'Players need to be given leniency': Brown's plea to the AFL on rough conduct decisions
Jonathan Brown has made a passionate plea to the AFL on On the Couch to give players leeway as they make split-second decisions, following…
It was an entertaining round of footy with plenty of surprises, upsets and milestones.
The Magpies got off to a fast start, getting a handy 27-point lead. It was an extremely high-scoring first quarter, with the Lions kicking three goals, but Collingwood managed to score seven. Brisbane worked their way into the contest to some extent, but not enough to keep in touch. The Magpies had seven multiple goal kickers to Brisbane’s two. The Lions made too many ball-handling errors and suffered poor skill execution.
Lions team lifter: Hugh McCluggage
Magpies team lifter: Jack Crisp
Orazio Fantasia kicked the opening goal of the game and Andrew Mcgrath kicked an important goal for the Bombers to give them the momentum. Mason Wood missed two goals for North Melbourne. Ben Cunnington missed a goal that was symptomatic of the way in which the Kangaroos started. From there on in it was one-way traffic in Essendon’s favour.
Kangaroos team lifter: Jed Anderson
Bombers team lifter: Orazio Fantasia
The Power destroyed the Eagles in every facet of the game. There wasn’t a bad player for Port Adelaide; they used the ball well and had a very good game plan that dismantled West Coast.
Eagles team lifter: Jack Petruccelle
Power team lifter: Scott Lycett
The Dockers upset the Giants with a clinical performance. Nat Fyfe was outstanding, as was Michael Walters, while for GWS Lachie Whitfield was impressive.
Giants team lifter: Lachie Whitfield
Dockers team lifter: Michael Walters
The Saints upset the Demons with an outstanding display. It was a four-quarter performance by St Kilda, who are nearly on top of the ladder – incredible given their lowly output last season.
Demons team lifter: Jake Melksham
Saints team lifter: Dean Kent
The Tigers played team-first football and would have won the match by even more than 22 points if not for the deplorable display by new recruit Tom Lynch. Richmond’s fringe players were up for the fight. Sydney are clearly missing players they’ve let go, such as Nic Newman to Carlton and Gary Rohan to Geelong.
Tigers team lifter: Dustin Martin
Swans team lifter: Luke Parker
The Bulldogs were thoroughly outplayed by a much-improved Blues line up. Carlton needed the win desperately and played accordingly, their players showing effort, enthusiasm and grit.
Bulldogs team lifter: Jack Macrae
Blues team lifter: Zac Fisher
This was a one-sided contest after quarter-time, with the Crows dominating every area of the game. The highlight of the game was Eddie Betts kicking six goals in what was his milestone game.
Crows team lifter: Eddie Betts
Suns team lifter: Jarrod Witts
This was probably the game of the round. It ebbed and flowed and was an extremely entertaining contest. The Cats were just too good for the Hawks.
Hawks team lifter: Ricky Henderson
Cats team lifter: Gary Ablett