When Liam Duggan was drafted to the Eagles he came to the club as a midfielder.

After initially slotting into that role at the elite level, he transformed into a rebounding half-back where he was a part of the defensive group that was successful in the 2018 premiership.

With premiership midfielders Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden and Mark Hutchings all sidelined through injury Duggan has been returned to the engine room in the last couple of weeks and has showed he has lost none of his nous for the battle in the cauldron.

Indeed, Duggan presents the match committee with something of a conundrum with the imminent return of those midfield stars because he has been so influential in the role.

Against the Roos he was again proficient and one of the most consistent players across the game.

He had 20 possessions, three marks and gained 441 metres of territory for his team with those touches.

In conjunction with Andrew Gaff and Dom Sheed he ensured the Eagles had enough opportunities to kick a winning score and that sees them sitting in third position with the remainder of the final round to be played.