Five goals for Adelaide key forward Taylor Walker: quite possibly his best performance in years. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

FULL BACKS

Blake Hardwick (Hawthorn)
On a weekend in which small backs were racking up the touches without necessarily covering themselves in glory from a defensive point of view, it was great to see “Dimma” play a strong negating role in Hawthorn’s team defence and still manage to get involved going the other way. A deserved fan favourite.

Steven May (Melbourne)
Continued his sensational form of last season as he controlled the defensive half against Fremantle on Saturday. Has found the confidence to play off his opponent and pick off targets by foot, and has established a really strong balance between attack and defence as a result. A genuine star of the competition.

Jake Lever (Melbourne)
Looks to be in career-best form after what had been an indifferent start to his time at Melbourne, exhibiting the aerial ability that made him such an exciting prospect in his first few seasons. Combined beautifully with May to control the air and restrict Fremantle to just seven marks from its 57 inside 50s.

HALF BACKS

Adam Saad (Carlton)
The Blues’ new running half-back provided everything they got him across for in a terrific first-up effort on Thursday night. The long kicking, running bounces and rebound 50s were all present, but Carlton fans would have been thrilled to see what Essendon has been saying for years – that Saad is just as strong defensively as he is on the attack.

Darcy Moore (Collingwood)
Had a lot of work to do with the way that the Bulldogs were winning the footy and peppering it inside 50 all game, but as has been the case consistently over the past 12 months, Moore met the challenge with conviction and skill. His 12 marks (six contested) were a significant reason the scoreboard looked better than it probably should have for the Pies.

Caleb Daniel (Western Bulldogs)
Ran around getting a stack of meaningful and influential footy again on Friday night, as he did all last year and likely will again this season. Just a superb decision maker, and possibly the best short kick in the game, making him almost the prototype beneficiary of the new man-on-the-mark rule if it trends as expected.

CENTRES

Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs)
Smith will be a wonderful on-baller for many years in the future, but for now he looks more than comfortable dominating out on a wing while the Dogs’ stacked midfield does the work on the inside. He finished with 36 touches, eight marks, two goals, and even snuck in for three clearances. This guy is the real package.

Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn)
After a challenging second quarter for his side, Mitchell went absolutely ballistic in the third, when he got the Hawks back into the game by winning contest after contest in the middle of the ground. Sometimes gets accused of accumulating without significant impact, but this was certainly not one of those occasions.

Jaidyn Stephenson (North Melbourne)
Had 33 possessions and seven tackles in a more prominent midfield role, and, most importantly, looked like he was at his energetic, creative and exuberant best. North fans should be genuinely excited about what he can offer in both the short and long term.

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HALF FORWARDS

Dustin Martin (Richmond)
Picked up right where he left off with a typically dominant round one performance, featuring 31 touches, a whopping four goal assists (from 12 score involvements), and two goals – the first of which almost exactly mirrored his second quarter game-changer in the grand final. His short kicking and ability to hit a target in traffic was really on show on Thursday night.

Taylor Walker (Adelaide)
A statement game from Walker and quite possibly his best performance in years. Five goals, including a trademark long bomb on the half-time siren that brought the house down. Will always have his detractors, but there is no doubt that his experience and leadership will be a valuable asset in the Crows’ young forward line this year.

Tim Membrey (St Kilda)
Stood up big time in the absence of seemingly all of the Saints’ other tall forward options. Such a hard worker who always seems to pop up at the right moment in defence or as a bail-out marking option on the wing. Remains an underrated player, but perhaps this is the season in which that changes.

FULL FORWARDS

Oscar Allen (West Coast)
Four goals from the young star, including two in what was a scintillating first five minutes. Contributed throughout the four quarters with strong marking deep inside 50 and back in defence at times as well. Starting to show that he might become the Eagles’ best tall forward sooner than later.

Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
Against a strong tall defensive unit, Riewoldt looked livelier than he did at virtually any stage last year. Was slotting them from everywhere and came away with four goals, but he also does so much at ground level that doesn’t appear on the stat sheet. After a challenging season away from home, he may well have one more big year left in him.

Orazio Fantasia (Port Adelaide)
Yet another who had a very impressive club debut. Used his speed to run on to the footy as a high half-forward, but played deep at times and showed his ability as a lead-up player as well. Could have had a bag, but 4.4 and 12 score involvements was a great effort. Looks fit and ready for a big year.

FOLLOWERS

Tom Hickey (Sydney)
Would have been long, long, long odds to be the first ruck named in Team Of The Week this season after joining his fourth club last November, but Hickey absolutely deserves the nod for his mammoth effort against the Lions. Racked up 23 touches and had more clearances than any other player on the ground (nine), in a game featuring the likes of Neale, Lyons, Kennedy and Parker.

Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
A dominant midfield performance from the veteran, who put the foot down after quarter time to completely quell a North Melbourne side that had started in a fairly plucky fashion. He ended with 27 touches, two goals, 12 score involvements and showing no signs of slowing down. The renaissance continues.

Callum Mills (Sydney)
Mills’ long-awaited move to the midfield is looking very promising indeed after some great pre-season form and now a dominant round one performance with 29 disposals, two goals and eight marks. Still only 23 years old, so he has plenty of years ahead to forge a career as an elite centre square player.

INTERCHANGE

Isaac Heeney (Sydney)
Played as a permanent forward to great effect on Saturday night, contributing three goals and four direct goal assists as his side went on the attack with 30 scoring shots against a quality opponent. His importance to the Swans is evident looking at how the front half functioned on Saturday compared to last year in his absence.

Jack Bowes (Gold Coast)
Looks to have really settled into that half-back distributor role for the Suns, and played it beautifully on Sunday evening with 28 kicks at 100 per cent efficiency, seven rebound 50s, 14 marks, and only two handballs. With guys like Ballard, Buderick and Lemmens assigned the grunt work in defence, Bowes could have a prolific year in this role.

Tim Kelly (West Coast)
This spot could have just as easily gone to his teammate Dom Sheed, but Kelly’s combination of skill and tenacity at the coalface is just so impressive to watch. Was never out of any contest against the Suns’ midfield, and used his size and strength to simply barrel the ball forward at times. Looks to be in sensational nick.

Andrew McGrath (Essendon)
It will get lost in the wash-up of what was a remarkable game, mainly due to the heartbreaking nature of Essendon’s loss, but McGrath put in a stunning two-way midfield performance against Hawthorn. Really starting to establish himself as the centrepiece of that on-ball unit after a breakout season last year.

STIFF TO MISS
Noah Balta (Richmond), Errol Gulden (Sydney), Will Day (Hawthorn), Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide), Jack Billings (St Kilda), Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Sam Walsh (Carlton), Ed Langdon (Melbourne), Dom Sheed (West Coast), Alex Keath (Western Bulldogs).