Jake Lever is enjoying a record-breaking season in defence for Melbourne so far this year. Photo: AFL MEDIA
Having just reached the halfway point of season 2021, we at Footyology think it’s an opportune time to assess which players, both experienced and emerging, are in contention for their club’s best-and-fairest.
Consistency, games played, importance to the side, and to a lesser extent, past performance in club champion awards, were the strongest factors considered when putting our stake in the ground.
Today we feature our assessment of the last nine teams alphabetically, after analysing the first nine on Thursday.
Hawthorn – Jarman Impey
After rupturing his ACL in round 18, 2019, a point at which he was leading the Hawks’ best-and-fairest, Impey returned to play five games at the end of last year. Having put in a fantastic pre-season leading into 2021, Impey has been one of the few positives to come out of Hawthorn’s season, with his run and drive off half-back proving both damaging and extricating. As with many of the leading club champion contenders, the stability of Impey’s output has been a huge asset to the Hawks this year, and coach Alistair Clarkson will appreciate that, with so many issues on his plate, the week-to-week form of his running half-back has not been one of them.
In the mix – Jaeger O’Meara has probably been Hawthorn’s best player this season, and may well have been leading the count at this stage if he hadn’t missed three games. Despite not being selected in round one, Jack Scrimshaw has come in and looked good in his Grant Birchall-clone role, while Changkuoth Jiath and Blake Hardwick showed strong form early on in defence. Tom Mitchell and Chad Wingard, while not at their best, have also played well.
Melbourne – Jake Lever
While there are so many contributing factors as to why the Demons are where they are, you can put a big part of it down to how well organised they are in defence, and you can put a big part of that down to Jake Lever. While he certainly improved his form last season, Lever is playing at another level entirely over the first few months of 2021, and is thriving with coach Simon Goodwin fully committed to playing two tall defenders behind him and utilising his assets in the air. As a result, Lever leads the league in intercepts, with a higher tally than has ever been recorded to this point in the season, and is also 10th across the competition in contested marks. He is now clearly a crucial leader in his side.
In the mix – There are so many Dees in career best form right now, all of whom could make a run at the Bluey Truscott Medal. Clayton Oliver has been dominant in many games, extending his impact to spread and release as well as win contested footy. The previous two winners in Christian Petracca and Max Gawn have again both been stars, Steven May is playing to a similar level as Lever, and Christian Salem has been among the season’s best half-back flankers. That’s before you get to the likes of Ed Langdon, Tom McDonald, Bayley Fritsch and co. With so many outstanding contributors, it’s no surprise they’re outright flag favourites.
North Melbourne – Ben McKay
One for the defensive purists. While his twin brother has generated all the headlines, the similarly impressive (and similarly out-of-contract) Ben McKay has quietly gone about his business, claiming scalps and enjoying a career-best season. With the unavailability of Robbie Tarrant and Aidan Corr, McKay’s effort has been a gargantuan one. And whilst Josh Bruce certainly got a hold of the Roos in round three, no other key forwards really have, a strong performance given the amount of footy shooting into defensive 50 for the Roos this year. McKay is fifth in the competition in total one-percenters, and has only lost 13 defensive contests for the year.
In the mix – Ben Cunnington has been fantastic since coming back into the side, looking as fit as ever and winning stacks of clearances and contested footy. Skipper Jack Ziebell has taken to his new role as the designated kicker from defence and has racked up some huge numbers, as has Aaron Hall who looks settled into the line-up for the first time. Jy Simpkin has been a solid contributor, and Tarryn Thomas has enjoyed a month of fantastic form.
Port Adelaide – Ollie Wines
Wines’ performances this season demonstrate that even those who burst onto the scene and perform comfortably at the level from season one, often still need years honing their craft before they fully emerge as absolute stars of the game. The fact that Port Adelaide’s evident lack of depth in the midfield hasn’t hurt them as much as it could have is primarily due to the fact that Wines hasn’t had a bad game, and in fact has been among the best players on the ground just about every week. League-wide he’s currently fourth in disposals, fourth in contested possessions, and 14th in centre clearances, and has become his side’s most important player.
In the mix – Travis Boak is almost matching Wines for output, and is certainly a chance to take home his third John Cahill Medal. The recruitment of Aliir Aliir has been one of the great list management wins of recent years and he may shoot out to an early lead, while Karl Amon and Dan Houston are having excellent seasons complementing Boak and Wines on the outside.
