Jeremy Cameron was back to his brilliant best for Geelong against Richmond on Friday night. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

FULL BACKS

Callum Wilkie (St Kilda)
One of the unsung heroes at the Saints, the former accountant has not missed a game since being recruited from the WAFL at the end of 2018. He played one of the best games of his career on Saturday, taking 14 marks matched up against the in-form Josh Corbett, and provided plenty of drive with 25 disposals.

Jacob Weitering (Carlton)
A ripping game from Weitering, who was Carlton’s only four-quarter contributor on Sunday afternoon. Lining up against probably the best contested mark in the game in Aaron Naughton, Weitering took seven of them himself from 11 marks in total, working off his opponent offensively as well as winning one-on-ones.

Sam Taylor (GWS)
Another excellent effort from Taylor, who is holding the GWS defence together beautifully in the absence of Phil Davis. He kept Peter Wright to two goals and just two marks while taking seven intercept marks himself on the weekend. His job gets even harder with Lachie Keeffe’s injury, but recent form suggests he’s more than up to the task.

HALF BACKS

Brad Sheppard (West Coast)
It’s been a slightly slower start to 2021 for the ultra-consistent defender, but he played his best game of the season against the Hawks, providing plenty in the absence of numerous seasoned teammates in defence. His 12 marks, along with 27 disposals, were a big reason why the Hawks struggled for fluency in attack.

Darcy Moore (Collingwood)
It was fair enough that Collingwood at least had a look at Moore up forward given their inability to kick a winning score, but his return to the backline was as emphatic as it gets. With not much to worry about defensively, he took a gargantuan 19 marks (that’s top 20 in VFL/AFL history) and had 28 disposals in an absolute day out.

Daniel Rich (Brisbane)
Another big game at half back for Rich, who continues his superb later-career form. Of all the accumulator half backs in the AFL, none kick the footy with as much precision and devastation as the Brisbane star, as he did 28 times on Sunday. Well on track to earn, bizarrely, his maiden All-Australian selection.

CENTRES

Andrew Gaff (West Coast)
Gaff’s ball winning ability has never been in doubt, but his performance on Sunday was much more than that as he continually propelled the Eagles forward with eight inside 50s and 10 score involvements. His 12 contested possessions was also his highest since late 2020 in what was a great all-round performance.

Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
‘Libba’ has been sensational all season, getting the job done in the guts every week whilst his teammates rack up the media votes and plaudits. He was outstanding on Sunday, bullocking his way to 17 contested possessions and a round-high 13 clearances. Don’t be surprised to see him take an early lead in the Bulldogs’ best-and-fairest.

Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane)
McCluggage’s name is just about chiselled into a wing position in Footyology’s Team Of The Week, and he is getting it done with consistency and maximum impact at the moment. He had eight inside 50s and 10 score involvements from his 28 touches against the Dockers, covering the entire ground and providing brilliant work in traffic.

HALF FORWARDS

Jordan De Goey (Collingwood)
De Goey’s status as Collingwood’s chief barometer was emphasised on Saturday, with the dangerous forward booting six goals from nine shots and hitting the scoreboard in all four quarters as the Magpies enjoyed a much-needed win. His equal career-high haul, in response to a week of criticism, showed healthy resilience.

Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)
‘Jezza’ played easily his best game since his Coleman Medal-pinching bag of nine against the Suns in the last round of 2019, tearing the usually decisive Richmond defence apart in an electric performance. More than half of his six goals came from snaps on the run, as he continuously worked himself loose, finished truly, and celebrated accordingly.

Gary Rohan (Geelong)
Rohan had “one of his games” on Friday night, showcasing all the elements of AFL footy that he can do to an elite level: overhead marking, speed and intensity around the footy, and, most impressively, long-range set-shot goalkicking. Among his five goals, he struck early in the second, third and fourth quarters to set the tone for the dominant Cats.

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FORWARDS

Eddie Betts (Carlton)
A crowd-pleasing performance from Eddie, who booted five goals against the Dogs, including four in a scintillating opening 40 minutes. Where sometimes in the past 24 months his big-play efforts have just fallen short or wide, his radar was well and truly on and he provided some fantastic highlights as the Blues started strongly.

Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
There were plenty of strong goalkicking performances this round, but how could you leave out the third head of the dominant Geelong set-up? Especially when said head had a ridiculous 16 score involvements. Hawkins was far too good for Noah Balta in finding space as well as in the contest, gathering 20 disposals and booting four goals.

Charlie Cameron (Brisbane)
Despite some wasteful finishing in front of goal over the past two weeks, Cameron is making his move on the season and looks to be approaching top gear in a rapid fashion. He scored in powerful bursts against Fremantle, and used speed off the mark to take 11 marks (eight inside 50), the most of his career so far.

FOLLOWERS

Scott Lycett (Port Adelaide)
His dangerous sling tackle on Ned McHenry marred what was otherwise a fantastic night for the ruckman, who seems like he has been playing at Port for his entire life despite only joining 40 games ago. He overwhelmed Reilly O’Brien both in the ruck and around the ground, showing trademark physicality and effort.

Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
The Dogs’ skipper stood up when the game needed to be won, breaking Carlton’s midfield open with seven contested possessions and a goal in a final term in which he continually won the ball in big moments. Overall it was 32 disposals, 12 score involvements, 10 inside 50s, 10 clearances and eight tackles. A complete game.

Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
Oliver absolutely thrived in the soggy, dense conditions on Saturday night, racking up 35 possessions and 10 clearances against a very strong clearance outfit in the Swans. With the Demons’ midfield looking decidedly more balanced, Oliver is free to focus on his natural extractor game and is thriving as a result.

INTERCHANGE

Tom McDonald (Melbourne)
An outstanding game from McDonald, who in 2021 is doing everything that seemed beyond him in 2020. He kicked four goals, had two goal assists, and looked every bit the player he was at his peak. The fact that half of his 18 disposals were won in the back half shows that he’s still much more than just a stay-at-home key forward.

Jack Billings (St Kilda)
Billings is one of the first to cop the heat when St Kilda turn in a poor performance, but he has been a solid contributor for most of this season, playing a number of different roles as the team requires. On Saturday he spent the majority of the game working back into defence, but still managed two goals in what was a very even showing.

Tom Stewart (Geelong)
Stewart had his usual swag of marks, intercepts, and metres gained again on Friday night, but it was his job on Dustin Martin up at stoppages around the ground that highlighted this performance as one of his best of the year. ‘Dusty’ was unsighted in the second half, whereas Stewart was an assured contributor in traffic and back in defence.

Zach Merrett (Essendon)
A very influential game from Merrett, whose precise ability by foot was back on display against the Giants. He got the ball going the Bombers’ way early, with five inside 50s in the first term alone, while his 13 in total, and three goal assists, were both round-highs. Showed in his 150th game that he’s still Essendon’s best midfielder.

STIFF TO MISS
Toby Greene (GWS), Tim Taranto (GWS), Josh Bruce (Western Bulldogs), Cameron Guthrie (Geelong), Callum Mills (Sydney), Dom Sheed (West Coast), Brendon Ah Chee (West Coast) Tom Clurey (Port Adelaide), Aaron Hall (North Melbourne), Jarryd Lyons (Brisbane)