The first bounce will take place on September 4 at 7:40pm AEST (7:10pm local time).
