AFL
ESPN staff 3y

AFL Round 4 stocks up, stocks down: Toby Greene's leadership underrated, gun Dog's day to forget

AFL

Our footy experts cast their eye over the week's action to find out whose stocks are up -- whether it's a coaching masterstroke or a player having a blinder -- and whose are down. Every club features, so jump ahead to your team below (desktop only).

Crows | Lions | Blues | Magpies | Bombers | Dockers | Cats | Suns | Giants | Hawks | Demons | Roos | Power | Tigers | Saints | Swans | Eagles | Bulldogs

Adelaide

Stocks up: Crows forward Shane McAdam continues to impress. Against the Roos he had little impact for three quarters, but stood up magnificently when his club needed him late. Trailing North in the last quarter, McAdam piled on three goals to help secure the win. He's kicked 10 goals in 2021 and is on track for a 50 goal season!

Stocks down: Just nine touches and two behinds from Billy Frampton. We said last week he would need to show something to keep his spot, but surely pick No. 2 Riley Thilthorpe is closer than ever to getting a look.

Brisbane

Stocks up: The Scottish Suitcase Hugh McLuggage continues to go from strength to strength in his young career. He had 25 touches, five inside 50s and kicked a goal in the loss to the Dogs. But he can certainly hold his head up high.

Stocks down: There'll be a few fringe Lions a bit nervous this week on the training track. Tom Berry (four touches), Tom Fullarton (seven) and Deven Robertson (eight) all left a lot to be desired on the weekend, while even Joe Daniher (eight touches, one goal) looked out of sorts. Will Fagan swing the axe?

Carlton

Stocks up: He might not have set the world on fire, but Carlton have Jack Silvagni to thank for winning the game against the Suns. With the game in the balance in difficult conditions, Silvagni desperately laid a crucial tackle in the forward pocket, which was rewarded for holding the ball. He injured his shoulder and couldn't take his kick, so Harry McKay stepped up and slotted it - kicking the winner and capping off Silvagni's courageous act.

Stocks down: He was a pick No. 3 back in 2017, but Paddy Dow is still struggling to find his feet at AFL level. He had just eight disposals against the Suns, to go with 11 in Round 3 and 13 in Round 2. His disposal is still shaky and he's lacking confidence around the contest. He may find himself back in the the VFL next week.

Collingwood

Stocks up: If one Magpie can hold their head high after an all-round insipid team performance in the wet, it's Jack Madgen. The customary defender was deployed on a wing for much of the contest and picked up a career-high 25 possessions and a first AFL goal. 

Stocks down: Rubbing salt into the wounds, gun Pie Taylor Adams is set for a stint on the sidelines after limping from the MCG with a suspected MCL injury. A big loss for Collingwood's already thin on-ball brigade.

Essendon

Stocks up: The plethora of injuries at the Bombers has given opportunities to some players who probably wouldn't have seen much game time in 2021. Nik Cox was brilliant against the Swans, and moves as well as any 199cm player in the game!

Stocks down: Since the opening round of the year, Andrew McGrath hasn't really been wowing us. Against the Swans, he appeared sluggish and only managed 20 touches.

Fremantle

Stocks up: He's what some would describe as a 'steak knives' pickup, but Trav Colyer was an important contributor in the Dockers' win. His pace and penetration with kicks going inside 50 was the difference on a slippery day, and his two goals were timely. 

Stocks down: Superstar Nat Fyfe returned to the Dockers' team but his goalkicking certainly didn't! Fyfe kicked a remarkable 0.6 on the day and his side an equally-disappointing 13.18 (95) overall. Lucky it didn't affect the result! Sort it out, skipper!

Geelong

Stocks up: The old warrior Joel Selwood just keeps on keeping on for the ageing Cats. The skipper was easily Geelong's best in the loss to Melbourne, finishing with 30 disposals (14 contested) and setting up much of his side's promising play.

Stocks down: In a true sliding doors moment, ruckman Rhys Stanley won a free kick 15 metres out from goal and had the chance to cut the Dees' fourth term lead to just 14 points with plenty of time on the clock. Stanley missed, the Dees rebounded and Jake Melksham kicked the sealer in the very next passage of play. What could have been?

Gold Coast

Stocks up: The game's best tackler? Hugh Greenwood led the competition with 38 tackles coming into Saturday night's contest, and the versatile Sun has added another 10 to his 2021 tally, all the while quelling the influence of star Blue Patrick Cripps.

Stocks down: Experienced small defender Jarrod Harbrow had just five touches against the Blues - his lowest ever total since debuting in 2007! 

 

GWS

Stocks up: Toby Greene was simply the mastermind behind GWS' impressive 30-point drubbing of the miserable Pies. A stand-in skipper in the absence of Stephen Coniglio, the maligned Giant bagged five goals for the second consecutive week and oozed leadership in a masterful display.