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Richmond – Shai Bolton
Despite missing two games with a broken wrist, Bolton’s form throughout the rest of the season so far has been so persistently impactful that it would not surprise to see him hold a lead in the Jack Dyer Medal at round 11. Having surprised many with how quickly he flourished in an on-ball role last year, Bolton has been even better this season and should remain a key part of the Tigers’ midfield, even when (or if) they welcome back their full complement of talent. Bolton’s mix of creativity, skill by foot, cleanliness in traffic and in clearance, and high-marking ability make him an extremely valuable asset, and a thrilling player to watch.
In the mix – Richmond’s count could be very even at this point, with many key players having interruptions at various stages. Toby Nankervis has been in career-best form and will be sorely missed in the next six weeks, while Jack Graham has played some great footy as the last kicker going inside 50. Nathan Broad has elevated his game significantly, and 2020 winner Jayden Short will be up there again – as of course will Dustin Martin.
St Kilda – Jack Steele
Saints co-captain Jack Steele continues to be a really solid performer, despite his side’s underwhelming year. In 11 games this year, Steele has had less than 25 disposals only three times, and has, on certain occasions, looked like the only St Kilda player capable of winning their position and having an impact on the match. Currently Steele is second in the league for tackles, and 14th in contested possessions, which demonstrates his importance to St Kilda. Having shown last year that he can star in a good team, and now proving that he can still do so in a poor team, Steele has become an established and consistent gun of the AFL.
In the mix – Jack Billings has attracted criticism at times this year, but the reality is that he’s been one of the Saints’ best players, leading the club in score involvements and uncontested possessions. Dougal Howard has been solid as a rock for much of the season down back, as has Callum Wilkie, while Tim Membrey has tried hard and been impactful in the forward line.
Sydney – Callum Mills
The long-awaited move to the midfield has finally taken place in 2021, with Mills showing what he can do as an inside bull and instantly taking over from Josh Kennedy as Sydney’s number one stoppage clearance player. The four highest possession games of Mills’ career have all come this season, and he’s ranked top 10 across the league in tackles, indicating his dual ability to hunt the ball and to work defensively. He still has the capacity to go back if required, as he briefly did when the Swans were depleted in defence, but 2021 has shown that Mills’ future clearly lies as a key part of Sydney’s strong, developing midfield.
In the mix – Tom Hickey’s remarkable emergence as a gun ruckman continues to impress, although a couple of missed games could hurt him in the Bob Skilton Medal polling. Two-time club champion Jake Lloyd keeps on playing his role every single week, as do previous winners Kennedy and Luke Parker. The backline is very even, but Tom McCartin has played well in certain games, and Dane Rampe always does when he’s out there.
West Coast – Jack Darling
Darling probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves for being a dependable, 40-to-50-goal-a-year forward from essentially his second season onwards. In a side that has struggled at times with a long list of key players missing games, Darling has played every match and not been held goalless once. He is currently sixth in the Coleman Medal with 28 goals, seventh in the competition for marks inside 50, eighth for contested marks overall, and is in strong contention for All-Australian. His ability to provide a target and be a constant presence for the Eagles in amongst the chaos will no doubt be something the coaches acknowledge and appreciate.
In the mix – Dom Sheed has stepped up in the absence of much of the Eagles’ first-choice midfield and has won plenty of the footy at clearance and around the ground. Nic Naitanui has had a big impact on the side as per usual, and Tim Kelly and Andrew Gaff have toiled away commendably. A potential smoky could be half-back Josh Rotham, who has played every game and leads the league in marks.
Western Bulldogs – Tom Liberatore
As with Melbourne, the Bulldogs have had so many players in outstanding form this season, but the output of spiritual leader Tom Liberatore has been nothing short of phenomenal, and is a big reason why the Doggies have been the number one scoring side in the league. Competition wide, “Libba” is currently first in total clearances, third in contested possessions, and 13th in tackles, notable statistical rankings and very much in keeping with his brand. Impressively, he is also eighth in inside 50s, which shows how much work he is doing breaking away from the contest as well. But perhaps most importantly, he is the only non-ruckman to have more than 30 score launches for the season, illustrating how his clearance work goes out to the right places more than any other midfielder. It’s been an extremely valuable opening 11 games.
In the mix – The entire Western Bulldogs midfield is in the mix for the Charles Sutton Medal this year. Marcus Bontempelli has improved his standing in the game even further, were that even possible. Jack Macrae leads the league in disposals and is fifth for goal assists, and Adam Treloar and Josh Dunkley were crucial cogs in the unit until they went down with injury. Josh Bruce and Aaron Naughton have both been outstanding in attack, and expect the rejuvenated Bailey Dale to poll very well in his half-back role, as well as the rock-solid Alex Keath.
Read Part I of this article HERE
