Jacob Weitering could not have done any more for Carlton on Sunday.
The key defender was dominant for the Blues who inexplicably managed to give up a third-quarter lead of 27 points to end up going down to the Western Bulldogs by 16 points at Marvel Stadium.
But the loss was not a result of the efforts of Weitering.
The 23-year-old kept Aaron Naughton relatively quiet throughout, picking up 23 disposals, taking 13 marks and gathering a game-high 12 intercepts.
While Naughton managed to get free a couple of times late to finish with two goals and six marks, he was well beaten by Carlton’s reigning best and fairest.
Both Garry Lyon and Tim Watson were full of praise for Weitering’s “extraordinary” performance on one of the competitions most exciting tall forwards.
“That performance of Jacob Weitering on a player that we all rate in Aaron Naughton was, I don’t think you can play defensively one on one much better than that,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.
“He was unbelievable.”
Watson concurred, further highlighting exactly where Weitering got the upper hand on Naughton.
“His body positioning, the way that he was moving Naughton off. The times that Naughton actually got the ball was when he had a clear run and jump,” he said.
“Any other time where they were engaged in a one on one, stand your ground, move your body, position the opposition player to wherever you need them to be to protect the ball drop, Weitering won every one of those.”
Lyon concluded: “He was extraordinary. Love the way he played.”
This season, Weitering ranks second in the competition for spoils, fifth for rebound 50s, sixth in the league for intercepts, and has lost just nine of 50 contested defence one on ones.
The star backman and the Blues will look to bounce back against ladder leader Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.