Seven rounds gone in the AFL this year, and we have seen plenty of quality on the park. Here are the best of the best from Round 7 – plus the best team of the year so far.
Back Pocket: Lachie Hansen (North Melbourne)
The Bombers could not pass Hansen on Friday night as the Roo took 14 marks, many of which were intercept marks, in his second game back from a hip injury. He finished with 24 touches at 92 per cent as he set up plenty of North Melbourne attacks after cutting off even more from Essendon.
Full-Back: Michael Hurley (Essendon)
Hurley was a rock in the bombers defence. His desperation in defence was second to none on the weekend as he used sheer power to get to the ball and then rebound it from defence, finishing with an equal round-high 9 rebound 50s.
Back Pocket: Nick Haynes (Greater Western Sydney)
Haynes has flourished since being freed up from a key position in the backline and was strong again for the Giants against the Blues with his defensive and offensive efforts. He finished with 20 disposals and 9 marks and was recognised by the coaches with 3 votes.
Half-Back Flank: Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs)
Bob Murphy has been the stand-out back-flanker of the season with his run and carry and elite use of the ball. Against the Dockers, his rebound nearly won the Dogs the game as they levelled the scores during the last quarter. Murphy was prolific with 29 touches at 72 per cent and 7 rebound 50s as he sliced through the Docker’s press in the second half of the game.
Centre-Half Back: Michael Johnson (Fremantle)
Johnson was strong defensively as well as offensively against the Dogs and was almost impassable in that first half as he gathered the ball at will in the back half. He collected 29 disposals and 14 marks, many of which were intercept marks.
He also held opponent Jake Stringer to just 7 disposals and no goals after the young Dog had opposition coaches guessing as how to stop him in previous weeks.
Half-Back Flank: Shannon Hurn (West Coast)
Hurn was one of a number of Eagles to dominate the Suns with his class standing out in the wet as he finished with 25 touches, 6 inside 50s and a goal assist.
Wing: Adam Treloar (Greater Western Sydney)
One of many midfielders to sneak forward and kick multiple goals, Treloar kicked 3 goals and had 31 disposals and a disposal efficiency of 81 per cent against a woeful Carlton. He was the best of the many Giants midfielders that dominated the blues midfield and could easily net the 3 votes.
Centre: Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
‘Captain Cotch’ finally made an appearance in 2015 after critics were declaring Richmond lacked the leadership to win tight games. Cotchin stood up in the last quarter with 11 touches, 2 clearances and a goal to guide the tigers to a 5 point win over Collingwood. He finished the game with 32 touches (18 contested) and 7 inside 50s.
Wing: Billy Hartung (Hawthorn)
The Second year winger stood up in the absence of Isaac Smith, failing to waste one of the 26 possessions he collected against the Demons. His burst of pace got the Hawks moving on numerous occasions and he was the standout winger of the round.
Half-Forward Flank: Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne)
After promising to be a game-breaker for so long, Ziebell finally looks like delivering in his seventh season after a dominant performance against the Bombers where he found the ball in tight and also pushed forward to kick a couple of goals. He was clearly the best player on the ground.
Centre-Half Forward: Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
Roughead is continuing his form as a flat-track bully by pulling out a strong performance against the Demons after having limited impact in a tight loss to the Giants the week before.
He kicked 4 goals and his 30 disposals was extraordinary for a key forward, but he was probably not the best on ground. A standout forward for the round though.
Half-Forward Flank: Eddie Betts (Adelaide)
Can anyone stop Eddie Betts at the moment? Opposed to All-Australian back pocket Sean Dempster, Betts ran riot, as he kicked 6 goals and gave off another as part of his 13 score involvements. He has now kicked 20 goals in his last 4 games and would be the early favourite for the All-Australian forward pocket.
Forward Pocket: Tory Dickson (Western Bulldogs)
All the talk Sunday morning was about how good Eddie Betts is, then Dickson came out and ‘one-upped’ the former Blue with 7 goals against the Dockers. He kicked 4 in the last quarter to bring the Dogs back into the game.
