Max Gawn has secured his ninth All-Australian blazer on Tuesday night at the AFL awards, as the towering ruckman moved into clear air with the most blazers in the competitions history.

The 34-year-old has produced another stellar season in 2026, playing every possible game for the Demons.

Gawn was named captain of the All-Australian team, having continued his dominance within the league despite the sweeping changes to the ruck rules in the off-season. He ranked elite for disposals, clearances, hit outs and marks to cement his place once again as the games best big man.

Gawn’s latest achievement sets him apart from Gary Ablett Snr, Gary Ablett Jnr, Patrick Dangerfield, Robert Harvey and Mark Ricciuto who all have eight All-Australian blazers, while Marcus Bontempelli also joined that illustrious group on Tuesday evening to sit one behind Gawn.

The ever humble Gawn focused on the importance of being yourself during his speech and paid tribute to the late Jim Stynes who was a mentor in his development as both a ruckman and a professional AFL player.

“It’s hard enough playing footy out there at the MCG trying to be someone that you are. So to have that in the back of my mind every time I get onto the ground allows me to be me,” he said on stage at Melbourne’s Centrepiece.

Amongst the awards was Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos who claimed his fourth All-Australian blazer in his fifth season. Daicos took out a host of awards as he claimed the Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year and the Leigh Matthews MVP award for best player voted by his peers.

Carlton enjoyed some success as Jagga Smith won the Rising Star Award following his first season on the sidelines with an ACL rupture while young backman, Harry Dean, won the AFL’s best first year player.

Jordan Dawson took out the players’ Most Courageous award and delivered a heartfelt speech in light of his family tragedy earlier this season, as the Crows skipper was also named vice-captain alongside Gawn after an inspirational season.

All eyes turn to the Brownlow medal in under a month’s time as Nick Daicos is predicted to be in the box seat to take home the prestigious award in grand final week.

Photo: By Flickerd is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons License. This image has not been modified.