The crucial cogs of AFL’s Round 14: Which players need to be the difference makers?

There will be 12 teams featuring in Round 14, with Carlton, Essendon, Geelong, Gold Coast, Melbourne and West Coast all having a bye.

All six games are intriguing, given North Melbourne had their first win in Round 13, which means that every team has won a game this season.

The narrative in Round 14 will centre around Dustin Martin who will play his 300th game for Richmond.

We’re taking a look at one player from each 12 teams who will be playing, who needs to make a difference.

Brisbane v St Kilda

Brisbane

Lachie Neale ripped the game apart when Brisbane took on Western Bulldogs in Round 13 and the two-time Brownlow Medallist had 38 disposals to go with two goals, six score involvements and a game-high four centre clearances.

The former Fremantle player will probably need to cope with a tag from Marcus Windhager when Brisbane takes on St Kilda, which may mean that Josh Dunkley gets off the leash.

St Kilda

Callum Wilkie will face a tough task of curtailing the influence of Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher at times.

The St Kilda key defender has averaged 7.38 intercept possessions; there’s no doubt that the 2023 All-Australian full-back is a key component of the St Kilda team and they will need him to perform to his optimum level against Brisbane.

Western Bulldogs v Fremantle

Western Bulldogs

Tim English has been down on form compared to last season when the 26-year-old was selected in the 2024 All-Australian team, as the sole ruckman.

Western Bulldogs need him to be back to his best when he faces off against the Fremantle ruck combination of Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson; English will need to get to work in a game that could be season-defining for the team.

Fremantle

Josh Treacy should gain plenty of confidence from kicking three goals in Round 12 against Melbourne. The Fremantle key forward has kicked at least one goal in all 12 games so far this season.

At the very least the 21-year-old must bring the ball to ground and limit the influence of Liam Jones when Fremantle takes on Western Bulldogs.

Richmond v Hawthorn

Richmond

Dustin Martin will be looking to celebrate his 300th AFL game with a win, but it’s not going to be easy given Hawthorn are one of the form teams in the AFL.

It will be intriguing to see how Dusty handles the game, given that he has won three Norm Smith Medals. Whether Dusty plays forward or in the midfield, we can expect to see the best from the amazing superstar.

Hawthorn

James Worpel has been a solid performer for Hawthorn this season.

The midfielder has averaged the most contested possessions per game of any Hawthorn player with 11.08. The 25-year-old may go head-to-head with Tim Taranto when they take on Richmond.

Adelaide v Sydney

Adelaide

Rory Laird needs to have a massive game if Adelaide are to be a chance of causing an unlikely upset of Sydney, with Matt Crouch unavailable due to injury for the rest of the season; what this means is that Laird should play as a permanent midfielder.

It’s going to be a tough challenge, given he may go head-to-head with Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner at times when Adelaide takes on Sydney.

Sydney

Brodie Grundy has been a revelation for Sydney this season; it’s a case of third time lucky, given it didn’t work out for him at Collingwood and Melbourne, as Grundy is playing the best football of his career and is a pivotal component of the Sydney system.

What will be interesting is if he can keep up his solid form against an Adelaide team that have coped plenty of heat from the media and he may be up against Reilly O’Brien who will want to bounce back from being dropped after Adelaides’ 27-point loss to Hawthorn in Round 12.

North Melbourne v Collingwood

North Melbourne

Jy Simpkin finally delivered on his potential this season, as the North Melbourne captain helped drag them over the line against West Coast in Round 13.

It was a crucial victory for the morale of North Melbourne, given Alastair Clarkson felt a win was more important than getting the number one draft pick when North Melbourne beat Gold Coast by a 35-point margin in Round 24 of season 2023.

Clarko brought something interesting up in his press conference: “I read a really interesting stat, I think there’s only three number one draft picks that have played in premiership teams.”

Collingwood

Will Hoskin-Elliot is a great utility who is a pivotal part of the Collingwood team, given the former GWS player goes about his business in an understated manner.

The 30-year-old needs to be at his best in what’s a danger game for Collingwood when they take on North Melbourne, who are coming into the game having won their first game of the season in Round 13 against West Coast in Perth.

GWS v Port Adelaide

GWS

Sam Taylor had his contract extended until the end of 2032 for a reason; he is an elite player in the competition. A strength of his game is his intercept marking.

The 25-year-old lets his footy do the talking having averaged 8.60 intercept possessions per game and may be in line for a second All-Australian team selection: that’s despite missing two games and being subbed out in the first quarter of GWS’s one-point win over St Kilda in Round 5.

Port Adelaide

Jason Horne-Francis’s explosiveness out of a contest is a weapon. We are starting to see the best of Horne-Francis at Port Adelaide this season, as he has kicked at least one goal in eight of the ten games that he featured in.

It’s difficult to see any GWS player preventing him from having an impact on the contest.

The former Number one draft pick has averaged the sixth most score involvements per game of any player in the competition with 7.60, in the ten games that he has played.