Stocks down: Where has this effort been all year? Leon Cameron needs to work out how to bottle this performance as it was a complete 180 from what we've seen recently from the Giants. 

Hawthorn

Stocks up: Essendon discard Michael Hartley has been a solid addition to the Hawks side, and he again showed his worth against the Dockers. He tallied 26 touches, 658 metres gained (the most on the ground) and even found himself kicking a rare goal. Big tick to Hawthorn for picking him up. 

Stocks down: He nearly took a mark of the year contender, but Tim O'Brien had a dirty day for the Hawks. He had just six touches and kicked one goal, and needs to find himself in the play a bit more if he's to lock down a permanent forward line position, but at 27 years of age, have we seen what he has to offer?

Melbourne

Stocks up: It's fair to say that Bayley Fritsch is a handful. He plays tall, he can play small, he has an excellent goal sense and poise with ball in hand. Against the Cats, at a wet MCG, he kicked 4.0 including a stunner in the last quarter from deep in the left forward pocket with rain teeming down. 

Stocks down: Just five touches for Neville Jetta is well down on what we've come to expect from the creative defender. He still battles manfully in one-on-ones but looks a touch slow and you think he's barely holding onto his spot in a high-flying 22.

North Melbourne

Stocks up: He might not be a long-term solution to the North Melbourne question, but Aaron Hall should be playing every week during the Roos' rebuild. He had 33 touches, 835 metres gained and provided much-needed drive. 

Stocks down: As a leader of a young and rebuilding club, it's important to set a positive example when you play, but Ben Cunnington's moment of madness -- in which he dished out a high late hit to Rory Laird -- could cost him time on the sidelines. The veteran midfielder's act also cost the Roos a goal at a crucial stage with the game still somewhat in the balance. We've come to expect better from Cunnington.

Port Adelaide

Stocks up: Superstar Robbie Gray has done it again! When Port Adelaide needs a hero, more often than not it's their clutch No. 9 who steps up and shows nerves of steel to edge his team over the line. What proved to be the match-winner was a 45-metre set shot on a tight angle, but, really, it was never in doubt.  

Stocks down: He was the injury sub, so we won't whack him too hard for having just one disposal, but Sam Mayes' only touch almost proved catastrophic for the Power when he attempted to switch play at half back and had the ball intercepted.

Richmond

Stocks up: He impressed in pre-season but Jayden Short really stepped it up on Friday night with a sensational 31 disposal (25 kicks),10 intercept possession game. He also had a game-high 808 metres gained and kicked a long goal from outside 50m.

Stocks down: We're doing everything we can to protect the player and here is Jack Ross shoving Xavier Duursma into the sharp advertising hoardings around the boundary line. That's not on!

St Kilda

Stocks up: What a response from the entire club. They were written off and labelled 'soft' after a dismal showing in Round 3, but St Kilda responded in the best way. After a slow start, the Saints kicked the last eight goals of the match to beat the well-fancied Eagles, and finished +77 in disposals, +18 in inside 50s, +15 in clearances and +17 in tackles.

Stocks down: Just 10 touches from Nick Coffield - his lowest since Round 8 last year. Has he cemented a spot in that Saints backline? We're not so sure. 

Sydney

Stocks up: For all of the talk around Sydney's youngsters (and boy, has it been warranted!) Luke Parker has slipped under the radar. The star midfielder has started the season in great touch and turned in a match-winning performance for the Swans against the Bombers, finishing with 32 disposals, six clearances, eight inside 50s and a goal.

Stocks down: Gun forward Isaac Heeney could be set for another stint on the sidelines after breaking his right hand. It's a huge shame, as the 24-year-old had been producing some brilliant football in early rounds of 2021.

West Coast

Stocks up: If only the game ended at three-quarter time, because Jack Petruccelle was having a day out before the Eagles were amazingly overrun by a rampant St Kilda. The forward kicked three stunning first-half goals and added a fourth just after the main break. It's a shame his teammates couldn't similarly rise to the occasion late in the match.

Stocks down: The second half performance from West Coast's midfield was one of the most disappointing we've seen in some time. They were out-hunted, out-pressured and downright outplayed. The top seven rated players in the match were all Saints, while usual accumulators Dom Sheed, Andrew Gaff and Tim Kelly struggled to impact the game.

Western Bulldogs

Stocks up: The Bulldogs' ruck stocks are in good order. Tim English was arguably best on ground with a three-goal, dominant performance, but there's no way he has that day out if the Dogs didn't pick up Stefan Martin in the offseason. They're a great one-two punch, and English's strong marking in the forward line offers an answer to one of the questions surrounding the Dogs - who is the No. 1 focal point?

Stocks down: He's normally mopping up across half back ad nauseum, but Caleb Daniel was -- by his own lofty standards -- unsighted on Saturday. Daniel has just eight touches, one tackle and just 90 metres gained on the day. To make matters worse, he's been suspended for a week for a dangerous tackle, as well. 

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