There will be 16 teams featuring in Round 13; Fremantle and Port Adelaide have a bye.
The McKay twins will be playing against each other when Essendon takes on Carlton, which should be a cracking contest.
The Round will end off with the King’s Birthday clash between a Melbourne team that was deplorable in Round 12 and will be looking to bounce back, who will play against an injury-ravaged Collingwood team.
We’re taking a look at one player from each 16 teams who will be playing that needs to make a difference.
Adelaide v Richmond
Adelaide
Chris Burgess has the opportunity to become the number one key forward for Adelaide, given Darcy Fogarty is erratic and Taylor Walker is coming towards the end of his career.
First things first. The former Gold Coast key forward needs to cement his spot in the Adelaide forward line and Burgess should gain plenty of confidence from kicking three goals against Hawthorn in Round 12.
At the very least he must bring the ball to ground against Noah Balta and Nick Vlastuin at times, along with Nathan Broad.
Richmond
Samson Ryan can become a permanent part of the Richmond team if he can build on his display in Round 12 against Geelong, where he hit the scoreboard for the first time this season.
Ryan was given the opportunity to play due to some players being injured, so in what could be a career-defining game for him, the Richmond ruck/forward needs to take the bull by the horns when Richmond takes on Adelaide.
Western Bulldogs v Brisbane
Western Bulldogs
Rory Lobb should be pushing to prove that he warrants a permanent place in the Western Bulldogs’ best 22.
There’s no disputing that at his best the key forward and second ruckman is a decent player, but the former Fremantle and GWS player must take his chance, with Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton unavailable when the Western Bulldogs take on Brisbane.
If the 31-year-old sees a future for himself at the club. Lobb will at the very least need to bring the ball to ground when up against Harris Andrews.
Brisbane
Zac Bailey is a player who has so much potential, but unfortunately, he hasn’t been performing to his optimum level, given he has only averaged 4.67 score involvements per game.
The 24-year-old needs to show what he is capable of when Brisbane takes on the Western Bulldogs this weekend.
Hawthorn v GWS
Hawthorn
Jai Newcombe should be looking to build on his display in Round 12 against Adelaide, in a game in which Newcombe had the most clearances of any player on the ground, with nine.
It says a lot for Hawthorn’s system that the midfielder averages the most disposals of any Hawthorn player per game with an average of just 23.08.
What it shows is that in order for a team to be successful there’s no need for a player to average 30-plus disposals per game.
The 22-year-old should benefit from GWS being without their injured stars Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly and could go head-to-head with Tom Green.
GWS
Jake Riccardi needs to build on his display in Round 11 against Geelong in a game in which the GWS key forward kicked four goals in.
The 24-year-old must at least bring the ball to ground to prevent Jack Scrimshaw and James Sicily from taking intercept marks when GWS takes on Hawthorn so that Toby Greene and Brent Daniels can go to work.
West Coast v North Melbourne
West Coast
Reuben Ginbey is a player with plenty of potential; the youngster showed that he can match it with the best when he tagged Christian Petracca in West Coasts’ win over Melbourne in Round 10.
The 19-year-old restricted Petracca to 20 disposals and a goal, while Gibney finished the game with 21 disposals and a goal.
Given that Luke Davies-Uniacke is arguably North Melbournes’ best midfielder, the Round 3 Rising Star nominee in 2023 could get the job of curtailing LDU.
North Melbourne
Nick Larkey has kicked at least one goal in all bar one of North Melbournes’ opening 11 games. Along with that, the North Melbourne key forward has kicked multiple goals in six matches.
Despite West Coast sitting third last on the AFL ladder at the completion of Round 12, they possess two quality key defenders in Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern, which will make life difficult for Larkey.
The North Melbourne Vice-captain must halve the contest to give North Melbourne a chance of hitting the scoreboard.
St Kilda v Gold Coast
St Kilda
Marcus Windhager put on a masterclass of how to tag when the St Kilda midfielder curtailed the influence of Harley Reid in the second half when they took on West Coast in Round 12.
The 21-year-old will probably get the job of negating Noah Anderson when St Kilda takes on Gold Coast. I am looking forward to seeing if he can replicate the role he played on Reid.
Gold Coast
Jack Lukosius has averaged 4.58 score involvements per game, even though the Gold Coast utility has spent time in defence this season.
There’s no disputing that they are a better team with Lukosius in the forward line, as it takes the pressure off Ben King.
Sydney v Geelong
Sydney
Isaac Heeney has been a revelation so far this season; one man’s loss is another man’s gain, as the reason that Heeney is one of the favourites for the Brownlow due to Callum Mills and Luke Parker being unavailable, which has meant the 28-year-old has played in the midfield.
The Sydney utility is averaging the most score involvements per game of any player in the competition with 8.55. Heeney will face a stern test when Sydney takes on Geelong, as he may get tagged.
(Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Geelong
Oliver Dempsey polled six Coaches’ votes in Round 12 against Richmond because the Round 1 Rising Star nominee kicked three goals and was a pivotal part of Geelong’s comeback win.
To go with that the 21-year-old had 27 disposals and showed that he’s a valuable part of their best 22.
It will be intriguing as to whether Dempsey plays up forward or on the wing when Geelong takes on Sydney.
Essendon v Carlton
Essendon
Zach Merrett could be in line for being the AFL All-Australian captain, based on his first 12 games of the season.
When Essendon took on Collingwood in the Anzac Day game Merrett won the medal, as he was judged as the best player on the ground; it illustrates that the 28-year-old isn’t daunted by the big stage, as he will need to be at his best against Carlton.
We’ll have to wait and see whether he goes head-to-head with Patrick Cripps or Sam Walsh.
Carlton
Harry McKay has kicked a minimum of one goal per game in every game, apart from Round 4 when Carlton beat Fremantle by ten points, which proves that even if he doesn’t hit the scoreboard Carlton is capable of winning.
In eight of the other 11 games, McKay has kicked multiple goals, which proves that he appears to have solved his kicking woes of the past this season.
The 26-year-old will need to be at his best, given the key forward may be matched up on his twin brother when Carlton takes on Essendon.
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Collingwood v Melbourne
Collingwood
Bobby Hill hasn’t quite reached the heights this season that he’s capable of, when he showed his wares in the 2023 Grand Final; Hill won the Norm Smith medal.
Remarkably, despite playing every game this season, the 24-year-old has only averaged 1.25 goals per game, which the former GWS livewire needs to improve.
Based on his display in the 2023 AFL Grand Final, Hill should be up for the challenge in what’s a big game against Melbourne.
Melbourne
Max Gawn has polled 46 Coaches’ votes so far this season, which is pretty impressive.
The Melbourne captain will need to rally the troops when they take on Collingwood, in order to ensure that his team bounces back from being obliterated by Fremantle in Round 12.
It starts in the ruck when Gawn faces off against Darcy Cameron, who is possibly the most underrated ruckman in the competition.