Rhylee West booted a career-high four majors as the Western Bulldogs kept themselves in contention, a finish in the all-important eight, after besting Carlton. Such is the tightness of the competition that just two wins separate second down to the thirteenth spot, with the Bulldogs currently sitting in tenth place.
Forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (pictured below) also struck four of his own, in a real standout display, as well as racking up a career-high 13 score involvements and 20 disposals.
Speaking in the rooms to the club’s website, Marra said “Definitely pumped to get the win but the way we played was just unbelievable. That is the way we play our football and you can see that we get the result at the end of the day. The way the midfield handled it, played really well, just topped us off.”
“I had a fair few shots and will work on my snaps. We had to change my role as Weitering was having a massive impact, so I went up the ground and just impacted there which was a good result for me. To get the win against Carlton is crazy!”
Mills and Parker return for the swans
That defeat for the Blues allowed leaders Sydney to extend their lead at the top, but only after overcoming a slowish start before going on to demolish North Melbourne.
Swans captain Callum Mills made his long awaited return, for a first start of the campaign, having been missing after sustaining a shoulder problem. It occurred in the off-season, during a ‘Mad Monday Mishap’, and then he suffered a calf strain.
Also making a comeback was Luke Parker (pictured above), following a broken arm and then picking up a six-week ban, in the VFL, for a high bump. He came on, in the third quarter, as a substitute for the injured Justin McInerney (knee) and scored his 200th career goal.
Scott’s coaching masterclass
Chris Scott offered up a coaching masterclass as he watched his plan unfold to perfection in Geelong toppling the reigning premiers Collingwood by 20 points.
It was their ‘uncontested marks’ tactic that really did the damage, registering a season-high 139, to leave the Magpies’ hopes of going back-to-back in tatters.
It makes it three straight triumphs for the Cats, flag winners in 2022, puts them in third place and they seem to be rediscovering their form at just the right time.
Kozzy 100th game
An undermanned Melbourne managed to fend off a fast finishing Essendon, to get over the line, in Kysaiah ‘Kozzy’ Pickett’s (pictured below) 100th AFL appearance for the club.
They looked to be cruising at one stage, holding a 41-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but conceded the final four goals as the Bombers came charging late.
Given the current injury situation, which has some big outs with the likes of ruck Max Gawn and star midfielder Christian Petracca on the sidelines, it was a real mixture of the senior players along with some of the younger talent that really stood up.
Speaking in the presser, a delighted Simon Goodwin said “I loved how we defended for obviously a large part of the game, and our contest game was strong all the way up until the last ten minutes. You combine that with the younger players continuing to evolve in our footy club, and some of the leaders really stepping up as well.”
“Obviously not winning a lot of hitouts was challenging, but I thought the midfield group did a great job enabling us to get some territory from that part of the game.”
He added “We’ve spent a bit of time on wet weather footy, it hadn’t been a forte for us last year, so we spent some time working on that, and I thought that we adapted to the conditions really well.”
sicily heroics
Hawthorn captain James Sicily played through the pain barrier and a huge part in leading his side to chalk up an impressive victory over high-flying Fremantle.
He has been carrying a shoulder issue, which will require surgery at the end of the season, and was only making a return to the line-up having been out for a week.
It was clear the key defender (pictured above) was struggling down back, reluctant to lay in tackles at times, so coach Sam Mitchell made the move to send him up top, which paid huge dividends, where the All-Australian offered a real threat and bagged three majors.
suns end power hoodoo
Gold Coast were able to hold on to secure their first victory over Port Adelaide since 2011, ending a 14-match losing streak, as they chase a finals spot at the pointy end.
The result maintains their impeccable home record in Queensland, which now stands at nine-zip, but are going to need to do something that they haven’t been able to do all season, win on the road, if they are to finally to make club history.
Jesse Hogan and Toby Green kicked four apiece as Greater Western Sydney travelled interstate and got the job done against a spirited Richmond outfit.
This fixture attracted a crowd of just 19,040 to the MCG, on a cold Sunday afternoon, the Tigers lowest attendance for a home-and-away at the famous venue since 2004.
Giants tagger Toby Bedford has been handed a three-match ban for a chase-down tackle on Tim Taranto (graded as careless, severe impact and high contact) although the club have announced that they will head to the tribunal to challenge the decision.
simpson’s emotional farewell
West Coast’s former premiership coach Adam Simpson gave a pre-game farewell speech to supporters before the side’s narrow loss to Brisbane at Optus Stadium.
The 48-year-old, one of only six senior coaches in the 37-year history of the club, led the Eagles to the grand prize back in 2018. However, he was relieved of his duties on Tuesday (9 July), after a disastrous run of results, ending an eleven-year tenure.
Addressing the crowd, he said “On behalf of the players, coaches and the footy club we would just like to thank you guys for your support over the last eleven years.”
“It has just been an amazing run; we have had a lot of success – how good was 18? But we have also had some hard times as well and I can’t thank you guys enough and show enough appreciation, over the last twelve months, by the way you stuck by the boys, stuck by me and you stuck by the club.”
“I will be part of you guys now up in the stands somewhere, just need to get a couple of tickets from someone. I’ll be watching on and can’t wait to see these boys play in the next part of their journey. Thanks for everything; go Eagles!”
saints record lowest score of the year
Down in South Australia, Adelaide produced a strong final term to finally shake off the challenge and run over the top of St.Kilda in the rain and slippery conditions.
It was a real arm wrestle before the Crows were able to break it open with Riley Thilthorpe, on his return from a long-term injury, scoring a couple of important snags.
A dirty evening for the Saints that registered their lowest score of the year, just 39 points, with this defeat seeing them drop into the bottom four on the ladder.
Round 18 Results
Collingwood 10.11 (71)
Geelong 13.13 (91)
Hawthorn 13.9 (87)
Fremantle 10.14 (74)
Sydney 20.18 (138)
North Melbourne 9.5 (59)
Western Bulldogs 14.16 (100)
Carlton 12.14 (86)
Adelaide 10.11 (71)
St.Kilda 5.9 (39)
Melbourne 13.6 (84)
Essendon 10.7 (67)
Gold Coast 14.12 (96)
Port Adelaide 12.10 (82)
Richmond 12.12 (84)
GWS 17.6 (108)
West Coast 14.9 (93)
Brisbane 16.10 (106)
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