A magnificent Hawthorn Hawks comeback against the Gold Coast Suns came undone towards the end of the final quarter at the MCG, after a brain fade from young defender Kaiden Brand gifted Suns forward Ben Ainsworth a goal.
The Suns had got out to a seven goal lead in the third quarter, before the Hawks surged.
The home side went on a run of six unanswered goals to suddenly find themselves back in contention.
However, things soon went pear-shaped, when Ainsworth marked on an angle deep inside the Gold Coast forward 50 late.
With the pressure on, Ainsworth was unable to deliver with a hooked shot. Yet, Brand was pinned for venturing into the protected zone from a mark, leading to a 50 metre penalty, which saw Ainsworth handed a simple chance from the goal-line.
The Hawks would later go down, losing by 16 points.
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Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Sean Lemmens was given a four-match ban for this crunching tackle - is it a fair whack?
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.
It could be a weekend for contenders to emerge, teams to hopefully break droughts, o and overall footy to have a party.
