Another blockbuster round of AFL has been and gone. Some down-to-the-wire contests took place, as well as outstanding performances across the board, including yet another elite display from Nick Daicos. The Bont continued his return to form and Jeremy Cameron remains the one-man band at Geelong picking up some votes as well.
Let’s get into it!
Round 4 Votes
Brisbane (116) DEf Collingwood (83)
Collingwood’s undefeated streak comes to an end at the hands of a gallant Brisbane effort. Cam Rayner reminded everyone of the star he can be and Charlie Cameron managed to snag 6 goals to bring the Lions right back into form.
1 Vote – Cam Rayner (Bris) – Weird that a 4-goal, 17-touch game only grabs 1 vote here, but that’s just how competitive this game was for votes.
2 Votes – Nick Daicos (Coll) – Again, stiff to miss 3 votes here, as usually a 38-touch, 2-goal game would be an instant 3 votes, but somehow he got outshined.
3 Votes – Charlie Cameron (Bris) – 6 Goals, 6 marks, 4 tackles and 14 touches in a winning side, Charlie just has to take the 3 votes here.
North Melbourne (84) Def By Carlton (107)
The most competitive Good Friday clash we have seen in years with North Melbourne showing a lot of improvement, but predictably crumbling late in the game.
1 Vote – Harry Sheezel (NM) – 37 Touches at 82% efficiency, 3 tackles, 5 marks and 3 clearances. This kid is the favourite of the Rising Star award now and he deserves it.
2 Votes – Harry McKay (Car) – Not only did he kick 4 goals, but he took a staggering 14 marks, 6 of which were inside the forward 50. Great game and was pivotal to their runaway efforts in the final half.
3 Votes – Charlie Curnow (Car) – 6 goals and 2 behinds and 9 marks, 4 of them were contested and on top of that, 11 score involvements. Fantastic game.
Adelaide (111) def Fremantle (72)
Adelaide gains some much-needed momentum with a big win over Fremantle, who after finishing 1-3 are in some serious strife.
1 Vote – Izak Rankine (Adel) – 3 goals, 15 touches, 5 tackles and just an all-round strong game that displayed how good of a pickup he was for the Crows.
2 Votes – Josh Rachele (Adel) – 3 goals, 20 touches, 7 goal involvements and 21 pressure acts. His new midfield role has completely changed his career and he continues to thrive.
3 Votes – Jordan Dawson (Adel) – He picked up 27 disposals at a staggering 96% efficiency, 13 contested possessions, 598 metres gained, five marks, six tackles and a goal to put the cherry on top. A real captain’s game.
Richmond (84) def by Western Bulldogs (89)
The Dogs managed to stem the bleeding of their year and get back to a 2-2 position when 0-6 looked very possible. They don’t love the MCG. But they manage to get the win with some Bont and Libba brilliance in the middle.
1 Vote – Tom Liberatore (WB) – A classic Libba get in and get the ball out sorta game here. Only the 23 touches, but the 10 tackles and 7 clearances gets him a vote.
2 Votes – Baily Dale (WB) – 30 touches, 11 contested, at 83% efficiency, 6 score involvements, 7 marks and 11 intercept possessions, he certainly picks up a couple of votes here.
3 Votes – Marcus Bontempelli (WB) – What a game from Bont. He didn’t kick a goal like he usually does, but 9 score involvements, 17 contested possessions, 11 clearances and a staggering 35 pressure acts. BOG performance here.
St Kilda (113) Def Gold Coast (60)
The Saints keep marching on to their perfect 4-0 start for the season, while the Suns seem to have some serious issues with their depth.
1 Vote – Noah Anderson (GC) – Really tried to put the team on his back and do it all himself with 38 touches, 17 of them contested, 7 clearances, 10 tackles and 35 pressure acts.
2 Votes – Mitch Owens (Stk) – He has really bloomed into a fantastic AFL-calibre footballer. 27 touches, 19 contested with 7 score involvements including 2 goals. Excited to see where he goes.
3 Votes – Jack Higgins (Stk) – 5 goals for Higgo in this one and 12 score involvements. He was also way more efficient than he usually is, popping up with 22 touches at 82% efficiency.
Sydney (64) Def by Port Adelaide (66)
What a thriller, we really all thought Florent had kicked that goal until he hadn’t. What a choke by the Swans.
1 Vote – Aliir Aliir (PA) – This isn’t just because he made the game-winning save on the goal line, anytime the Swans started to get rolling, Aliir would pop up and take one of his 12 intercept possessions.
2 Votes – Chad Warner (Syd) – After a couple of quiet weeks, Warner bounced back in a big way, 30 touches, 2 goals and 9 clearances, big game for Chaddy.
3 Votes – Ollie Florent (Syd) – Poor Ollie. He thought he had kicked the winner, he was jumping for joy and then immediately shattered when he realised it fell short. But let’s be real, he was BOG anyways. He was everywhere and he managed a goal earlier in the game as well.
Essendon (88) def GWS (75)
The Bombers under Brad Scott have been a revolution. Playing with much more confidence than we have seen recently and when they were under the pump in a very losable game for them, they dug in and got the job done.
1 Vote – Josh Kelly (GWS) – A successful return from injury for Kelly here with 28 touches and a couple of snags.
2 Votes – Mason Redman (Ess) – This guy just keeps getting better and better. One of the best run-off halfback types in the league at the moment. 8 intercepts, 27 touches at 89% efficiency and he even managed to push forward and kick a goal.
3 Votes – Jake Stringer (Ess) – Gee how big would this game have been if he could kick straight? 4 goals and 6 behinds. One of his best games in a long time.
West Coast (63) def by Melbourne (126)
The Eagles were certainly respectable, but the Dees predictably ran over the top of them.
1 Vote – Clayton Oliver (Mel) – Clayton can’t play a bad game, it seems impossible, he will probably poll in most games this year.
2 Votes – Tim Kelly (WC) – Another outstanding performance in a losing side, he kicks 2 goals and grabs 36 touches, 5 tackles and 6 marks.
3 Votes – Christian Petracca (Mel) – Another player who will be polling in most of the games this year as he almost never plays a bad game. Plenty of touches and 3 goals on top of that. Gun.
Geelong (127) def Hawthorn (45)
An Easter Monday blockbuster that finally brought out the Cats of old. Are they back? Sometimes an easy win is all you need to bring them back to form.
1 Vote – Patrick Dangerfield (Gee) – He was back to his brilliant best here, with plenty of touches, plenty of clearances and a goal as well. A real captain’s game.
2 Votes – Mitch Duncan (Gee) – God, the Cats have been missing his presence off of half back. 31 touches at 81% and plenty of metres gained up the ground.
3 Votes – Jeremy Cameron (Gee) – He is THE man right now. 7 goals. 7! He is unstoppable right now and is dominating every game he plays.
Round 4 Leaderboard
The Top 5 Players are as follows:
1st: 9 Votes – Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
2nd: 8 Votes – Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
3rd: 7 Votes – Tim Kelly (West Coast)
3rd: 7 Votes – Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
5th: 6 Votes – Luke Davies-Uniacke (North Melbourne)
5th: 6 Votes – Jordan De Goey (Collingwood)
5th: 6 Votes – Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
5th: 6 Votes – Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)