Gold Coast SUNS rebounding defender Kade Kolodjashnij continued his purple patch of form against the Western Bulldogs in Cairns on Saturday night, with his exploits being recognised by AFL Media’s team of the week.

The 19-year-old has emerged as one of the best young running defenders in the game over the last month and he enhanced his reputation with another well-rounded performance at Cazaly’s Stadium.

On Saturday night, Kolodjashnij led from the front in the opening half to go into the main break with 19 disposals to his name. As the Western Bulldogs gradually wrestled control of the game, Kolodjashnij was one of the few Gold Coast players to continue to perform.

The Tasmanian finished the night with a career-high 30 possessions, along with ten marks, six rebound 50s and 503 metres of gained territory.