In Round 14 of the 2024 AFL season, Marcus Bontempelli shook off the flu (and countless Freo defenders) to have a day out, and Joel Amartey had one hell of a party, breaking records in his nine-goal performance. But one coach's decision to bench a tagger came back to haunt him. Here's whose stocks are up and down.
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.
Adelaide
Stocks up: There haven't been too many positives for the Crows this season, but one aspect of their year that has been a joy to watch is the constant improvement of Mitch Hinge. The floating defender has had an excellent 2024 campaign playing as an interceptor in defence and an effective rebounder, his efforts often being let down by an at times dysfunctional forward line. Hinge had 33 disposals and eight marks against the Swans -- but for goodness sake, no giving away silly free kicks after a goal has been scored!
Stocks down: That's Adelaide's season done, everybody. They're officially three wins out of the top eight, and languishing in the bottom four with the bye this week. What does that mean? They'll be bottom four at Round 15, and while it happened to Carlton last season, this side is not good enough to pull off 10 straight wins to play in September. Such a shame for a club of which many had pretty high expectations.
Brisbane
Stocks up: There are many ways we can look for this, so honourable mentions mainly to both Hugh McCluggage and Joe Daniher, but we have to highlight Dayne Zorko and his influence off half back this season. He's in All-Australian form and, against the Saints, had 30 disposals, nine marks, nine score involvements and 755 metres gained. The Saints put the clamps on Lachie Neale, but teams can't forget about the former skipper.
Stocks down: All in all it was a solid outing for the Lions as they attempt to get their finals and premiership chances back on track, but Cam Rayner's indifferent season continued as he struggled in front of goal, with 1.3 from his four shots at goal.
Carlton
BYE
Collingwood
Stocks up: There is a reason why they get called 'Cardiac Collingwood'. The Pies are the best in the business at coming from behind to win at the last minute and it was displayed well on Sunday from a five goal fourth quarter. After a quietish first half for Nick Daicos' standards in the second half Daicos was able to break the tag, accumulating 29 disposals and 10 score involvements, steering the Pies to victory.
Stocks down: The Pies probably got lucky in this win, after a last minute miss from Zac Fisher. Top teams like Collingwood must remember to respect the opposition or else it can come to bite them. A loss today would've seen the Pies drop to the bottom eight, which is significant after the start they had this season.
Essendon
BYE
Fremantle
Stocks up: The Dockers head back to Western Australia with a loss and a missed opportunity against a fellow finals contender in losing to the Bulldogs, but Hayden Young is one player who can keep his head held high. The defender-turned-midfielder was excellent in Justin Longmuir's engine room, picking up 26 disposals, 10 inside 50s, seven clearances, six tackles, and 594 metres gained.
Stocks down: A week after several taggers played huge roles for their respective teams, the Dockers had the chance to send someone to the best player in the game. Marcus Bontempelli was incredible on Saturday afternoon, so not deploying a hard tag on him -- especially given he had the flu -- proved to be a strange call indeed.
Geelong
BYE
Gold Coast
BYE
GWS
Stocks up: After a down start to the season after bursting onto the scene as one of the recruits of the year last season, Toby Bedford may have found his position -- as a run-with player. Adam Kingsley described Bedford's job on Zak Butters and Connor Rozee as "awesome", and it's hard to disagree; he has the attributes of a good tagger, especially the tank and the hard edge. Kicking a major a cooler, too, was a great result. The swing back towards taggers continues!
Stocks down: Man, it just really isn't Toby Greene's year, is it? The champ kicked 1.5 against the Power (indicative of his side's goalkicking, in fairness) as he struggled to capitalise on decent opportunities. He can't really be blamed for one of his minors, however, as a dubious score review seemingly robbed him early in the first term.
Hawthorn
Stocks up: Well, what a time to put together your best game of the season! James Sicily led from the front on a massive occasion for not only his side, but the opposition, racking up 33 disposals, a game-high 15 marks, and 881 metres gained, completely patrolling the back half for the Hawks, whose finals chances have absolutely skyrocketed in the past two months.
Stocks down: Veterans can sometimes float in and out of games, and in and out of form, and unfortunately Jack Gunston could only manage one kick before being subbed out of the game in the third quarter... not that it hurt them on the day!
Melbourne
BYE
North Melbourne
Stocks up: Last week's win seems to be the belief North needed. The Roos booted eight goals in the first term, which is their best quarter since 2017, and although they didn't get the win, played one of their most exciting games in years. North has been missing out on influence from their main man, but Nick Larkey showed he's back, firing with nine goals in the past two weeks after a slow start to the year.
