My, how the mighty have fallen.
Last week, the leading current consecutive games player Justin Westhoff was dumped by Port Adelaide in their successful attempt to beat the Cats.
This week, his replacement on top of the list – Jack Newnes – was dumped by St Kilda in their failed attempt to beat Richmond. The honour of being the leading consecutive game player now falls to Jack Crisp, who is currently on 111 and is now the only player over 100.
Also this weekend, the current player who had scored goals in the most consecutive games, West Coast’s Josh Kennedy, failed to score after booting a major in each of his previous 68 games.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/AFL Media/Getty Images)
The top of the tree now belongs to Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey at a much less imposing 15 games.
The results in Round 15 showed that the final eight was far from decided, although the premiership may already be, as it’s hard to see any real contenders in the bunch following some distance behind the outstanding Cats.
In the weekend’s first match, Essendon showed some of their best form to beat Greater Western Sydney who – despite their high level of talent – appear to be missing a vital ingredient in high pressure situations.
The Bombers may be the wild card in the finals, if they make it. In a hectic last quarter, Essendon coach John Worsfold moved Cale Hooker to the forward line, no doubt remembering the three goals Hooker kicked against Richmond in Round 22 last year.
Those three goals had taken Hooker to within one major of joining the Bombers’ top 100 goal-kickers of all time but this year his services have been needed in defence, so he had not added to his total in 2019.
In a frantic last quarter, Hooker kicked two goals to not only ensure victory for Essendon but to leapfrog past the three players sitting in a very crowded hot seat: Jason Winderlich, Adam McPhee and Scott Cummings.
Geelong accounted for the Crows by over four goals at the Cattery and are looking more and more like winning grand finalists.
The third game saw the West Coast Eagles just beat Hawthorn, doing nothing to suggest they are likely to be premiers.
The Swans eventually ran all over the Suns as expected, and the Bulldogs, Kangaroos, Lions and especially the Blues showed what can be achieved with strong commitment and a willingness to do the hard one-percenters and persevere. Collingwood were pathetic.
Richmond played the sort of football needed to make the final eight against a team that needs a transfusion of talent, and the Dockers just did not do the job they had to do against a team that could muster only one goal in more than 30 minutes of football. Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson, take a bow.
All in all, a round of football that threw the form guide out the window and left fans of a number of clubs still living in hope, but only Geelong supporters truly happy with their team and their prospects.
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