In Round 13 of the 2025 AFL season, one team elevated their contender status with a big win, and a young Geelong star showed plenty, but Sam Durham will face time on the sidelines for an ugly bump. 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: We told you everyone would be raving about the Crows and their premiership chances if they were able to knock off the Lions and that's exactly what's happened. Adelaide's five-point win over the reigning premier on Friday night has seen Matthew Nicks' side consolidate their place inside the top four and shorten into fourth favourite for this year's flag. They have contributors all over the park, and are playing with a belief that's infectious. Can't sleep on them anymore.
Stocks down: He was the best player in the competition after a month of football (that's not us speaking, rather Champion Data) but what's happening with Riley Thilthorpe? The young key forward booted 14 goals through four games and has 14 since across nine weeks. But it's not just his production which has fallen off, so too has his accuracy. The Crows have plenty of options in the forward line, but gee they're far more dangerous when Thilthorpe's up and about.
Brisbane
Stocks up: Sure, they lost, but we really can't sing Will Ashcroft's praises enough in this column. Not to be outdone by the likes of Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage, or Josh Dunkley, Ashcroft played a starring role for his club, ending the night with a game-high 31 disposals, 14 contested possessions, eight clearances, seven tackles, and five inside 50s. An absolute jet who is only getting better!
Stocks down: Sorry, Eric Hipwood, you're just not doing anywhere near enough. It was another outing, and another zero goal effort from Brisbane's key forward against the Crows. He has now kicked just two goals in his last four games. With no Joe Daniher in 2025, more of the scoring load was to fall on Hipwood's shoulders. We're just not sure he's up to the task.
Carlton
Stocks up: This is why St Kilda is circling Tom De Koning and rumoured to be set to offer a mammoth deal. The Carlton ruck dominated at the contest against Essendon, finishing his night with a game-high 10 score involvements and seven clearances. He also had 23 disposals, took a couple of strong contested marks, and kicked a goal.
Stocks down: If we only played one quarter each game, the Blues might just be flag favourites. Unfortunately, there are three other quarters that get played out each week. On Sunday evening, Carlton looked like world beaters in the first term against the Bombers, booting six goals and holding a commanding 33 point lead at the first change. But as has been a worrying trend for Michael Voss' side, they slowly gave up that margin, only just holding on by eight points in the end. Is it fitness? Is it hunger? Is it belief? We're not sure, but it's certainly a major concern.
Collingwood
Stocks up: Josh Daicos was a deserved winner of the Neale Daniher Trophy for his colossal game off half-back (particularly in the first half), tallying 34 disposals and finishing with an equal game-high seven score involvements. But we really want to shout out a couple of Magpie veterans. Firstly, Jeremy Howe was instrumental down back with 26 disposals, 14 intercepts, and a game-high 20.4 rating points, while Scott Pendlebury's class and unmatched composure, albeit on display from the first bounce, was critical (again) in the thrilling finish. They just keep on getting it done.
Stocks down: As much as there were some good numbers -- and games -- individually, the Collingwood midfield as a unit was well beaten on the day, with Melbourne's onball brigade thriving off a massive performance from skipper Max Gawn. The Pies -26 in hit outs, -10 in clearances (-9 in centre clearances), and -28 in contested possession, also leading to 10 less inside 50s than the Dees. Not that inside 50s are a stat Craig McRae's side has dominated in the past, but they were conceding a lot of ground to their opponents on the day, and it's an area they'll want to tidy up in the second half of the season.
Essendon
Stocks up: How good was it to see Darcy Parish back in this Essendon lineup? Suiting up for his first match of the year, in a year in which the Bombers have been rattled by injuries, his return was a high point in what ended as a disappointing result. Sure, he had a couple of shaky moments early as he was getting a feel for the game, but Parish finished with 31 disposals and a game-high 10 clearances. Welcome back, indeed!
Stocks down: It'll be looked at as one of the worst bumps of the year. Sam Durham's ugly hit which left Adam Cerra dazed was, unsurprisingly met with a two-week suspension. He didn't have eyes for the footy, chose to bump and got Cerra high, and the potential to cause injury was very high. As Garry Lyon said on FoxFooty after the match, it had 'wheelchair written all over it'. Cerra is lucky he didn't cop it to his neck. Can't have this action in footy.
