In my eyes, he was clearly best-on-ground against Adelaide and the numbers speak for themselves: 33 disposals, 10 tackles, eight clearances and three goals.
Another who starred was Ben Ronke for Sydney, in its gripping win over North Melbourne. He booted five goals and showed he's no one-hit wonder, after a brilliant seven-goal haul against Hawthorn in round eight.
His teammate Lance Franklin was unlucky not to make the side, while a trio of Hawthorn midfielders came close: Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O'Meara and Liam Shiels.
Once again, Rory Laird was important for the Crows as he won plenty of the football. Phil Davis kept Jack Riewoldt quiet and was important for Greater Western Sydney, while Lachie Whitfield was important during the third term in a tight contest with Richmond. That might have been a career-saving performance from Josh Walker, who was huge for Brisbane. Collingwood kept kicking the football to Jeremy McGovern and the West Coast backman kept marking it. For Fremantle, Luke Ryan's ball use stood out in a scrappy game.
Right from the start against Geelong, Rory Sloane had an impact. Pushing to make the Virgin Australia AFL All Australian team is Dayne Beams. A former Lion who has impressed is Jack Redden, coming off his finest performance as an Eagle. Max Gawn produced the best example of ruck craft I've seen this season against the Western Bulldogs, and Angus Brayshaw was a beneficiary. He'll have to step up to cover injured Melbourne co-captain Jack Viney, and it looks as though he can. I loved Callan Ward's performance for the Giants. His leadership and influence were immense.
As I wrote before, Dangerfield was outstanding for the Cats. It wasn't a great week for key forwards, so Jesse Hogan'sfour goals stood out. Tom Lynch booted the same number for Adelaide and once again played that connector role to perfection. At Collingwood, Jordan De Goey is just so dangerous and is picking himself in my 22. A big game from North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell almost dragged the Roos over the line against Sydney, and I liked seeing support for Ben Brown up forward. Ronke's numbers compare very well to fellow NAB AFL Rising Star contender Jaidyn Stephenson.
The work rate of Jack Steven was excellent as St Kilda downed Carlton. Similarly, Dyson Heppell's efforts and leadership in Essendon's victory over Gold Coast were significant. For Patrick Cripps to do what he's been doing in a losing side, and often dealing with opposition attention, should win him extra plaudits. At Fremantle, David Mundy was very good against Port Adelaide.
