- Collingwood (-)
The Magpies were held by St Kilda for most of the game before pulling away in a fashion similar to last week’s win over Carlton. Brodie Grundy was once again dominant in the middle with 49 hitouts and 24 disposals. Jaidyn Stephenson and Brody Mihocek continued their strong form up forward kicking three and four goals respectively. Collingwood’s star-studded midfield got on top, winning the contested possession count by 21, with Adam Treloar leading the way with 38 touches.
- Geelong (-)
Geelong couldn’t have done much more to move into top place in the rankings. The Cats never really looked out of control against the Bulldogs and ran out 44-point winners. Mitch Duncan was among the best, racking up 25 touches and kicking three goals, while Patrick Dangerfield had 23 and a goal before an ankle injury ended his night early. The Cats will back themselves for a seventh straight win when the play the Suns on the Gold Coast.
- Richmond (-)
Richmond continue to defy their injuries and continue to produce wins. This week’s performance against Hawthorn was controlled and revolved around a rejuvenated Dustin Martin. The 2017 Brownlow Medallist was back to his best after an underwhelming start to the year with 37 disposals and two goals. Brandon Ellis and Bachar Houli provided plenty of run and drive, having 35 touches each. Tom Lynch came back into some form after going goalless two weeks in row, kicking three.
- GWS (-)
A demolition job is the best way to describe how GWS dealt with Carlton on the weekend. The Giants dominated in every conceivable way registering 30 more insides 50s, 19 more clearances and 188 more disposals than the Blues. The incredible stats didn’t stop with the team either. Lachie Whitfield had 40 touches, 18 marks and three goals; Tim Taranto registered 38 touches and a goal and Josh Kelly continued his hot form with 35 disposals. The only negative for the Giants was that Coleman front runner Jeremy Cameron failed to kick a goal for the second week running, however he still had 27 disposals in the win.
- Brisbane (+3)
Brisbane have been very interesting side to say the least. A hard fought win over Adelaide comes after a disappointing loss to the Bulldogs. The performance of the Lions seems to constantly hinge on the influence of superstar Lachie Neale. Neale had 39 disposals and 12 clearances against the Crows going at 84.6% efficiency along the way. Charlie Cameron was a constant presence but was inaccurate, kicking 3.5 for the game. Hugh McCluggage continued his excellent season with 26 disposals and five inside 50’s.
- Adelaide (-)
Adelaide fought back hard in the last quarter against Brisbane but it ended up being too little too late. The Crows needed to reign the Lions in earlier in the game to avoid letting the game reach a stage where it looks out of reach. Brad Crouch and Rory Sloane coped without Matt Crouch, combining for 60 disposals and 14 tackles. Eddie Betts and Taylor Walker kicked three goals apiece. The Crows host West Coast next up in a crucial game for both sides.
- Western Bulldogs (-2)
The Bulldogs really struggled defensively against the Cats, conceding ten goals in the first half and 11 in the second. The Cats were able to work freely in their forward 50 with the Dogs hardly resisting. The flip side of this is that the Bulldogs managed to score 89 against the leagues stingiest defence. Bailey Smith continued his excellent rookie season with 28 disposals while Marcus Bontempelli had 20 touches and 2 goals playing predominantly as a forward.
- West Coast (+2)
West Coast have been up and down all year. This week they were challenged by Melbourne but put it together in time to pull out the win. Elliot Yeo had an impressive game in the middle with 26 disposals and 16 tackles, while skipper Shannon Hurn was a standout off half back with 33 disposals at 94% efficiency. Josh Kennedy looked a constant threat as he kicked four and Liam Ryan capped off the win by taking what is sure to be Mark of the Year.
- Fremantle (-2)
Fremantle will no doubt be disappointed following their narrow loss to the Bombers. For a side with a lot of forward presence, to only kick seven goals will be a concern. Between Jesse Hogan, Matt Taberner and Michael Walters only two goals were kicked. David Mundy continues to get better as the season rolls on with 34 disposals, nine clearances and a goal. The Dockers defence was excellent, keeping Stringer and Daniher to one goal between them.
