Voting is as usual: you have 15 votes to award pretty much as you will, with the following provisos:
[1] 15 votes in total, no more, no less.
[2] No more than 10 votes for any one player (even Sam Walsh or Patrick Cripps)
[3] Three players at least must get a mention.
[4] A grade for the game, A+ (what I want to see) to F-.
Team: B-
5. Cripps
4. O.Hollands
3. Walsh
2. Heywood
1. McKay.
Team D-
5 Cripps
4 Walsh
3 McKay
2 Hayward
1 Ainsworth
Team E (1st half) + A (2nd half) = C overall
6 Cripps
3 Walsh
3 McKay
1 Hayward
1 Ainsworth
1 Newman
Again I borrow from Ye Rat O' the River...
Team: First half, E... Second half, A = C
5: Cripps
3: Walsh
2: Ainsworth
2: Hayward
2: McKay
1: Smith
HM: Cowan, Newman.
Team C
Hayward 4
Cripps 4
Walsh 3
McKay 2
Ainsworth 1
Hollands 1
Team C
5: Cripps
4: McKay
3: Haywood
2: Ainsworth
1: Newman
HM’s. Walsh, Hewett, Jagga, Gov and O Hollands….
Team C-
5 - Cripps
4 - Walsh
3 - McKay
2 - Hayward
1 - Ainsworth
Team = C
Walsh. 3
Hayward. 3
Cripps. 2
Smith. 2 (ability to find a man by foot ***)
O Holland 2 (team work & gut running ***)
Newman. 1
McKay. 1
Ainsworth.1
HM McGovern, Hewett
I've left this open because I haven't seen the game yet. :( Very busy, for a change.
Team C
4 Cripps
3 Walsh
2 McKay
1 Hayward
1 Ainsworth
1 Newman
1 Hollands
1 Hewett
1 McGovern
AFL Rd 9 2026 Carlton vs Brisbane
I didn’t know what to feel after the game, and I still don’t, not really. I could well be feeling the aftermath, which was sudden and lethal. But the end product was another loss, even though there were some positive signs.
Rating: C
An 11-goal 2nd half probably deserved that.
Votes:
[2.5] Patrick Cripps
[2.5] Harry McKay
[1.5] Sam Walsh
[1.5] Will Hayward
[1.5] Ben Ainsworth
[1.5] Jagga Smith
[1.5] Ollie Hollands
[1] Nic Newman
[0.5] Mitch McGovern
[0.5] Adam Cerra
[0.5] Ollie Florent
Explanations:
[2.5] Patrick Cripps: Crippa started terribly, but the longer the game went on, the more effective he became. He had 32 disposals, 5 tackles and 9 clearances in the end, after having only 2 clearances in the first half.
[2.5] Harry McKay: It was a different H out there. He not only towelled up Harris Andrews, who had the least number of disposals of anyone on the ground, he gained confidence in his goal kicking and he took 10 marks. He ended with 21 disposals.
[1.5] Sam Walsh: Another who was ineffective early, but who really rose in the 2nd half. 29 disposals.
[1.5] Will Hayward: Hayward played probably his best game in our colours, and he was good for most of the game. He kicked 3 great goals, had 22 disposals and 10 marks.
[1.5] Ben Ainsworth: Ainsworth was strong all night, not just his goals, but his pressure and workrate.
[1.5] Jagga Smith: Smith was good all night.
[1.5] Ollie Hollands: Ollie’s run was excellent, setting up scoring opportunities.
[1] Nic Newman: Solid.
[0.5] Mitch McGovern: Not a lot early, but he really responded and was very dangerous.
[0.5] Adam Cerra: A long way from his best, but it was a better effort.
[0.5] Ollie Florent: Good job in defence.
Honourable Mentions:
Marc Pittonet: Pitto tried his guts out, but was thrashed early. He kept at it and was a contributor.
Brodie Kemp: Could have been a match winner, but his kicking for goal was excremental. He really needs to fix this, as it loses us games.
George Hewett: Not yet back to his best, but solid.
Francis Evans: An almost night for Frankie, who should have got any number of frees but didn’t.