It doesn’t happen very often – and certainly not in Round 22 – but the fixture in this Covid-19 impacted season had the nine bottom teams fronting up to the nine top teams on the same weekend.
The form guide suggested that should have made tipping easy, and – by and large it did – with only two top nine teams losing.
Alastair Clarkson (as he has many times before) upset the apple cart by coaching the Hawks to a convincing win over the second placed Western Bulldogs and putting the Bulldogs top four position in jeopardy, an outcome considered to be highly unlikely prior to the start of the round.
Fremantle won the local derby and took West Coast’s fate out of their own hands. For a number of other teams percentage became important, and a number of lowly teams suffered the brunt of committed teams keeping the pedal flat to the floor right up to the end of the game.
Thus, also rans Collingwood, Carlton, Adelaide and Gold Coast were on beatings they would rather forget.
Greater Western Sydney put to rest any jitters the other sixteen clubs and their supporters may have had about a re-vitalised Tiger outfit with an impressive all-the-way win over Richmond.
In fact, it was such a comprehensive win that the other seven finalists and their supporters may now have jitters about how far in the finals the Giants can go. The Friday night game was GWS back man Sam Taylor’s 50th game and followed on from his top effort against Geelong last week. It was also umpire Andrew Stephen’s 150th game.
The Bulldogs’ loss in Game two this week should not be over rated as their good percentage could still take them as high as second on the ladder if they win or as low as fifth if they don’t.
In a season where the size of the wins next week could reshape the eight, only Sydney has certainty about its place on the ladder (sixth). On this week’s form both Greater Western Sydney and Essendon should win against easy beats Carlton and Collingwood respectively and make the mathematical gymnastics unnecessary.
No doubt bragging rights and the psychological advantage achieved will be a spur for Geelong and Melbourne in their game and Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide in their shoot out.
The Hawthorn/Bulldogs game was notable on an individual basis for Johnathan Ceglar playing his 100th game of the Hawks and Lachlan Bramble kicking his first goal in AFL football.
Most other games also featured some individual milestones. As well as featuring Carlton veteran Marc Murphy’s 300th (and final) game of AFL football it also celebrated Robbie Gray’s 350th goal. It was Demon Bayley Fritsch’s turn to lead the goal kicking with seven goals against Adelaide.
Not only did it bring up his 100th goal (105) but leap frogged him up the Demon’s all time goal kicking list past Matthew Bate, Kelvin Templeton, Dick Taylor, David Williams and pint-sized Paul Callery.
Jake Stringer’s five goals for the Bombers saw an even more impressive climb up the club’s goal kicking list passing Dave Smith, former captain Jobe Watson Jack Kirby, Ken Timms, Ken Roberts and now Port Adelaide player Orazio Fantasia.
In a round where fine weather led to a high number of goals being kicked, two other players joined Fritsch as Centurions: Sydney’s Will Hayward and Collingwood’s Josh Thomas were both multiple goal kickers on the weekend, and in both cases their last goal for the day was their 100th career goal.
In addition Adelaide’s Darcy Fogarty slotted his 50th goal and Sam Durham (Essendon), Braeden Campbell (Sydney) and the injury plagued Charlie Cameron all managed to score their first AFL goal (and in Charlie’s case it was in his first game.
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The Pies are on FIRE at the 'G!
They've reviewed everything else this year and not THAT?
Outstanding from Nicholas Madden!
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