AFL’s West Coast supporters will have the bragging rights, this week, after watching their side pull off a bit of an upset by beating arch-rivals Fremantle in the Western Derby.
Jake Waterman continued his fine form, kicking another bag (five), while Jack Darling booted two majors to equal the great Peter Sumich on 514 career goals.
Midfielder Elliot Yeo (pictured above) (26 disposals, 16 kicks, ten handballs, six clearances and a goal) collected his second Glendinning–Allan Medal for a best on ground display.
Teenage sensation and no.1 draft pick Harley Reid (pictured below) wasn’t fazed at all by the pressure or occasion, played in front of a 54,473, as he also starred to help the Eagles recorded back-to-back successes for the first time in nearly three years.
Coach Adam Simpson full of praise for the 19-year-old; he said “I’m sure Harley will be the first to say it’s not about him. But we love what Harley’s doing and our internal expectations are not what he’s producing – they are a lot higher.”
He went on “They’re probably just meeting expectations publicly, so I’m really cautious to not overplay it; it’s hard to sustain that coming into the AFL.”
“He’s playing with that spirit and freedom that I think we all appreciate and enjoy. Today he did a little bit differently, he kicked three and really energised the crowd and the players but we’re not expecting that every week.”
Geelong have taken over as the new outright leaders, at the top of the ladder, and are now the only unbeaten side after getting the job done against the Lions.
Played in dreadful conditions up in Brisbane, where it rained heavily all evening, they adapted well and finished really strongly whilst inflicting a third straight defeat on the hosts who they also kept to their lowest score (37 points) since April 2018.
The only dampener, on the night, for the Cats was the loss of influential defender Tom Stewart with a concussion, in the second quarter, following a clash of heads.
Collingwood look to be slowly building and re-discovering their form, after a poor opening to the year, as they put away Port Adelaide in very convincing fashion.
The reigning Premiers recovered from a sluggish start before proving far too strong and, with more accurate kicking (21 behinds), should have won by a bigger margin.
Not since 1975 has a club started zip-three before going on to win back-to-back flags but, on this effort, you certainly wouldn’t bet against them having a real chance.
This fixture marked the 300th AFL career match for goal umpire Chelsea Roffey – making her debut 20 years ago, she then went on to make history by becoming the first woman to officiate a Grand Final when she was selected back in 2012.
Carlton produced a stunning second half as they came from behind to run right over the top of Greater Western Sydney and hand them their first loss of the season.
It wasn’t looking so good for them, at the midway point, but the Blues dug deep, wrestled back momentum and got to work with a blistering third quarter – Matthew Kennedy (pictured below), playing against his old mob, scoring to effectively slam the door shut.
In the rooms, the 27-year-old midfielder received a hand drawn milestone portrait, with his family and friends in attendance, to recognise it being his 100th AFL game.
Accepting the accolade, he said “Firstly thanks to the boys for getting the win tonight; always a bit nicer celebrating on a win. My career has been through a lot of highs and lows; I am only probably still here because of the great people at the club – coaches right through to the Board.”
He continued “I am very grateful to be here. If I can take anything out of football, it is not achievements or anything like that but it is the people that I have met along the way. I’d especially like to thank my mum and dad who have always supported me.”
Sydney’s Brodie Grundy celebrated his 200th AFL appearance, in style, by playing a key role and also scoring his first major for the club in their big win over Gold Coast.
The 30-year-old ruckman (pictured below), who made the move to New South Wales in the summer, also racked up 29 hitouts, 24 disposals and an equal career-high 11 tackles.
The Swans were really challenged in the first half, but it was a different story, after the main break, with an eight goal third quarter and, from there, never looked back.
Aaron Naughton enjoyed a big night out, booting an equal career-high six majors, as the Western Bulldogs made a statement by thrashing a below-par St.Kilda.
Criticised for their patchy form and with coach Luke Beveridge having to come out to clarify earlier comments about the status of their list and aspirations, the spotlight was firmly on them; however, they responded in the right way with a fine showing.
Captain Marcus Bontempelli was presented with the Barker-Whitten Challenge Plate, in its 25th anniversary, by its CEO David Rogers. The not-for-profit organisation is dedicated to supporting children and their families living with cancer in the country.
Down in South Australia, spectators were treated to an instant classic where Essendon managed to hang on and get over the line against Adelaide at the Oval.
Nic Martin (pictured below) scored what proved to be the winner but not before they had endured some tense last few moments – Josh Rachele snapped a left-foot effort, just the wrong side of the post, before the visitors had a controversial call go their way.
With just three seconds on the clock, during a frantic scramble, ruckman Sam Draper appeared to dive on the ball, 30 metres out from his own goal, and could have easily conceded a free-kick for a ‘holding the ball’ but, ultimately, the umpires didn’t agree.
Speaking in the presser on that incident, Bombers coach Brad Scott quipped “There were a lot of decisions on holding the ball for and against throughout the night. We will obviously focus on the one in the last couple of seconds. But I can show you a couple of others too if you like.”
He added “I thought it was a really good game of footy, the Crows held up their end of the bargain and so did we. It went right down to the wire, could have gone either way, but I am pretty comfortable saying that our players deserved the end result.”
Subsequently, the AFL have released a statement admitting that “an umpire made a mistake in not awarding a free-kick for holding the ball against Draper.”
Closing out the round, in what was billed as the battle for the wooden spoon, Hawthorn got their first triumph of the year against a poor North Melbourne.
Coming into this encounter, Hawks coach Sam Mitchell (pictured above) had challenged his players and read them the riot act in wake of that horror show, last weekend, in Queensland.
Post match, he admitted that “their response was fantastic; the players, to a man, held up their end of the bargain” but will want to see a lot more of it in the future.
Round 6 Results
St.Kilda 9.10 (64)
Western Bulldogs 19.10 (124)
Adelaide 11.9 (75)
Essendon 10.18 (78)
Collingwood 17.21 (123)
Port Adelaide 12.9 (81)
Carlton 17.15 (117)
GWS 15.8 (98)
Brisbane 4.13 (37)
Geelong 9.9 (63)
West Coast 16.9 (105)
Fremantle 10.8 (68)
Sydney 17.8 (110)
Gold Coast 8.9 (57)
North Melbourne 10.8 (68)
Hawthorn 17.11 (113)
Bye: Melbourne, Richmond
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