There was plenty of action across the state leagues for your AFL sides this weekend.
There were players returning from injury, young guns standing up and dominant performances across the board, highlighted by the returns of Stephen Coniglio and Jesse Hogan for GWS and Zak Butters for Port Adelaide.
The WAFL did not run due to COVID-19 restrictions in Western Australia.
Here’s some of our takeaways:
Promising signs for Port
Port Adelaide edged closer to the top five by beating Central District by nine points in a low-scoring affair.
In great news for the AFL side, Zak Butters got through unscathed after knee and ankle issues. He had 21 touches, kicked two goals and had four clearances in a confidence builder ahead of his impending return at the elite level.
Veteran Hamish Hartlett was prolific with 33 possessions, seven tackles and seven rebound 50s, while yet-to-debut ruckman Sam Hayes again put his name into calculations with 22 disposals, seven marks and 42 hit-outs.
Giants skipper, key forward return
Matt De Boer contributed to GWS’ one-point win over Casey, picking up 25 disposals and laying seven tackles, while captain Stephen Coniglio made a successful return from an ankle injury with 17 possessions and 11 tackles.
Key forward Jesse Hogan made his first appearance since his four-goal outing against Richmond in round 9. He had eight disposals and took three marks.
Sydney Stack reported in strong VFL performance
Sydney Stack was one of the few standouts for Richmond during their loss to the Northern Bullants on the weekend, picking up 29 disposals.
However, he was reported for striking during the performance and will face the MRO on Monday.
Matt Parker may be in line for his Richmond debut after 31 disposals, 11 tackles and 0.3.
Will Martyn (27 disposals), Rhyan Mansell (26) and Daniel Rioli (26) also found plenty of the ball.
Samson Ryan returned to the VFL and had 12 disposals and 33 hit-outs while kicking one goal.
Constable a cut above
Charlie Constable continues to dominate at VFL level.
He picked up 42 disposals in Geelong’s win over Essendon on Friday and continues to bang the door down for an opportunity.
Son of Billy, Oscar Brownless was next best with 27 disposals and two goals.
On the Essendon side of things, Dylan Clarke found 27 disposals, while Brandon Zerk-Thatcher had 20 and took seven marks.
Reeves dominates the ruck
The Suns used draft prospect Henry Walsh (brother of Carlton star Sam) as one of their ruckmen against Box Hill on the weekend, but he was no match for AFL-ready bodies Ned Reeves and Keegan Brooksby.
Reeves won 38 hit-outs, 14 disposals and kicked a goal in the win.
Tyler Brockman booted two and had 15 disposals, while VFL listed forward Fergus Greene dominated, kicking 6.4.
Rory Atkins and Will Brodie combined for 66 disposals (33 each) for the Suns, while Darcy Macpherson had 26 touches after playing 25 percent of game time in the AFL against Richmond on Thursday night.
Young Blues mid building nicely
2020 Carlton draftee Jack Carroll continues to find his feet at VFL level, once again leading the club for disposals.
He picked up 24 touches, laid eight tackles and even had a few goes in the ruck in the loss to Coburg.
The Blues have been devastated by injuries to depth players, with the likes of Carroll, Josh Honey, Sam Ramsay, Brodie Kemp and Luke Parks the few on the park.
Lochie O'Brien, 21, was Carlton's oldest AFL-listed player in the VFL on the weekend, highlighting the impact injuries would be having on the performance of the group.
Brown absent in poor Casey performance
Ben Brown picked up three disposals and didn’t trouble the scorers against GWS in what was a perfect opportunity to earn AFL selection.
Fellow key forward Sam Weideman stood up however, kicking three goals and taking seven marks from 21 disposals.
Mid-season recruit Kye Declare found 23 disposals, while Jake Melksham impressed with 18 and a goal.
Could Ginnivan be Collingwood’s 8th debutant?
Jack Ginnivan booted four goals in the VFL for the Pies from 15 disposals on the weekend.
The highly rated rookie has kicked 12 goals across the VFL season and has impressed in recent weeks.
Ollie Henry kicked 2.3 himself, while Tom Wilson and Brayden Sier led the way with 31 and 30 disposals respectively.
Callum Brown and Jay Rantall also won plenty of footy, while Max Lynch won 36 hit-outs.
Crozier leads the way in comfortable Dogs win
Hayden Crozier picked up 28 disposals in Footscray’s win over North Melbourne.
Will Hayes (26 disposals), Louis Butler (22 disposals) and Rhylee West (22 disposals) were also prolific.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was quiet, kicking one goal from six disposals.
Jared Polec found 30 disposals on the North Melbourne side of things, while Charlie Lazzaro picked up 29 and kicked a goal.
Queensland sides put their feet up
The Brisbane Lions, Aspley and Southport Sharks were among three of six VFL/East Coast league sides to have a bye, along with Port Melbourne, Werribee and Williamstown.
Crows youngsters combine for seven
Crows prospect Brayden Cook led the way in the SANFL with four goals as his side went down to Glenelg by 15 points.
The 18-year-old first-round draftee took five marks and laid six tackles in a strong forward showing. He was aided by Lachlan Gollant who contributed three goals.
Lachie Murphy had 20 touches, 13 tackles and eight inside 50s, Will Hamill picked up 22 disposals and ruckman Kieran Strachan had a massive 50 hit-outs.
The Crows now sit third bottom on the ladder with four wins and eight losses.