PORT ADELAIDE’s Sam Powell-Pepper and Dougal Howard are in the running to be included in the AFL Players’ Association’s 22under22 team, after being named in the 40-man preliminary squad for 2018. 

If selected they would join the likes of Power teammates and previous 22under22 team members Chad Wingard and Ollie Wines, who were each picked three times. 

Powell-Pepper, 20, has played 15 games in 2018, booting five goals and recording career-bests in a number of key statistics including a club-record 17 tackles against Melbourne in Round 14. 

Howard, 22, has added 18 games this season to the 10 he played last year. 

An agile key defender, he leads the competition for one-percenters and holds the record for most in one game (22).

Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli could win 22Under22 honours for a fifth straight season after he was also included in the 40-man squad. 

Bontempelli, Zach Merrett, Christian Petracca, Isaac Heeney, Clayton Oliver and Charlie Curnow are among the big names selected alongside Powell-Pepper and Howard by the AFLPA for their performances across the 2018 home and away season. 

To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 years and under for the entirety of the season, including the finals series. 

AFL Players’ Association president Patrick Dangerfield said finalising the squad of young stars was a difficult task, and will prove to be even more difficult for the fans to settle on the final 22. 

“With names like Bontempelli, Merrett, Heeney, and Oliver, the 22under22 squad for 2018 is packed with talent once again," Dangerfield said. 

“Despite their tender age, all players in this squad have had a significant impact on their teams this season, which makes the task of selecting the 22 players all the more difficult.” 

Now in its sixth year, 22Under22 is the industry’s only recognised fan-voted award and provides the footy public with the power to select the final 22. 

Fans can now visit 22under22.com.au to cast their vote, before the final team is revealed at the AFL Players’ MVP Awards on Thursday, August 30. 

Fans who submit a team that matches the final 22Under22 team will automatically go into the draw to win an AFL Players’ prize pack. 

Voting closes on Tuesday 28 August 2018.

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