Daniel Wells was off to a flying start on Saturday night against the Bombers, and his performance was rated by the coaches as the best of any North Melbourne player.

The returning midfielder had 13 possessions in the first quarter alone before a quieter patch through the middle of the game. He finished the game how he started though and had a big influence in the last quarter in an attacking role.

Wells’ efforts saw him awarded six votes from Brad Scott and James Hird, just behind Essendon’s Brent Stanton and Patrick Ryder who polled 10 and seven respectively.

Andrew Swallow was one of the Kangaroos’ more consistent performers on the night and registered two votes. The new captain had 26 possessions and eight clearances to go with five tackles and nine score involvements.

The votes
10 Brent Stanton (Ess)
7 Patrick Ryder (Ess)
6 Daniel Wells (NM)
3 Jobe Watson (Ess)
2 Andrew Swallow (NM)
1 Michael Hibberd (Ess)
1 David Hille (Ess)