Memorable moments: 50-41
Memorable moments: 40-31
WE'RE at the halfway point of AFL.com.au's countdown of 50 things we'll remember from 2015, with record-breaking feats featured from 30-21. A weekly headline maker, team selection makes an appearance here after a bizarre round 23.
30. Nic Naitanui honours his late mother
The Eagles' star ruckman was withdrawn from his team's round 19 clash against Hawthorn after the death of his mother, Atetha, who died suddenly in Fiji. He spent two weeks sidelined as he mourned the woman who raised him and his twin brother after the death of his father Bola when he was just two. "This past week I've cried myself to sleep for you and my heart will never stop hurting," Naitanui wrote on the day of his mother's funeral. Naitanui returned in round 21 with a brilliant 48 hit-outs against the Western Bulldogs.
29. Selection farce forces fixture change
It had happened before but never with such implications on the finals. Going into round 23, the equation was clear for both Fremantle and North Melbourne, with little to gain from the final round. The Dockers couldn't lose top spot and the Kangaroos only stood to 'win' a more difficult finals match up if they beat Richmond in the final round. Lose and they were all but certain to face the Tigers again the following week. The result? When the teams were announced on Thursday evening, a combined 20 players across the Dockers and Kangaroos teams had been strategically omitted with AFL approval. The Dockers scraped home against the Sydney Swans the following week and the Kangaroos beat the Tigers by 17 points.
28. The 400 club grows
Dustin Fletcher was the first player to reach 400 games since Michael Tuck reached the milestone in 1990, joining the former Hawk and Richmond great Kevin Bartlett in the exclusive club. Just eight weeks later, Brent Harvey joined them and said he could be the last player to achieve the feat, given the demands on the modern-day player. All four were present for a press conference leading up to Harvey's milestone game, with Barlett and Tuck joking they would no longer be able to hold their catch-ups in a phone box.
A meeting of the 400 club. Picture: AFL Media
Click here for the most memorable moments: 50-41
Click here for the most memorable moments: 40-31
27. The Eddie Betts pocket
Former Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson dubbed the pocket on the north-eastern side of Adelaide Oval the 'Eddie Betts Pocket' last year, but the small forward's dominance there went to a new level in 2015. He would slot seemingly impossible set shots with regulation drop punts and snap or dribble others in general play. Strangely, it was from a pocket he doesn't own that he slotted the Goal of the Year. All up, the former Blue had four nominations for the prize in 2015.
26. Jesse Hogan v Patrick Cripps
For battlers Melbourne and Carlton, the final rounds of the season became a one-on-one battle between Hogan and Cripps for the prestigious Ron Evans Medal. Debate raged as both put in star performances, with Cripps averaging more than 28 possessions in the final five rounds and Hogan booting 12 goals and taking 29 marks in the same period. AFL.com.au experts were split 4-3 in their tips, but the judges were more emphatic, naming Hogan the NAB AFL Rising Star with 49 of a possible 50 votes. Cripps was awarded 41 votes. Hogan became the first key forward to win the award since Nick Riewoldt in 2002, kicking 44 goals in a brilliant season for a 20-year-old key position player. The achievement was made even more significant by the back injury that wiped out his 2014 campaign. Cripps established himself as one of the AFL's elite inside midfielders, ranking eighth in the League for contested possessions and No.11 for clearances.
25. Jake Carlisle's trade saga
It started with some harmless argy bargy from Essendon over what was a fair deal for Carlisle, who nominated the Saints as his preferred club early in the NAB AFL Trade Period. Those talks were protracted but finally a deal was struck. Hours later, vision emerged on A Current Affair of the valuable tall, who was still overseas, snorting a white powder in Las Vegas. Adding another layer of controversy, Carlisle's manager Anthony McConville had known about the vision's existence and imminent airing but did not alert the two clubs which were completing the trade. The deal, which involved the Saints' pick No.5, went through but left a sour taste in the mouths of all involved.
Jake Carlisle's path to St Kilda was anything but smooth. Picture: AFL Media
24. Goldstein taps his way to new record
Todd Goldstein and Aaron Sandilands were neck and neck all season in pursuit of a new hit-outs record. Sandilands managed a new benchmark with 70 hit-outs in round 11, but Goldstein bettered that the next week with a record of 80. The big Roo produced a great season to stamp himself as the best big man in the game, with a mix of stoppage dominance and mobility. He eventually broke the record for most hit-outs in a season, becoming the first player to break the 1000 mark and finishing on 1058. Sandilands finished the season on 998.
23. Roughy's cancer scare
Jarryd Roughead is known for his diligence in sun protection, but sunscreen, long sleeves and a hat were not enough to prevent melanoma emerging on his lip mid-season. Roughead sent a scare through the League when he underwent tests and had a lesion removed, but he was eventually cleared and returned to action in round 16, booting five goals but being caught up in a venue controversy after sliding along exposed bolts at ANZ Stadium, luckily escaping serious injury.
Jarryd Roughead made his return from a cancer scare in round 16. Picture: AFL Media
22. Bryce Gibbs' sling tackle forces AFL action
This tackle on Robbie Gray will be remembered for the debate it caused immediately and the legacy it will leave on rule interpretations. Gibbs was suspended for two weeks, and while the MRP cleared Jay Schulz for a similar tackle, the AFL later conceded he should have been banned. Guidelines for dangerous tackles are set to be reviewed before next season as a result of Gibbs' tackle.
21. Gazza’s amazing return
Twelve months after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, Gary Ablett returned against North Melbourne in round 14. It had been three months since a false start in the opening two rounds and the 1-11 Suns desperately needed him. Not only did Ablett star, he lifted his teammates, who played with a belief not evident in the first three months of the season, winning by 55 points. Sadly, his return lasted just four weeks before a knee injury ended the champ's year.
