Round 6 saw a record-breaking 95,179 people attend the traditional Collingwood vs Essendon Anzac Day clash and the game lived up to the occasion, with the never say die attitude we have seen so often from Collingwood in the last 12 months getting them over the line.

The grand final rematch was a similar story for the Swans, going down to the Cats by 93 points at GMHBA, as Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins ran rampant with 10 goals between the pair.

The microscope will be on a few teams this week after disappointing losses last weekend, in particular Carlton, Fremantle and North Melbourne.

We've named five players to focus on across round seven of the AFL season, some who are looking to continue their strong run of form, and others who need to stand up.

Mitch Lewis

The Hawks will be bolstered by the inclusion of key forward Mitch Lewis this weekend as he returns from an ACL strain for his first game of the season.

Lewis kicked 37 goals from 15 games last season- including 22 from his first seven games. Whilst Lewis hasn't played since Round 20 last year, he will provide a much needed target up forward for a Hawks team who has lost by only 2 and 3 points in the last fortnight.

Lewis has the ability to kick big bags of goals, having kicked five goals twice last season against both Port Adelaide and Adelaide to help his team to wins in both games.

With the Bulldogs finding form, having won three of their last four, and Liam Jones impressing down back, it will be no easy feat for his first game of footy after an extended break. However, the Hawks will certainly be happy to have him back to combine with Fergus Greene up forward.

Marcus Bontempelliย 

Bontempelli will run out for game 200 on Saturday evening against the Hawks and will no doubt put together an impressive performance to live up to the milestone occasion.

After finishing runner up in the Brownlow in 2021, Bontempelli has rocketed back into Brownlow contention this year, currently ranking as the second favourite behind Nick Daicos.

With the departure of Josh Dunkley over the off-season, the gap he left was made apparent in Round 1 against the Demons. However, Bontempelli has sought to rectify the issue, averaging career best numbers for clearances.

Bontempelli has been averaging 26 disposals, 7.5 tackles and 8.5 clearances so far this season and was a clear best on ground against the Dockers last weekend, racking up 31 disposals at 80.6 percent, ten tackles and two goals in a true captain's performance.

Embed from Getty Images

Jack Steele

Steele returned from injury last weekend in the Saints win over Carlton, albeit he admitted that he wasn't really in the game for the first half. Steele will be looking to put together a strong four-quarter performance tomorrow night against Port Adelaide in what is looming as a tough battle between the two sides.

Steele was highly influential in his previous two games this season prior to injury, having amassed 28 disposals, five marks and three tackles against Freo in Round 1.

However, his second game against the Bulldogs was the most impressive, with 29 disposals, six tackles, five marks and a goal.

Steele will be hoping to hit that level again this weekend and take his team to victory for the sixth time this season.

Billy Frampton

We focused on Frampton a few weeks ago, however, that was when he was forming a makeshift ruck duo alongside Dan McStay- until McStay went down the following week.

Now, Frampton stands as the sole ruckman for the Pies and will come up against ex-teammate Reilly O'Brien in what will be a challenging task, particularly off a five-day break and playing away at Adelaide Oval.

However, Frampton was impressive on Anzac Day and was named amongst the Pies best after curbing the impact of Essendon ruck duo Sam Draper and Andrew Phillips.

Frampton finished with 27 whiteouts, 15 disposals and a crucial goal after breaking the pack for an impressive mark. The key position player is looking like one of the bargain recruits of the season, as the Pies have used him all over the ground and he hasn't let them down.

Chad Warner

Mark O'Connor tagged Chad Warner last Saturday night in the Grand Final rematch and it certainly worked. Warner only had 19 disposals and one inside 50, well down on his impressive 26 disposal, four mark, three tackle, one goal effort against Richmond the week before.

Warner is a critical player for the Swans, particularly amidst their current injury crisis, who attacks the ball and drives it inside 50, and would be hoping to bounce back against GWS on the weekend.

However, the Giants will have noted that sending a player to Warner and curtailing his influence goes a long way to beating the Swans.