8With six rounds of football officially in the books for the 2023 AFL season, plenty of players have made their mark on the competition already.
Young Pie Nick Daicos has emerged as a Brownlow favourite in just his second season and looks to be topping Collingwood's best and fairest count, while plenty of others have had standout seasons for their clubs.
After a month and a bit of footy, we've taken a look at where each club's best and fairest count stands, naming the favourites for the award so far, with part two of the series covering Geelong through to North Melbourne.
READ PART 1 HERE
In a slow-starting season that is now developing fruitfully for the Cats, the one constant has been Jeremy Cameron's dominance.
It is the opinion of many educated footy fans that 'Jezza' is the best player in the comp, given his knack for single-handedly changing a game with his impact in all areas of the field. He is currently on the 100-goal watch and could be in for an all-time classic race for the Coleman Medal with Charlie Curnow.
He's kicked 30 goals from seven games and ranks second in the comp for score involvements. He is also a rare contender for the Brownlow, let alone Geelong's best & fairest favourite.
During Geelong's four weeks of dominance, it has been Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Stewart and Mark Blicavs who have been the typical forces, all of whom may have a best & fairest come the end of the season.
Young Max Holmes however, has begun living up to the expectations set upon him last season, with some quality performances to open 2023.
One of the rare positives out of the Suns' season so far has been the continued rise of Noah Anderson, who is proving that he will be a superstar of the competition in no time.
He was the driving force of their win over Richmond last Sunday, and has managed to find the ball all season and provide a dynamic impact with his 27 disposals per game.
His schoolmate, Matt Rowell, has also shown what he is capable of in the contest this season, gathering over 22 disposals per game at a contested possession rate of 64.3%. He is also the number one rated tackling player in the competition with 8.3 per game.
Behind these two, Wil Powell and Lachie Weller have each had excellent years so far while Sam Collins remains one of the top key defenders in the comp.
Touk Miller unfortunately may not contend given his injury, while Jarrod Witts should rise up the BnF ladder as the season progresses.
There is no doubt thus far as to who is the front-runner to take home the Giants' best & fairest, with Toby Greene proving to be one of the best captains in the competition after only seven games in the sole role.
He has willed his side to some famous victories this season, including Round 1 in the scorching heat against Adelaide and last Saturday with his two clutch goals in the dying stages against Sydney.
He is easily one of the rolling All-Australian small forwards at the moment and ranks third behind Curnow and Cameron for score involvements.
Some other contenders for the Giants include young Tom Green, who is becoming one of the highest-accumulating midfielders in the comp. Nick Haynes has enjoyed a return to form while Jack Buckley is enjoying his own breakout season in defence also.
Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio remain contenders given their quality at their best.
The Hawks' best & fairest looks to be a close one so far, with plenty of young talent staking their claim in the early rounds.
Will Day would likely be leading the charge had he not been suspended, but he is probably a good pick for the end-of-season leader right now. He has been dynamic with his shift into the midfield, averaging 26 disposals and over six marks per game.
Jai Newcombe and James Worpel have also impacted with their respective skillsets. Worpel ranks seventh in the competition for inside 50s and is Hawthorn's best ground ball player, while Newcombe provides further contested and defensive grunt.
One potential front-runner however could be Mitch Lewis, who starred in his first game of the season against the Bulldogs with 11 score involvements and some strong marks matched up on Liam Jones. More performances like that may shift the momentum at Hawthorn and change up their best & fairest count for the remainder of the season.
It has been the typical stars lighting it up at the Demons this year, as the dynamic duo of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver continue to dominate the contest and involve themselves in Melbourne scores.
With Oliver ranking second in the comp for disposals, contested possessions and equal first for groundball gets, and Petracca ranking first for inside 50s and fourth for score involvements, it's hard to go past either for Melbourne's best & fairest. We'd probably give the nod to Oliver at the moment.
Another name that stands out, however, is Kysaiah Pickett, who is quickly turning into of the most damaging small forwards in the competition. His quickness, pace, and skill with ball in hand has excited Melbourne fans for over three years now, and it is only a matter of time before he becomes an All-Australian pedigree player.
The sharp-shooting Bayley Fritsch has also earned some votes this year with his dynamic performances as the hybrid forward, he epitomises Melbourne's accuracy in front of goal.
Finally, Jake Lever, Angus Brayshaw and young Kade Chandler are all enjoying quality seasons and will all poll some votes at the end of the year.
After two astonishing wins in Rounds 1 and 2, it hasn't been smooth sailing for the Alastair Clarkson-led Kangaroos in 2023.
One of the major positive stories has been the rise of rookie Harry Sheezel, who is having a Nick Daicos-like first year in the big time, averaging a whopping 28 disposals per game and sitting as the heavy favourite for the Rising Star Award. He was looking like a contender for the All-Australian side before a difficult evening against the Gold Coast in Round 7.
He is probably leading North Melbourne's best & fairest at the moment but that could change with a likely return to form for Luke Davies-Uniacke. 'LDU' started the season like a house on fire with two blistering performances against the two West-Australian clubs. He has since settled with some more quiet matches and a couple of missed games but look for him to explode in a few more games this season.
It has been quite a struggle for the rest of the Kangaroo lineup, however, with no other players standing out as best & fairest contenders, perhaps with the exception of Jack Ziebell, who has enjoyed plenty of the ball out of defence where he can control things from the backline and be a strong physical presence.