Jason Akermanis – 5
Did a couple of exciting things, including a snap for goal in the first quarter, but was eventually beaten by Gary Ablett and lacked the presence of a man with his finals experience.

Matthew Boyd – 7
Ran hard through the middle and was important at the contested ball. Was a key figure in the engine room for most of the evening, but let himself down with a shocking kick for goal in the final term.

Tim Callan – 5
Had a reasonable night against his former side, but didn’t inflict much damage. Provided some useful support in defence at times.

Adam Cooney – 3
Tagged by Cameron Ling, he was comprehensively beaten in the battle of the blood-nuts and struggled to work his way into the game when sent forward. Had a virus and knee soreness early in the week and was always under a cloud.

Daniel Cross – 8
Enjoyed a great contest with Joel Corey in the middle, working hard at the clearances, and was a stand-out player in a losing side. Should be pretty happy with his finals series.

Nathan Eagleton – 4
Kicked an important goal when his side seemed lost approaching half time. Has such a penetrating kick, but struggled to make the distance from a set shot in the third quarter. It was costly.

Daniel Giansiracusa – 6
Sent a scare through the camp when he left the ground in the first quarter after hyper-extending his elbow. Returned to put in a pretty good show in his 150th game, offering some run in the middle and across half-forward.

Lindsay Gilbee – 6
Started the game really well, spotting Shaun Higgins in attack and maintaining his usual drive from half-back. However, his side probably looked for him too often.

Ryan Griffen – 4
After a good game against the Swans last week, he fumbled at times and made a few bad decisions. Will be better for the experience though.

Mitch Hahn – 3
Was disappointing given how much the Doggies would have relied on his impact. Hit a few contests hard, but didn't present as a target and missed two very kickable goals.

Jarrod Harbrow – 7
Came to life in the third term with two goals in quick succession and got the Dogs within striking distance. Won points for standing up under pressure in just his second season at the level.

Ryan Hargrave – 6
Gave away a crucial 50m penalty in the second term which resulted in a goal to Tom Harley. Otherwise, he worked hard to keep Steve Johnson out of the game and should be pleased with his efforts.

Shaun Higgins – 5
Jumped out of the blocks with four shots on goal in the opening quarter, running rings around Darren Milburn, but dropped away as the game went on.

Josh Hill – 2
Drifted in and out of the game and looked out of his depth at times. Was reported for a high hit on Andrew Mackie in the third.

Ben Hudson – 3
The former Crow was hard at the contest but was well-beaten by Brad Ottens in the ruck. Did little else around the ground.

Brad Johnson – 5
Fought on like a true leader despite struggling after an early goal. Hobbled off when he dropped a vital chest mark and collected a bump from Max Rooke in the final term, but returned for the dying stages.

Brian Lake – 6
Was reliable in the backline and shut out Tom Lonergan. Took a couple of saving marks in the defensive 50, but sometimes struggled to clear out from the kick-ins.

Will Minson – 2
Fell well below his efforts against the Swans last week. Used his size to the advantage of teammates early but, when he finally started to win the footy, missed some gettable goals.

Dale Morris – 7
Was handed the job of taking on Cameron Mooney and delivered. Kept the big Cat's influence to a minimum and combined well with Harris and Hargrave to kill off scoring opportunities.

Robert Murphy – 5
His numbers suggest he had a huge night, but he found most of his footy up the ground rather than at half-forward. Was matched by Tom Harley first and then Andrew Mackie, and was beaten by the latter.

Stephen Tiller – 5
Kept the faith of coach Rodney Eade after his inclusion for the semi-final but had a patchy night. Tackled and cleared well on occasions but didn't have a big impact.

Scott Welsh – 1
Was very quiet, beaten by Matthew Scarlett in a lot of contests. Has finals experience and a premiership to boot, but went missing when the Dogs needed a target inside 50.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.