Another weekend of great footy has come and gone, so who makes our Team of the Round?
Back Pocket: Jake Lever (Adelaide Crows)
Jake Lever was phenomenal for the Crows in their clash with the Dockers, failing to concede a mark in the first three quarters opposed to Clark and Taberner until he was moved to spare man back in the last quarter.
His ability to get to the contest was vital in keeping the Crows in the game as they conceded 20 inside 50s in the last quarter but only conceded one (freakish) goal.
Full-Back: Luke McPharlin (Fremantle)
Luke McPharlin held Adelaide’s captain goalless for the first time this year. McPharlin beat him in many one-on-one contests and only allowed him two marks inside 50, both wide and a long way from goal. He was able to take a number of intercept marks too.
Back Pocket: Rory Laird (Adelaide)
Laird was another integral part of the Adelaide backline that restricted Fremantle to its lowest score of the year as he collected 27 disposals off of half back. He was able to intercept a number of Fremantle attacks and was viscous in the contest, regularly propelling the ball forward. He also defended extremely well, keeping Ballantyne to a lone goal.
Half-Back Flank: Heath Shaw (Greater Western Sydney)
Shaw was one of few Giants to stand up against the Dogs and he was clearly his team’s best player in his 200th game. He consistently repelled the ball out of the Giant’s defensive 50, recording a round high 13 rebound 50s. His run and carry was significant for the Giants, recording an equal second round high seven bounces. He also had 27 touches and 10 marks.
Centre-Half Back: Steven May (Gold Coast)
May has reaffirmed his position as one of the best young defenders in the competition by keeping Jarryd Roughead goalless despite his side’s 53-point loss to the Hawks. Hawthorn delivered the ball inside 50 more times than any other club during Round 9, but May blanketed the Hawk’s number one forward, restricting him to just 11 touches (equal second worst for the Hawks) and one mark.
Half-Back Flank: Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs)
Boyd has found a new lease of life in the back-line with another 30-plus touches off of half-back. He provided too much run and carry for the Giants.
Wing: Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood)
Another solid performance.
Center: Mitch Wallis (Western Bulldogs)
Wallis’ ferocity against the Giants proved that he is far more than the tagger he was last year. He was terrific on the weekend with 36 disposals (18 contested), eight clearances, seven tackles, three goal assists and a goal.
Wing: Bradley Hill (Fremantle)
Hill was excellent for the Hawks with his run and carry and elite ball use. His hard running was a highlight, collecting 30 uncontested possessions (33 in total) at a disposal efficiency of 82 per cent against the Suns. He also delivered the ball inside 50 seven times.
Half-Forward Flank: David Armitage (St Kilda)
Despite Beams’ 38 touches, Armitage was the best player on the ground with 31 disposals of his own to go with two goals. Despite collecting 17 disposals he still used the ball at 77 per cent efficiency. He also had 11 clearances.
Centre-Half Forward: Lance Franklin (Sydney)
After kicking three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, it looked as though Franklin was going to kick 10. Unfortunately for us White was moved to Kurt Tippett, resulting in Tippett replacing Franklin in the goal square. Had this not happened, and had Franklin been a little more selfish, ‘Buddy’ would’ve kicked a very big bag. He still finished with seven goals, 23 disposals, seven marks (two contested) and seven inside 50s.
Half-Forward Flank: Shane Edwards (Richmond)
While he has avoided the headlines for most of the season, Edwards has been terrific for the Tigers. Again on Saturday night he was dangerous through the midfield and on the half-forward flank with 25 touches and seven inside 50s. He is developing into the next Robbie Gray as an almost untouchable forward-cum-midfielder. His 25 touches are more damaging than most others 30 and he was rightly judged best on ground by the coaches and The Age.
Forward Pocket: Jamie Elliott (Collingwood)
Elliott was pivotal in turning around the 39-point half-time deficit that the Pies were faced with after a strong first half from North Melbourne. Each of his 18 possessions posed a threat to the Kangaroos as he finished with five goals and two goal assists.
