Defender Josh Walker was a rare shining light for North Melbourne on another dark day for the club against Gold Coast. Photo: GETTY IMAGES.

FULL BACKS

Paddy McCartin (Sydney)
While the senior McCartin is certainly big and strong enough to play on most key forwards, it’s as the third tall/zone-off defender that he has excelled for the Swans this season. In what was one of his best games, the former Saint managed 10 intercept possessions, and did not lose a single one-on-one contest when pitted against a direct opponent.

Sam De Koning (Geelong)
There has been plenty of talk over the last month regarding what Sam De Koning could be, which is to overlook what he is right now – one of the most difficult-to-beat tall defenders in the AFL. He didn’t have everything his own way against Aaron Naughton, but clearly won the match-up, restricting the Bulldog to just one goal and five marks while reeling in eight himself.

Connor Budarick (Gold Coast)
Budarick is the latest of an increasingly full and diverse list of Suns to be selected in a Footyology Team of the Week this season. The small defender has returned strongly from an ACL that ruined his 2021, and he cleaned up in the back half against North Melbourne on Saturday with a career-best 25 touches, 15 of which were intercepts.

HALF-BACKS

Daniel Rich (Brisbane)
The 258-game veteran managed to do what most others haven’t this season by slicing his way through Fremantle’s manic forward-half pressure game. With 32 disposals at 87 per cent efficiency, seven inside 50s and more than 900 metres gained, Rich was one of Brisbane’s only four-quarter performers against the Dockers.

Josh Walker (North Melbourne)
Walker’s performance against Gold Coast, having to withstand an historically significant barrage of inside 50s, was seriously impressive. Not only did he consistently win one-on-one contests against Mabior Chol and Sam Day, who had it on a platter, but he also held firm after Ben McKay was subbed out of the game early. A strong effort from one of the unsung heroes of Round 12.

Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
Right when it seemed as though the Collingwood young gun might be lagging and perhaps ready for a rest, he produced the most prolific performance of his short career. Daicos was involved in absolutely everything against the Hawks, rebounding from defence with dare and using the ball with potency to gain an impressive 789 metres for his side.

CENTRES

Andrew Gaff (West Coast)
As has been the case for many Eagles, 2022 has been an obstructed and discontinuous season for Andrew Gaff. With a few consecutive matches behind him, the dual All-Australian produced his best game of the year on Saturday, patrolling the wing in classic fashion and kicking a goal that gave West Coast hope heading into half-time.

Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)
As Fremantle’s impressive season rolls on, so too does that of its star on-baller Andy Brayshaw. After a comparatively slow opening quarter, the Dockers captain-in-waiting led the midfield to seize control of the match, winning nine clearances and 39 disposals in the process. A genuine Brownlow contender.

James Aish (Fremantle)
It says plenty that Dockers coach Justin Longmuir took Aish across with him from Collingwood to Fremantle at the end of 2019, and now, with the confidence of his coach, the former top-10 draft pick is playing the best footy of his career. His work on Sunday, whether minding Lachie Neale at stoppage, or running hard to receive the ball on the outside, was first class.

HALF-FORWARDS

Bayley Fritsch (Melbourne)
Apart from one uncharacteristic last-quarter shank, Fritsch was clearly Melbourne’s most impactful forward against the Swans. Each of his three goals – a long-range set shot, a creative snap at pace, and a dribbler on the run – required a skillset not possessed by many others in the league, with the latter two coming at crucial moments for the Dees.

Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)
Four-quarter demolition jobs aside, it doesn’t come much better than three goals in the first and then three in the last from a key forward. Cameron, who now has three bags of six or more goals this season, got the Cats off to a flyer with a blistering opening term, before returning to make sure of the victory with three goals to end the game.

Zac Bailey (Brisbane)
After being well-held in the opening half against Fremantle, Bailey produced a massive third quarter against the tide of the Dockers’ momentum. He kicked two typically creative goals to go with 14 touches and, along with Cam Rayner, was the driving force keeping Brisbane alive in the match. Two more final-quarter goals were equally important.

