THIS was the toughest 22 I've had to pick this season and several lesser lights featured in my round seven Team of the Week, brought to you by AccorHotels.
There were some seriously unlucky omissions. Unheralded Richmond midfielder Kane Lambert was in until the final game of the round, when Dayne Zorko and Jordan De Goey put in magnificent performances.
Sydney captain Josh Kennedy, Western Bulldogs gun Toby McLean and underrated Crow Richard Douglas were stiff to miss but I couldn't deny North Melbourne forward Mason Wood, who could be anything, as well as Geelong pair Tim Kelly and Jack Henry.
The Cats have found another defender in Henry. They've somehow managed to transition from one great backline, with Matthew Scarlett, Tom Harley, Corey Enright and Andrew Mackie, to a formidable outfit containing Tom Stewart, Zach Tuohy and Mark Blicavs, without the assistance of high picks.
SICILY IS A STAR: Nine things we learned from round seven
In his sixth game, Henry has already shown he's not afraid to go for his marks. Despite being undersized once again, this time on Ben Brown, Dane Rampe somehow got the job done, with the Coleman Medal leader booting just one goal. Rory Laird has racked up at least 30 disposals seven weeks in a row. Antagonistic Hawk James Sicily can offer opposition players as many low-fives as he wants as long as he keeps starring and his side keeps winning. David Astbury was the best of a great defence and Michael Hibberd stood out against St Kilda.
WATCH: Sicily's long bomb
The consistency of Jack Macrae is impressive – he's probably been the Western Bulldogs' finest player this year. Clayton Oliver showed how good he is around stoppages while Andrew Gaff has improved in that area, and he burned off an attempted tag from Karl Amon. At the moment, Max Gawn is in the top three players in the AFL. Kelly deserves selection after a few excellent weeks and amid talk of lower skill levels competition-wide, Shaun Higgins' sublime disposal stood out.
WATCH: Oliver's quick-thinking goal
Dayne Zorko probably wasn't far away from being dropped but he responded in magnificent fashion. Nick Riewoldt has a successor and it's Jesse Hogan – he covers an enormous amount of territory and racks up huge numbers for a forward. Upon return, Jordan De Goey has been terrific. Tom Hawkins has dismissed the talk the Cats are better without him, while Wood was a match-winner in his first game of the season. Adelaide is too tall up forward when everyone is fit but Mitch McGovern showed his brilliance.
WATCH: Mason's match-winner
I don't normally pick two ruckmen but Stefan Martin deserved selection after taking the points against Brodie Grundy. West Coast needs Jack Redden to continue his form after losing Luke Shuey to a right hamstring injury. Nat Fyfe was probably BOG despite Fremantle being thrashed by Richmond. I don't think any other team has a better one-two forward combination than the Eagles with Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, who is presenting and marking well and finishing accurately.
