Mabior Chol (centre) celebrates a goal during Gold Coast’s upset win over Fremantle at Metricon Stadium on Sunday. Photo: AFL Media.

FULL BACKS

Griffin Logue (Fremantle)
Another great game from Logue, who despite a stuttering start to the season, is producing the best form of his career. In what was a fairly dirty day for Fremantle, the athletic defender was a shining light with some great one-on-one defending, as well as 29 disposals (17 of which were intercepts) and 11 marks – both career-highs.

Tom McCartin (Sydney)
Now one of the more reliable full-backs in the league, McCartin was again terrific against the Bombers on Saturday night. With a tough task in curtailing the in-form Peter Wright, the Swans stopper kept his opponent quiet, and took some important marks in defence. Deserves to be in All-Australian contention after his start to the year.

Liam Baker (Richmond)
Baker has moved back into defence in the last few weeks, and consequently returned to the form that saw him finish runner-up in the Jack Dyer Medal last year. He was typically fierce around the contest against Hawthorn, laying seven tackles, and his clean work at ground level in the backline stood out in a wet first half.

HALF-BACKS

Nick Blakey (Sydney)
Blakey has settled beautifully into a running half-back role, where his pace and attack on the footy were devastating on Saturday night. Entrusted with the vast majority of the kick-ins, the man they call “The Lizard” was able to clear the Bombers’ forward zone repeatedly, with eight rebound 50s and 562 metres gained from his 26 touches.

Jacob Weitering (Carlton)
A terrific game from Weitering, who steadied a relatively undermanned Carlton backline in the second half, remaining cool under pressure as he always does. He ended up with 18 neat disposals and eight marks, but two contested grabs in the last quarter, when the game was still to be won, were pivotal to the win.

Jack Sinclair (St Kilda)
More explosive footy from the Saints half-back, who continued his career-best season against Geelong on Saturday. Exposing a weakness in the opposition, Sinclair constantly ran across the middle of the ground to guard space and move the ball St Kilda’s way, and proved too fast and lively for the Cats’ team defence.

CENTRES

Zach Tuohy (Geelong)
This was a hard-running, comprehensive effort from the ever-reliable Tuohy. Patrolling the wing and working back into defence, he contributed at stoppages and in moving the ball from the back half and up forward as well where he slotted two goals – including a beauty on the run that gave the Cats a handy break.

Callum Mills (Sydney)
Mills’ big games are really big, and he’s producing them with increasing frequency this season. His ability to do all facets of a midfielder’s job to a really high level – defensive checking, racking up clearances, gut running and bursting from stoppage – means stat lines such as 29 touches, 13 tackles, seven clearances, and seven inside 50s are always on the cards. A genuine gun of the competition.

Adam Treloar (Western Bulldogs)
In his first truly excellent game of the year, Treloar burst out of the blocks with an enormous first quarter that mirrored the Bulldogs’ dominance, and then went on with it to finish with 35 disposals and three goals. He was constantly involved in his side’s ball movement on the outside, and also contributed at stoppage with eight clearances.

HALF-FORWARDS

Sam Powell-Pepper (Port Adelaide)
It hasn’t necessarily been smooth sailing for Powell-Pepper since he burst onto the scene in 2017, but he is now fully established in the side and a key player in the front half. The strength around the contest, desperate efforts and defensive work that he showed on Saturday, have seen him become a sort of heart-and-soul figure at the club.

Tom Lynch (Richmond)
In an interesting battle with Hawthorn’s James Sicily, Lynch was influential both in the air and at ground level, and utilised his impressive forward-half skillset to slot four goals. His contest work, and ability to bring other players into the game, is something that is getting more kudos as he continues to hit the scoreboard.

Izak Rankine (Gold Coast)
A second fantastic game in the space of two weeks for Rankine, who is playing with real substance and tenacity. Whilst he did not hit the scoreboard himself, he managed two direct goal assists and 11 score involvements from his 18 possessions (15 contested), and his pressure at the ball carrier was constant and sharp.

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FORWARDS

Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne)
This was an absolutely electric game from “Kozzie” Pickett, with the young gun topping 20 disposals for the first time, and providing some tremendous ball use inside 50. Some of his work bursting through contested situations is a wonderful advertisement for speed and skill over size, and as always, his work around goals was creative and full of nous.

Mabior Chol (Gold Coast)
Chol has been a consistent player for a couple of years now, but his work at Gold Coast this season has gone to another level, rising to the challenge as his side’s No.1 forward. His ground-level ability stood out in a wet game, with four goals coming mostly from crafty, evasive work rather than set shots.

Charlie Cameron (Brisbane)
Cameron continued his top run of form, bagging another four goals against his old side the Crows on Saturday night. With two goals in the first term, and two more in the third as the Lions responded to a strong challenge from Adelaide, Cameron made up for the lack of tall forward options with a strong performance.

FOLLOWERS

Toby Nankervis (Richmond)
This type of performance featured everything that makes Nankervis a much loved, and very good, player. The Richmond co-captain dominated Max Lynch in the hitouts, won eight clearances and hit the opposition hard with some serious bone crunchers. His second-quarter goal, with the Tigers still lagging, was as good as you’ll see for a snap out of the ruck.

Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
Wines returned to his dominant, Brownlow Medal-winning form of last season with a thorough display against North Melbourne. Port Adelaide’s midfield bull was absolutely everywhere, and filled the stats sheet with 32 touches, nine clearances, seven inside 50s, two goals and two goal assists.

Brad Crouch (St Kilda)
After a few seasons in the football wilderness, Crouch has quietly gone about putting together his most consistent season. He produced an excellent inside game against Geelong, tackling and providing strong centre clearance work. His job gets even more important now, with skipper Jack Steele to miss several months.

INTERCHANGE

Paddy Ryder (St Kilda)
A superb, and arguably match-winning, performance from the veteran ruck. Ryder may have only had 10 disposals, but his influence was enormous, particularly in the last quarter when he kicked back-to-back goals. His tap work was elite as always, as highlighted by his palm down to a running Jack Billings who duly slotted another crucial goal.

Sam Walsh (Carlton)
A naturally industrious performance from the young superstar, but with a little more of the attacking flair that had been missing in previous weeks. Walsh hit the scoreboard twice in the first quarter against the Giants, and lifted further with a really strong second half as others in the middle began to tire.

Touk Miller (Gold Coast)
Along with his co-captain Jarrod Witts, Miller’s efforts in the middle of the ground, against a really solid opposition, was one of the main reasons for an impressive Suns victory. With 10 clearances, eight tackles, 34 possessions and nearly 600 metres gained, he was once again the most productive midfielder on the ground.

Shai Bolton (Richmond)
After a really quiet first term, Bolton launched into action in the second quarter where he was involved in absolutely everything. His centre clearance work changed the course of the game, as did his effort in the forward half from both an offensive and defensive perspective. Richmond can expect a couple of goals and a couple of assists from Bolton every week now.

STIFF TO MISS
Josh Kelly (GWS), Sam Docherty (Carlton), Jade Gresham (St Kilda), Zac Bailey (Brisbane), Lachie Neale (Brisbane), Tom Papley (Sydney), Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs), Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Jack Viney (Melbourne), Tom Hawkins (Geelong).