Taylor Duryea’s resurgence has been one of the highlights of the Bulldogs’ season so far. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

FULL BACKS Luke Ryan (Fremantle)
With so many key defenders either out for the long term, or falling down around him during game, Ryan stood up commendably and resumed his 2020 role as Fremantle’s main man in defence. His 25 disposals and 10 marks were both season highs, with his surety in the back half helping keep the Dockers in the game despite the carnage.

Harris Andrews (Brisbane)
Andrews was absolutely impassable against the Demons on Friday night, setting Brisbane up from defence and helping them to a strong half-time lead. His 14 marks (seven of them intercepts) was a round high, and he played a desperate last quarter as the game was slipping from the Lions’ grasp.

Dane Rampe (Sydney)
The Sydney co-captain is not always a big stats player, but he is a big moments player, and whenever St Kilda got a run of momentum going in the game on Saturday, it was Rampe who bobbed up with a timely spoil, intercept mark or tackle. Much of the Swans’ attack-from-defence game style is possible due to Rampe’s defensive reliability.

HALF BACKS

Adam Saad (Carlton)
Saad’s performance against the Eagles was one of his strongest this year, particularly in the last quarter when he executed a number of trademark dashing plays off half back. A nasty clash with Brad Sheppard, in which Saad took the hit and rolled on to deliver the ball inside 50, was an impressive moment that demonstrated his commitment.

Liam Jones (Carlton)
With the Eagles carrying a less-experienced forward line, Jones took full advantage of the situation and had a day out in the air. His 12 intercept possessions, eight intercept marks, and six contested marks were all round highs, and he only lost a single one-on-one contest for the game as he continually repelled West Coast’s forays forward.

Taylor Duryea (Western Bulldogs)
After only three games last year, Duryea has not missed a match this season in a strong Western Bulldogs line-up, and appears to be fully established in Luke Beverdige’s preferred defensive set-up. Against the lively Dockers he showcased his versatility in being solid on the last line, and in intercepting and rebounding with his reliable ball use by foot.

CENTRES

Paul Seedsman (Adelaide)
Seedsman is another who has bounced back from an indifferent 2020, and is playing career-best footy at the moment. The rangy wingman is second in the league for metres gained this year, to which he added 708 on the weekend, along with 27 disposals and two goals. He has made himself into a crucial piece of the Crows set-up.

Darcy Parish (Essendon)
Rarely have we seen a somewhat-established player move into the midfield and go on a run of form like this. Parish demonstrated all the clearance work, clean hands and exceptional vision that we’ve come to expect as he added the Yiooken Award to his cabinet, and collected more disposals than any other Bomber since stats have been recorded.

Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs)
Unlike the All-Australian selectors, we at Footyology have so far resisted the urge to name Macrae on a wing – until now. Whilst he spent time at centre bounces, it was his work on the periphery and even pushing back to defence where he did his damage against the Dockers, and his ball use going inside 50, with three goal assists, has become a real feature of his game.

HALF FORWARDS

Shai Bolton (Richmond)
Bolton continued his strong goalkicking form with another three dazzlers (along with three assists) in the Dreamtime match, particularly firing up in the last quarter after the Bombers had hit the front. His agility in traffic looks impossible to counter at times, and he’s playing with the confidence of someone who is at the absolute top of their game.

Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs)
It was far from perfect, with a number of gettable goals going begging, but in a round where more than a few forwards were misfiring in front of goal, Naughton’s 19 disposals, 13 marks and 12 score involvements against the Dockers stood out as a significant performance. An absolute joy to watch in the air.

Liam Ryan (West Coast)
Ryan was by some margin the most impactful player on the ground against the Blues, despite spending significant time off the ground in the last quarter. His virtuosic ability in the air, on the ground and with ball in hand were all on show. He slotted four goals, with his final one snuffing out a strong Carlton challenge, and terrorised the Blues’ backline.

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FORWARDS

Zac Bailey (Brisbane)
The assured Brisbane half forward has become one of the hype players of the competition this year, and deservedly so, as he continues to play a major role in the Lions’ fortunes. His nous around goal was on show again on Friday, kicking back-to-back majors as the Lions dominated inside 50s early on, and hitting the scoreboard twice more in key moments.

Tom McDonald (Melbourne)
In a performance reflective of his overall journey over the last couple of years, McDonald surged back into form after an ineffective first half to be one of the best-performed and most influential players on the ground. All nine of his second-half touches became scores, and he showed once again that he’s never out of it in 2021.

Jamie Elliott (Collingwood)
The standout front-half performance of the weekend, Elliott’s six goals was two more than anybody else. The highly-skilled forward’s outing was a sight to behold for Magpies fans, who have been starved of excitement (and of Elliott) in recent times. Set it up with four in the first quarter, and kicked the winner after the Crows had clawed back the lead.

FOLLOWERS

Nic Naitanui (West Coast)
Sunday’s game against the Blues saw that highly impressive mix of perfect ruck craft and potent physicality at ground level that is Nic Naitanui at his absolute best. He towered over Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning at centre bounces, dishing out a rarely-seen 16 hitouts to advantage, and followed up to win more clearances than anyone on the ground.

Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
Bontempelli does not miss too many Teams Of The Week in 2021. The Bulldogs skipper continued his otherworldly form this weekend, with another dynamic and influential best-on-ground performance. His two goals in the second quarter put the game on the Dogs’ terms, and his impact all over the ground thereafter helped make sure of victory.

Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
The Demons’ best player on Friday night and their only real four-quarter performer, Petracca’s ball use going inside 50 was a big reason why they were within touching distance at half-time. In the end his performance with 26 disposals, nine clearances, two goals and 724 metres gained, proved to be the match-winning one.

INTERCHANGE

Dustin Martin (Richmond)
As he always does, Martin lifted considerably for the Dreamtime game. The champ had a big influence around stoppages in the first quarter, teaming with the Tigers’ fleet of hard-running midfielders to get the footy moving forward. He also hit the scoreboard with three goals, including a long-range bomb that probably sealed the deal.

Dom Sheed (West Coast)
With so many experienced players missing, the Eagles got exactly what they needed from Sheed with 32 disposals, eight marks, eight clearances and a goal. A versatile midfielder who has long had the ability to fill multiple roles, his strong performance in at stoppages and on the spread was crucial to West Coast’s impressive win.

Tim Membrey (St Kilda)
It seems almost condescending to say about a player of Membrey’s experience that he “tried hard,” but that’s exactly what he did against Sydney, and exactly what he does every single week. Kicked goals when the Saints needed them, got back to take an intercept mark when they needed one of those, and just generally provided important physicality around the footy.

Brad Crouch (St Kilda)
With the Swans leading by 10 points going into three-quarter time, St Kilda’s high-profile recruit put in an outstanding last quarter with 12 disposals, three inside 50s, and three clearances in a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful display. It capped off a good day for Crouch, who was prolific in the midfield and demonstrated significant buy-in and intent.

STIFF TO MISS
Rory Laird (Adelaide), Taylor Walker (Adelaide), Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood), Tom Hickey (Sydney), Jake Lloyd (Sydney), Jack Steele (St Kilda), Steven May (Melbourne), Jack Graham (Richmond), Jack Silvagni (Carlton), David Mundy (Fremantle)