There are two major dilemmas surrounding the naming of this year's All-Australian side - just how many Geelong players will be named and how will the selectors squeeze in the huge number of star forwards that have been nominated in what has been a stand-out year for the AFL's spearheads.
The preliminary 40 man squad - which in itself featured plenty of surprises particularly the omission of Essendon ruckman David Hille and Geelong tagger Cameron Ling - will be trimmed to the final 22 on Monday night with the selectors to name six defenders, six midfielders and six forwards and four interchange players.
Geelong, which last year had a record nine players in the team as it ended its 44 year premiership drought, has been even more dominant in season 2008 - becoming only the second team after Essendon in 2000 to win 21 of 22 home and away matches.
The Cats led the way with ten nominations or a quarter of the 40 man squad and look set to have possibly up to eight members of the final team with skipper Tom Harley and Corey Enright the only players likely to miss out.
The only clubs that did not have a player nominated were wooden spooners Melbourne, as expected, and Essendon although Hille clearly should have been at least in the 40 man squad, if not the final team.
In Hille's absence the ruck spot is likely to go to West Coast's Dean Cox - an All-Australian for the past three years.
However there is unlikely to be a second ruckman named in the team because of the high number of forwards who have to be accommodated following career best seasons.
To put into context just what a difficult choice the All-Australian selectors face this season; consider the quality of the 12 forwards nominated for the team - remembering only six can be named in the starting 18, although at least one or possibly two more will be given the consolation of a spot on the interchange bench.
Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin seems a certainty to win the prized full-forward spot and earn his first All-Australian guernsey after becoming the first player since Tony Lockett in 1998 to boot 100 goals in a home and away season.
And that is likely to condemn Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola, who ended the season on 99 goals, with a spot on the bench while such is the phenomenal amount of forward talent in the AFL this season that Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead, Brisbane's Daniel Bradshaw and Fremantle's five-time All-Australian Matthew Pavlich will struggle to make the final 22, even though all three kicked over 60 goals this season and all finished amongst the league's top half a dozen goalkickers.
That is because Brisbane powerhouse Jonathan Brown and St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt, who was the league's best player in the second half of the season, are likely to win the other two spots on offer for tall forwards in the final 18.
And Geelong's reigning Norm Smith Medalist and perennial matchwinner Steve Johnson looks a certainty for another forward berth while Kangaroos star Brent Harvey - surprisingly nominated as a forward rather than a midfielder - appears another automatic selection given he is third favourite for the Brownlow.
That leaves only one forward berth - traditionally given to a small forward - and Collingwood's Paul