Opinion
In Round 11 there were plenty of upsets, hopefully Round 12 will throw up some more.
Apart from four teams who have the bye – Brisbane, Fremantle, St Kilda and Sydney – the other 14 teams all have a player who can make a difference in Round 12.
Christian Petracca has the most score involvements of any player in the AFL with 96. He was outstanding in Round 11, in the absence of Clayton Oliver, who is probably the most important player for Melbourne.
He had the equal most clearances on the ground with eight and will be needed to play more inside midfield time in the absence of Oliver and may go head-to-head with Sam Walsh.
Jacob Weitering was one of the few Carlton players who had a good game in Round 11. He polled three coaches’ votes and kept Lance Franklin goalless, and finished with nine intercept possessions. He will be needed to curtail the influence of Tom McDonald and Jacob van Rooyen.
Zak Butters is unstoppable; he is possibly the best player in the AFL and could be leading the AFL Brownlow Medal. He has polled the most coaches’ votes, with 59 votes in 11 games. Butters will need to be at his best if Port Adelaide are going to perform at their optimum level against a much-improved Hawthorn team, in what is a danger game for the Power.
Zak Butters celebrates a goal. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Sam Frost has the second most intercepts of any Hawthorn player with 81. He will need to have a good game in Round 12, as the Hawks will be missing their captain, James Sicily, through suspension. Frost must step up for Hawthorn to be at their best against Port Adelaide.
Jayden Hunt was one of the few West Coast players who played to their optimum level in Round 11 against Essendon. He must play well against Collingwood on the wing up against Josh Daicos. Hunt must have an impact on the game if West Coast are to be competitive in a game against Collingwood who are the best team in the competition as it stands.
Tom Mitchell should take plenty of confidence from his performance in Round 11 against North Melbourne. He will face a stern test up against a midfield with Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly. It’s a game that’s probably a forgone conclusion, but Craig McRae is a process-driven coach. Mitchell will want to continue from where he left off in Round 11 and put in a four-quarter effort against West Coast in Round 12.
Caleb Daniel has been exceptional and will need to be at his best against Geelong. He had a good game against Gold Coast in Round 11, but unfortunately the Bulldogs lost the game narrowly. Daniel is tough to stop having an impact on the game, which will test the Geelong coach, Chris Scott.
Mark Blicavs will need to negate the influence of Tim English around the ground and may tag Marcus Bontempelli at stoppages. Blicavs will play a key role as Western Bulldogs as he is renowned as perhaps the best utility in the AFL. In Round 12, he must play his role well against a Western Bulldogs team who will be looking to bounce back from a loss in Round 11.
Matt Rowell was outstanding in Round 11 as he had nearly double the number of clearances than any other player on the field, finishing the game with 16. He worked hard defensively with seven tackles. Rowell will need to play well as he will probably go head-to-head with Rory Laird at times and on other occasions he will be tagged by Ben Keays.
Reilly O’Brien will need to have a good game in Round 12 as Jarrod Witts, who is a bit of a barometer for Gold Coast. O’Brien is one of the best ruckmen in the AFL. He performed well in Round 11 and should gain confidence from that, but Witts is arguably the most important player for Gold Coast.
Jake Riccardi should build on the form that he displayed in Round 11, as he kicked three goals against Geelong. They were all crucial and he gives GWS a different option, as he’s difficult to find a match-up for. It’s important that he is up for the fight, as Richmond could prove a tough opposition.
Tim Taranto must continue to hit the scoreboard to take the pressure off Shai Bolton, Dustin Martin and the other goal-kickers Richmond have.
Taranto looked like he was enjoying his footy in Round 11 against Port Adelaide, which was evident, as he kicked four goals and polled ten coaches’ votes. He played with freedom under interim coach Andrew McQualter. There may be added spice with Taranto playing against his former team GWS.
Nic Martin performed well against West Coast in Round 11; he polled eight coaches’ votes and finished the game with nine score involvements and stepped up in the absence of Darcy Parish, Dylan Shiel and Will Setterfield. Martin will need to perform well in a game against a much-improved North Melbourne team.
Nick Larkey is a key player for North Melbourne and has helped the Kangaroos build confidence. He has kicked the equal fourth-most goals of any player in the AFL with 30 goals.
He will probably be matched up against Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and have another good game. Larkey should build on the five goals that he kicked against Collingwood in Round 11 and should be looking to follow it up with another bag in Round 12 against Essendon.
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