A free kick was paid against Sam Durham for this bump on Adam Cerra.#AFLBluesDons pic.twitter.com/TqLCaSW8w3
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 8, 2025
Fremantle
BYE
Geelong
Stocks up: In case you've been living under a rock for the past 24 months, Max Holmes is a seriously good footballer. The Cats speedster played the best game of his young, blossoming career on Saturday night, running rings around the Suns in the wet to bank another certain three Brownlow Medal votes. Holmes' end of game stat line read a career-high 40 disposals, 19 contested possessions (who says he can't win the hard ball?!), 10 clearances, seven inside 50s, and 861 metres gained.
Stocks down: Was it the worst bump we've ever seen? No. But Tom Stewart can count himself lucky not to have been banned for his hit on Noah Anderson. The Geelong star would have been sweating after Anderson was taken from the field for a concussion assessment, then later subbed out with a 'chest' issue, but the MRO's findings read "Stewart's actions were not unreasonable in the circumstances and did not constitute a reportable offence". Lucky? He didn't seem to make a play on the ball, and it brings up the action vs. outcome debate again.
Suns players rally around Noah Anderson following this incident with Tom Stewart.#AFLCatsSuns pic.twitter.com/aXArymBvPn
— AFL (@AFL) June 7, 2025
Gold Coast
Stocks up: He doesn't receive many plaudits but you feel Joel Jeffrey is now firmly in the Suns' best 23. The 23-year-old was one of his side's best players in the loss to the Cats. He showcased his elite foot skills (he had 20 kicks at 72% efficiency) and broke lines at will. Did he make some mistakes? Sure, but he did also end the game with a team-high nine intercepts.
Stocks down: Here's hoping Suns skipper Noah Anderson pulls up okay after copping a huge bump from Cats defender Tom Stewart on Saturday afternoon at GMHBA Stadium. Anderson was left in all sorts of pain after the hit, and was taken from the ground, though the Suns didn't cite concussion, rather they labelled it a 'chest' issue. Fortunately for Gold Coast, they have a week off before tackling the Giants in Round 15.
GWS
Stocks up: The Giants may be struggling and lacking consistency, but if you had any doubts about Sam Taylor holding a place in our rolling All-Australian team, this performance should have put such thoughts to rest. Taylor was best afield for his side, recording 16 intercepts, four contested marks, and doing everything he could to repel Port's relentless attacks. But sometimes that's just not enough...
Stocks down: Geez, you really can't trust the Giants in 2025. The biggest concern against the Power? The complete lack of discipline. GWS gave away a staggering 29 free kicks against Port! Don't blame skipper Toby Greene, either. He didn't give any away, though he was subbed out of the game early with a hip injury after a nasty collision with Aliir Aliir. Now that's another issue...
READ: Giants' inconsistency remains their only constant
Hawthorn
Stocks up: The Hawks needed someone to step up in the midfield and Jai Newcombe delivered in a big way. Up against the might of the Bulldogs, Newcombe ended the night as the classiest midfielder on the ground, racking up 27 disposals, 15 contested possessions, 10 clearances, and kicking a cracking goal as the Hawks found their mojo once again.
Stocks down: Geez, James Worpel can't take a trick, can he!? It's been injury after injury for the talented inside midfielder in season 2025, this time he was forced to be subbed out of the contest against the Bulldogs with a corked leg. For Hawthorn's sake, hopefully it's nothing too serious and he's able to suit up next week in what will be a blockbuster clash against the Crows down in Tassie.
Melbourne
Stocks up: The Dees are really, really lucky to have the defensive commodity that is Steven May, who is having a very good season and was terrific again on Monday afternoon. Stronger than most in one-on-one situations, May was reading the game superbly against the Magpies, commanded the aerial contests down back and was the brick wall halting many Magpie attacks, the 33-year-old finishing his day with 16 disposals, eight marks (five intercepts), and five spoils. Clayton Oliver (30 disposals, nine clearances, and seven tackles) was also back to his best and deserves a tip of the hat.