Stocks down: Despite coming so close North must remember that to get the win, four quarters of football have to be played out. Collingwood were able to overcome a 54-deficit to win the game by one point, a game in which the Kangaroos controlled for most of the day. Over the past two weeks, North Melbourne has conceded 12 final quarter goals while kicking just four themselves -- and while they got lucky last week they were burned this time around. Also, Alastair Clarkson's decision to sub off Will Phillips was a silly one, even if he was 'getting tired'. North clamped the Pies with a hard tag on Daicos, but the decision to sub Phillips off at three-quarter time and replace him with ageing, slow veteran Liam Shiels came back to haunt Clarko as Daicos began to cook.
Port Adelaide
Stocks up: Does a post-Charlie Dixon Power look okay led by Mitch Georgiades? The 22-year-old looked assured as the main man against the Giants, kicking three majors and flying for marks with authority. He's looking increasingly comfortable by the week as his comeback from an ACL rupture continues.
Stocks down: In his post-match press conference, Ken Hinkley mentioned the good job Giant Toby Bedford did on Zak Butters, who needs to learn pretty quickly how to handle a tag. Last start it was Alex Cincotta who blunted the Power star, and this week it was Toby Bedford, who kept Butters to just 17 touches and minimal influence. Clubs will be aware of this when they play the power now, so Hinkley and Butters need to find a way to rise above.
Richmond
Stocks up: Busy midfielder Tim Taranto enjoyed his second game back from a long injury layoff against the Hawks, finishing the afternoon with 33 disposals, five tackles, eight clearances and a goal in a well-rounded outing. He's a player the Tigers have sorely missed in 2024 and, hopefully with an injury-free run, can enjoy a big second half of the season.
Stocks down: It's fair to say Round 14 wasn't Liam Baker's best effort. The highly sought after Tiger may have had 17 disposals and seven tackles, but he was the lowest rated player on the ground (-1.5 Rating Points). In fact, it was his lowest rated game since 2018!
St Kilda
Stocks up: The Saints have found a rangey linebreaker in Arie Shoenmaker. The 18-year-old debuted for the Saints against the Lions, and showed immediately why he was one of last year's draft's most intriguing prospects. He finished with 18 disposals (at 89% efficiency), four intercepts, and 458 metres gained. His penetrating left boot will be a weapon the Saints should look to use more often in the back half of the year - he could be a gamechanger for Ross Lyon.
Stocks down: Scoring 100 points in a loss? Well, we never! Surely that's the end of (concerted) seven-goal games of Ross Ball, because it's clear the Saints are able to show some semblance of watchable football. Add Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Dougal Howard, and maybe another piece or two back into this lineup, and maybe there's something to salvage out of 2024.
Sydney
Stocks up: Sydney's players keep stepping up each week, and in Round 14 it was Joel Amartey and Brodie Grundy's turn. Amartey managed to score from all of his 10 disposals, finishing with a staggering 9.1 - a stat line more suited to the 1990s than today. In fact, it's the first time since 2005 that a player scored with every one of his 10 disposals (Scott Welsh did it in 2005 kicking 8.2). Meanwhile Grundy might be the mastermind behind the Swans' 'big three' mids. The ruckman smashed the stat sheet ending the game with 31 disposals and 49 hit outs compared to Kieran Strachan's (his opposing ruck) 16. It's no wonder Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, and Chad Warner can find the ball when Grundy is feeding it to them so well.
Since 1999 (Champ Data), players with six or more goals while posting the same number of scoring shots as disposals:
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshMedia) June 16, 2024
A. Lynch: 7.1 from 8, R8 2003
S. Welsh 8.2 from 10, R13 2005
D. Bradshaw 7.4 from 11, R5 2008
J. Butcher 6.0 from 6, R22 2011
J. Amartey 9.1 from 10, R14 2024 ⬅️
Stocks down: Slow starts have been a theme for Sydney for the past two weeks. Although their fightbacks have been great, is some early-game complacency creeping in? Will the better sides allow the Swans to work their way into the contest as easily? Look, probably, but when you're flying, top of the ladder with just one loss, it's hard to find negatives!
West Coast
BYE
Western Bulldogs
Stocks up: The Bulldogs notched a big and important win over Fremantle, and they were led fantastically by their captain Marcus Bontempelli. The skipper had yet another three-vote performance, starring with three goals and 30 touches, all the while reportedly shaking off the flu! We're running out of superlatives for the superstar! Despite missing Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton, the Dogs' forward line looked back in sync with the inclusion of Cody Weightman, while Rhylee West found himself on the end of four majors in his 50th game.
Stocks down: The theme for the Bulldog's woes this season has been 'consistency', one week they are losing to the 13th placed Lions by 43 points, the next week beating the 7th placed Fremantle by 67 points. Just outside the top eight in ninth spot, the challenge for the Dogs in the next few weeks to maintain the form we know this talented list can produce to push to be back in the finals in 2024.