- Port Adelaide (+1)
Port Adelaide rallied after trailing at half-time to win comfortably against the Suns. The Power kicked seven second half goals to one and dominated the inside 50 count in doing so, registering 68 inside 50’s to 37. Travis Boak continued his career best year with 36 disposals and eight clearances. Tom Rockliff had 30 touches and nine clearance and the rookies continued their form with Rozee kicking two and Xavier Duursma amassing 19 disposals.
- Hawthorn (-2)
Hawthorn were very disappointing against Richmond especially coming off their excellent win over GWS. Injuries plagued the Hawks’ day, but they failed to stand up to the Tigers after the first quarter. Ricky Henderson and Jaeger O’Meara continued their good season with 30 disposals each with James Worpel chipping in with 26 touches and seven tackles.
- St Kilda (-)
The Saints went toe to toe with Collingwood for most of the game before the Pies pulled away in the final term. Jack Billings’ career best year continued with another 29 disposals, Tim Membrey kicked four and debutant Robbie Young impressed with two classy goals. The Saints have fallen since their undefeated start to the year but will hope a win against Carlton can help the get back in form.
- Essendon (+1)
No one quite knows what to make of Essendon this season. Some weeks they look like the team that was promised, with pace and skill and others they look a complete mess. This week’s win against Fremantle wasn’t pretty but the Bombers will only care about the four points. Dylan Shiel kicked his first two goals for the club whilst racking up 25 disposals, Zach Merrett had 35 touches and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was on form with three goals.
- Melbourne (-1)
Melbourne will see this past weekend’s game as one that got away. The Demons led West Coast for much of the game, but failed to put the premiers away. Despite leading the inside 50 count and contested possessions, they failed to take their chances, allowing West Coast to gain momentum. Max Gawn was dominant with 56 hitouts and 15 disposals, James Harmes had 30 touches and Christian Petracca was a menacing forward presence with two goals and six score involvements.
- Gold Coast (-)
Gold Coast kept pace with Port Adelaide until the final quarter where they seemed to run out of gas. The Suns have already outperformed what was expected of them and a number of lesser known players have begun to stand out as a result. Brayden Fiorini had 38 disposals and a goal, Darcy MacPherson had 20 disposals and 12 tackles and high draft pick Ben King made his debut picking up five possessions.
- Sydney (+2)
Sydney were lucky to get away with the win against North Melbourne. Despite controlling the game in the second and third quarters, the Swans fell asleep in the final quarter and were perhaps fortunate the umpires didn’t give a couple of decisions. George Hewett had 29 disposals and Tom Papley played an excellent game, kicking four goals. Dane Rampe was also crucial, keeping Ben Brown to five disposals and one goal. They may have won two in a row, but the feeling is that the Swans will need to step their game up when they host Collingwood on Friday night.
- North Melbourne (-)
The Kangaroos can consider themselves both lucky and unlucky at the same time. Lucky because the Swans didn’t finish them off when they should have and unlucky because once they fought their way back to within a goal they had a couple of decisions go against them. Jack Ziebell was exceptional with 35 disposals and ten marks, while Jy Simpkin continued his form with 23 touches and a goal, although he will be regretting a dribble kick that resulted in a behind and could have given his side a result. North’s issue is consistently having to fight back from leads that are avoidable in the first place and they will need to fix it ahead of their clash with the Bulldogs.
- Carlton (-2)
The less said about the Blues’ performance the better. It was another dismal afternoon for the troubled club and the number one pick looks more and more likely to be heading to Adelaide. Patrick Cripps was held to just 12 touches, while former captain Marc Murphy went to hospital with fractured ribs following a collision with Shane Mumford. There were some minor positives with Harry McKay kicking three and young duo Sam Walsh and Liam Stocker both having 18 disposals.
