Carlton supporters were taken on a real emotional roller-coaster of a day as the regular home and away season played out with a dramatic twist in the tale.
With their fate in their own hands, they first had to watch their injury-hit side lose to an in-form St.Kilda in the cruellest of ways. It could have been a different outcome had Brodie Kemp not put his effort, from 25 yards out, to the right for just a behind.
A big miss that would come back to haunt them as, with just 12 seconds left on the clock, Saints forward Jack Higgins (pictured above) scored the winner with a spectacular snap effort.
At that stage, it was absolute heartbreak as to what had just unfolded and now out of their hands – attention switched to WA where Fremantle could have taken their spot.
Dockers blow it
However, the Dockers, despite playing on their home deck, blew a golden opportunity by falling away late-on and crashing to defeat against Port Adelaide.
Suddenly that earlier anguish for Blues fans turned to sudden joy and happiness as by virtue of that result, they cling on to the last remaining place in the eight.
Trying to take in what had just happened, midfielder Sam Walsh told the club’s website “It was a crazy day. It was a bit of an eerie feeling watching the game. To see Port get the win was great and been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster today, which you don’t try and ride in footy too much; watching it as a spectator was a bit different for sure.”
On the prospect of playing finals, he replied “We can’t wait. We got a taste of finals last year, the energy it gives you and it is a new ball game now. It is a different season that starts and we have got some work to do going into the game and also got a lot of confidence that we know what it takes. We are going to prep pretty hard and try and bring that up to Brisbane.”
Swans head into finals as favourites
Minor Premiers Sydney took the luxury of being able to rest a few key players and still had more than enough as they swept aside Adelaide by a 31-point margin.
It gave the opportunity for a few fringe players to come into the line-up whilst Luke Parker and Callum Mills got more crucial minutes after coming off lengthy spells out.
The Swans are the only side in the competition to have been in the top eight since the opening round and will head into next month as the bookmakers clear favourites.
Jezza bags a career-high nine
Jeremy Cameron racked up a career-high nine majors as Geelong kicked their highest score of the year by putting a woeful West Coast outfit to the sword.
Their first half effort of 18.6 (114) was its best since 2011 and they went on to win at a canter in Zach Guthrie’s 100th appearance for the club. It was also Zach Tuohy’s last match in front of the GMHBA Stadium crowd having announced his retirement.
The only concern, from an otherwise perfect afternoon, was losing key player Tom Stewart with hamstring tightness and he was replaced during the half-time interval.
Hollywood Hawks record victory
Hawthorn secured their place at the pointy end, for the first time since 2018, by recording its biggest ever victory over North Melbourne in a 128-point mauling.
Also the biggest margin by any side this season as was the score of 170 they put up, which was even more impressive given the wet and slippery conditions in Tassie.
It has been an amazing turnaround from a squad that started at zip-five to becoming the most exciting and talked about in the competition. They have even been dubbed ‘Hollywood Hawks’ for being so watchable and just the way that they go about it.
Speaking to the club’s website on their achievement, captain James Sicily (pictured below) said “It’s amazing, pretty excited. We have gone through a range of emotions this year – not getting off to a good start, then figuring out about ourselves, how we want to be as a team and then being in sync for the last 14 to 16 weeks.”
“I’d be lying if I said that we’d get here. Where we were at the start of the year, we were probably pushing some false optimism and finding little wins, trying to find some good in what was a bit of a bad start.”
He went on “But credit to the coaching and the boys around the belief and not giving up. That false optimism has turned into genuine belief and there is a feeling that if we play the way we want to play we can beat anyone. The snowball is getting bigger and bigger in terms of momentum and it’s exciting.”
Daniher 200th
Joe Daniher (pictured below) made his 200th AFL appearance as Brisbane ensured an elimination final at the Gabba, next month, after securing a comfortable victory over Essendon.
They finish fifth but will look back thinking that it should have been higher; dropping a couple of games they should have won, in the latter part, really costing them dearly.
Once again, accuracy was a bit of an issue for the Lions, registering 21 behinds, and something that they need to try fixing especially as the finals can be so unforgiving.
