Brisbane Lions star Will Ashcroft continues ongoing criticism over his All-Australian snubbing

Fresh off winning his third premiership in as many years, Brisbane superstar Will Ashcroft has continued to bizarrely hit out at his All-Australian snubbing.

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Mitchell Woodcock
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Fresh off winning his third premiership in as many years, Brisbane superstar Will Ashcroft has continued to bizarrely hit out at his All-Australian snub.

Ashcroft produced one of the finest fourth quarters in grand final history to lead the Lions past Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday and complete a hat-trick of flags.

The 22-year-old was arguably unlucky not to claim an unprecedented third consecutive Norm Smith Medal as a result of his heroics, having won the best-on-ground award in the previous two years.

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However, as Brisbane continue their celebrations, Ashcroft has continued to keep receipts, with his biggest one coming from his omission from this year’s All-Australian team.

Ashcroft was named in the initial 46-player squad but not the final 23 despite a strong season for the now three-time reigning premiers.

In an Instagram story on Wednesday, Ashcroft shared a picture of himself with younger brother Levi and wantaway star Lachie Neale wearing a coat on the MCG after the decider.

“Grateful to finally get my blazer four weeks late,” Ashcroft wrote on the post, as well as “stay mad” with two clown emojis.

Ashcroft has not shied away from the fact he believed he should’ve been in this year’s All-Australian team, saying the selectors had “better be” watching his final quarter.

“I cannot believe I wasn’t in that (team), but that’s one thing that’s driven me the last month,” he told ABC Radio after the grand final win.

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t care less about all that sort of stuff. I just want to win premierships and help play a big role in winning premierships for this club.

“You don’t need much motivation going into a finals series, especially when you’re going for three-in-a-row. There are a lot of things that motivate me.

“I like to control the things that I can control, work on my game, work on my leadership, and all those kinds of things. When something like that doesn’t go your way and is out of your control, it sort of pissed me off a little bit, and I had a bit of fun with those stories and whatnot. Add that to the list of things that are driving me. I am grateful that it could serve its purpose and get me to this position.”

Originally published on The Nightly

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