In Round 8 of the 2026 AFL season, Malcolm Rosas Jr kicked seven and Brayden Cook lived out every child's dream, but Elliot Yeo might want his post-game media interview back. Here's whose stocks are up and down.
Our footy experts cast their eye over the week's action to find out whose stocks are up -- whether it's a coaching masterstroke or a player having a blinder -- and whose are down.
Adelaide
Stocks up: It was a final minute of unlikely heroes in Adelaide's pulsating Showdown victory over cross-town rivals Port. First, it was the Power's Joe Berry who put his side up by 5 points with around 50 seconds to go in the match, then it was Brayden Cook who found himself in space after Port scrambled a rush kick out the back 50 with 15 seconds left. The 38-gamer took his opportunity with both hands, slotting the winner from 40 out on a tight angle to send fans into raptures. Truly a moment the boyhood Crows fan would only have dreamt of doing!
Stocks down: It was an important win to get to 4-4 on the season, but the Crows will need to push through the next 3-4 weeks without veteran Taylor Walker, who sustained a hamstring injury in the first quarter of the Showdown and was instantly ruled out of the match. He wasn't the only Crow hurt in the thrilling clash, with key defender Jordon Butts sidelined by an adductor strain and unlikely to feature before the club's Round 12 bye.
BRAYDEN COOK YOU ARE A SHOWDOWN HERO!!! 🤯#AFLCrowsPower pic.twitter.com/ueiQfCPoQi
— AFL (@AFL) May 1, 2026
Brisbane
Stocks up: Zac Bailey is picking the perfect time to hit his top form. The in-demand free agent delivered another standout performance, finishing with 21 disposals, seven marks, and four goals in the big win against Essendon. It follows last week's 29 touches and three majors in a red-hot patch that's surely only driving his value even higher. Every performance like this strengthens his case as one of the most sought-after players on the market, and we feel like there's more to come yet.
Stocks down: The leak of confidential club notes -- not ideal! It's harmless at the end of the day, but you can understand why Chris Fagan was furious after some opposition analysis was photographed and shared publicly by a fan inside the club's facilities.
Carlton
Stocks up: Another loss after leading at half time? Right, not surprising, as the Blues drop to an awful 1-7. But hey, at least there was at least one major highlight! Matt Carroll came soaring in from three deep in a pack at the top of the goal square to reel in one of the marks of the round after Ollie Hollands sent in a deep high ball. It was during Carlton's second-quarter surge, where Michael Voss' side kicked five of the first six goals of the quarter to establish a handy lead.
Stocks down: Seriously, what's with not selecting George Hewett? The 2025 best and fairest winner still hasn't featured at AFL level since the Round 4 Good Friday clash against North Melbourne, but his VFL numbers alone suggest the experienced, tough midfielder not only has a place at the top level, but should simply be playing ahead of some others right now. It was another two goals from 31 disposals, 12 marks, and six clearances for Hewett at Ikon Park.
Matt Carroll from three deep with the HUGE grab ✈️#AFLBluesSaints pic.twitter.com/lv1MQD6TOW
— AFL (@AFL) May 2, 2026
Collingwood
Stocks up: Say what you want about the Magpies and Craig McRae, but this mob just continue to make the most of an aging list. The Hawks were significant favourites to account for Collingwood on Thursday night, and yet it was the black and white army who led throughout, right up until Dylan Moore's game-tying shot after the fulltime siren. When the stakes are raised, so to does the intensity and tenacity of this club, not to mention the tactical nous of the coach. You have to tip your cap to them.
Stocks down: Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore would love to have those final few moments back. Not only did he squander an uncontested intercept mark opportunity (admittedly hampered by teammate Brayden Maynard who also flew for the ball), but he gave away the clumsy free kick to Dylan Moore immediately after, who equalised after the siren. Kept Jack Gunston goalless which is no mean feat, but that was a couple of bad errors.
Essendon
Stocks up: There aren't many reasons to tune into Essendon right now, but Nate Caddy is definitely still one of them. The young gun continues to show serious promise, and his talents were on show finishing with 3.5 from 14 disposals and nine marks against the reigning premiers. He looked dangerous every time the ball came his way. The Bombers might be struggling, but they've clearly got a good one here.
Stocks down: You could really take your pick of about 15 players whose stocks are trending downward after yet another ordinary display. Considering 'Whiteboardgate', you'd have thought the Bombers would have shown a little more fight on Saturday afternoon against Brisbane, but once again it was a poor performance that resulted in a 10-goal belting. That's the club's fourth such loss this season already.
