This week, a high-flying All-Australian defender showed exactly why he deserved the blazer, but a perennial recidivist had yet another moment of madness. Here's whose stocks are up and down after the first week of finals.
Our footy experts, Jake Michaels, Matt Walsh, and Jarryd Barca, 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. Jump ahead to your team below (desktop only).
Lions | Bombers | Cats | Giants | Demons | Power | Swans | Bulldogs
Brisbane
Stocks up: Lachie Neale looked every bit a man possessed on Saturday night. Most people would have watched Clayton Oliver strut his All-Australian level stuff in awe, but the Brisbane ball-winner was equal to the task and bettered his Demon counterpart. The Brownlow medallist racked up a mammoth 46 disposals (25 contested) and 13 clearances in a never-say-die performance that coach Chris Fagan will be urging his players to channel as they enter sudden death mode next week and look to avoid a 1-5 finals record since 2019.
Stocks down: You know what doesn't bode well? Brisbane without Dan McStay. Heading into the finals series, the key forward was one of the most important players for the Lions -- who are already without Eric Hipwood -- and they were left begging when the aerial target was subbed out after a nasty concussion collision in the first quarter. His structural absence as glaring against the best defensive team in the league. He's in a big race against the clock to be fit for this week.
Essendon
Stocks up: Darcy Parish capped off his breakout season with a brave and eye-catching game against the Dogs, and he couldn't have done much more to try and give his Bombers a first finals win since 2004. They didn't, but their prime mover of the footy, who finished with 35 touches, 10 clearances and seven score involvements, was giving Essendon plenty of early ascendancy which, in a wet and contested battle, was always going to be critical. Unfortunately he didn't get much support after half time, but Parish should be proud of a simply stunning season.
Stocks down: Admittedly, these were not conditions built for the big men. But what Aaron Naughton did at one end, Peter Wright failed miserably to replicate at the other. The polarising forward has been a serious acquisition for the Bombers this season but he couldn't assert himself on the contest whatsoever. Not taking a mark and not registering a single kick down in Tassie was a far cry from the glorious 7.0 he booted against the Dogs in Round 21.
Geelong
Stocks up: A reliable defender in the face of just about anything, Jack Henry was one of not many from the Cats' backline who could hold their head high in the loss to Port Adelaide. Like Aliir Aliir down the other end for the Power, Henry's air superiority was notable and effective; he took nine marks (four contested) and had 11 intercept possessions. He's not the 'sexiest' defender out there, but was recognised in Champion Data's 'all-stats All-Australian' on this week's ESPN Footy Podcast.
Stocks down: He was asked to help cover the roles normally played in defence by Tom Stewart and Zach Tuohy, but Lachie Henderson had a nightmare outing against the Power. The defender made a couple of crucial errors which directly resulted in goals, while he continually dropped easy chest marks and just couldn't get into a groove. From his 11 disposals, two were also turnovers. When it rains, it pours!
GWS
Stocks up: He's been an inconsistent piece of the GWS puzzle, but hats off to Jesse Hogan for delivering in the first final of his career and putting on a clinic in the air. The maligned big man kicked two goals (one subsequently match-winning after the three-quarter time siren), but it was his aerial brilliance -- culminating in eight marks (six contested, five inside 50) -- that the Swans defenders, who had front-row tickets to the Hogan exhibition, had zero answers for.
Stocks down: It's not the first time (and it probably won't be the last time) Toby Greene plays a key role in an epic GWS win, only for it to be overshadowed by yet another moment of madness. Greene kicked three goals in the win over Sydney on Saturday afternoon, but will more than likely miss the crunch semifinal against Geelong after appearing to bump the shoulder of umpire Matt Stevic, following a heated discussion at half time. There's not a player in the competition more valuable to their team than Greene, but you can't help but think he deserves every bit of punishment he'll cop at the tribunal. We're not sure crying 'Toby tax' or employing a big-time lawyer is going to help you this time...
Melbourne
Stocks up: Was there a more effective player on the ground than Bayley Fritsch? The once run-of-the-mill medium forward, who is now a goal kicking machine, had just seven disposals on Saturday night. But don't be fooled, they were all kicks from which he booted 4.1, taking his season tally to 51. At 188cm, this man plays taller than he is every week and provides a vital cameo to Ben Brown and Tom McDonald who cop most of the defensive attention. Fritsch looked impossible to spoil aerially when at the peak of his jump, and we're tipping the five other teams still in the flag hunt will be doing their homework.
Stocks down: We could be picky, but let's be honest, the Demons are absolutely flying! It was their first qualifying final win since 2000 and they're arguably in a better position now than they've ever been to land their first premiership since 1964. A complete team with hardly a weakness, Simon Goodwin has this side peaking at exactly the right time.
Port Adelaide
Stocks up: Named All-Australian throughout the week, Aliir Aliir well and truly lived up to the billing, patrolling the skies in the Power defence with absolute ease. In the first half, with the game on the line, the Cats seemed to pick Aliir out as they went forward; the Power interceptor was on fire, taking seven marks (four contested), and going at 100 percent with his disposal. It was just outstanding to watch.
Stocks down: Did Port's trainers and coaching staff make a mistake playing Orazio Fantasia too long? When the game was dead, and he'd kicked four goals, Fantasia hobbled off with what looked like a further aggravation of a knee that's been giving him issues for the last 18 months. Given the game was over in the first minute of the fourth term, would it have been wiser to pull the mercurial forward then and not risk further injury? Let's hope the two weeks off before the prelim helps...
Sydney
Stocks up: He's been sensational all year and Luke Parker once again showed why he is one of the most underrated midfielders in the competition. Missing Josh Kennedy and Callum Mills, Parker needed to lift, and that's exactly what he did. The Swans hard-nut finished with a game-high 34 disposals, eight clearances (five from the centre square) and five tackles. He was well supported by George Hewett, who laid 13 tackles, picked up 19 disposals and kept Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper quiet at various stages.
Stocks down: We'll never know what might have happened on Saturday afternoon if Mills had played for the Swans. But Sydney's selection committee picked the gun in Round 23, despite him battling through an Achilles injury. There was little to be gained from the selection of Mills but plenty to be lost when he was subbed out in the second half having aggravated the injury. Mills had to sit out against GWS, and given the eventual one-point margin, John Longmire will continue to wonder what could have been...
Western Bulldogs
Stocks up: Many Bulldogs stood up when the Bombers were threatening an elimination final boilover; Tom Liberatore's 35 disposals and seven tackles, Jack Macrae's 36 and three and Adam Treloar's 28 and five all proved influential. But we're highlighting the cool-under-pressure Cody Weightman who delivered in spades. The eccentric, forward 50 livewire booted four goals straight -- including two of the team's three in the premiership quarter -- to help keep the Bombers at bay heading into the final stanza. Forget the fact they were all from free kicks, Weightman showed maturity to convert his chances in a cut-throat do-or-die final, and for that we applaud him.
Stocks down: In a contest which produced the most tackles (144) of any finals game over the weekend, just two players failed to wrap their arms around an opponent on Sunday afternoon - Josh Schache and Ryan Gardner. Doing their jobs otherwise (Schache kicked two crucial goals), and albeit not costly on this occasion, the duo will need to apply more pressure than that as the stakes rise against the more formidable Lions next week.