Round 11 was the second round in a row that was an Indigenous round and quite appropriately, Lance Franklin was the story of the round.

After having a poor first half, he hit the scoreboard in the second half, helping the Swans get over the line. The game between the Swans and Tigers was an incredible way to start the round.

Ultimately, the game will be remembered partly for a controversial free kick given to Dion Prestia of the Tigers as it appeared as if he gave away a free kick to Chad Warner of the Swans. The whistle was blown just before the final siren and Chad Warner kicked the ball into the crowd.

Adjudicating by the letter of the law, Prestia should have had a 50-metre penalty and would’ve kicked a goal and the game would’ve been a draw! It was the right result, as in my humble opinion Chad Warner deserved the free kick and the Swans winning the game was the correct result!

Joel Jeffrey from the Suns kicked a goal of year the contender in the second quarter in the game between the Suns and the Hawks. In the same game, one of the most bizarre things in footy happened – the umpire gave Mabior Chol a choice of taking a free kick or the behind. Chol chose to take the free kick and kicked a goal!

The second last game of the round was arguably the best with the Magpies and the Blues playing for bragging rights, as prior to the game both teams had 128 wins each and four draws prior to the game. It showed, as both teams did everything conceivable to win the game.

The premiership is wide open as the Demons faltered for the first time in a long time.

There was plenty for each team to take away from a pulsating Round 11.

Adelaide Crows – The architects of their own demise

The Crows turned the ball over and missed opportunities, especially early in the game; they kicked six behinds from their six scoring shots at quarter time. The endeavour was great from them as they only had two fewer scoring shots than the Cats, even though they lost by seven goals!

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Reilly O’Brien never stopped trying as he finished with 28 disposals and 46 hit-outs and became the quickest player to 1500 hit-outs in the history of the game! Unfortunately, they allowed Tom Stewart and Sam De Koning to have intercept marks at will! The domino effect of failing to take their chances impacted the whole team and that was where the game was lost.

Brisbane Lions – Flat early, but turned it around

The Lions got off to a slow start as they trailed by as much as five goals in the first quarter. They worked their way back into the game thanks to excellent work from Lachie Neale and Jarrod Berry in the midfield.

Lincoln McCarthy played to his optimum level as he kicked four goals, generally at important times in the game.

Marcus Adams had a decent game in defence, with Harris Andrews having one of his poorer games. A player who made a difference was Deven Robertson, kicking two goals at crucial times. They showed character to stay in the game when they were being outplayed, but would be disappointed they didn’t win by more than 14 points as they had nine more scoring shots than the Giants.

Carlton Blues – A team on the rise

The Blues lost Jacob Weitering early, who’s arguably the player they can least afford to lose, as Carlton are short on stocks when it comes to key defenders. Even though they were held goalless for the first time in a quarter in season 2022, they fought back in the fourth quarter.

That didn’t deter them from having a red hot crack and they were unlucky not to win as Sam Walsh appeared to have been tackled high in the last second of the game by Josh Daicos.

Collingwood Magpies – Team-first football personified

The Magpies won a game that they could’ve easily lost. Every player played their role and defended ferociously. They played for each other. For the second week in a row they beat a team that’s playing some pretty good footy. There’s no disputing that there’s plenty of upside as they were challenged by a rampant Blues team.

Essendon Bombers – The endeavour was there for all to see

The Bombers displayed that they are heading in the right direction. They won’t play finals in season 2022, but it doesn’t matter, because they are on the right path. They tried their best and gave their supporters something to cheer about. The only thing that was missing was the four points.

They played for the coach and therefore the club is heading in the right direction.

Fremantle Dockers – A week is a long time in football

The Dockers have become the first team to beat the Demons in season 2022. In Round 9 and Round 10, the Dockers scored a combined total of 77 points. Incredibly, in Round 11 they scored 94 points against a Demons team that’s widely regarded as the best in the competition.

In the press conference after the Dockers lost to the Magpies in Round 10, Justin Longmuir said: “This give us a reality check,” which was instrumental in the Dockers mindset in their win over the Demons. The Dockers played without fear.

There’s no disputing that Freo were tested as they trailed by 25 points at halftime. They outscored the Demons by 63 points in the second half, which showed the players executed the game plan after halftime perfectly.

The Dockers played like the Harlem Globetrotters with Michael Frederick tapping a ball back to Lachie Schultz who kicked a goal that gave them a 16-point lead near three quarter time. They didn’t let up and thoroughly deserved their 38-point win.

Geelong Cats – Another day at the office for Stewart and co.

The Cats were far too good for the Crows at the fundamentals as they were outplayed them in the first half of the first quarter, but weren’t hurt on the scoreboard; Tom Hawkins of the Cats kicked the opening goal of the game midway through the first quarter.

The Crows were up and about winning the clearances and the contested ball, but ultimately the Cats had too much polish. Jeremy Cameron was great with four quality goals, while Tom Stewart amassed 40 disposals and Sam De Koning put himself in the reckoning for the Rising Star with 19 disposals.

Despite being tested at times and beaten at the contest, the gulf in class shone through.

