The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

AFL Round 23 review

Roar Guru
31st August, 2014
1

The final home-and-away round did not disappoint, with many close finishes and upsets making for a glittering round of footy.

The only two games that didn’t end with at least one team scoring over 100 points were a draw and a three-point victory to the Tigers, which booked their place in the top eight. I’ll review the final home-and-away round and look at my tipping.

Who got fourth position?
Fremantle did. The battle for fourth wasn’t as well publicised as the war for eighth, but it was still an absolutely brilliant game as Fremantle and Port played it out for fourth.

The Power were quite brilliant and showed that they were back in form in time for finals as a strong Fremantle team managed to get over the line in a high-quality battle. Both teams looked full of confidence and ready to make major inroads, as Fremantle could be poised to strike a big blow in the first week of finals against Sydney.

Port Adelaide take on the inform team of the competition in Richmond, as the Power hope to re-create their magnificent finals run from last year. Watch out for both of these teams in September, as the Power and the Dockers are playing the right footy at the right time.

Did Richmond make the eight?
Yes. A remarkable match was played out at ANZ Stadium as the two inform teams went head to head. The Tigers managed to pull off a stunning ninth straight victory as they leap into finals for the second successive year, as they upset the top of the ladder Sydney Swans, who were without Lance Franklin.

Richmond moved it well and Alex Rance denied many Swans thrusts, as Dustin Martin, Brett Deledio and Jack Riewoldt proved to be too dangerous up forward as they snatched the victory by three points.

Sydney will look to exorcise their demons in a qualifying final against Fremantle at the same venue, while Richmond will look to take their winning streak to ten as they go to take Adelaide to take on the Power in a sudden-death clash.

Advertisement

Even though they lost, Sydney are still in the ideal spot to take out this year’s flag. Richmond is in their best position yet to win a final, even though they come up against a formidable force in the Port Power.

Tipping
I tipped 6/9, with my incorrect matches being Sydney-Richmond, Bulldogs-Giants and the draw.

Sidenote: I was 17 off for the Power-Dockers game and 13 off for the Crows-Saints and Cats-Lions games.

close