GWS backman Sam Taylor was superb on the weekend, nullifying the influence of Adelaide’s Taylor Walker. Photo: AFL Media.

FULL BACKS

James Sicily (Hawthorn)
The Hawks’ stand-in skipper is having an unbelievable return season from his ACL injury, taking no time at all to reclaim his standing as the premier medium/intercepting defender in the AFL. In his 100th game, and against the toughest opposition in the AFL (Melborne), Sicily was one of the best players on ground with 26 touches and 13 marks.

Sam Taylor (GWS)
Taylor probably hasn’t quite hit the high marks that he set for himself following on from a brilliant 2021, but he produced his best game of the season in the Giants’ big win against the Crows. He managed to do what no other defender has so far this year by comfortably beating Taylor Walker, while also taking some important defensive marks.

Griffin Logue (Fremantle)
An indifferent start to the season, omission from the side, and even some premature trade talk, were all wiped from the collective memory after Griffin Logue’s superb shutdown job on the in-form Jeremy Cameron on Saturday. Fremantle’s former top-10 draft pick held the Geelong goalkicker scoreless, and did not lose a one-on-one contest all day.

HALF BACKS

Adam Saad (Carlton)
Saad has been a consistent rebounding half back for most of his career, however he appears to have taken his game to another level in recent weeks with an increased focus on winning the ball from opposition kicks. His performance against North Melbourne featured all the usual dash and link-up play, but also a game-high 12 intercepts, including five marks.

Aliir Aliir (Port Adelaide)
Aliir produced his first truly outstanding performance of the year against the Saints, who simply could not quell his influence through either accountability or thoughtful positioning. With more than 60 inside 50s coming his way, the 2021 All-Australian was an obstructive force and a big reason for Port’s tight victory.

Tom Stewart (Geelong)
A classic Tom Stewart game, and a copybook performance for the modern disruptive defender. The reigning Geelong best-and-fairest was absolutely everywhere against the Dockers, with a career-high 40 disposals (10 more than his previous best), 14 marks, and nearly a kilometre in territory gained.

CENTRES

Blake Acres (Fremantle)
It looks as though we’re seeing an unlikely ninth-season breakout year for Blake Acres. The former Saint, and periodic whipping boy, has had a great 2022, headlined by his exceptional game at Kardinia Park where he adapted to the narrow wings, worked tirelessly from defence to half forward, and slotted a cracking running goal.

Lachie Neale (Brisbane)
It’s not an exaggeration to say that this was a match-winning effort. With Sydney having thrown the challenge down to Brisbane after half-time, Neale responded with a blistering spell of football that effectively saw the Lions wrest back control and cruise to victory. He finished with 37 touches (26 contested), nine tackles, 11 clearances and a great goal in one of the performances of the season.

Josh Daicos (Collingwood)
After a quiet season last year, Daicos is producing on the kind of potential he showed in his early seasons at the Magpies. He was effective in all areas of the ground against the Suns, maximising his clearly defined wing role to split his 20 disposals evenly between the forward and back halves, using the ball with precision by foot, and slotting two goals.

HALF FORWARDS

Shai Bolton (Richmond)
A monster game from the Tigers’ emerging superstar, who did what he liked against the hapless Eagles, including plenty that most others couldn’t. His work in the forward half was huge, with three goals and four goal assists from 15 score involvements, but it’s the way he combines this with his centre clearance work that makes him such a unique player.

Lance Franklin (Sydney)
This performance had everything we love about Franklin, and with six goals against the Lions he’s within touching distance of the VFL/AFL all-time top five. If Neale’s form was the key to Brisbane’s response, the only reason that one was even needed was because of Franklin’s incredible burst, which featured four goals in 10 minutes and brought the Swans back to within a kick.

Dylan Moore (Hawthorn)
A slight role change for Moore this week, who despite largely starting forward and staying out of centre bounces, continually pushed up the field and played as an extra number around the ball. It proved to be a highly effective move by coach Sam Mitchell, with the skilful Hawk proving more than adept as the first receiver from the contest.

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FORWARDS

Brody Mihocek (Collingwood)
Mihocek continues to perform consistently for the Magpies, and while he still cannot break through his four-goal ceiling, his versatility and reliability is important. With a number of key talls out of the side, Mihocek displayed his excellent contested marking and creativity at ground level to lead his side to victory against Gold Coast.

Tom Lynch (Richmond)
It may have been a bit of a training run for Richmond against the Eagles, but Lynch was absolutely burning up the track. He reeled in nine marks inside 50, and exhibited his elite body work with eight contested grabs – just two shy of the all-time record. While he could have enjoyed a monster bag, seven is still a big haul, and his best as a Tiger.

Toby Greene (GWS)
After easing his way back into things last week, Greene lit up the Adelaide Oval with a dominant first-half display. With four goals and 11 score involvements, he was the most impactful forward on the ground, and managed to out-body a bigger opponent on several occasions. With Greene in and firing, all of a sudden, the Giants look dangerous again.

FOLLOWERS

Max Gawn (Melbourne)
Gawn is back in top shelf, utterly commanding, form. In what ended up being a fairly close contest, the Melbourne ruckman’s dominance over an inexperienced opponent in Max Lynch may have been the difference, and his work around the ground was formidable as he collected 29 touches, two goals and nine clearances of his own.

Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs)
While some of the Western Bulldogs’ first-rate midfielders have been accused of cruising somewhat this season, the same could not be said about Josh Dunkley who is playing with elite intensity. He was tenacious around the contest all game against Essendon, and contributed two goals as the Dogs took control of the match in the third term.

Josh Kelly (GWS)
Another highly-rated player who produced his best game of the season, Kelly was at his damaging, versatile best against the Crows. His willingness to move the ball forward from contests was notable in comparison to previous weeks, as evidenced by seven inside 50s and 736 metres gained, and his forwards benefited enormously from his fast, pinpoint entries.

INTERCHANGE

Jayden Short (Richmond)
Richmond would have been thrilled with the debut on-ball performance of Jayden Short, who brought his long, accurate kicking and clever work in traffic to the midfield with great success. Having only attended the first centre bounce of his career late last week, he went to 23 against the Eagles and did well to win six clearances. His ball use inside 50 was also a highlight.

Isaac Cumming (GWS)
Cumming has turned into a consistent performer for the Giants in the past 18 months, highly effective in his role as a long-kicking intercept defender. The former GWS Academy product had a big day against Adelaide, defending the back half with a round-high 15 intercepts, along with 33 disposals and seven tackles.

Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
The Carlton captain now has five-from-five Team of the Week selections from games in which he’s played more than a half. Thirty-five touches, 10 clearances and a goal is about par for the course for Cripps this season. It’s great for Blues fans to see him back playing to this level, and great for footy in general that we get to resume marvelling at what is one of the great careers of this era.

Patrick Lipinski (Collingwood)
Somewhat of a return to form for the new Magpie after a quiet few weeks. Lipinski, who possesses a great blend of inside and outside midfield skill, played a lively game at the MCG on Sunday. His prolific first quarter set his side well on the path to victory, and in the end, he finished with 30 disposals, 12 of which turned into scores for Collingwood.

STIFF TO MISS
Ryan Burton (Port Adelaide), Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide), Callum Mills (Sydney), Daniel Rioli (Richmond), Touk Miller (Gold Coast), Harry McKay (Carlton), Mark Blicavs (Geelong), Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane), Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle), Blake Hardwick (Hawthorn).