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FORWARDS

Sam Reid (Sydney)
Reid has kicked bigger bags than three, but his effort against the almighty Demons on Saturday night would be up there with the best of his career. It was a performance that smacked of responsibility, with his three goals among Sydney’s first four as the Swans made a match of it, and his 10 tackles (five inside 50) a sign of a gargantuan effort.

Mitchell Lewis (Hawthorn)
Given the chaotic circumstances around Hawthorn at the time of his arrival, the plight of Mitchell Lewis was perhaps mostly spoken about in humorous terms over his first few seasons, given club champions Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis had departed in the same off-season he was drafted. No one is laughing now, least of all opposition backmen. The Hawthorn forward continued his commanding year with four goals, including some powerful stuff on the run.

Bailey Banfield (Fremantle)
Banfield has not been a regular in the Fremantle side since his debut 2018 season, and has often been relegated to the role of medical sub this year, including last week against Melbourne. With that in mind, the skilful, decisive and inspiring four-goal second half he produced against Brisbane was the surprise of the round. A simply brilliant performance.

FOLLOWERS

Max Gawn (Melbourne)
Kicking five goals in a preliminary final is basically impossible to top, but the performance of Max Gawn in the Demons’ loss to Sydney was quite possibly the best of his career. He was unstoppable in the air, whether at centre bounce or elsewhere, and collected a remarkable 28 disposals (23 contested), three goals and six contested marks. Gawn appears to have reached a level of aptitude where the game is, at times, too easy.

Touk Miller (Gold Coast)
Gold Coast’s absurd inside-50 numbers against North Melbourne were in large part due to the awesome clearance work from their reigning best-and-fairest. Five of his round-high 13 clearances were directly from the middle, and where he didn’t fire off a handball to a runner, he delivered it in there himself on eight occasions. Add to that eight tackles, and nearly 800 metres gained, and it was right among his best games.

Rory Laird (Adelaide)
Laird just consistently knows how to fill up the stats sheet as a reliable and productive inside midfielder, and it is odd to recall that his move there was an experimental one, perhaps borne out of desperation, by coach Matthew Nicks midway through 2020. He had a stack of clearances as per usual, but also got involved in nine scoring chains and hit the scoreboard himself.

INTERCHANGE

Matt Rowell (Gold Coast)
There were plenty of easy kicks to be had against North Melbourne in Darwin, but as is the case every week, Matt Rowell wanted none of it. The young Gold Coast bull combined relentlessly with his co-captain Miller, winning 17 contested possessions from 25 in total, 11 tackles, nine clearances and also a goal.

Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
A fair bit of footy pinged around among the Bulldogs midfield as always, but Tom Liberatore was clearly their most influential on-baller in the match-up against Geelong on Friday night. With seven inside 50s and nine score involvements, including two nice goals, among his 30 touches, “Libba” constantly aimed to move the ball forward.

Darcy Cameron (Collingwood)
Cameron waited a long time to get onto an AFL list, then he waited a long time to become a regular best-22 player, and then he waited a long time to get his chance as a first ruck. It has been worth the wait. Since Brodie Grundy went down in Round 6, Cameron has thrived, with his best performance coming this week against Hawthorn in what was an all-round dominant display.

Michael Frederick (Fremantle)
Frederick clearly does his best work when the game is at its hottest, and so it was again on Sunday as the electrifying half-forward got busy in what was an entertaining second half of footy against the Lions. With three goals, 10 marks and seven inside 50s, Frederick continued his great form with another thrilling, impactful display.

STIFF TO MISS
Taylor Walker (Adelaide), Jack Viney (Melbourne), Cam Rayner (Brisbane), Brandan Parfitt (Geelong), Tom Atkins (Geelong), James Rowbottom (Sydney), Logan McDonald (Sydney), Will Brodie (Fremantle), Rory Lobb (Fremantle), Jai Newcombe (Hawthorn).