The new captain was confronted with an unprecedented set of circumstances during his first season leading the group but carried himself with typical class and energy on and off the field, despite his own injury battles at times. Shuey pulled a hamstring early in the season-steadying round five win over Sydney which cost him two matches, and a double hamstring drama in round 15 against Essendon meant he wasn’t seen again until the elimination final. In a stop-start campaign, the dynamic midfielder enjoyed a win in his first game leading the team in round one and was influential early, before a mid-season purple patch, highlighted by influential performances against Collingwood and Geelong, when he picked up 19 and 23 disposals respectively in exhilarating wins. 

Standout performance: The big game player delivers again

Nobody saw the 66-point blowout win over Collingwood in round eight coming and Shuey was a firestarter of that confidence-building performance. While his 19 disposals might not jump off the page, everything the skipper touched turned to gold. The 2018 Norm Smith medallist had eight score involvements as well as five tackles and four clearances, clearly relishing the opportunity to perform in front of the blue and gold army at Optus Stadium for the first time for the season.

Season averages:

Disposals – 18.9

Total Clearances – 4.8

Inside 50s – 3.6

Centre Clearances – 2.3

Rebound 50s – 2