Whatever this contest lacked in class it made up for it with the sheer desperation and bloody-minded determination to win from the two sides involved. The Blues knew they had to pull four points out of AAMI Stadium to keep their finals hopes alive and the Crows were equally aware that a loss would be potentially fatal to their September dreams. There was real drama with injuries to Jason Porplyzia, Chris Knights and Eddie Betts not to mention the rousing late charge by Carlton that slashed a 32-point deficit to just eight points during the last quarter. The jubilation of the Adelaide players and utter despair of the Blues is a fair indication of how much this one meant to both.
As a side note; how many Crows fans would ever have foreseen a time when they would be lustily booing local boy Bryce Gibbs? That’s exactly what happened when the son of Glenelg champion Ross cannoned into former Blue Kris Massie.
Player of the round … Matthew Lloyd
And this guy was supposed to be finished! There are plenty of players who gathered more possessions and Buddy equaled his goal tally, but the simple fact is that if Matthew Lloyd didn’t play on Saturday, the Bombers don’t win; his influence was just that critical. His 15-disposal, eight-goal effort gets him the nod here, but his brilliant mark was that special that it gets a whole separate category further down. Onya, Lloydy.
Lyon lovin’ those one-percenters
The Saints had all kinds of trouble dispatching a hugely undermanned Port side on Sunday, but a few key acts of courage turned the hard-fought contest in their favour. First Nick Riewoldt drew the wild applause of the fans after leaping into a pack with the flight of the ball to mark and kick a goal that made it an eight-point ball game. Then Luke Ball threw himself into a contest, also running back with the flight, that saw the ball spill to Jason Gram who kicked the sealer. Ball unfortunately came off second best and was carried from the ground after teammate Justin Koschitzke knocked him heavily onto his back.
Buddy beauty
Lance Franklin's kicking may have dominated footy talk in recent times, but his ability to jag eight goals from 14 scoring shots (yes, the talk will continue) was still a remarkable achievement. Franklin overwhelmed the Collingwood defence on Friday night at the 'G with his strength, athleticism and sheer freakish ability. Although his accuracy in front of goal has been an issue, the fact that he is still kicking bags, almost on a weekly basis, should not detract from his match-winning feats.
You know you’re going alright when … a 10-goal win doesn’t really do it for you
That was exactly the case after the Cats barely shifted out of second gear in seeing off one of the form teams of the competition in Richmond by 63 points. The players set themselves such a high standard at the Cattery these days that their slow start and so-so finish left a vague air of disappointment lingering in the rooms afterwards. Look out, Demons!
How's this for a goalkicker?
Not surprisingly, the likes of Franklin, Lloyd, Fevola and Brown were again among the leading goalkickers in round 18, but McVeigh? We're not talking about the Essendon variety, but the vastly-underrated Swan who played arguably his greatest game in the red and white on Sunday. McVeigh booted six goals and racked up 26 disposals in a stunning best-on-ground display from the midfield, despite his side going down to the Western Bulldogs by 16 points at Manuka Oval.
Bradd keeps on dazzling
How's the first three matches been from Lion Bradd Dalziell? After accumulating 32 disposals on debut against West Coast in round 16, the 21-year-old went two better on Saturday night against North Melbourne, notching up 34 touches. It has been an outstanding start to his career, having won 84 possessions at an average of 28 disposals from his three outings so far.
Matty makes his mark
There were shades of Michael 'Disco' Roach's famous 1979 pack mark against Hawthorn at the MCG at the same venue on Saturday when Essendon skipper Matthew Lloyd took a classical hanger over Melbourne defender Matthew Warnock and others. He also achieved a significant milestone, when he overtook Collingwood great Peter McKenna as the eighth greatest goalkicker in VFL/AFL history. It’s hard to recall Lloydy ever getting so much hang time, even in his younger days, and his screamer will be hard to top as this season's best.
Well done Shaun!
The career of the player many regard as the heart and soul of Fremantle, Shaun McManus, came to a close on Sunday. The final man standing from the club's inaugural list in 1995 played the last of his 228 matches against West Coast, finishing with a win over its cross-town rival. The farewell he received post-match from the Subi crowd, the Freo faithful and West Coast was fitting for a player, who may not have reached superstar status, but was a champion in his commitment and courage to the cause. Well done Shaun!
Will someone please make a strong claim for fourth spot?!
It seems as soon as a team is talked up as the likely candidate for fourth spot, the rug will be swiftly pulled from underneath said team. The incumbent Swans have lost four of their last five, Collingwood has lost five of the last seven, the Crows have some key injuries, who knows what’s wrong with the Lions and the Saints were far from convincing against an undermanned Port side. That leaves the Kangaroos who were friendless just a few short weeks ago and seemed destined to miss the eight altogether, but are now riding high on the back of four consecutive wins.
Strange how our game works sometimes.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
