Brisbane Lions d Richmond
Mathematically, Richmond are a game and a half out of the eight, plus a whack of percentage. That doesn’t sound insurmountable with eight rounds to go – their destiny isn’t out of their own hands yet – but on Thursday night’s evidence, this team is done. Their ball use and movement were atrocious, with the Lions making them look old (which, aside from Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt, they’re not) and slow (which they are). The Lions strengthened their place inside the top four, and their midfield group was especially impressive, with Hugh McCluggage, Josh Dunkley and Lachie Neale all on fire playing complementary roles. Oh, and Joe Daniher now has 39.20 from 15 games: does anyone still doubt he’ll have a say in September? – Andrew Stafford
The Tigers are 15th on the ladder.Credit: AFL Photos
Sydney draw with Geelong
An awful game that did nothing good for anyone involved. Swans players should probably expect a renewed focus on goalkicking practice at training – they should have won, but horrific misses from Robbie Fox, Tom Hickey and Isaac Heeney left two points on the table. It was a windy night at the SCG, and conditions played a part, but too many Sydney players rushed through their routines or were too careless with their set shots, and it might end up costing them a spot in the top eight. The way they scythed open Geelong’s defensive 50 in the first half was encouraging, and something for John Longmire to build on as they look to Thursday night’s clash with Richmond – which, by the way, might be Lance Franklin’s last outing on the MCG, if he’s fit enough to be picked. As for Geelong, they now sit two points outside the top eight, and will be expecting all four against North Melbourne at the weekend – especially with Jeremy Cameron due back from concussion. A relief, too, that Brad Close won’t be suspended for that “dangerous” tackle on Aaron Francis. –Vince Rugari
Adelaide d North Melbourne
The f-word isn’t being shied away from in the Adelaide camp. A return to finals action for the first time since 2017 is being openly targeted in-house and looking increasingly likely, with those odds shortening following Saturday’s 66-point demolition of North Melbourne. “We’re real about it – we’re real about where we sit,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks said. “We’re not going to hide from it and not talk about it. We openly discuss exactly what we want.” Aside from being challenged briefly in the second quarter, Adelaide had their way with the outclassed Kangaroos in all departments. Reilly O’Brien‘s ruck supremacy eventually forced Todd Goldstein, on his 35th birthday, to be pulled from the game. Ben Keays was damaging in midfield and attack, intercepting half-back flanker Mitch Hinge played his best game for the club and Izak Rankine helped himself to a career-best five goals. Jordon Butts’ first-quarter concussion was the only sour note, the key backman set to miss next Sunday’s clash against fellow top-eight contender Essendon at Marvel Stadium, where the Crows have lost five of their past six. “Essendon at Marvel is going to be a big challenge for us,” Nicks said. “That game can turn into a lot of up-and-back indoors. We haven’t necessarily performed that well at the ground, but that’s part of the journey.” Alastair Clarkson will make his eagerly anticipated return to Arden Street this week after stepping away six weeks ago to focus on his physical and emotional wellbeing in the aftermath of the Hawthorn racism scandal. He has denied all allegations against him. Under caretaker coach Brett Ratten, who will keep the seat warm for at least a couple more weeks as Clarkson reintegrates, the Kangaroos had shown signs of being competitive prior to being dismantled by the Crows. North’s midfield was thrashed, their back line opened up badly and, most damningly, they were out-tackled by Adelaide 80-50. – Steve Barrett
Western Bulldogs d Fremantle
By the final siren, the Western Bulldogs had comfortably beaten Fremantle (29-points) but they didn’t really accelerate until the final quarter. After a see-sawing affair, the Dogs kicked five goals in 11 minutes to seal the game. Leading forward Jamara Ugle-Hagan was a standout, as he continues to make his mark as an emerging star, kicking a bag of four goals. It’s the third time he’s kicked four or more goals in a match at the top level. The game had plenty of runs of goals – the lead changed three times in the third quarter and twice at the beginning of the fourth – but the Dogs were able to capitalise more when they had the momentum. And the periods the Dockers weren’t scoring proved costly. It took them 18 minutes to score their opening goal – Michael Walters then went back-to-back and Jye Amiss finished a well-disciplined passage of play from their defensive 50 – and had just one goal in the third quarter, well into time on after 24 minutes, again from Walters. The Dogs became the first team to take the points playing immediately after a bye against an opponent that took the field the previous round. Luke Beveridge credited his side’s preparation and mindset for this, something they’ll have to dial up further as they prepare this week to take on the Magpies this Friday night at Marvel. – Marnie Vinall
Collingwood d Gold Coast
