It’s been an interesting and unpredictable AFL season so far.
There are now seven teams with four wins and two losses, while at the other end of the spectrum, there are four teams with one win and five losses.
Only four games this weekend finished with a margin of less than 20 points, exposing a difference in class between some teams in the competition.
Here’s the wash-up from each match.
Richmond vs Melbourne
Gulf in class
The Tigers were lacklustre early, but they weren’t punished as they trailed by just a goal at quarter time. Michael Hibberd did an outstanding job in curtailing the influence of Tigers star Dustin Martin. Nick Vlastuin took lots of intercept marks for the Tigers.
Richmond showed more endeavour in the second half of the game. Sydney Stack was a good player, despite only accumulating 12 possessions – his bump on Demons captain Jack Viney was the catalyst for the Tigers controlling the contest to win by a comfortable margin of over 40 points, despite looking like they could have lost the game in the first quarter.
Tigers team lifter: Nick Vlastuin
Demons team lifter: Michael Hibberd
Essendon vs Collingwood
Bombers fight back, but Magpies prevail
The Magpies controlled the game early, but were wasteful in front of goal. Will Hoskin-Elliott proved to be a big inclusion for Collingwood from a structural point of view, with the former Giants forward kicking a pivotal goal for the Pies.
The Magpies should have put the game beyond doubt by quarter time, but the Bombers fought back. Scott Pendlebury showed why he is such a good leader with a standout performance, cool under pressure with 38 disposals.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Bombers team lifter: Zach Merrett
Magpies team lifter: Scott Pendlebury
Port Adelaide vs North Melbourne
Roos off the radar following Power outage
The Power controlled the game early and it looked like they would annihilate the Kangaroos early, but that wasn’t the case.
Travis Boak led from the front with an outstanding performance, collecting over 30 disposals. Sam Gray was also important with four goals.
The story of the night was the capitulation by the Power. They nearly lost the game when it looked like they would win by more than ten goals at one stage.
The Power won the game by less than three goals, falling apart in the final quarter, which would be a concern for coach Ken Hinkley.
Power team lifter: Travis Boak
Kangaroos team lifter: Ben Cunnington
Gold Coast vs Brisbane
Lions roar, Suns fail to shine
This one-sided clash was disappointing. The Suns were obliterated by the Lions – the only reason the margin was a solitary goal at quarter time was due to the fact that Brisbane butchered so many opportunities to score.
Suns team lifter: Ben Ainsworth
Lions team lifter: Lachie Neale
St Kilda vs Adelaide
Crows fly high, while Saints butcher their opportunities
The difference in the game was the kicking for goal, with the Crows clinical and the Saints wasteful.
Saints team lifter: Shane Savage
Crows team lifter: Taylor Walker
Sydney vs Greater Western Sydney
Swans suffer Giant loss
The Swans were hammered by the Giants, despite some encouraging signs in the second quarter when they remarkably took the lead.
There were few positives to take out of the contest for Sydney. GWS were fantastic despite missing captain Phil Davis through injury.
Swans team lifter: Luke Parker
Giants team lifter: Stephen Coniglio
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Fremantle vs Western Bulldogs
Bulldogs misfire against clinical Dockers
The Bulldogs would have won had they kicked straight, which sums up the game in a nutshell.
Lachie Hunter was prolific for the Bulldogs in the narrow loss. Nat Fyfe proved his worth while Brandon Matera booted five goals.
Dockers team lifter: Nat Fyfe
Bulldogs team lifter: Lachie Hunter
Hawthorn vs Carlton
Hawks claw back remarkable win
The Hawks were completely outplayed in the first half, yet they managed to recover and pull off an amazing victory.
It was an incredible comeback by Hawthorn in a game that Carlton should have won.
Hawks team lifter: Liam Shiels
Blues team lifter: Sam Walsh
Geelong vs West Coast
Cats in cruise control, Eagles have wings clipped
It was a repeat of last week for the West Coast, with another onesided loss for the hapless Eagles.
They are clearly missing Scott Lycett in the ruck, but there’s more to their poor form and it doesn’t appear to be just a mental thing. Serious questions need to be asked.
Cats team lifter: Gary Rohan
Eagles team lifter: Andrew Gaff
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