Docker star bolts up standings as Saints midfielder slips: Recruit of the Year Power Rankings – Round 6

Several recruits starred over the long Easter weekend as footy fans were treated to several thrilling contests.

A Fremantle forward has jumped up into the top four as his scoreboard impact continues to mount, while the Bulldogs' dominant win over St Kilda sees their star recruit leapfrog a Saints midfield acquisition.

Who's making the most impact in their new colours? Welcome to the weekly ranking of the Recruit of the Year contenders for 2025, with Round 6 giving us plenty to consider.

Luke Parker (NEW)

North Melbourne's performance against Carlton on Good Friday was simply embarrassing, but Luke Parker returns to the top eight with a performance he can leave his head high with.

23 disposals, six clearances and two goals demonstrate Parker's effort in this match, particularly in the first half where North Melbourne's pressure rating allowed them to kick a few late second quarter goals, including one from Parker himself, to close the deficit to just 20 points at the main break.

Unfortunately, the concerns for North Melbourne at the moment are on-field leadership, not so much statistical output. There was a very clear reason why veterans like Luke Parker and Caleb Daniel were brought into the club, and that was to set a higher standard. So far, Kangaroos fans are not seeing much of that; it appears 2025 will be the same story as 2024 and 2023. So while Luke Parker has earned a spot in these power rankings this week, unless North Melbourne can revitalise their season with a proud effort against Port Adelaide away from home, there's a good chance he is replaced by an honourable mention next week, like a Dan Houston or Daniel Rioli.

Alex Neal-Bullen (NEW)

Neal-Bullen's impact has been somewhat streaky to begin 2025, but the Crows recruit was as visible as ever in the wet against the Giants on Saturday.

Neal-Bullen's prized goal from a defensive midfield turnover as three-quarter time approached provided the Crows with the momentum to put away the Giants for good, the Crows getting some much-needed breathing room in a low-scoring scrap. But everywhere else on the ground, Neal-Bullen was brilliant, collecting a near-season-high 20 disposals and using the ball at an elite efficiency rate of 85% despite the conditions. Defensively, he must be lauded too, leading the game in pressure acts with 24, eight being in the defensive half. In fact, he leads the Crows in pressure acts this season, with an average of 20.8 per game.

The Crows have a tough fixture against Fremantle next week on the road, but if Neal-Bullen can consistently produce two-way performances for the club, with goals and defensive intensity like was seen against GWS, there's every chance they solidify themselves as a top-four threat.

Tom Barrass (-1)

Hawthorn fell short in a thriller to the Cats, but Barrass' efforts down back shouldn't go unnoticed. Geelong's key forwards made little impact on the match compared to their small forwards, Shannon Neale most notably, held to just a behind. Barrass was the defender holding his own for the Hawks, often left competing in several defensive one-on-ones. He finished the game with a team-high three spoils in addition to two rebound 50s and two score launches.

Aside from the Hawks disaster game against Port Adelaide, which could be considered an anomaly, they haven't conceded more than 86 points this season. Once the goal scorers get firing again, it's highly likely that they will right the ship. That's thanks to their ability to rely on Tom Barrass and the rest of the defensive core, who through six games this season have become incredibly trustworthy, standing up to the challenge week in, week out.

John Noble (-1)

The shock loss to Richmond will sting for the Suns but there are still good signs for them heading into a titanic clash with the Sydney Swans. One of those signs is their ability to generate scores from their defensive half, taking a step up from last season. After six rounds, the Suns rank 8th in this category, an improvement from 11th in 2024.

John Noble's addition to their backline undoubtedly has played a role in this small but notable step in the Suns' quest for a Finals berth. He averages the most score involvements for a defender on the team with 4.8 per game, involved in almost 16% of all Gold Coast scores. He's in the upper echelon of the AFL's defenders with ball usage too, posting another 27 disposals on Saturday night, taking his average up to 24.6 on the season, which ranks him eighth amongst all defenders.

The Suns will be looking for a big bounce-back performance on Sunday back on their home deck, Noble's ability to generate rebound 50s and score launches off half-back back paramount to stopping the Swans, who rank first in scores from turnover in the forward half.

Jack Macrae (-2)

The Saints were thoroughly outplayed on Sunday night, struggling to contain the Bulldogs' loaded midfield with the return of Marcus Bontempelli. Ultimately, that saw Jack Macrae have one of his less impactful performances for the year, but it's hard to look past the effort he showed against his former club.

Macrae finished with 19 disposals but managed seven clearances from those possessions, six from stoppages. Yes, the Saints were completely torn apart at centre bounces, losing the clearance battle by 21 and recording just six centre clearances for the entire game, but Macrae put in a shift in the tough areas, recording a team-high 11 contested possessions, nine tackles, and eight ground ball gets.

It was a night to forget for St Kilda but the influence of Macrae continues to prove as an under the radar scalp from the off-season.

Shai Bolton (+4)

In his return to his former home deck, Bolton was sensational for a Fremantle team that failed to seize the moment against Melbourne at the MCG.

Shai kicked three goals as comfortably as he's appeared since joining the Dockers in the off-season. Most impressively, however, was Bolton's overall scoreboard impact, directly assisting on two goals and finishing with 12 score involvements total for the match, a game high. It's also the highest number of scores he's contributed to in a match since his 13 score involvements in Round 8, 2023. Considering this was achieved from just 20 disposals and a team-high nine marks, it's safe to say Bolton's status as one of the league's premier small forwards has been solidified at Freo.

While Bolton jumped into the limelight with this performance against the Demons, this isn't new. In three of the last four weeks, Bolton has had 10 score involvements or more, and after the completion of Round 6, only Matt Rowell averages more score involvements per game in the entire league (minimum three games played). Furthermore, Bolton's involvement in his team's total scores (35.2%) is only outdone by Toby Greene (36.3%) and Kysiah Pickett (38.3%). That's pretty good company to be in, especially when he's been required to adjust to a completely new system.

Matthew Kennedy (+1)

Marcus Bontempelli may have stolen the show in his return from injury - and rightfully so -  but Matthew Kennedy once again produced the goods for the Bulldogs as they thrashed St Kilda on Sunday night.

Kennedy was nowhere near the Bulldogs' leading disposal getters this week, unlike the first five weeks of the season, but Bontempelli may have been the only player more impactful with his touches, Kennedy getting the most out of his 22 disposals for the game. Kennedy used the ball at 82% efficiency and led the game with ten clearances, the second-highest tally for his career and his most in a game since 2022. Seven of those clearances came from stoppages, which were important wins as St Kilda's most dangerous midfielder, Jack Macrae, is typically dominant in those contests.

It became clear on Sunday night that even with Bontempelli back in the middle, Kennedy can still make a noticeable impact, despite his centre bounce attendance expectedly dropping. For Dogs fans, that is an incredibly exciting prospect.

Bailey Smith (-)

The Cats' star recruit continues to shine with yet another ball-dominant display in an Easter Monday classic. Smith racked up 28 disposals, flaunting his skill and riling up the Hawks faithful in a heated match where winning possession - and using the ball well - was critical in a match where poor kicking was arguably most costly for the losers.

Smith was rampant in the contest, third in the match for ground ball gets with eight and second in metres gained with 630. His efforts in the fourth quarter played a significant role in Geelong absorbing Hawthorn's surges and holding off an impressive fight-back from the Hawks.

Despite a couple of scuffles and a controversial whack at Jarman Impey, Smith's presence amongst the contest on Easter Monday could not be denied as his impact in Geelong's midfield continues to elevate them into the premiership conversation.