THE BRISBANE Lions must inflict back-to-back defeats on minor premier Geelong if they are to contest the 2007 finals series.
Weekend results leave the Lions 10th on 40 points, four premiership points and one percentage point behind the side that beat them on Saturday night, eighth-placed Adelaide.
St Kilda, which lost to West Coast by eight points on Friday, is ninth (42 points), and Fremantle (40 points – 11th), if it is to achieve its extremely faint September hope, must beat second-placed Port Adelaide and somehow make up five percentage points on the Crows.
The Dockers walloped Melbourne by 59 points on Saturday.
But the big story of the weekend – final-eight machinations aside – was the end of Geelong’s 15-match winning run at the hands of Port Adelaide.
In a bona fide thriller at Kardinia Park, the Power led for most of the afternoon and by as many as 25 points early in the final term, before the Cats picked themselves off the canvas.
Gary Ablett’s brilliant goal, which put Geelong in front with less than two minutes to play, looked to have sealed a remarkable comeback.
But Dominic Cassisi’s cool reply, on the run from an acute angle in the left forward pocket with only three seconds left, gave the Power a five-point win and second spot.
The Cats, who last lost a game in round five against the Kangaroos, were far from disgraced but clearly missed two of their prime midfield movers, Brownlow Medal second favourite Jimmy Bartel (appendix) and tagger Cameron Ling (late withdrawal, hamstring).
In other weekend matches, Hawthorn thumped the Western Bulldogs by 84 points, the Kangaroos cruised to an 82-point win over Carlton and Collingwood regained its momentum with a 25-point victory over Sydney.
Richmond ruined the MCG farewell of Kevin Sheedy and James Hird, beating the Bombers by 27 points.
The make-up of the final eight for 2007 will be decided by Saturday night, with Collingwood hosting Adelaide on Friday night and St Kilda (v Richmond), the Lions (v Geelong) and Fremantle (v Port Adelaide) all playing on Saturday.
West Coast 16.10 (106) d St Kilda 14.14 (98)
St Kilda saw a huge chance to shore up its finals aspirations slip away, losing to West Coast after having led by 22 points at half-time. Four premiership points were there for the taking by the Saints, before the Eagles surged on the back of the efforts of Quinten Lynch (five goals) and Matthew Priddis (36 possessions).
Kangaroos 24.17 (161) d Carlton 11.13 (79)
The Blues were semi-competitive in the first half, but the Roos did pretty much as they pleased thereafter, with four goals apiece from Aaron Edwards and Drew Petrie as they ran away with a percentage-boosting 82-point win. It was a great way to celebrate Glenn Archer’s club-record 307th game for the Roos.
Fremantle 22.12 (144) d Melbourne 12.13 (85)
Fremantle produced one of its better performances in an otherwise disappointing season, disposing of a lacklustre Melbourne by 59 points. The Demons were level at quarter-time, but the Dockers’ nine goals to one in the second quarter ensured they were never headed from there.
Collingwood 15.11 (104) d Sydney 11.10 (76)
Collingwood got its push towards the finals back on track, but the ramifications of Saturday night’s game could be sizeable for both the Magpies and the Swans. Collingwood’s Sean Rusling, Dale Thomas and Nick Maxwell were all injured, as was Sydney’s Luke Brennan. Key Pie Anthony Rocca was reported for striking Adam Goodes in a marking contest and the Swans’ Amon Buchanan is likely to face scrutiny for a front-on bump on Martin Clarke.
Hawthorn 22.19 (151) d Western Bulldogs 10.7 (67)
In an extraordinary game, the Bulldogs led by 28 points at quarter-time, only to be outscored 21 goals to five over the next three quarters. Hawks forward Lance Franklin (2.11) had the yips but fortunately teammate Luke Hodge was more composed, picking up 34 possessions and kicking six goals.
Port Adelaide 16.10 (106) d Geelong 15.11 (101)
In a terrific advertisement for the game, the (now) top two sides slugged it out on Sunday afternoon, with Port Adelaide getting up by five points to end Geelong’s 15-match winning streak. The last quarter had the twists and turns of an Agatha Christie novel, with the Power surrendering a 29-point lead, then snatching victory with only three seconds left, thanks to Dominic Cassisi’s goal.
Richmond 17.17 (119) d Essendon 13.14 (92)
Essendon threw a Melbourne farewell for Kevin Sheedy and James Hird, also waving goodbye to its slim finals hopes with a 27-point defeat at the hands of Richmond. The bottom-of-the-table Tigers had 13 individual goal-kickers, with star forward Matthew Richardson taking 15 marks.
The views in this story are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
