AFL 2025 Round 6: Heroes and Zeros

Darragh Murray

22 Apr 2025 — 2 min read

A pretty interesting round of footy, despite the fact my team (the Lions) got absolutely towelled up by Collingwood way back on Thursday evening. I was away for most of the weekend and didn’t catch many other games—just the tail end of the Cats–Hawks clash this afternoon, which was quite thrilling for a neutral, even if the skills on display weren’t exactly elite.

But I did have time to run the numbers and see who stood out… and who might find themselves on the coaches’ watch list this week. Here's the visual.

The Heroes

Joel Freijah (WB) had a breakout performance in the Dogs’ demolition of St Kilda. He racked up 2 goals, 24 touches, 5 inside 50s and 12 contested possessions to notch a round-high 27.8 player rating points.
Andrew Brayshaw (FRE) – Racked up 33 disposals and 8 clearances, with a near-even contested/uncontested split (17/16), showing his ability to win it at the coalface and spread effectively.
George Hewitt (CAR) – Dominated through the midfield with 34 disposals and 9 clearances. His 19 contested possessions and 6 tackles reflected a strong two-way game.
Marcus Bontempelli (WB) – Freijah’s returning captain wasn’t far behind, posting 26.2 rating points (4th overall). The Bont delivered 30 touches, 2 goals, 8 clearances and 5 inside 50s in a trademark all-around effort.
Zak Butters (PA) – Collected 27 disposals and 7 clearances, but it was his defensive pressure that stood out: 8 tackles, including 3 inside 50, showcasing his relentless work rate and two-way presence.

The Zeros

My partner thinks I'm being too harsh on players labelling them 'zeros'. I've got to muse on that one. Anyway, here's a quick look at the telling statistics for those who rated poorly this week.

Buku Khamis (WB) – Managed just 4 disposals and 1 mark, with no tackles or score involvements.
Sid Draper (ADL) – Struggled to impact the game with only 5 disposals, 2 tackles, and no clearances or inside 50s.
Jye Menzie (ESS) – A quiet week after last round’s high, with 10 disposals, 4 marks, and no goals.
Jake Rogers (GC) – Limited involvement, finishing with 6 disposals and 1 tackle.
Ethan Read (GC) – Had 7 disposals and 2 tackles but little influence in other key areas.

Methinks Rogers and Read might be getting a bit of a blow torch from Damien Hardwick this week!

Thanks again for reading, if you made it this far!

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