Gold Coast Suns – Simply brilliant

The Suns gave Hawthorn a lesson. It was a great coaching performance by Stuart Dew. They were ruthless and relentless. Their pressure was elite and if they bring this level of intensity and endeavour week in, week out then they will play finals in season 2022.

There’s no doubt that the plan by Stuart Dew is being implemented by the playing group. If they play in the manner in which they did then there’s no doubt that they can beat anyone. It’s been a tough task to build the club up, but the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are starting to come together.

Chol has still kicked a goal in every game in season 2022, and they had 12 goal kickers!

GWS Giants – They risked it all, which was far from a bore

The Giants took plenty of risks with their ball movement and it came off early as they controlled the tempo of the game and put on scoreboard pressure; James Peatling gave the Giants a four goal lead midway through the first quarter. They kicked eight goals to the Lions’ six in the first quarter, but spent all their petrol tickets.

Despite that, Toby Greene has now kicked a goal in his last 26 games. He kicked three goals in the first quarter, but just one for the remainder of the game. The Giants have found a player – Peatling kicked three goals and Greene four goals, while Harry Himmelberg was fantastic with 21 disposals.

Josh Kelly kicked a couple of goals and led from the front. At the end of the day, they didn’t get the win, but it was an exciting brand of football on display.

Hawthorn Hawks – Shambolic

The Hawks were thoroughly outplayed by the Suns. There’s no disputing that there’s plenty of work for Hawthorn to do. It’s a bit of a reality check, after their narrow win over the Lions in Round 10.

One thing that the Hawks didn’t bring enough of was discipline as Jarman Impey and Sam Frost were reported. They need to be more consistent. There’s plenty of work for them to do to make finals.

Melbourne Demons – There’s always a first time

The Demons lost their first game of season 2022 and their 17-game winning streak was ended by a dominant second-half display from the Dockers. The Demons played their Round 11 game without Ed Langdon and without Steven May after quarter time, as May was subbed out due to concussion.

They were thoroughly outplayed and negated by the Dockers in the second half. It would be concerning for the Demons brains trust, because they were tactically obliterated by the Dockers in the second half!

North Melbourne Kangaroos – They had a crack, but fell away once again

The Kangaroos need more players like Jed Anderson who finished the game with 12 tackles!

They were led by Todd Goldstein, who kicked a couple of goals and had 30 hit-outs. It was Jack Ziebell’s 250th, but the players didn’t lift for it.

Nick Larkey’s display was indicative of the Kangaroos season – he finished with just two disposals. In the first few minutes, it looked like they had come to play, but they faded away. They lost every quarter.

Port Adelaide Power – Lucky break

The Power were fortunate that the Bombers didn’t have their kicking shoes on. The Power had just one more scoring shot than the Bombers. The Power led by 31 points at halftime, despite having just one more scoring shot than the Bombers. In the second half, Port were outworked and outplayed by the Bombers for the most part. There’s no doubt that the Power were fortunate to win.

Richmond Tigers – Lost a game they should have won

The Tigers were 31 points ahead early in the third quarter and the game appeared to be over. Then the Swans made a tactical change playing with an extra player behind the ball, in Callum Mills. Somehow, the Tigers let him do what he wanted and neutralise potential contested marks for them to take in their forward line.

The question is: where was their spare man? Along with that, they had nine scoring shots to the Swans six in the fourth quarter, but lost the quarter by 12 points!

St Kilda Saints – Top four, for sure

The Saints won every quarter! They had 11 different goal kickers. Everyone in the team played their role. It’s a tough team to get into; Jack Billings was dropped and Mitch Owens came into the team and played well with two goals and ten tackles in three quarters. Every player plays team-first footy. They have their feet planted firmly on the ground.

Sydney Swans – They fought back from the brink of a mauling again

The Swans have only won four out of 11 first quarters in 2022. They may have had 13 scoring shots in the first half, the same as the Tigers, but the Swans trailed by 25 points. There’s no disputing that they have to rectify their slow starts.

Jayden Short gave Richmond a 31-point lead early in the third quarter. The master stroke move made by the Swans coaching staff of moving Callum Mills back in a goalkeeping role should be lauded.

That along with Buddy brilliant kicking three goals in the fourth quarter were what won the Swans the game. Along with that they had 13 scoring shots in both halves! In the first half they kicked six goals. In the second half their kicking boots were as they kicked ten goals, including six straight in the fourth quarter!

West Coast Eagles – It can’t get any worse; the rebuild has to start now

The Eagles were utterly pathetic. Their performance was disrespectful to their fans. They need to apologise and bring effort when they next play. It wasn’t the 101-point loss, but their lack of endeavour. There needs to be changes, whether that’s Adam Simpson and the club parting ways or playing more youngsters.

There were a couple of players who were the exception to the rule, with Tim Kelly amassing 38 disposals and kicking a goal, and Jack Darling who kicked four goals, but all to no avail.

Western Bulldogs – Practice match

The Bulldogs may have beaten the Eagles by 101 points, but they can still improve, which is scary. It was a great win for their morale, as they won every quarter! There’s no disputing they need to stay grounded. They had seven multiple goal kickers and 16 goal kickers overall

They kicked straight, which has been a problem for them in season 2022. There are going to be some tough decisions at selection for Luke Beveridge to make, with Lachie Hunter and Bailey Smith in their best 22.