Full-Forward: Josh J Kennedy (West Coast)
Kennedy has been the standout, and most consistent, forward this season leading the Coleman Medal race by six goals. He continued his good form, dominating Geelong’s experienced defenders to kick six goals from 10 shots while also giving off two others. He clunked 11 marks, eight of which were inside the Eagle’s forward 50.
Forward Pocket: Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Riewoldt kept the Saints in the game with his two first quarter goals as the Lions looked to blow the Saints out of the water in a strong first half. He didn’t stop there either, chipping in with two more pivotal goals across the second and third quarters to finish with four pivotal goals for the match.
These goals make Riewoldt the captain of the Team of the Round this week. Also, despite the close checking Michael Close, Riewoldt was able to use his aerobic capacity to take seven uncontested marks (10 in total).
Ruck: Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
Sandilands had a record 69 hit-outs and both coaches noted that his dominance was the difference between the teams in a tight last quarter where just one goal was scored. At 211 centimetres, Sandilands was simply unstoppable.
Ruck Rover: Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
His battle with Patrick Dangerfield was epic. Picking a winner between the two is almost impossible but Fyfe may just snatch the three votes given the Dockers’ victory. He finished with 40 disposals, 26 contested possessions, 14 clearances (four from the centre), a goal, three contested marks and 958 metres gained.
Rover: Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
In comparison to Fyfe, Dangerfield had two less possessions, three more intercepts and contested possessions (29 contested possessions in total which equals the all-time record), five less clearances, two more tackles, the same amount of goals and contested marks and 582 metres gained which, while much less than Fyfe, is still a significant number.
Dangerfield was also involved in a greater percentage of Adelaide’s scores, the Crows retained possession more from Dangerfield’s disposal and they won the centre clearance more when Dangerfield attended.
Interchange: Dayne Beams (Brisbane)
Without a hard tag, Beams ran amok in the midfield, collecting 38 disposals at 74 per cent. His hard running allowed him to collect 28 uncontested possessions, 10 of which were marks. He was also strong in the contest, recording seven tackles
Interchange: Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Mitchell refuses to stop, improving on his 2014 season with another strong effort against the Suns. He collected 36 possessions and an equal second four centre clearances for the round. His ball use off of both feet never ceases to amaze.
Interchange: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
Boak played a ‘captain’s game’ according to his coach Ken Hinkley, lifting the Port Adelaide midfield when they were four goals down to the Demons during the second quarter. He impacted the stoppages collecting 18 contested possessions and eight clearances.
Interchange: Easton Wood (Western Bulldogs)
While he did not collect as many possessions as other players, Wood was just as impressive. His intercept marking for a small defender was terrific and added another dimension to an already dangerous Dogs backline. He took eight marks (four contested) and used the ball at 100 per cent efficiency. He was adjudged equal best on ground with Wallis by the two coaches.
Round 9
B: J Lever, L McPharlin, R Laird
HB: H Shaw, S May, M Boyd
C: S Sidebottom, M Wallis, B Hill
HF: D Beams, L Franklin, S Edwards
F: J Elliot, JJ Kennedy, N Reiwoldt (c)
FOLL: A Sandilands, N Fyfe, P Dangerfield
INT: D Armitage, S Mitchell, T Boak, E Wood
Season Team
B: J McGovern (2), M Hurley (3), M Williams (2)
HB: R Murphy (3), T McDonald (3), B Houli (2)
C: D Hannebery (4), D Armitage (4), L Jetta (1)
HF: P Dangerfield (4), JJ Kennedy (3), M LeCras (3)
F: E Betts (4), T Walker (3), J Cameron (2)
FOLL: A Sandilands (2), N Fyfe (8), D Sheil (5)
INT: JP Kennedy (3), T Boak (3), S Mitchell (3), R Gray (3)
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