Fremantle
Stocks up: Marcus Bontempelli threatened to rip the game away from the Dockers all night. But Freo had their own weapon in Hayden Young who kept on lifting as the stakes grew to put together a spectacular performance under Friday night lights. Young finished with 20 disposals, seven tackles, seven inside 50s, and three goals -- including one stunning goal of the year contender in the final term.
Stocks down: There's nothing quite like some friendly fire, and Andy Brayshaw, you owe Josh Treacy a coffee or two. Brayshaw, enthusiastically galloping over to celebrate a goal with Freo's key forward, botched the high-five, poking Treacy in the eye. It didn't look like a tickle, either! Maybe Treacy can borrow Mason Cox's glasses going forward?
When the celebration goes wrong 🫣#AFLDogsFreo pic.twitter.com/Phbf2Wukn8
— AFL (@AFL) May 1, 2026
Geelong
Stocks up: That was a huge game from Max Holmes, who played a starring role in the Cats' response win over North Melbourne. Rotating between half-back and through the midfield, Holmes was running rampant everywhere, finishing with 29 disposals, two goals, and a massive 802 metres gained. He impacted the game both ways, highlighted by his five rebound 50s and six inside 50s. We're also loving Shannon Neale's impact in the forward line this season, emerging as a really damaging key and slotting three from six grabs against the Roos.
Stocks down: The Cats had plenty of winners on Saturday afternoon at GMHBA Stadium, but we did happen to notice star back Tom Stewart have a somewhat lean outing? Would you believe it if we told you Stewart had zero score involvements for the game? He also finished up with 14 touches and zero tackles.
Gold Coast
Stocks up: He may have only finished up with six touches, but three goals for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was a great return in what wasn't a terribly high-scoring affair on Sunday night. Gold Coast's boom recruit did his damage in the second half and helped the Suns break clear of the Giants at People First Stadium. It could just be the confidence-boosting game that gets him rolling.
Stocks down: At the risk of stating the obvious, booting 100 goals in a season is bloody difficult! There was talk Ben King could be a chance in 2026, but after 'just' two goals against the Hawks last week and two against the Giants this week, that number now looks a long way away. King averaged 5.33 goals per game through the first three weeks of the year and 2.4 since. For him to hit 100 goals in the home and away season he would need to play all remaining 15 games and average 4.8 goals a game. Tough!
GWS
Stocks up: We love the look of Joe Fonti, who is settling more and more with each passing week. Composed with ball in hand and an excellent reader of the play, he does little wrong, and you now feel he's just about a lock in the Giants' best side.
Stocks down: It's been a bit of a rollercoaster season for Toby Greene, and the Giants skipper went through another trough on Sunday night. Greene had just one touch in a tight second quarter and two in the third. To make matters worse he dropped a routine mark on the siren that should have led to a shot at goal. He finished up with one goal next to his name and 16 disposals, but it was far from the impactful game we've come to expect from the GWS superstar.
Hawthorn
Stocks up: You just never know how valuable two premiership points may turn out to be. The Hawks had absolutely no right in drawing with Collingwood on Thursday evening, but Dylan Moore ensured the two clubs would share the spoils after slotting a set shot from 40m out after the siren to level the score at 93 apiece. Cool, calm, collected; Moore never looked like missing the game-tying shot, a kick that could turn out to be extremely valuable indeed...
Stocks down: If Jack Gunston's stocks have been rising week after week, then it's only fair there's a slight downtick after a surprise goalless outing against the Magpies. The evergreen forward was well blanketed against a stingy Collingwood defence, managing just one behind in what was his first goalless game since Round 12 last season. Expect him to bounce right back next week against the Dockers.
Melbourne
Stocks up: Well, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Kysaiah Pickett's stocks continue to go in one direction only. Kozzy kicked two goals from 22 disposals, six tackles, and eight clearances, with most of his impact arriving in the second half (his two majors came in the crucial final stanza) after James Jordon put the clamps on him in the opening two quarters. We're gonna give a shout out to Tom Sparrow (21 disposals, 10 tackles, and six clearances), too, who was tireless in the midfield.
Stocks down: A hamstring injury to Brody Mihocek ended the key forward's afternoon early, exiting the field in the early stages of the game. The former Pie had cemented himself into the Demons forward line seamlessly this season and was a major component of their early-season success, so fingers crossed it's on the minor side.
North Melbourne
Stocks up: Tristan Xerri was enormous in defeat. The North ruckman completely dominated his opponents with 30 disposals, 26 contested possessions, 23 hit outs, seven tackles, and a whopping 14 clearances to ensure the All-Australian selectors don't forget his name. Charlie Comben also had an impressive return after illness last week, taking a game-high six intercept marks.
