Callum Wilkie was a shining light for St Kilda down back on Sunday against Melbourne at the MCG. Photo: Getty Images.

FULL BACKS

Wil Powell (Gold Coast)
This was an excellent all-round performance from the underrated Gold Coast defender. Handed one of the more onerous jobs in the game with a match-up on Isaac Heeney, Powell restricted the Swan to his first goalless game of the season, whilst also managing a round-high 13 intercept possessions.

Sam Collins (Gold Coast)
Collins proved a troublesome match-up for Lance Franklin on Saturday, who scored his only goal 10 minutes into the match. The Suns vice-captain, who has gradually become one of the more consistent key defenders in the AFL, effectively blanketed the Sydney champion by getting nine spoils in, and only conceding a single one-on-one contest.

Callum Wilkie (St Kilda)
Equally capable of playing on talls or smalls in defence, Wilkie performed a great shutdown job on the man who can be either in Bayley Fritsch. “The Accountant” restricted the Dees’ leading scorer to just one goal from four disposals and one mark for the afternoon, whilst taking 12 grabs himself and exhibiting his neat disposal from the back half.

HALF BACKS

Nick Hind (Essendon)
A welcome return to form from one of the breakout players of last season. Hind, who has found himself on the periphery of the starting side in recent weeks, was at his bounding, elusive best against Hawthorn with a career-high eight rebound 50s. His volume of running bounces, while not always 100 per cent necessary, were a good indicator that his game is back up and going.

Noah Balta (Richmond)
Back in defence for the second week in a row, Balta relished the opportunity to play behind the footy and was a commanding presence across half back. Balancing his defensive responsibilities with zone-off marking, he controlled Collingwood’s forward 50 for much of the day, and his ball use was both powerful and efficient as always.

Angus Brayshaw (Melbourne)
A typically hard-working game from Brayshaw, pushing from half back up to the wing and half forward to create an option when Melbourne had the footy, and then running hard back the other way when the Demons lost possession. Sometimes he’s rewarded on the stats sheet, and sometimes he isn’t, but his effort and game style are the same each week.

CENTRES

Mitch Duncan (Geelong)
This was very much a prototype Mitch Duncan performance, although it was one we hadn’t yet seen in 2022. Stationed mostly on the wing, but working back as the link-up marker outside defensive 50, Duncan had 12 marks and 33 touches, 11 of which were score involvements. A crucial cog in the way Geelong plays when at its best.

Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
Boak has been a good player this season and has certainly won plenty of the ball, but this was his most influential performance of the year so far. Working tirelessly in both directions, the 314-game champion looked as spritely as anyone out there, particularly in the third term when the game needed someone to break it open.

Ed Langdon (Melbourne)
The AFL’s “Mr Wing” was at it again against the Saints, who elected not to replicate Hawthorn’s effective run-with strategy and suffered as a result. Langdon feasted against the Saints, collecting a career-high 39 disposals – 30 more than his previous week’s tally. Once again, his 100 per cent time on ground was important in allowing more rotations for everyone else.

HALF FORWARDS

Tyson Stengle (Geelong)
Stengle’s performance at Geelong has been one of the success stories of the season, and a great advertisement for patience and timing. He has always been able to hit the scoreboard, as he did again this week with three goals, but his involvement in play further up the field and ability to accumulate the ball are new strings that are serving the Cats beautifully.

Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
Speaking of success stories, Curnow was again unstoppable against the Crows. Is there a player in the league who can get his goals in a more diverse range of ways? Carlton fans who imagined that Curnow would come back this good, this quickly, probably belong to the Stephen Kernahan “we’re Carlton and f… the rest” school of thought. Evidently it was bang on the money.

Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane)
After an excellent start to the year playing a lot more inside the contest, McCluggage largely stayed out of the centre square against the Eagles and resumed his work on the outside and forward of centre. Capitalising on the space and time he earned by outworking his opposition, McCluggage was devastating with four goals and three assists, while also laying 10 tackles.

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FORWARDS

Peter Wright (Essendon)
Building on a solid first season at the Bombers, Peter Wright has been one of the breakout stars, and best key forwards, in the AFL this year. His performance on Saturday night was a match-winning one, with three of his six goals coming in the barnstorming final term. An increasingly confident player, and an unbelievably accurate shot.

Tom Lynch (Richmond)
Lynch backed up his dominant Round 7 display with one of the best individual halves of footy so far this season. Not only was the Richmond spearhead involved in just about everything the Tigers did with his work up the field, he also nullified Darcy Moore by demanding total accountability, and marked superbly when stationed deep.

Charlie Cameron (Brisbane)
The electrifying Lion has been working consistently since his inaccurate display against North Melbourne in Round 3, and has steadily built his way into the upper reaches of the Coleman Medal board. Cameron was the forward most capable of capitalising on the Lions’ dominance against the Eagles, and ended up slotting four goals from set shots.

FOLLOWERS

Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast)
There are other examples of colossal ruckmen who make their team significantly better just by being out there, but Witts is undoubtedly the best illustration of this in the current landscape. The Suns co-captain dominated the in-form Peter Ladhams, proving far too strong in the ruck, and also in the clinches where he won seven clearances.

Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
This is now more than a return to form for the Carlton captain, it is the best stretch of footy he’s played in his career so far, and one of the most consistently dominant runs of any player in the last five years. Another 35 touches, 10 clearances and two goals against the Crows. In stark contrast to the past two years, Patrick Cripps is fun to watch again.

Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
Oliver has been building into the season, not by numbers which are always high, but by influence and effectiveness outside of contests. He was the best version of himself against St Kilda, with six clearances out of the centre bounce, brilliant bursts from stoppage, and an even split in contested and uncontested among his 38 disposals.

INTERCHANGE

Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
The three-time premiership skipper looked invigorated and refreshed after his rest last week, putting in a classic performance that featured all the hallmarks of Trent Cotchin in his prime – hardness in the contest, elite extraction and time and space in traffic. With his disposal numbers also up, he showed he still has plenty to offer the Tigers in 2022.

Mark Blicavs (Geelong)
Deployed in the ruck in the absence of other options, Blicavs showed again that he may just genuinely be Geelong’s best option in there with an outstanding exhibition. He held his own in the rucking head-to-head against Brayden Preuss, but clearly outperformed him around the park with 25 touches, seven marks and eight tackles.

Will Brodie (Fremantle)
Brodie continues to have a huge influence from minimal time on ground, and looks to have settled into the Dockers line-up as a consistent week-to-week performer. While he is predominantly recognised for his strong inside work, he worked hard on the outside against the Roos, collecting 37 disposals, and was involved in plenty of link-up play.

Nic Martin (Essendon)
One of the surprise stories of the season, Martin has shown that his phenomenal Round 1 was no flash in the pan with some terrific contributions across the season. His game against Hawthorn, which featured 22 disposals, two goals and 10 score involvements, was indicative of his ability to find space and his decision-making prowess that belies his inexperience.

STIFF TO MISS
Ben McKay (North Melbourne), Todd Marshall (Port Adelaide), Izak Rankine (Gold Coast), Jeremy Cameron (Geelong), Jack Graham (Richmond), Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs), Lachie Neale (Brisbane), Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle), Sam Docherty (Carlton), Steven May (Melbourne).