One of the revelations this season has been the impact of developing big man Bailey Williams.

The 23-year-old, recruited as a key forward who could offer ruck support, has been required to take on the mantle as the No.1 ruckman in the absence of Nic Naitanui. The 201cm swingman has carried added responsibility in the absence of fellow young tall Callum Jamieson through an ankle injury.

Williams produced arguably the best performance of his 32-game career against Port to be the best Eagle afield.

He hade 21 possessions, 16 of them contested, and also had 13 clearances to go with 37 hit-outs in what was an impressive display. He also took a couple of strong marks and has been one of the positives of a testing start to the year.

He will look to continue to build his connection to the ground level midfielders as the season progresses.