Stocks down: The progress of this team is real, but so is the gap still. The Roos were right in it late in the third term before conceding late goals to trail by 17 at the final change of ends. From there, it all unraveled. Geelong piled on nine last-quarter goals to blow the margin out to 49 points, exposing a key learning curve for Alastair Clarkson's side. To be taken seriously, they've got to sustain it for four quarters against top opposition.
Port Adelaide
Stocks up: Don't worry about the result, Joe Berry, we see you. The clutch effort to kick what looked to be a game-winning goal with less than a minute on the clock must get its flowers, and while the Power's comeback attempt fell agonisingly short (15 seconds short, really), you'd have to think Berry's effort would win the match nine times out of 10.
Stocks down: Thirty disposals, 18 contested possessions, seven clearances, seven tackles, seven score involvements, and one goal is usually (and rightly) seen as a very good game of footy as a midfielder. And in this case, it's seen that way again. But that doesn't mean Ollie Wines wouldn't regret that high contact free kick committed against Izak Rankine at the last centre ball up, Wines' clumsy arms reaching too high over the Crows star's shoulders to allow that last surge forward and, in the end, the heartbreaking match-winner.
Richmond
Stocks up: That rousing win, the club's first of the season, was helped set up in a major way by Noah Balta, who was brilliant with 20 disposals, six marks, six clearances, 20 hitouts, and three goals, playing a tandem ruck role with Oliver Hayes-Brown. Kane McAuliffe was also impressive along the wing and through the middle of the park, finishing with 28 disposals, six inside 50s, six intercept possessions, 625 metres gained, and one goal.
Stocks down: It's a familiar and frustrating story for Dion Prestia. The veteran midfielder left the field in the first quarter with a calf issue, adding to his long run of soft-tissue setbacks. Richmond just haven't been able to get continuity from him, and it looks like another stint on the sidelines awaits.
St Kilda
Stocks up: How great is it to see Liam Henry back out on an AFL field?! The Saints livewire has been hampered by a host of knee problems in his time at the club, his latest issue a hamstring. Nonetheless he's recovered and back playing some good footy, showcasing his pace, agility, and skills against the Blues with three goals from 15 disposals and five marks.
Stocks down: And as one player in Henry makes his comeback, the luckless Max King succumbed to another injury in the VFL loss to Carlton on the weekend, clutching at his hamstring early in the contest. It was just the second game back for the superstar forward who has battled multiple knee and calf setbacks. King hasn't played an AFL match since Round 16, 2024.
Sydney
Stocks up: What a performance from Malcolm Rosas. The offseason recruit ran riot against Melbourne, finishing with a career-best seven goals and proving the difference in a dazzling display of forward craft. He had five by half time and looked unstoppable inside 50 in a match-winning effort, and one that shows just how dangerous and deep Sydney's forward line is at full tilt.
Stocks down: From one forward recruit firing to another one struggling, Charlie Curnow had a tough outing at the SCG. He finished with just eight disposals at 12% efficiency and kicked 1.4, again unable to make his once-usual impact inside 50. The upside? Sydney's system is humming to the point where his inconsistent 2026 form isn't hurting them.
West Coast
Stocks up: You simply can't take your eyes off Harley Reid. The former No. 1 draft pick produced two electrifying moments on Saturday afternoon, bursting from congestion to slot goals not once, but twice, first in the opening moments of the match and again to start the second quarter. It was power, pace, skill, and confidence all rolled into one, the kind of stuff fans come to the footy to see.
Stocks down: As a footy veteran, it was strange to see Elliot Yeo's bizarre interaction with 6PR in the rooms after the loss to Richmond. Asked if his side was in a rut, Yeo seemed taken aback and offended by the line of questioning, describing the line of questioning as 'extensive' and 'blase'. Elliot, your side has won 13 games since the start of 2022. That's not enough wins in total to get you into finals in any individual year. If that's not a rut, we don't know what is. The most disappointing aspect of the response wasn't really the denial, but the attitude towards the journalist. If we can drag Ross Lyon for being a little disrespectful, we can drag Yeo too.
Western Bulldogs
Stocks up: It's the easy name to pluck out of the lineup, but Marcus Bontempelli was superb against Fremantle, finishing with 33 disposals and two goals to once again lead his side's midfield. But we need to sing the praises of Bailey Dale too, who was racking it up in defence and ended his night with 23 kicks from 32 disposals, seven marks, nine rebound 50s, five intercepts, and 529 metres gained.
Stocks down: The Bulldogs' credentials are really slipping further and further with every defeat. After a 4-0 start, they've now dropped four straight and suddenly don't look like a contender. It's amazing how quickly things can turn. At 4-4, though, it's not yet season over, but with injuries mounting and the top sides pulling away at the top of the ladder, the pressure is on, and if the wins don't come soon, this year could quickly get away from them.