Full-Forward: Jack Bruce (St Kilda)
Opposed to second-gamer Jake Lever, Bruce was a massive threat to the undersized and under experienced Adelaide backline. He marked just about everything that came his way, finishing with 12 marks, including 5 contested and 6 inside the 50 metre arc. He finished the game with 5 goals
Forward Pocket: Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
The ‘Pav’ just refuses to stop, kicking another 5 goals, including the sealer, against the Western Bulldogs. He was a treat in the air too, taking 9 marks (3 contested and 4 inside 50).
Ruck: Sam Jacobs (Adelaide)
Jacobs dominated Billy Longer on Saturday, finishing with 40 hit-outs (14 to advantage) and leading the Crows to a dominant win in clearances (42-29). He worked hard around the ground too, finishing with 23 touches, the second most for a ruckman in round 7.
Ruck Rover: Luke Parker (Sydney)
Parker had the performance of the round with 5 goals and 31 disposals, just 4 touches off the ‘double’. He was simply unstoppable, in the air and on the ground, as he collected 11 contested possessions and 11 marks (4 contested and 6 inside 50). He finished with a game-high 750m gained.
Rover: Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
Fyfe was almost as good as Parker with some great numbers: 30 disposals (20 contested), 90 per cent disposal efficiency, 7 marks (3 contested, 3 inside 50), 10 clearances (5 from the centre), 8 inside 50s, 3 goals and 2 goal assists. He is simply unstoppable.
Interchange: Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Mitchell is another veteran that just keeps on getting done with another 30 disposals and 8 clearances on Saturday.
Interchange: Matt Priddis (West Coast)
The reigning Brownlow medalist is having another super consistent season and had a stand-out game on Saturday, with 39 touches and 2 goals in the wet.
Interchange: Stephen Coniglio (Greater Western Sydney)
Coniglio has Freo and West Coast salivating over the chance of adding him to their list, while the Giants will be keen to keep him after he collected 32 disposals and used his run and carry and silky kicking to slice apart the Blues.
Interchange: Elliot Yeo (West Coast)
Might be a couple of weeks behind the Western Australian’s, is Yeo the next Nat Fyfe? He’s now a classy, big bodied midfielder who can push forward, take a contested mark and kick a goal.
Against the Suns he had 29 touches (12 contested), 9 marks (2 contested and 4 inside 50), 6 clearances and 4 goals. Yeo has been putting up numbers not dissimilar from Fyfe’s this week.
B: Hansen, Hurley, Haynes
HB: R Murphy, M Johnson, Hurn
C: Treloar, Cotchin (c), Hartung
HF: Ziebell, Roughead, Betts
F: Dickson, Bruce, Pavlich
FOLL: Jacobs, Parker, Fyfe
INT: S Mitchell, Priddis, Coniglio, Yeo
Season team:
B: McGovern (2), Hurley (3), Baguley (1)
HB: R Murphy (3), T McDonald (3), Houli (2)
C: Hannebery (3), JP Kennedy (3) (2), S Hill (1)
HF: Gray (3), Franklin (2), LeCras(3)
F: Betts (4), JJ Kennedy (2), J Cameron (2)
FOLL: Jacobs (2), Sheil (4), Fyfe (6)
INT: Dangerfield (3), Armitage (3), S Thompson (2), J Selwood (2)
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Jack Ziebell was playing his first match for Avondale Heights when he was yellow-carded for headbutting an opponent during a scuffle following a late…
"It looked like it was gonna go for miles - and then it went nowhere!"
Footy's getting closer and closer to taking over the US!
What on earth was this question from BT!?!
Mitch Georgiades' mates have no chill!
On the scoreboard, it looks like a creditable St Kilda performance. A loss to a Port Adelaide outfit many see as a premiership contender…
