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Opinion
Fingers crossed, Round 8 will have more close games, as there were two games decided by a point in Round 7.
Despite that, the average winning margin was 33.56 points per game, due to two one-sided games last Saturday night. Every team has a player who can make a difference.
Carlton
Blake Acres should take some belief out of the ‘training session’ against West Coast in Round 7, in a game that he performed admirably in, as he polled three Coaches’ votes.
Round 8 will be a totally different story against Brisbane on the wing, as he will be up against Will Ashcroft and Hugh McCluggage at times. Hopefully Acres can play to his optimum level for him to make a difference against Brisbane.
Brisbane
Harris Andrews has an average of 7.43 intercepts per game after seven games, which is the most of any Brisbane player.
He has been a consistent performer and will be needed to limit the influence that Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow have on the game in Round 8. Andrews will also need to lead from the front as Brisbane will be without two of their most experienced players through injury, in Daniel Rich and Dayne Zorko.
Harris Andrews (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Richmond
Samson Ryan is a player that has plenty of potential to be a solid player for Richmond. He played a decent game against Gold Coast in Round 7, as he kicked two of the six goals that Richmond kicked and did well in the ruck as he had 12 hit-outs.
Given that Richmond are playing a West Coast team that have been deplorable and that Charlie Curnow kicked nine goals against them in Round 7, it seems inevitable that Samson Ryan should have an impact and hit the scoreboard.
West Coast
Tim Kelly has played well and should be leading the West Coast best and fairest. He has the most disposals and tackles as well as the most score involvements of any of their players. Despite West Coast copping a hammering in Round 7, Tim Kelly had eight tackles and four clearances. In Round 8 he will probably go head-to-head with Tim Taranto.
Geelong
Tom Stewart should gain confidence from having polled three Coaches’ votes in Round 7, in a game in which Geelong had a good win against Essendon. He is an unassuming leader and is growing into his role as vice-captain in season 2023.
Despite being subbed off at quarter time in Round 1 and missing Round 2 through the injury he sustained, he has averaged the most intercepts of any Geelong player in season 2023. He will need to be at his best in a tough game against an Adelaide forward line full of talent.
Adelaide
Reilly O’Brien is arguably the player that Adelaide could least afford to lose in season 2023. He has a good season so far having averaged the third most hit-outs of any ruckmen in the AFL with an average of 36.14 hit-outs per game.
O’Brien had a good game against Collingwood and polled three Coaches’ votes, albeit against a makeshift ruck combination. He took some good marks and Adelaide need him to continue to have an impact when they take on Geelong in Round 8.
Gold Coast
Jarrod Witts has averaged the fourth most hit-outs of every player in the AFL. Despite missing two games, as he has been unavailable due to injury, all three of Gold Coast wins have come with Witts in the team. His leadership was tested in Round 7, when Gold Coast beat Richmond without his co-captain Touk Miller.
Witts will have a tough test in Round 8, as he will be competing against the ruck combination of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy. I’m sure Witts can pass the test with flying colours.
Melbourne
Clayton Oliver was outstanding for Melbourne in Round 7 against a North Melbourne team that simply wasn’t good enough. Oliver didn’t take the game lightly as he polled sevens Coaches’ votes. He will need to play a good game if Melbourne are going to play to their optimum level against Gold Coast, as they have won their last two games and defeated Geelong in Round 3.
Oliver will probably go head-to-head with Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell at times, both of whom have done a stellar job for Gold Coast so far this season.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
GWS
Josh Kelly may have good stats, but he needs to have more of an influence on games. He has the capability to do so and it starts with the GWS Round 8 game against a tough opponent in the Western Bulldogs. It’s the type of game that GWS need to win in order to be in contention for playing finals.
Josh Kelly will up against Bontempelli, Macrae and Treloar, so GWS need him to have an impact on the game.
Western Bulldogs
Aaron Naughton has had a reasonable season statistically in season 2023, but he is still one of the players that the Western Bulldogs could least afford to lose. If he doesn’t mark the ball inside 50, he just needs to create a contest.
Having said that he is playing against a GWS team in Round 8 without arguably their most important player, Sam Taylor, who probably could’ve got the job of curtailing Naughton. He can kick a bag, as he should have built belief after kicking four goals in Round 7.
Fremantle
Sean Darcy has averaged the most hit-outs of any ruckmen in the AFL with an average of 42.29 hit-outs per game. Despite that, he would be disappointed that his opponent Oscar McInerney of Brisbane polled five Coaches’ votes in Round 7. Sean Darcy needs to play well up against Ned Reeves and perhaps former Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek for Fremantle to perform well, in Round 8.
Hawthorn
Mitch Lewis came back from injury to play his first game of season 2023 in Round 7 against Western Bulldogs. He took 11 marks and was one of the better players for Hawthorn.
Mitch Lewis kicked one goal and four behinds, which was arguably the difference between Hawthorn being a chance of winning the game. He must get that monkey off his back and takes his chances in Round 8 against Fremantle.
Port Adelaide
Travis Boak led from the front for Port Adelaide in their upset win against St Kilda. There’s no doubt that he should have been curtailed in Round 7 as he finished with 30 disposals, which was the most of any Port Adelaide player. He had seven score involvements and polled six Coaches’ votes.
He will have to continue to play with Xavier Duursma injured for at least two months. Essendon will definitely take note of the influence that Boak had on the game in Round 7.
Essendon
Zach Merrett needs to bounce back from his worst performance of season 2023 from a statistical perspective; he only had 19 disposals against Geelong, in Round 8. Despite missing the Anzac Day game against Collingwood through suspension, he has polled the most Coaches’ votes of any Essendon player for the season so far.
He needs to improve on his Round 7 display. He is going to have his work cut out for him against a Port Adelaide midfield full of talent.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Collingwood
Tom Mitchell has been a good recruit for Collingwood in season 2023. He has averaged the most tackles and contested possessions of any Collingwood player and will need will need to be at his best against a star-studded Sydney midfield.
It’s a tough task, but one that he can handle, as he doesn’t have to get 30 plus disposals, but will have to improve on disposal efficiency that he had in Round 7 to have a positive impact in the game against Sydney.
Sydney
Luke Parker is a player that’s still playing at a fairly consistent level. He has averaged the third most tackles per game as well as the second most contested possessions per game of any Sydney player. In Round 7 he polled eight Coaches’ votes and was Sydneys’ best player; belief is a wonderful thing and this should spur him on to put in a good performance against Collingwood in Round 8.
North Melbourne
Harry Sheezel has been a key contributor for North Melbourne and deserves to be in contention for the rising star award in season 2023. It’s difficult to get the recognition he deserves, as the likes of Nick Daicos and Will Ashcroft are exceptional players and playing in good teams.
Hopefully for Sheezel to showcase his talent against St Kilda, North Melbourne will be more competitive than Round 7.
St Kilda
Jade Gresham has averaged 6.00 score involvements per game in season 2023 and has played all seven games, which is a nice change as he has often missed games through injury in previous seasons. He is a player with a bit of x-factor as he makes things happen.
There’s no disputing he is talented and hopefully playing North Melbourne in Round 8 will be the catalyst for people to sit down and take notice of him, as Jack Higgins and Mitch Owens have stolen the headlines.
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