It took Collingwood a half of football to destroy the Suns. The cue was pretty much in the rack after that, and a statement made to the rest of the competition: the Pies are just warming up, Jordan De Goey and Dan McStay available for selection next week and Steele Sidebottom the week after. Craig McRae has some hard selection decisions ahead: Oleg Markov is one on the fringe, but he’s making a compelling case for retention with his speed and desperation. For the Suns, this was a sad case of the same old, same old: a big match, a big crowd, a finals spot at stake – and they went to water. Coach Stuart Dew asked rhetorically after the game why his team’s effort and will to win was so variable from week to week. The Suns’ board may soon be asking him the same question. – Andrew Stafford
Jamie Elliott celebrates a goal for Collingwood.Credit: AFL Photos
Port Adelaide d Essendon
It may not have resulted in a win, but this was one of Essendon’s best performances of the season. They showed great maturity to wrestle ascendancy from a highly rated opponent, and reverse the flow for contested possessions – an area in which they have struggled. The captaincy is agreeing with Zach Merrett. His class has never been in doubt but acts such as his inspirational tackle on Aliir Aliir, which should have finished with a team-lifting goal, make teammates walk taller. Kyle Langford’s move forward is one of the best positional changes by any club this year. His mark and goal late was the act of a player who believes he can be a game changer. If the Dons can maintain the effort and commitment they showed against Port, they can head into the next three weeks against Adelaide (at home), Geelong and the Western Bulldogs with good reason to believe they can win at least two of these crucial games. We are in an age when there are metrics for almost every part of the game – but there is something special building at Alberton that cannot be measured. Is it the spirit shown by the players, who have won 12 in a row since their coach Ken Hinkley’s position was declared untenable by club great Warren Tredrea? Or perhaps it’s the belief that builds when you’re on such a long winning streak that you are never beaten, no matter how dire the situation may seem. Whatever it is, Port have it right now, and it’s inspiring the club to great feats. – Andrew Wu
Carlton d Hawthorn
Blues coach Michael Voss jokingly fobbed off any talk of finals after his team’s second straight win, but they are suddenly only a game and a half outside the top eight. It is still unlikely Carlton will be able to challenge for a September berth, but they have looked far more like the side pre-season pundits expected to play finals, albeit against the Suns and Hawks. Harry McKay fluffed another around-the-body set shot on Sunday but was mostly brilliant, while Adam Cerra and Patrick Cripps led a dominant midfield and Jacob Weitering starred down back. It might be too early to label any match “must-win” but the Blues’ trip west to face Fremantle is exactly that. Win that one, and finals will be back on the agenda. As for Sam Mitchell’s Hawthorn, they desperately missed James Sicily and Jarman Impey in a rudderless defence, especially in the opening-half onslaught. For all the Hawks’ impressive glimpses, they have lost by 54 points or more eight times this year. They still have a long way to go to be relevant again, but there have been enough positives to believe the future is bright. – Marc McGowan
Harry McKay celebrates a goal with Patrick Cripps.Credit: Getty Images
GWS d Melbourne
You can tell Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is tired of talking about it but his Demons continue to miss their shots at goal. They fell to fourth place on Sunday after dominating the statistics in the wet conditions in Alice Springs yet losing by two points. The Demons kicked 14 behinds from 19 scoring shots and their goal-kicking stocks could take a hit should sharpshooter Bayley Fritsch miss games after his left foot was stood on in the first term ending his day. “We play the Saints with the roof on at Marvel, and it’s guaranteed dry conditions so that’s a chance to look at our offence and how we connect,” Goodwin said. “It’s something we are working on and have to get better at.” The Giants’ defence is growing more confident led by Sam Taylor, Harry Himmelberg and Connor Idun, while they are 4-1 in the last five games. “While it was lopsided in terms of [forward] entries, I felt like we were defending well,” Giants coach Adam Kinglsey said. – Roy Ward
St Kilda d West Coast
Coach Ross Lyon knows what he wants his side to look like but, at times, he admits he doesn’t know what the Saints are trying to do. St Kilda moved the ball far better and lifted their defensive pressure to score a comeback win over the Eagles on Sunday. Lyon believes his midfield isn’t at its best but Jack Sinclair, Brad Crouch and ruckman Rowan Marshall were right up in their best players, while Mason Wood and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera were far more influential in the second half. Losing Josh Battle to a concussion hurt the Saints but sub Cooper Sharman made an impact in his place. “Our midfield is spluttering, we are trying to find the combination there,” Lyon said. “We held our nerve, kept Sinclair in our midfield and I felt he was significant.” The Eagles still have 20 players on their injury list and lost Tim Kelly and Luke Edwards to illness before the game, but their young players showed spark and veterans such as Luke Shuey lifted with eight tackles by quarter-time. “He went turbo,” Eagles coach Adam Simpson said. He commended his youngers for expressing themselves, led by Elijah Hewett who beamed after each of his goals. “He did a lap of honour,” Simpson said. “Someone compared it to Warney’s 700th wicket but that’s great excitement for our fans. We had nine kids playing and saw little snippets of our future.” – Roy Ward
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