Things are heating up and we're heading well into upgrade territory. Couple of big scores this week from rookies, combines with a couple of low ones should help with those upgrades.



Reckon Priddis will be in everyones team in a few weeks? And how's everyone backline gunna hold up next week? Gibbs and Goodes both looking to miss it, and those backline Port rookies aren't quite as reliable as they have been. (Let alone Luke Brown and Docherty being there!)



Essendon vs Collingwood

Result: Essendon by 46



93,373 people, the third largest home and away crowd ever, saw Essenddon take on the Pies. It was a arm wrestle of a match early, with Essendon constantly pulling away, then Collingwood pulling it back. Even third quarter which saw the Bombers open with 4 straight goals, were responded with 3 from Collingwood.



The final term however, though it opened with 2 goals from Collingwood, was put well out of reach as Essendon stormed home kicking 6 goals to just 1.



Leading the way for Essendon was the ANZAC day specialist, David Zaharakis. He put out a best on ground performance with 34 disposals, 14 of which were contested, 4 goals, 1 behind and 140SC points. Truely a match winning performance.



Also at the pointy end, as he always is, was Jobe Watson who had 31 of his own touches, kicked 2.1 and 126SC. Meanwhile, Jason Winderlich in just his second game for the year, picked up 19 touches, kicked 3.1 and a mighty 123SC.



Michael HIBBERD, Brent Stanton, Tom Bellchambers and Dyson HEPPELL all cracked the ton as well.



On Collingwood side, we saw a number of massive scores, then a sharp sharp drop off. Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury both managed a 126SC, while Heath Shaw (130SC), Dane Swan (127SC) and Ben Reid (125SC) all well cleared the ton mark, but then a drop off to Quinten Lynch with his 86SC



'Rookie' Brent Macaffer managed a decent enough 59SC from 17 touches, but Sam Dwyer made just 38SC which will put a solid dent in his cash generation over the next few weeks.



Meanwhile, Travis Cloke couldn't continue with his massive form, kicking 2.3 for just 63SC.



Heroes: David Zaharakis, Jobe Watson, Jason Winderlich, Michael HIBBERD, Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury, Heath Shaw, Dane Swan, Ben Reid

Villains: Travis Cloke, Dale Thomas



St. Kilda vs Sydney

Result: Sydney by 16



It was a long trip out to Wellington, and a funny old game to show off our nations wares, with the rolling maul in full effect. But it was a good match, with a pretty exciting finish as St. Kilda road home with a wet sail and nearly looked to snatch themselves a win.



Nick Riewoldt was in vintage form, picked up 27 disposals, 2 goals and was just a machine across the entire game. Finished up with 152SC in a best on ground performance.



Lenny Hayes was also in fine form, with 28 disposals and a 131SC while Leigh Montagna managed 111SC from 22 touches. Good to see the old hands standing up, but the Saints will be wanting to see the Stevens and other members of the younger brigade stepping up.



Jarrad McVeigh has been massive this season, and put in another great effort this week, with 25 disposals and 125SC. Matching him on 25 touches was Luke PARKER. The mid pricer has been a revelation this year, and this week was no different with a massive 124SC.



Kieren Jack, Ted Richards, Josh P. Kennedy, Daniel Hannebery and Ryan O'Keefe all managed to crack the ton as well.



No real villians in this game, maybe Adam Goodes with a 76SC, or Nick Malceski on 74SC, but really, that's closer to the bottom end of their thresholds rather than a real terror game.



Heroes: Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Jarrad McVeigh, Luke PARKER

Villains:



Fremantle vs Richmond

Result: Fremantle by 1 (Or 10 meters)



What a game. What a finish, with the ball bouncing towards the Richmond goal as the siren went. A massive contentious decisions as White snapped a goal through, only for it to bounce off the umpire and get run over the line for a behind.



Jonathon Griffin top scored for the Dockers with 23 hitouts and 21 disposals for a 123SC. Much better than the last couple of weeks, while Hayden Ballantyne got himself a 108SC with the match winning goal padding out his 16 touches, 4 goal performance.



Michael Johnson put up a solid 97SC, but for a game that they won, there wasn't a lot of high scores at Fremantle, just a lot of players scoring above 80.



Danyle Pearce however, didn't manage to crack 80, picking up just 48SC from 12 touches.



On Richmonds side, Trent Cotchin was awesome, picking up 26 disposals and 144SC. Also impressing was Brandon Ellis who played his first full game of the year after being the sub for the past four games. He managed 25 disposals and a mighty 134SC which will hopefully see him get a lot more gametime in the future.



Dustin MARTIN, Bachar Houli, Alex Rance and Brett Deledio all managed to crack the ton, in what was a relatively low scoring game. (ie- highly spread, cause we all know the 3300 rule).



Rookie Nick Vlastuin played his first game for the year, and scored 11 touches and 39SC. Not quite worth the trade down just yet considering the premium price, but we'll see how he goes next week.



Meanwhile, Jack Riewoldt was well restricted with just the one goal and 51SC.



Heroes: Jonathon Griffin, Trent Cotchin, Brandon Ellis

Villains: Danyle Pearce, Jack Riewoldt



GWS vs Gold Coast

Result: Gold Coast by 48



Does anyone here remember back to last year? The talk that the Giants had already gone past the Suns?



I think it's been well proven now that the Suns are well on track, and also, that the second year is really hard. It happens with rookies plateauing in the second year, and it looks like it happens with teams full of rookies as well.



