THE BRISBANE Lions will look to snap a three-game losing run and keep Richmond winless at Docklands on Saturday after the Tigers suffered yet another heartbreaking loss, this time to Essendon.
Terry Wallace's side looked to have the match in its keep half-way through the last term, but the Bombers kicked the final four goals of the game, including a Scott Lucas major after the siren, to emerge eight-point victors.
Richmond's woe was compounded by a hotly disputed free kick against Matthew Richardson for a push in the back when the scores were tied with minutes to play.
Richardson thought he had marked legitimately and played on for what would have been his fifth goal of a fine individual effort, just a week after fracturing a cheekbone. Instead, an Essendon free kick was awarded, Richardson copped a 50m penalty for arguing and the Bombers registered a point at the other end of the ground to break the deadlock.
Essendon's win would have been the most dramatic of the weekend had the Kangaroos not scraped home against Melbourne by a solitary point thanks to an Andrew Swallow goal with less than a minute remaining.
The Roos led by 35 points early in the final term but the Demons roared back with a seven-goal burst that momentarily gifted them the lead. Swallow's running shot from 50m only just went the journey but it was enough to give the Kangaroos the four points and the Demons a second defeat by a goal or less in the space of three weeks.
The round started on Friday night at Subiaco Oval with a grinding 56-point win for Fremantle over a wayward St Kilda. WA's other side, reigning premier West Coast, suffered the shock loss of the weekend, going down to Hawthorn by 35 points in Launceston, with Adelaide narrowly avoiding a similar fate against Carlton, eventually winning by 19 points thanks to Scott Welsh's three late goals.
Sydney were untroubled in accounting for the Western Bulldogs by 43 points at Manuka Oval in Canberra and Geelong moved to second spot with a 56-point thumping of Port Adelaide.
Simon Black had undoubted claims for performance of the round, despite the Lions' loss to Collingwood, marking his 200th game with 37 hard-fought and well-spent possessions. The Magpies' Tarkyn Lockyer would also have been in the running, on the strength of a 32-possession outing, while Sydney tagger Brett Kirk kept the Western Bulldogs' Scott West to 16 possessions and gathered 17 of his own.
Fremantle 15.11 (101) d St Kilda 6.19 (55)
One-time pre-season premiership favourite Fremantle is doing just enough to stay in touch with the top eight. The Dockers were aided by St Kilda's inaccuracy in front of goal but had an answer everything the Saints threw at them. The Saints' injury crisis worsened when Robert Harvey tweaked a hamstring in his 299th game.
Hawthorn 15.9 (99) d West Coast 8.16 (64)
Hawthorn plans on turning Aurora Stadium into a fortress and reigning premier and flag favourite West Coast certainly found it to be a hostile venue. Scores were tied at half-time on a windy Tasmanian day but the Hawks outscored the Eagles 10 goals to three thereafter. Post-match media speculation has revolved around a possible eye-gouge by Brownlow Medal fancy Chris Judd on Hawthorn defender Campbell Brown.
Adelaide 15.15 (105) Carlton 12.14 (86)
The end result was the same for Carlton fans but at least the pattern of the game was different. Rather than leading at half-time and fading, the Blues trailed by four goals at the long break and rallied strongly in the final term. Scott Welsh, however, was on hand to boot three late goals to guide Adelaide home.
Essendon 12.20 (92) d Richmond 12.12 (84)
Richmond led by 20 points early in the last term before things went completely pear-shaped and the Bombers snatched a drama-packed win. Matthew Richardson's disallowed fourth-term mark and goal and a subsequent 50m penalty are bound to provide plenty of talking points during the week.
Sydney 15.10 (100) d Western Bulldogs 8.9 (57)
Jason Akermanis and the Bulldogs, who travel to the Gabba in round 11, were thoroughly outplayed by a Sydney that has re-found its mojo in the past fortnight. Akermanis was shut out of the contest by old foe Jared Crouch, while Swans co-captain Brett Kirk did a number on Bulldogs ball magnet Scott West.
Kangaroos 10.19 (79) d Melbourne 11.12 (78)
The Kangaroos and Melbourne were both 0-3 after three weeks. But what a difference a month-and-a-half can make: the Roos are now 6-3 and the Demons 0-9. Andrew Swallow's goal from 50m sealed a sixth straight win for Dean Laidley's side and ended a Melbourne fightback that saw them kick seven last-quarter goals and grab an unlikely lead.
Geelong 16.20 (116) d Port Adelaide 8.12 (60)
Geelong leapt into second spot, displacing Port Adelaide with a 56-point demolition at AAMI Stadium. A month ago, Mark Thompson was one of the league's most under-pressure coaches. Now he's in charge of a team that has won four games in succession and which had five multiple goalkickers against the Power.
