Each week of the 2025 AFL season, ESPN.com.au's Jake Michaels looks at six talking points.
This week's Six Points features the Nick Daicos-Sam Darcy debate, whether Connor Rozee should continue to captain the Power, the shrewd recruitment of Jack Macrae, and a ridiculous Jesse Hogan stat.
1. I'm building around Nick Daicos long before Sam Darcy
I wouldn't be surprised if Sam Darcy is widely viewed as the best forward in the competition by the end of next season. The 21-year-old has taken the competition by storm over the past 12 months, is already one of the best contested marks in the league, and still has an incredible amount of untapped potential.
Naturally, given they were in the same draft, many are beginning to draw comparisons between Darcy and Collingwood stud Nick Daicos. As such, the question of who you would rather build around for the next decade has been floating around. Well, I'm here to tell you there really is only one correct answer. As great as Darcy is, and will be, he's not Daicos.
Daicos is the rarest of gems, someone I believe has the potential to end his career in the conversation for the G.O.A.T. No player in history has won more of the ball or had more effective disposals through three seasons than Daicos. According to Champion Data, only Chris Judd had amassed more ranking points to this point of a career, and only Marcus Bontempelli more ratings points. Daicos is almost the perfect footballer, elite not only at winning the ball, but using it. He has the highest of footy IQs and is proving to be as consistent as any midfielder in the league.
If not for the knee injury he suffered against the Hawks late in 2023 and Patrick Cripps' record-breaking year in 2024, he would already be a two-time Brownlow Medal winner. As it is, his 77 votes through three seasons is the greatest haul we've ever seen by a player, and more than Judd, Gary Ablett, Patrick Dangerfield, and Dustin Martin had -- combined -- through three seasons.
Those that say top-end key forwards are more difficult to find continue to underestimate the value of the truly great midfielders. After all, midfielders win you games. Premiership-winning teams are built around them. Throughout history you can find a bunch of premiership teams without great key forwards, but you can't find any without elite midfielders. Period. Give me Nick.
2. Should Connor Rozee relinquish the Port Adelaide captaincy?
Connor Rozee might well be the best leader at the Port Adelaide Football Club. He's been voted captain by his peers and fully deserves the honour bestowed upon him, but at some point he, and the club, probably need to ask the question would relinquishing the captaincy make him a better player.
Rozee's production has taken a step backwards since taking the reins from Tom Jonas ahead of last season. In fact, Champion Data's 100x ratings, which looks at your output per 100 minutes compared to the competition average, ranked Rozee 181st in the league last year. This year, he has become an almost exclusive outside player, operating at the lowest contested possession rate of his career.
This isn't to say he should step down as Power captain, far from it. But Rozee certainly wouldn't be the first (or likely last) player to benefit from having the burden of AFL captaincy lifted off his shoulders. In recent years, think Stephen Coniglio, Marc Murphy, and Sam Mitchell. Even teammate Travis Boak played his best football after walking away from the job.
We know Rozee has been, and can be, an elite player. It's time he reminds the footy world.
3. Bring back the desperation smother
I'd like to shout out an unheralded player in the competition for a moment of brilliance during Round 4, a moment that most certainly helped his team bank four precious premiership points in what was the unquestioned game of the round.
This Joel Jeffrey smother on Taylor Walker was as desperate as it gets. Maximum defensive effort, elite determination, and textbook execution. Jeffrey also had a run-down tackle in the final four minutes of the game.
I'm surprised we don't see this more. Is it a matter of players not wanting to throw their bodies into harm's way? If I had to guess, I would say the amount of smothers we see per game is reducing, but that's not what the numbers suggest. This year, we've had an average of 15 smothers per game. In 2010, there were 12.6. In 2005, just 8.8. They are, in fact, on the increase.
4. Jack Macrae is the AFL's forgotten A-grader
Not too many people declared Jack Macrae's move from the Bulldogs to the Saints this past off-season as any sort of needle mover. In fact, for many, it seemed to slip completely under the radar.
But after one month of the season, the Macrae acquisition appears to be a masterstroke for Ross Lyon and St Kilda's recruiting department.
The 30-year-old had fallen out of favour at the Bulldogs, pushed out of the midfield rotation and reduced to being used at just 12% of centres bounces. This year, he's been thrown into centre bounces 86% of the time and is relishing the extra responsibility and midfield opportunity at his new club, proving he is still very much capable of producing those elite numbers from a few seasons ago.
Macrae ranks first in the competition for contested possessions, second for clearances, and third for total disposals. But the most impressive part of his game in 2025 is how much scoreboard influence he's having. Only GWS captain Toby Greene has had more score involvements than Macrae so far this season.
If the Saints can continue their winning ways, don't be surprised to see Macrae featuring prominently on Brownlow Medal night...
5. Something quirky I noticed
Granted, this one could probably slot into the below category, but I do think it fits the 'quirky' criteria enough.
Jesse Hogan was the star of Round 4, booting nine goals to sink West Coast and jump to second in the race for the Coleman Medal. He also clunked 10 marks inside 50 and five contested marks. Do not underestimate that incredible stat line.
In recorded history, only six other players have tallied those minimums in a game. Hogan joins Charlie Curnow, Lance Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Matthew Richardson, Nick Riewoldt, and Fraser Gehrig. Fair company!
6. My favourite stat of the week
It's been an extraordinary start to life as an AFL footballer for Sydney's Riley Bice. The 24-year-old mature-ager has been among his club's best players in every game this season, including in last week's win over North Melbourne, in which he amassed 26 disposals, 15 marks, seven inside 50s, and seven score involvements.
But what has impressed me most with Bice through the first month of the season is that of the top 200 metres gained players in the league, he has the third-best retention rate. That's an extraordinary result for someone who is not only a rookie, but willing to drive the ball forward and take territory. How did it take so long for him to get this opportunity!?