Luke Beveridge set new club record
Another team booking a place in September are the Western Bulldogs who put in an impressive performance to see off the challenge from Greater Western Sydney.
The result sees them finish sixth on the ladder, heading into next month, but back in 2016 they were seventh when they won the ultimate prize, so have the experience of doing it from outside the much more favourable double-chance, top-four positions.
Doggies coach Luke Beveridge made club history by taking charge of his 229th match to eclipse iconic figure Ted Whitten’s long-standing senior coaching record.
Speaking in the presser, the 54-year-old (pictured below) said “It is one of the more significant wins over the journey. I think with what was at stake, no-one is ever sure how much weight to place on the task at hand.
“Will that be too much? Will that take over your thought processes? Will we put too much pressure on ourselves? Will it disallow you from playing with freedom? Or the polar opposite, just treat it like another game.”
He continued “We erred to the former. We built it up as a big opportunity, as a game that internalised the inspiration a little bit more. They have been a very good side the Giants over the journey, so when everything is live we didn’t want to rely on a team or two to lose, so it is pretty significant.”
Daicos leading Brownlow contenders
Two clubs that were expected to qualify but ultimately missed out clashed, under the lights at the MCG, where Collingwood got the chocolates over rivals Melbourne.
The Magpies started strongly and never really looked back in a contest that had to be suspended towards the end of the final-term, for 36 minutes, due to flashes of thunder in the area; the decision was made to take the players off for safety reasons.
Nick Daicos recorded an equal career-best 31 uncontested possessions, with another fine showing, and is one of the leading contenders for this year’s Brownlow.
‘Razor’ Ray retires
This fixture marked the end for one of the most recognisable umpires in the sport with ‘Razor’ Ray Chamberlain deciding to retire. He made his debut in 2004, going on to officiate in more than 380 games, including three grand finals and 31 finals.
Tiger Army farewell three of their heroes
Gold Coast ended what has been a largely disappointing campaign on a positive note as they managed to secure a second away win against bottom side Richmond.
They finish with eleven triumphs, best ever in club history, but given their draw and all the hype around the arrival of triple Premiership coach Damien Hardwick, there was a lot of expectation of a first ever finals appearance which hasn’t materialised.
Despite finishing wooden spooners, the Tiger Army remained behind in numbers, after the contest, to say farewell to the trio of superstar Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes and Marlion Pickett who all helped the club to win flags in 2019 and 2020.
Vale Sam Landsberger
There was tragic news, earlier in the week, with the death of highly regarded Herald Sun sports journalist Sam Landsberger, who lost his life after being hit by a truck in Richmond on Tuesday morning; tributes have flooded in from all across the industry.
Round 24 Results
Melbourne 8.9 (57)
Collingwood 15.13 (103)
Hawthorn 26.14 (170)
North Melbourne 7.4 (46)
Geelong 26.12 (168)
West Coast 11.9 (75)
Richmond 10.6 (66)
Gold Coast 14.10 (94)
Brisbane 11.21 (87)
Essendon 10.7 (67)
Sydney 18.13 (121)
Adelaide 13.12 (90)
Western Bulldogs 14.14 (98)
GWS 9.7 (61)
Carlton 11.8 (74)
St.Kilda 11.10 (76)
Fremantle 9.13 (67)
Port Adelaide 13.9 (87)
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- AFL 2024 Round 23: Swans win Minor Premiership, Showdown 56, Grand Final re-run, Saints upset the Cats
- AFL 2024 Round 22: Rampant Hawks in the eight, Heeney inspires comeback, Jeremy Cameron 250th, Suns finally win on the road
- AFL 2024 Round 21: Pendlebury 400th game, Swans humbled by Port, Green heroics, Ward makes history, Jezza kicks a bag
- AFL 2024 Round 20: Lions take honours in Q-Clash, Doggies back in the eight, Western Derby 59, Sicily 150th
- AFL 2024 Round 19: Lions defeat Swans in a classic, Bruest makes history, Bulldogs make a statement, Brad Hill 250th
Image Credit: Deposit Photos
