BOTH the Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne could be playing to stay in the top eight when they meet at Carrara this Saturday, following a round of upsets on the weekend.
While the eighth-placed Lions went down by three points to Richmond in a thriller, the Kangaroos bounded into fifth spot with a routine 28-point victory over bottom-placed Melbourne.
On the back of Corey Jones’ three first-term goals, North Melbourne took command of the contest early on and led by 36 points at quarter time.
The Demons battled valiantly from there – at one stage reducing the deficit to 19 points – but they were never really in the hunt. Lindsay Thomas kicked three of his five goals in the last quarter to ensure the Roos’ ninth victory of the season.
Brent Harvey would have lost no Brownlow Medal betting admirers with another best afield display, while Gold Coast product David Hale provided noteworthy support.
In other weekend action, Carlton kept its finals aspirations afloat with an astonishing 28-point win over the Western Bulldogs. Having trailed by 37 points early in the second half, the Blues conjured a six-goals-to-none last quarter to move to within a game of eighth spot.
St Kilda fell out of the eight with a shock 17-point loss to West Coast, Adelaide moved back in to the top half of the ladder by beating the Sydney Swans by 24 points and Essendon still has a sniff thanks to a 48-point upset of Collingwood.
Elsewhere, Geelong held off Hawthorn by 11 points in front of a packed MCG on Friday night and Fremantle made it back-to-back wins by beating Port Adelaide by 28 points.
Perhaps the weekend’s most influential performance belonged to Carlton skipper Chris Judd, whose 32 possessions (seven contested), five clearances and seven inside-50s were pivotals to the Blues’ remarkable win.
Geelong 12.16 (88) d Hawthorn 11.11 (77)
Geelong reinforced its reputation as the side to beat with a gutsy and polished 11-point win over challenger Hawthorn. The Cats, inspired by Brownlow medalist Jimmy Bartel and the brilliant Joel Selwood, took full advantage of a late Luke Hodge error to make certain of their 16th win from 17 starts. The Hawks were left to rue another inaccurate display from Lance Franklin (4.5).
Essendon 19.14 (128) d Collingwood 11.14 (80)
Essendon ignored the script to put a dent in Collingwood’s top-four ambitions with an all-the-way victory. The Bombers themselves are still in the finals hunt, after kicking five goals in the first and third quarters and seven majors in the last en route to an emphatic win. Best on ground Andrew Welsh kicked four goals, as did Matthew Lloyd.
West Coast 15.13 (103) d St Kilda 12.14 (86)
Favourite backers would have been banging their heads against the walls, as the out-of-form Eagles somehow upset the previously red-hot Saints. St Kilda started well and led by as many as 26 points in the first quarter. However, West Coast was a long way from lying down and ground out a third victory of the year – highlighted by a 70m bomb from Quinten Lynch.
Adelaide 11.11 (77) d Sydney Swans 6.17 (53)
Adelaide breathed new life into its finals dream by upsetting the Sydney Swans by 24 points in Sydney. Barry Hall was expected to feature prominently in his first game back from suspension, but instead it was Jason Porplyzia who stole the limelight. Playing with a suspect shoulder, Porplyzia provided a match-high five goals in a vital turn up forward for the Crows.
Fremantle 20.9 (129) d Port Adelaide 15.11 (101)
With skipper Matthew Pavlich a late withdrawal with a knee injury, Fremantle recorded perhaps its best win of the season in beating a disappointing Port Adelaide by 28 points. Freo kicked six unanswered goals in the first quarter, then held off the inevitable Port charge and extended its buffer despite kicking against the wind in the final term. Mark Harvey’s side had a club record 16 individual goalkickers.
North Melbourne 14.14 (98) d Melbourne 10.10 (70)
Four wins from the last five games, including this 28-point victory against Melbourne, have North Melbourne in fifth spot ahead of this week’s clash with the Lions at Carrara on the Gold Coast. The Kangaroos jumped Melbourne early with a seven-goal first quarter, including three from Corey Jones, and from there – despite the Demons’ best efforts – the contest was all but over.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