Stocks down: The team that was cleaner in the critical moments won, so there's no denying Simon Goodwin's side will rue the sloppy brain fades in the final quarter -- think Bayley Fritsch rushing and playing on when 30-out from goal, the Kysaiah Pickett 50-metre penalty which led to the Nick Daicos goal, and the late turnover by Max Gawn. Ironically enough, those three players could have featured in the 'stocks up' part of this column. They had the Pies right where they wanted them, did so much right, but you have to nail the big moments. They'll look at this as one that got away.
North Melbourne
Stocks up: Cometh the moment, cometh Zurhaar. Cam Zurhaar's last quarter won North the game. Two clutch goals and some excellent contested marking helped the Kangaroos to a vital four points, which has lifted them over the Tigers and into 16th on the ladder. He, like Paul Curtis, has had a sneaky good year in that Roos forward line; he's booted 24 majors to be tied for eighth on the Coleman Medal leaderboard.
Stocks down: Let us never speak of the Bunbury game again. Burn the tapes, bank the four points, move on.
Cam Zurhaar.
— AFL (@AFL) June 8, 2025
ROOS IN FRONT!#AFLNorthEagles pic.twitter.com/40yys0NaA4
Port Adelaide
Stocks up: After a horror few weeks, it was over to Port Adelaide's leaders to step up and show what this club stands for, and boy did they deliver in a big way. Zak Butters and Connor Rozee both played match-winning roles in the midfield, combining for 60 disposals, 28 contested possessions, and over a kilometre of gained territory. It was inspirational to watch for a club that had been in desperate need of a spark in recent times.
Stocks down: Maybe we're a little unfair but we're going for the rare back-to-back stocks down. Dante Visentini toiled away in the ruck on Saturday night but how do you finish a game with six kicks and seven clangers?! He also gave away five free kicks. But hey, he's a work-in-progress and we're going to stick with him long-term.
Richmond
Stocks up: You've hung in there for half a season, and now you get your reward, Tigers fans. A bye in Round 14 means a weekend with no loss.
Stocks down: We don't expect a huge amount from the Tigers in 2025 but that lack of contributors on Saturday afternoon against the Swans was pretty disappointing. There were seven Richmond players who finished the game with eight or fewer disposals, half the team had two or fewer tackles, and only three players got their name on the goal scoring sheet.
St Kilda
BYE
Sydney
Stocks up: He hasn't exactly had the season he had in 2024, but Nick Blakey reminded us of his devastating best on Saturday afternoon at the MCG. The Swans speedster racked up a mountain of possession and provided his trademark drive and dash off the halfback line, finishing the game with 34 disposals, 10 marks, and 916 metres gained. It's exactly what Sydney has been missing in 2025.
Stocks down: They got the chocolates (albeit against the lowly Tigers), so we don't want to be too critical, but Sydney's starts to games of late have been diabolical. For the fifth straight week, the Swans failed to kick four first quarter goals. In fact, they have only reached 15 points by quarter time once in the last five weeks. Can't be giving the opposition a head start every single week.
West Coast
Stocks up: Well, we guess the Eagles have all but secured this year's No.1 draft pick. The loss to the Kangaroos means West Coast is now two full wins (plus percentage) behind 17th-placed Richmond. Considering the Eagles have won just once this season, winning three more seems a bridge too far.
Stocks down: The Eagles really should have won this game, but were undone by some shocking inaccuracy in front of the big sticks. West Coast booted 0.5 in a wasteful first term, a sign of what was to come for the afternoon in Bunbury. Andrew McQualter's side finished up 6.16 and 10-point losers. Oh, what could have been..
Western Bulldogs
Stocks up: It's a bit of cliche, but without Rory Lobb the Bulldogs would have lost to the Hawks by much more than 22 points. The forward-turned-defender was everyone, particularly in a dire first half for his club. Lobb finished the night with 15 disposals, eight marks (four of them contested), kicked a goal, and played literally every second of the game. You can't really ask for more than that.
Stocks down: If we've repeatedly pumped them up all year, it's only fair we give a whack when it's due. Individually, the games of the Bulldogs midfielders look pretty solid, but as a collective, they were well beaten by an undermanned Hawthorn midfield brigade. The Hawks enjoyed the inside 50 advantage 58-43, won more ball, more contested possession, and generated more shots at goal. A reminder, this was with no Will Day and only one half of James Worpel production. You're better than that, Doggies.