Opinion
Round 3 started off with a cracker of a game due to the Bulldogs’ inaccurate kicking.
That game was between the Western Bulldogs and Sydney at Marvel Stadium. The Bulldogs jumped them early and never lost the lead.
As always, the Swans never gave up and looked a chance to pinch the game but – as often happens – Marcus Bontempelli stepped up with less than a minute to go and sealed it.
Bontempelli’s goal took his tally to equal with Essendon key forward Jake Stringer on the Bulldogs’ top 100 goal scorers list.
It was good to see Mitch Wallis get some game time and also score a goal.
For Sydney, Lance Franklin added two goals to the collection and Isaac Heeney kicked one to draw level with Sydney’s first VFL captain and 1981 Brownlow Medallist Barry Round.
Friday night’s games were the Melbourne-Essendon game and the Showdown game in South Australia.
Again, inaccurate kicking by the Demons kept Essendon in the game, and a good effort by Peter Wright (four goals) saw them hit the front.
But – as expected – Melbourne showed why they are hot favourites for back-to-back flags with a classy finish.
Sam Weideman celebrated his 50th game with his 50th goal, and then three more. Jake Stringer kicked two for the Bombers to match the recently retired Cale Hooker’s career goals tally, and Tex Wanganeen bagged his first.
Adelaide and Port Adelaide turned on the second thriller of the round with Adelaide getting up to win after the final siren.
Ex-Sydney player Jordan Dawson – who was the 250th player to play for the Crows – stepped into the limelight and slotted the crunch goal to give Adelaide a win by four points.
(Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Matthew Nicks would certainly be happy with the rebuild.
Lachlan Gollant – the last AFL player to debut in 2021 (Round 23) – scored four goals. Brayden Cook scored his first goal. Elliott Himmelberg was the Crows’ only top 100 goal scorer who scored any goals (four).
Greater Western Sydney had the wood over the Gold Coast Suns as they have had for nine of their last ten meetings.
They ran out easy winners by 26 points, although the Suns fought it out. Levi Casboult and Mabior Chol both provided good value to the Suns with three goals each while Harry Himmelberg got three for the Giants.
Leon Cameron recorded his 100th win as coach of the Giants.
The Geelong-Collingwood clash was another great game. Geelong were victors by 13 points after a great last quarter in which they overran the young Magpies.
Inspired by their record-breaking captain Joel Selwood (227 games as an AFL captain), the Cats won every close ball and scrambled it forward to where their power forwards did the job.
Jeremy Cameron kicked six goals for the night and Tom Hawkins kicked three. Hawkins stayed where he was on both the AFL top 100 and the Geelong top 100 goal scorers lists, but Cameron improved his AFL top 100 goal scorers ranking by passing two Essendon champions, Terry Daniher and Scott Lucas.
On the Geelong list, Mitch Duncan’s one goal took him ahead of Joel Selwood and he now lies equal with 1936 and 1937 best and fairest and dual premiership winner Tom Quinn, as well as James Podsiadly, who played in the 2011 premiership and was the Cats’ leading goal kicker in that year.
Tom Hawkins’ game was his 305th and it took him level with former teammate Jimmy Bartel and former Hawthorn captain Shane Crawford.
Crawford also won the 1999 Brownlow Medal and four Hawthorn best and fairest awards.
At Collingwood, Brody Mihocek passed Mick McGuane’s goals total and Jordan de Goey passed Max Richardson’s.
© AAP
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