Suns backman Charlie Ballard keeps Hawthorn’s Chad Wingard at bay on Saturday night. Photo: GETTY IMAGES.

FULL BACKS

Tom Stewart (Geelong)
Some pretty incredible numbers from the Cats star defender this week, with 40 disposals, 16 marks, 17 intercept possessions and 874 metres gained. As he so often is, Stewart was a wall for Geelong across the defensive half, and he picked off everything the Crows sent forward. On current form, he’s back at his imperious levels of 2021.

Alex Pearce (Fremantle)
Among some outstanding performances from Dockers all over the park on Saturday, Alex Pearce’s total shutdown job on Ben Brown is deserving of recognition. Despite the Demons’ first half dominance from the centre, Brown was held to just two disposals and no score for the match, with Pearce winning each one-on-one contest for the game.

Luke Ryan (Fremantle)
Ryan was huge against Melbourne, with his assuredness and cool head crucial in keeping Fremantle on track during a tough second quarter, before roaming free with a highly-prolific final term. With Griffin Logue deployed up forward for much of the match, Ryan gobbled up the marks in defence, and ended with 29 touches at a remarkable 100 per cent efficiency.

HALF-BACKS

Adam Saad (Carlton)
Saad has been performing some valuable shutdown jobs this season, and he did so again against Collingwood, nullifying the dangerous Jack Ginnivan and holding him goalless for the first time this year. As always, he got motoring off half-back as well, and finished with 27 touches at 85 per cent efficiency.

Charlie Ballard (Gold Coast)
Once underrated and under-discussed, Ballard is now surely recognised in the broader football world as the gun backman that he is. Largely playing as the spare defender against Hawthorn, Ballard marked strongly and cleaned up their wayward entries, with 13 of his 18 disposals coming as the result of an interception.

Jack Sinclair (St Kilda)
Sinclair just narrowly edges out his teammate Bradley Hill for this spot, but they are forming an awesome duo off half-back and pushing up to the forward 50. Most Saints were strong contributors against North Melbourne, but Sinclair’s willingness to run, kick the ball long and gain territory made him the most influential player on the ground.

CENTRES

Brandon Ellis (Gold Coast)
A solidly reliable contributor from the moment he got to the Suns, Ellis is still very capable of these kinds of high-quality, highly-influential games. With a big second quarter helping the Suns take full control of the match, the dual premiership player was tireless from half-back to half-forward, and was rewarded on the scoreboard with two goals.

Lachie Neale (Brisbane)
Not for the first time this season, Lachie Neale set a game alight right when it seemed like the Lions were about to suffer an unlikely defeat. With 39 touches, nine clearances and two second-half goals, he shook a tag, wrested things back Brisbane’s way in the middle part of the match and is surely looking at another three Brownlow votes.

Josh Daicos (Collingwood)
Daicos continued his excellent season on Sunday, starting the game strongly and impacting again late in generating some important scoring opportunities. He worked both wings in alternate quarters, providing an outlet option coming from defence all day and ended up with 10 marks as a result.

HALF-FORWARDS

Michael Frederick (Fremantle)
The stats sheet might not necessarily show it, but Frederick’s third quarter against Melbourne was one of the most meaningful of the entire round. With Fremantle running hot and the Demons susceptible, he was in absolutely everything forward of centre, splitting packs, providing clever touches and knock-ons, and booting a big crowd-lifting goal.

Lance Franklin (Sydney)
With a goal on the half-time siren, not only did Franklin keep Sydney in the contest, but he delivered a warning about what was to come in a scintillating second half. It was yet another match-winning display from the champion Swan, who, after being beaten in the first part of the match, hit back with three brilliant last-quarter goals and even took a strong contested mark.

Toby Greene (GWS)
A three-goal opening term from the Greater Western Sydney co-captain (and heartbeat) helped get the Giants off to a fantastic start on Saturday, and although neither he nor his side could quite sustain it, it served as a reminder of just how impactful a player Greene is. A fourth goal, at the beginning of the last quarter, gave GWS a really good shot at it.

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FORWARDS

Lachie Schultz (Fremantle)
It was Frederick who lit the fire in the third quarter, but Schultz kept it going into the last with two goals, one assist and eight touches to give him four majors and two assists for the match. His ability to get the side up and generate excitement was perhaps only matched by his superb crumbing off packs. A consistently influential player.

Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)
A very lively performance from Cameron, who has responded strongly from his goal-less game against Fremantle in Round 7 with 13 goals in the last month. As always, his scores came in a wide array of guises, but his two outstanding snap goals in the third and fourth quarters would be among the best of his career.

Lincoln McCarthy (Brisbane)
In a performance that somewhat mirrored Toby Greene’s on the opposing side, McCarthy also booted three goals in what was a free-flowing, exciting opening quarter. Like Greene, he also managed a fourth goal in the final term, however his was the last goal of the match, and essentially sealed victory for the Lions.

FOLLOWERS

Tim English (Western Bulldogs)
In his first game back from five weeks off with a hamstring injury, and then a serious bout of the flu, the much-improved Bulldogs ruckman picked up right where he left off with another commanding display. Pitted against a couple of inexperienced opponents, English dominated in the centre and around the ground with 25 disposals and seven clearances.

Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs)
Where in the past Dunkley’s opportunities in the centre square have largely determined his involvement in the game, in 2022 it seems he’s able to work his way into the contest, whether starting in the guts or at half-forward. He was prolific in all aspects against West Coast, kicking goals, dishing them off and tackling with intent.

Tim Kelly (West Coast)
This was as good a performance that you’re likely to see in such a bad loss. Kelly was comprehensive – and basically a lone hand in the middle – against the Bulldogs on Saturday night with 38 disposals, 11 clearances, including eight from the centre (many of them sharked), nine inside 50s and a goal. The term “shining light” doesn’t begin to cover it.

INTERCHANGE

Cameron Guthrie (Geelong)
Another all-round midfielder’s performance from Guthrie, who has now hit his straps in season 2022 and produced huge games in back-to-back weeks. He had noticeably more polish than the Crows’ on-ball cohort, but still managed to match them on the inside where he registered 20 contested possessions, eight tackles and seven clearances.

Callum Mills (Sydney)
If Franklin was the match-winner up forward, the move of Callum Mills to half-back was nearly as influential down the other end. It was a bold move to take the Swans’ best midfielder out of the centre, but after the Tigers had scored freely and efficiently going forward, Mills’ work after half-time was pivotal in getting the game on Sydney’s terms.

Reilly O’Brien (Adelaide)
O’Brien returned from a stint in the SANFL and brought his monstrous second-tier form with him. In what was a pretty entertaining duel with Mark Blicavs, the Adelaide ruck came out on top with some astounding numbers – 24 contested possessions from 28 in total, nine clearances, seven tackles and 46 hitouts. A statement game, and the best of his career.

James Aish (Fremantle)
Whoever came up with the idea of sending Aish to the rampaging Clayton Oliver in the Dockers’ big win gets some of the credit, but the player gets the bulk of it for his outstanding, potentially match-winning, job. Oliver’s influence in the first half cannot be overstated, and yet Aish was able to curtail him at stoppage, and around the ground, to give Fremantle huge ascendancy out of the middle.

STIFF TO MISS
Jarrod Berry (Brisbane), Bradley Hill (St Kilda), Sam Walsh (Carlton), Jordan De Goey (Collingwood), Josh Kelly (GWS), Tom Clurey (Port Adelaide), Sam Powell-Pepper (Port Adelaide), Chad Warner (Sydney), Clayton Oliver (Melbourne), Nic Martin (Essendon).