Port Adelaide defender Riley Bonner gathers the ball in front of fellow Team of the Week member Isaac Heeney. Photo: Getty Images

FULL BACKS

Mason Redman (Essendon)
It’s been somewhat of a slow burn for Redman, but the dashing defender has been a regular in the Essendon 22 since 2019, and has developed into a versatile, reliable contributor. The Bombers regularly scored as a result of his interceptions at half-back against the Saints, and in a sense, the whole team played in his image.

Tom Barrass (West Coast)
From a personal point of view, Barrass will be disappointed that Tom Hawkins ended up with three goals – including the sealer – in the Eagles’ strong showing on Saturday afternoon, because ultimately, he had done a fantastic job on the Geelong champion. With Jeremy McGovern off injured for much of the match, Barrass did well to restrict Hawkins’ damage, while also intercepting the ball.

Jordan Ridley (Essendon)
Ridley is doing an admirable job playing mostly above his weight division in a more defensive role for the Bombers, and so it was again in their terrific win against St Kilda. Lining up against the 202cm tall Max King, Ridley displayed some fantastic one-on-one prowess, using his long arms to spoil and ultimately holding the Saints’ spearhead to just one goal.

HALF-BACKS

Adam Saad (Carlton)
Considering that Saad copped a nasty, albeit accidental, poke to the eye in the opening stages of the match on Thursday night, his performance could be considered even more impressive. With 15 of his 25 touches intercept possessions, the lively backman was highly impactful, and he continues his excellent defensive work as well.

Dylan Grimes (Richmond)
Whilst Thursday’s game wasn’t played in conditions suitable for big forwards, Charlie Curnow has clearly demonstrated a remarkable ability to score from any method or circumstance, and the fact that he didn’t this week was due to Dylan Grimes. The Tigers’ co-captain performed an excellent shutdown job, regularly out-bodying and beating the Coleman Medal leader to the ball.

Riley Bonner (Port Adelaide)
Bonner, at times a whipping boy among Port Adelaide fans, has enjoyed a really solid season in 2022 and may have taken the reins from Darcy Byrne-Jones as the Power’s chief runner off half-back. He was one of the best players on the ground against the Swans, with his ball use by foot and strong marking a key reason for the win.

CENTRES

Marlion Pickett (Richmond)
Season 2022 has undoubtedly been Pickett’s strongest and most consistent season, with his role as an enforcer on the wing a crucial one to Richmond’s set-up. He started strongly with the opening goal against Carlton, and continued to play an attacking brand of footy, combined with some seriously aggressive tackling.

Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
Wines has been good this season without being utterly dominant as he was last year, however his outing against the Swans had all the hallmarks of one of his big, three-vote-winning performances. The reigning Brownlow Medalist led an inexperienced midfield to a fantastic victory, with 34 touches, 10 clearances and seven inside 50s.

Karl Amon (Port Adelaide)
Amon’s stocks continue to rise, with another highly-productive performance on the wing a key reason for Port Adelaide’s surprise win against Sydney on Saturday. A strong contributor, particularly after half-time, Amon ran harder and longer than anyone in the red and white, coming away with 31 disposals and seven marks.

HALF-FORWARDS

Cody Weightman (Western Bulldogs)
A storied day for the talismanic Bulldog, with an equal career-high five goals – all in the first half – followed by a nasty dislocated elbow. Whilst Weightman didn’t add to his goal tally after the injury, the mere fact that he went back out there, and provided great pressure and contest work, saw him rise even further in Bulldogs fans’ estimations.

Todd Marshall (Port Adelaide)
Marshall’s strong goalkicking form continued in Round 14, with the young key forward booting another four to make it 21 from his last eight games. Where earlier in the season he was required to fill the void for Charlie Dixon, they’re now working well in tandem, and Marshall’s ability to work up the ground and take strong grabs kept him involved.

Ben Ainsworth (Gold Coast)
Without kicking any big bags, Ainsworth has already booted more goals in just 13 matches than he has in any other season – a sign of a consistent and impactful year. The former No.4 draft pick was tremendous against the Crows, adding three goals to his season tally, and had 12 score involvements among his 20 disposals.

PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.

FORWARDS

Tyson Stengle (Geelong)
With his seventh haul of at least three goals this season, Stengle proved to be the difference in a hard-fought win against the Eagles on Saturday. He set up Brad Close for the first goal of the game, nailed a tough set shot in the third quarter to quell a West Coast fightback, and generally provided class and clean hands in the forward half all afternoon.

Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs)
The Bulldogs star forward had his kicking boots on against the Giants, outplaying a really tough opponent in Sam Taylor to come away with five goals. His bag was spread across all four quarters, however a strong patch in the third term, with some textbook contested marking and a couple of goals, helped swing the game the Dogs’ way.

Toby Greene (GWS)
One of the best individual performances of the season. Greene kept GWS in the game early on with three goals in the first quarter, booted his fourth and fifth as fast responses to Bulldogs goals either side of half-time, and then added two more in the last to keep the flame flickering. Add in three direct goal assists and eight inside 50s, and it was a remarkably impressive display.

FOLLOWERS

Tim English (Western Bulldogs)
For consistent impact around the ground and in scoring chains, English has been better than any other ruckman when out on the park this season. As he has in every single game he’s played in 2022, the Dogs ruck reached 20 disposals against the Giants, this time adding 10 clearances, including six out of the middle.

Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs)
This was a productive, four-quarter performance from the triple All-Australian midfielder. Macrae filled the stat sheet as always, with 37 touches, nine tackles, eight inside 50s, six clearances and a goal, but there was a clear impact to his work this week that stood out against other matches where he’s produced similar numbers.

Dion Prestia (Richmond)
The only way that Richmond was going to knock the Blues off on Thursday night was to beat, or at least match, their strong on-ball unit in the clearance game. Dion Prestia made sure that it happened, with a brilliant midfield performance in which he won 19 contested possessions and 13 clearances. A two-way runner who is clean and doesn’t go to ground he’s the most valuable player in a side littered with stars.

INTERCHANGE

Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
With Travis Boak out and Zak Butters injured early in the game, Port Adelaide needed a strong contributor to step up in the midfield, and they got it in Connor Rozee. With 29 touches and seven inside 50s, he continued his strong season, and appears to have answered the queries regarding his ability to play the role on a full-time basis.

Matt Rowell (Gold Coast)
Never one to chase an easy kick, Rowell once again picked up two thirds of his 19 disposals in the contest, laid 11 tackles and seven of those 19 touches were clearances. Simply put, the man is an unforgiving midfield bull at just 20, and if he does ever decide to start accumulating and/or getting more ball on the spread, he will be one of the best in the league.

Isaac Heeney (Sydney)
In a pretty disappointing day for the Swans, a silver lining came in the return to form of their star forward Isaac Heeney. With four goals, Heeney managed his best haul since Round 2, and his first game with multiple majors since Round 7. He presented all afternoon for Sydney, and whilst it was always a long shot, his two last-quarter goals at least showed fight.

Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
An excellent game from the gun on-baller, particularly in the second half where his crafty contest work allowed the Bulldogs to take hold of what had been a seesawing game. As always, Liberatore’s disposals were crucial in driving the ball forward for scoring opportunities, and he came away with 10 clearances and two goal assists among his 26 touches.

STIFF TO MISS
Peter Wright (Essendon), Nick Hind (Essendon), Sam Docherty (Carlton), Harry McKay (Carlton), Cameron Guthrie (Geelong), Mark Blicavs (Geelong), Izak Rankine (Gold Coast), Liam Baker (Richmond), Tom Green (GWS), Jordan Dawson (Adelaide).