ALL AUSTRALIAN ruckman Aaron Sandilands has backed his young Fremantle teammates, saying the emerging group can drive the club into the finals.

After accepting his second consecutive All Australian honour, Sandilands, 26, said that faith in his teammates' ability would be a crucial factor in him remaining at the club beyond the 2010 season.

The influential big man is contracted for 2010 and has recently indicated he would gladly sign on at Fremantle beyond next season.

But after playing in just four finals in his 135 games with the club, he said having confidence in his young teammates' abilities would be a factor in his decision.  

"That plays a big part," Sandilands told afl.com.au. "You always want to play in finals and on the big stage and I think it's crucial that the young guys develop so that we can play a big part in finals sooner rather than later.

"For us to have success we need a lot of players playing really good footy. So the faster and the quicker we as a group can do that the better off we're going to be."

Sandilands was recognised as the AFL's dominant big man on Monday night when he was named the All Australian side's sole ruckman.

He enjoyed a superb 2009 season, averaging 17 disposals, 33 hit-outs and five clearances. He also kicked 13 goals from his 20 games. 

Sandilands said it was hard to measure his improvement since being named on the bench in the 2008 All Australian side, but he said being elevated into Fremantle's leadership group in 2009 had helped his football.

"I've improved this year, but it's hard to say if it's significant or not," he said. "I've enjoyed the [leadership] role I've been in and hopefully I can keep improving in that area.

"It takes a few years to learn the caper and learn where to run and to actually get your fitness level at a good standard to be able to do it for longer periods of time."

As Sandilands' ruck work has improved so has Fremantle's hit-out to clearance ratio.

Sandilands said Fremantle's improvement in the centre square while youngsters Stephen Hill, Nick Suban and Matt de Boer rotated through was one of the pleasing aspects of the side's season. 

"We had a few players go through the midfield this year with all of the injuries we've had, so the young guys got a lot of exposure in the midfield," he said. 

"If I can keep improving in that area and the midfielders can keep on improving as well it's only going to help us."

Clearance specialist Paul Hasleby also returned from a knee reconstruction in 2009 and Sandilands said it was great that the experienced midfielder had signed with the club for next season. 

"I've got a really good relationship with him and he's a big part of the footy club," he said.

"He's invaluable to the club and in teaching the young kids as well."