The rolling farce that is the All Australian team has once again seen this great country of ours embarrassed with selectors seemingly getting confused over the spelling of Victoria once again. In what experts are calling a miscarriage of justice, now six time All Australian player Matthew Pavlich was over looked for the spot at centre half forward for a leaky eyed, pigment challenge, nobody from St Kilda while 211cm giant Aaron Sandilands was benched for Kim Hagdorn's subject of infatuation, washed-up Eagles pin-up boy Dean Cox.

In events similar to those many a Docker feared would see Rhys Palmer robbed of his rightful position as 2008 Rising Star, the small group of agenda driven social outcasts that form the selection committees of these AFL awards seemed to have appointed Riewoldt and Cox sometime in January and not even the magnificence of Pavlich and the awesome rucking abilities of Sandilands were able to sway them away from the locked in candidates.

Despite the obvious differences, that Matthew Pavlich isn't a cry baby albino that walks around the street of Melbourne looking for some water he can try and walk across, Pavlich kicked more goals than Riewoldt, despite the ball hardly crossing Fremantle's centre line for much of the year, averaged more possessions, more kicks, more tackles, more contested possessions, more bounces and more inside fifties. The only stat Riewoldt notably beat Pavlich in was trips to the bench to reapply the sunscreen, yet somehow he managed to shake off a season of criticism surrounding his form and stand in the most coveted position on the ground while Pavlich sits on the bench wondering why his tracksuit is blue and not green and gold.

Aaron Sandilands's tracksuit is likely to be a range of colours with it being very difficult to gather that much of any one coloured material. He was beaten before he even stepped out onto the ground, with most of the selection panel having penned Dean Cox in as All Australian ruckman in January in their hard hitting pre-season opinion pieces. With the only person on the panel with any hope of championing a Fremantle player coming from the West Coast Inc family and a well known lover of Cox, Sandilands has done well to beat out the next best Victorian ruckman, Brent Harvey, for the spot on the bench. Sandilands was as far ahead of Cox in hitouts as he is above him in height. He thrashed Cox in centre clearances, taps to advantage and had nearly three times as many contest marks. The only stat of note that Cox convincingly beat Sandilands in was free kicks for. Proof that the big Docker gets robbed and the Eagles still enjoy a dream run with the fruit baskets.

Despite the travesty of missing out on their rightful spots in the side, always the gentlemen, the two Dockers players were humble in their acceptance of their honours and will now bide their time until 2009 when they and their team mates have quietly vowed to leave the two imposters bleeding and running for the bench themselves sometime in the new season.