Team of the week

THE SUPERSTARS came out to play during the first of three 'bye' rounds at the weekend, with some of the competition's biggest names putting in eye-catching performances.

Fremantle's Nat Fyfe again showed why he's the raging Brownlow Medal favourite, leading the Dockers past a pesky Gold Coast, while all-time great forwards Lance Franklin and Nick Riewoldt spearheaded their respective teams to victory.

Despite just six matches being played, there was plenty of competition for places in the round 11 Team of the Week, brought to you by Accor Hotels, but those three were easy selections.

Perhaps the unluckiest omission was giant Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands, who amassed an AFL record 70 hitouts. We still think big 'Sandi' is a star, but he's just been edged out this week.

Backs

DANE RAMPE (Sydney Swans) - Rampe has perfected his role as the Swans' loose man in defence in the wake of Nick Malceski's departure and was again a stand-out in Saturday night's win over North Melbourne. Reads the play brilliantly and crucified the Roos with 26 possessions and 14 marks.

LUKE McPHARLIN (Fremantle) - Fremantle's lone key defender with Michael Johnson gone, McPharlin is the man the Dockers cannot afford to lose. The experienced 247-gamer taught dangerous Suns forward Charlie Dixon a lesson, keeping him goalless from just two kicks.

MARLEY WILLIAMS (Collingwood) - The pint-sized West Aussie attacks the ball and the man with ferocity and was inspiring for Collingwood teammates at times against the Giants. Covers an enormous amount of territory for a defender and finished with 27 touches.

Half-backs

COREY ENRIGHT (Geelong) - Best on ground for the Cats in their clutch win over Port on the road, in game 299, just an amazing player. Amassed 29 possessions at almost 80 per cent efficiency, Enright has reinforced his standing as one of the all-time great defenders.

NATHAN BROWN (Collingwood) - Totally dominated Giants star Jeremy Cameron, winning the one-on-one contests just about every time the pair went near the footy. A vital part of Collingwood's back six, Brown took seven marks and kept Cameron to just two goals from four kicks for the day.

JARRAD McVEIGH (Sydney Swans) - The co-captain is having another super season, and continues to marshall the Swans' defence with a cool head under pressure. Never wastes the footy as shown by his 28 possessions at 96 per cent efficiency against North. McVeigh set up so many attacking moves for his side, he's like an extra midfielder for coach John Longmire.

Centres

LEIGH MONTAGNA (St Kilda) - Showed outstanding leadership in a tight game to drag his team over the line. He had 28 touches, including 12 contested, but also laid a game-high 10 tackles and had six clearances. Most importantly, he kicked the match-winning goal with 19 seconds to go after pushing forward with pure gut running.

NAT FYFE (Fremantle)- Another week and perhaps another three Brownlow votes after dominating in the wet conditions. He had 31 disposals, 21 of them contested. He collected 11 clearances, more than any other player on the ground, took two contested marks and kicked two of the Dockers' six goals for the match.

MICHAEL RISCHITELLI (Gold Coast)- Someone had to offset Nat Fyfe's influence and Rischitelli stood up to give the Suns an opportunity to win the game. Rischitelli had 23 possessions, including 10 contested and four clearances. He laid a game-high nine tackles and kicked a vital goal late in the third term to keep the Suns in touch.

Half-forwards

JOSH CADDY (Geelong) - A driver of Geelong's impressive run of form, Caddy backed up his strong attacking display against Essendon with an even better performance in the win over Port Adelaide. Booted two goals from 26 touches and laid eight tackles.

LANCE FRANKLIN (Sydney Swans) - A four-goal haul for Buddy, but it was his work ethic in laying six crunching tackles that earned John Longmire's praise. Stood up at key moments, including a long-range bomb to seal the match.

MARK LeCRAS (West Coast)- Ignited the Eagles after Essendon held them up early, finishing with four majors, 21 touches and eight marks. Continues to impress in a new role splitting his playing time between midfield and attack.

Forwards

CHAD WINGARD (Port Adelaide)- A rare shining light on an otherwise dark night for the Power. Gathered a season-high 27 touches – including 21 kicks – and also booted four majors, his best return this year. Did everything in his power to lift Port.

NICK RIEWOLDT (St Kilda) - Tireless again grabbing 10 marks and kicked four crucial goals, but he also showed the way in terms of effort with six one-percenters – a team high. Leadership of the young Saints in a tight win can't be overstated.

JESSE HOGAN (Melbourne) - The emerging superstar continues to provide Dees fans with reasons to be excited about the future. Snared the first five-goal haul of his career against St Kilda, while also hauling in five grabs inside 50 and four contested marks.



Followers

TODD GOLDSTEIN (North Melbourne) - Produced a terrific performance to keep Aaron Sandilands out of the team this week. The Kangaroos won the clearance battle over the Swans by 16, thanks largely to Goldstein's 37 hit-outs. He also gathered 17 touches (11 contested), took seven marks and laid six tackles.

DYLAN SHIEL (Greater Western Sydney) - After signing a contract extension during the week, Shiel proved why his signature was so highly sought. He collected 34 possessions against the Magpies, including 11 in a remarkable 10-minute burst in the second term. His 15 contested possessions were important as the Giants fought a losing ground-ball battle. He had seven clearances, three inside 50s and two goal assists.

LUKE PARKER (Sydney Swans) - He delivered another brilliant performance to help the Swans hold off the Kangaroos. He collected 33 disposals, with 12 contested, when no other player on the ground had more than 28 disposals. Parker had five clearances and laid seven tackles.

Interchange

TAYLOR ADAMS (Collingwood) - Playing against his former club, Adams was a midfield star for the Magpies against GWS, playing arguably his best game in the AFL with 36 disposals, eight marks and seven tackles.

MATT PRIDDIS (West Coast) - The Brownlow medallist is in the midst of another first-class season, and his 32 disposals – 22 contested – and 11 clearances against Essendon continued that. Could Priddis push Fyfe for back-to-back 'Charlies'?

ADAM SAAD (Gold Coast) - The promoted rookie continues to impress during his first season, and despite being poleaxed by Freo skipper Matthew Pavlich, the energetic Saad bounced back to finish with 25 disposals in another eye-catching display off half-back. A much-admired player, he was also productive with the ball with 10 clearances and a disposal efficiency of 81 per cent.

BERNIE VINCE (Melbourne) - His Herculean effort wasn't quite enough to get the Demons over the line, but had to be rewarded with a bench spot in our team. Vince had 38 disposals – 14 contested – and nine clearances, while keeping David Armitage to just 20 touches, in an elite midfield performance.

• Check out how fans voted on previous teams of the week
• How your team's players fared in this weekend's state leagues