Team of the Round: Round 3

Another weekend of great footy has come and gone, so who makes our Team of the Round?

Back Pocket: Jack Hombsch (Port Adelaide)
Kept Jarrad Waite goalless after he kicked seven the week before. Only collected seven touches but his defensive efforts cannot go unmentioned. Yet to play 50 games, he could become one of the competitions premier defenders in a few years.

Full-Back: Michael Hurley (Essendon)
Along with Tom McDonald, has been the standout defender of the season with another strong performance against the Blues. Was strong defensively, helping out teammates with 10 one-percenters, but also found plenty of the ball. Finished with 23 touches and 11 marks in an all-round display.

Back Pocket: Neville Jetta (Melbourne)
Jetta has conceded just one goal to Betts in their last two meetings, with the small defender blanketing his opponent. Betts was restricted to just five score involvements, his worst output of the year thanks the Jetta’s effort on the weekend.

Half-Back Flank: Bachar Houli (Essendon)
The best half-back of the round, Houli found plenty of the ball with 32 touches and used it well too. consistently rebounded from defence.

Centre-Half Back: Rory Thompson (Gold Coast)
Played on Clark for most of the game, restricting him to just one goal. Was also there late in the game with pivotal spoils deep in defence that prevented certain goals and kept the Suns in the game.

Half-Back Flank: Luke McDonald (North Melbourne)
His late defensive efforts against Port Adelaide kept the Roos in the game as he stopped two certain goals in the last quarter. He offered plenty of rebound as well, setting up numerous Roos attacks with his run and long kicking. His defensive efforts put him ahead of Grant Birchall, who also could have been selected.

Wing: Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)
Another big game for Lewis with 41 touches and 10 inside 50s. Was overshadowed by the performances of Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead.

Centre: Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
The Hawks skipper pulled off the performance of the round. Forty-four touches, nine clearances, two goals and three goal assists.

Wing: Stephen Hill (Fremantle)
Has been the standout winger of the season with his run and carry, as well as his ability to hit the scoreboard. Kicked three goals again and sliced through the middle of the ground with his blistering pace. His disposal was as good as ever against the Eagles with 30 disposals at a disposal efficiency of 87 per cent.

Half-Forward Flank: Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
Cotchin was back to his best on Saturday collecting 37 disposals (18 contested). Was influential across the ground with a combined 11 inside and rebound 50s. Also kicked a goal after intercepting a kick inside 50 and looks set to collect the three votes.

Centre-Half Forward: Lance Franklin (Sydney)
While Daniel Hannebery was given the best on ground by the umpires, Franklin proved the difference between the two sides. He kicked 5.5 against a legitimate opponent in Joel Patful where the Giants were without such dominance in their forward line.

Half-Forward Flank: Dayne Beams (Brisbane)
Was a shining light for Brisbane after getting thumped by the Tigers. Finally performed to his potential in Lions colours after a sub-par start to the year. Played a lone hand in the middle with more clearances and contested possessions than any other on the field.

Forward Pocket: Mark LeCras (West Coast)
The two dominant small forwards for Round 3 were Lindsay Thomas (four goals) and LeCras (five goals). Thomas scored three clutch goals in the last quarter that put the Roos in front. His impact late in the game was far greater than LeCras’ but LeCras was the better of the two, kicking five goals despite the Eagles having just 39 inside 50s for the game.

Full-Forward: Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
Rebounded from a poor performance last week by dominating his cousin Jordan Roughead in Launceston. Seven goals, 28 disposals and an incredible 21 score involvements.

Forward Pocket: Tom Lynch (Gold Coast)
Erratic (and low) goal kicking stopped him from kicking five or six goals. His presence forward throughout the game gave the Suns a shot at winning, especially when Jesse Lonergan went down. Had he kicked straight, the Suns would have won their first game of the season.

Gets the nod ahead of Travis Cloke because of his impact throughout the game with Cloke kicking three of his five goals in the last quarter when the game was over. Will battle with Jesse Hogan to claim the title of the next great centre-half forward.

Ruck: Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne)
Almost willed North over the line with impressive ruck-work in the last quarter where his silver service guided his on-ballers to a dominance in clearances in the last quarter. Dominated Paddy Ryder in the ruck all night to be the best ruckman of the round.

Ruck Rover: Lachie Neale (Fremantle)
Outshone fellow midfielders in his best on ground performance in the Derby. It was a phenomenal effort for a player yet to reach 50 games. Forty of his 42 disposals were effective. He also chipped in with three goals in the best performance of his career.

Rover: Joel Selwood (Geelong)
While Hodge was the best player of the round, Selwood was the most influential. Proved unstoppable against the Suns who simply could not match him in the contest. Found the ball at will with 23 contested possessions and eight centre clearances. Was the only reason that Geelong didn’t lose the match.

Interchange: Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
If ‘toughness’ was the difference between the Crows and Dees, then look no further that Sloane and Thompson. Sloane is the toughest bloke in South Australia and he shone in the wet. Eighteen contested possessions, eight clearances and ten tackles saw him collect honours of best on ground.

Interchange: Jobe Watson (Essendon)
Another captain to step up and dominate for their club. Jobe has moved on from his time as a contested ‘accumulator’ and is now spending more time outside the contest with 27 uncontested possessions. His nine inside 50s and round high four goal assists proves that he is just as damaging in space as he is in the contest.

Interchange: Scott Thompson (Adelaide)
Just as prolific and tough as Sloane, his work in the clearances was as good as anyone, with 11 clearances and 11 tackles. The toughness and class of the Adelaide duo in the wet showed the difference between the two sides. Thirty-two-years-old, but obviously not slowing down.

Interchange: Dan Hannebery (Sydney)
Awarded the Brett Kirk medal for the best on ground in the ‘Battle of the Bridge’, Hannebery was prolific in the contest as well as in space with an even spread of contested and uncontested possessions. Finished with 35 touches, seven clearances and three shots on goal in a polished display.

B: J Hombsch, M Hurley, N Jetta
HB: B Houli, R Thompson, L McDonald
C: Lewis, Hodge, S Hill
HF: Cotchin, Franklin, D Beams
F: LeCras, Roughead, Lynch
FOLL: Goldstein, Neale, J Selwood (c)
INT: Sloane, J Watson, S Thompson, D Hannebery