The Suns though, were brutal, with a 6 goal to 1 performance through the second, and another like that in the final term.



Gary Ablett thumbed his nose at any coach who locked in their captains loophole, picking up 32 disposals, 14 contested, 3.1 and 160SC in a massive captains effort.



Charlie DIXON has well arrived this year, this week, picking up 16 touches and booting 6.2 for a 142SC.



Rookie, Jaeger O'Meara was awesome, with 25 disposals and a 119SC will see his cash generation keep on ticking for the next few weeks, while Zachary SMITH picked up his first ton for the year with 21 hitouts and 118SC.



Greg Broughton disappointed with just 54SC while Danny Stanley made just 52SC in his first game back.



Rookie, Jack HUTCHINS will have his cash generation potential slashed after scoring the green vest and playing just 1 quarter for 24SC.



On the Giants side, Devon Smith top scored with a 132SC off 26 touches, while Callan Ward and Rhys Palmer both managed 113SC.



Heroes: Gary Ablett, Charlie DIXON, Jaeger O'Meara, Devon Smith

Villains: Greg Broughton, Danny Stanley, Jonathan Giles



Carlton vs Adelaide

Result: Carlton by 32



It was an ugly night for the Crows, not only did they lose the game after a 6 goal to 1 first quarter, but they also lost spearhead Taylor Walker for what looks like the season with a knee.



Brock McLean put in his best game for the year with 29 disposals and a 126SC, while Andrew Walker managed a game high 32 disposals and 124SC.



Chris Judd was prominent early, but fell away later for a 105SC off 23 touches and 1.2.



Sam Rowe, the rookie priced ruck, managed just a 44SC playing the majority of the game up forward, while Bryce Gibbs was subbed off for 65SC with a precautionary leg injury.



Over on Adelaide's side, we saw just one single ton, with Richard Douglas making 105 off 22 disposals. You'd think that would mean for plenty of villians, but there are just the two main ones.



Scott Thompson picming up just 77SC off 24 touches and Sam Jacobs who is in some terrible form, picking up just 66SC this week.



Heroes: Brock McLean, Andrew Walker

Villains: Bryce Gibbs, Scott Thompson, Sam Jacobs



Western vs Geelong

Result: Geelong by 21



We all knew that Geelong was going to win this game, but for mine, the Bulldogs got just as much out of it as Geelong. Well, not the 4 points, but the game time into the kids, the experience against a quality opposition and the fact that they jsut didn't give up for the entire 4 quarters. Good signs for the Doggies.



Steve Johnson was in fine form, picked up 30 disposals, kicked 1.3 and made a massive 160SC. Harry Taylor is gunna earn himself a reputation if he keeps doing what he is, and that's playing as a key forward. This week, managed 14 touches and 5.2 for a 138SC.



Jimmy Bartel was the only other cat to crack the ton mark, with 24 disposals and 109SC.



Joel Selwood was a little down on his usual form with 87SC, while rookie Mark Blicavs has reached culling time, with maybe Daw coming into your squads this week.



On the Dogs, Matthew Boyd and Liam Jones both top scored with the former picking up 29 touches and the latter, kicking 4.2



Rookie, Jake Stringer did alright, kicked 3 goals and scored 69SC, while if you've still got him, Koby STEVENS did very nicely with 20 touches and 82SC.



Jackson Macrae was sadly the sub, and managed just 11SC, while defensive revelation, Brett Goodes picked up 67SC, but is probably going to find himself on the wrong end of the tribunal this week.



Heroes: Steve Johnson, Harry Taylor,

Villains: Brett Goodes



Port Adelaide vs West Coast

Result: Port Adelaide by 5



Wow. What a game. 7 unanswered goals over the last two terms is what it took for Port to take out an epic game, and also sure up their credentials as a finals relevant team.



Perhaps the cynic in me would point out the calibur of opposition, the fact that 10th is the highest position of their opponents thus far, but it's this kind of streak that generates belief. This kind of streak that allows teams to break out of a couple of years in the duldrums and move forward in a positive light, so if you're a Port fan, enjoy.



Hamish Hartlett was brilliant for the Power, 23 disposals and 2.2 saw him pick up 140SC. It's what he does though, he goes large or goes home, and recently he hasn't been going home!



Cameron O'SHEA was the other Power to manage a ton, with 23 touches and 127SC.



Really it was a well rounded performance without much in the way of villians. Justin Westhoff though, that's a villian. 13 touches for just 53SC, he was well held to nearly 100 below his average.



The other villian is the Pittard/Stevenson combination, that caught a bunch of people caught using him in the captains loophole.



Josh J. Kennedy put in another massive performance, 14 touches and 4 goals for a 124SC, while Bradd Dalziell did very well with 20 touches and 115SC.



Luke Shuey managed a massive 32 touches for just 105SC. If you went Callum Sinclair over Rowe, you'll be smiling at his 79SC.



Only one real villian from the Eagles, which was Matt Priddis. A concussion early in a vicious Monfries tackle saw him subbed out for just 5SC. Will be a bargain in just a few weeks.



Heroes: Hamish Hartlett, Cameron O'SHEA, Josh J. Kennedy

Villains: Justin Westhoff, Matt Priddis



Anyways, that's our review for this week. If you wanna let us know how you've gone, drop in a comment. Let us know your heros, your villians. Your beats and Brags.