Nathan Buckley and Kane Cornes’ six of the best in the Preliminary Finals

Who were the six best players in the Preliminary Finals?

Nathan Buckley and Kane Cornes assessed each game on SEN Breakfast and came up with their top six performers.

Read their thoughts below:

Isaac Heeney (Sydney)

“Sydney were dominant. They get the lion’s share of this,” said Buckley.

“I thought Isaac Heeney franked his home and away form. His two finals have been spectacular.

“He actually carries himself like he’s ‘the man’ or ‘the guy’. When Heeney goes forward the ball and they find him in space, it’s not unlike a Dangerfield or a Fyfe or a Bontempelli for his teammates. They’ll just kick it to him.

“I thought he was huge. He doesn’t have to get a lot of touches to have an impact, but he’s getting clearances through the midfield and then (going forward and) finishing.”

Nick Blakey (Sydney)

“I thought Nick Blakey’s first half was exceptional,” Buckley said.

“He’d only averaged 13 touches against Port Adelaide, he hadn’t been able to perform as well against Port.

“He was up and about.”

Joel Amartey (Sydney)

“To speak about the influence of the tall forwards,” added Buckley.

“Amartey was excellent. He and Logan McDonald hit up on the lead and were a handful for Port’s backs.”

Lachie Neale (Brisbane)

“I thought Lachie Neale was so clean,” said Cornes.

“He was the one when they were under the pump that was so sure-handed.

“He had 12 clearances, 30 disposals, he got jabs in his foot so to do that under adversity was enormous.”

Ryan Lester (Brisbane)

“Ryan Lester’s job on Jeremy Cameron,” Cornes continued.

“Cameron kicked a couple but I thought he was a bit fortunate.

“Lester’s offensive stuff and ability to hold up in the contest and his intercepting ability was as good as I’ve ever seen him play.

“He was huge.”

Gryan Miers (Geelong)

“He’s such a clever player,” said Buckley.

“His ball use and damage around goal was excellent for the Cats.

“It threatened to take away the game from the Lions.”