The moment: After coughing up a 22-point second quarter lead, the Brisbane Lions were looking towards their skipper Jonathan Brown to regain momentum late in the third term. Suffering under the watchful blanket of Simon Prestigiacomo, Brown had the chance to give the Lions a small buffer entering the fourth when he roved a ball and ran into what appeared to be an open goal. But the chase of Harry O’Brien and pressure of Leon Davis summed up the Magpies’ superb comeback effort, and Brown skewed the seemingly unmissable shot from 2m out.
2 – Sydney Swans 12.12 (84) d Carlton 9.13 (67) at the SCG
The moment: Midway through the third term the game was still undeniably in the balance, and a sudden scoring burst could have proved decisive. The Swans worked the ball across their forward 50 after a boundary throw-in, ending in the hands of Adam Goodes. Jarrad McVeigh roved the spillage from Goodes’ long, high kick, exchanged handpasses with Jarred Moore and curled a perfect right-foot snap, to the delight of his teammates and the 30,000-strong crowd. It was McVeigh’s third goal of what had been a low-scoring game and stretched his side’s lead to four goals.
3 – Port Adelaide 17.13 (115) d Hawthorn 12.13 (85) at the MCG
The moment: When Lance Franklin marks the ball 2m from goal, you are normally safe to update your scoresheet. Three minutes into the last term, with Port ahead by six points and Franklin standing between the goal and behind posts at the Punt Road end, the scores appeared certain to be levelled. But instead of slotting the set shot, Franklin played on and tried to run around Alipate Carlile, twice. Both times the Port defender was up to the task, forcing Franklin to spoon a hopeful handball into the goal square. The Power cleared, took the ball the length of the field, and Dean Brogan ran into an open goal. The visitors were never headed again.
4 – St Kilda 17.9 (111) d Fremantle 4.4 (28) at Docklands
The moment: Rarely do you see a team able to toy with the ball as early as the third quarter. Rarer still was the type of goal kicked by St Kilda ruckman Michael Gardiner on Saturday evening. With the hosts up by 59 points, James Gwilt had it 25 metres out by himself, but rather than kick the goal himself, he handballed to Gardiner, who was running alone into the goal square. The All-Australian then drop-kicked the goal. Yes, you read that correctly - he drop-kicked it. On the run. When was the last time you saw that in AFL football? From a ruckman?
5 – Geelong 21.8 (134) d Adelaide 13.8 (96) at AAMI Stadium
The moment: The toughest task on Saturday night was picking just one highlight from superstar Gary Ablett's awesome performance. Ablett almost single-handedly buried the resilient Crows with 46 possessions, but his third goal early in the second quarter was a standout. The elusive Cat got on the end of a handball receive and tiptoed along the boundary line before setting sail for goal from 40m. The ball carried through at mid-post height, triggering a run of five unanswered goals for the Cats.
6 – North Melbourne 10.9 (69) defeated Essendon 7.15 (57)
The moment: It's fair to say 2009 hasn't been Daniel Pratt's year. A rib injury in the NAB Cup, the controversy surrounding his role in the infamous chicken video and now the dubious honour of being the first man penalised for the new deliberate rushed behind rule. Seven minutes into the final quarter, Pratt took a kick-in, chipped it to himself, panicked and ran over the line. The umpires blew the whistle and promptly awarded the free kick to Matthew Lloyd. The skipper’s goal took Essendon to within seven points. North managed to repel the Bombers but at the time Pratt's mishap appeared likely to be of consequence to Roo fans as well as trivia buffs.
7 – Melbourne 14.16 (100) d Richmond 13.14 (92) at the MCG
The moment: When Kel Moore kicked the first goal of the final term, the Tigers trailed by just 20 points and looked a chance to pinch the game. Enter courageous young Demon Ricky Petterd, who put his body on the line, backing into the middle of a Tiger pack featuring Moore and Jordan McMahon. Although Petterd went to ground, he immediately bounced back, pounced on Dean Polo – who had collected the loose ball – and laid a fine tackle. Petterd’s free kick and subsequent goal put the Demons up by 28 points, sealing the win.
8 – West Coast 17.14 (116) d Western Bulldogs 12.11 (83) at Subiaco
The moment: Quinten Lynch is never going to be confused with some of the more graceful players in the competition, but the big Eagle showed on Sunday that once in a while he can combine finesse with power. With the Eagles looking for the killer blow against the previously-undefeated Bulldogs in the third quarter, Lynch entered his nomination for goal of the round with an on-the-run 45m left-foot drop punt from the boundary – all while kicking against the breeze and into Perth’s late afternoon sun. It was his third of the afternoon, a goal that gave the Eagles a match-high 40-point lead, and ensured the run of upsets in round four continued.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
