The Sydney Swans carried on to go three games clear on top after Round 18.
Top four hopefuls Carlton, Essendon and Fremantle all lost while Geelong and Brisbane pushed into the four.
There were intriguing results plastered all across the weekend which sets up a fascinating business end of the home and away campaign.
See our assessments of each game below:
Collingwood v Geelong
Collingwood has been figured out, it’s just whether or not teams can execute it
Possessing the footy with uncontested marks has been uncovered as the way to crack Collingwood open.
In their last three losses, the Pies have been outmarked by 22 against Gold Coast, 50 against Essendon, and most recently 70 against Geelong.
Teams have figured out that Collingwood’s game relies on putting on intense frontal pressure which results in turnovers and guess what, if they can kick-mark-kick-mark, it’s impossible to put pressure on and tackle.
With Collingwood’s defence struggling as well and Craig McRae seemingly allowing opposition defenders to chip it around to each other to leave defensive 50, the Pies have an obvious flaw that they need to figure out.
While opposition teams need the kickers and conditions to pull off this game plan, the Pies would want to change something given the good weather and teams that they’ll likely face in September … if they get there.
There’s a lot to figure out at the AIA Centre and this is near the top of the list.
Geelong has found one in Lawson Humphries
Geelong haggled over pick 94 in their trade deal with Port Adelaide for Esava Ratugolea, and lucky they did given they were able to take Lawson Humphries with that selection.
The 21-year-old was immense in his third AFL game, picking up 23 disposals at 95 per cent efficiency while taking 13 marks in a half-back role.
It wasn’t just on the stat sheet where Humphries impressed as he looked composed with the footy in hand and in the air as the Cats looked to get the footy to him.
Cats coach Chris Scott said post-match that Humphries has immediately improved the side and the Cats are 3-0 in the three games that he’s played.
Cats skipper Patrick Dangerfield also praised his early performances on SEN Crunch Time, giving a particular nod to how proficient he is on either foot.
He’s looking like yet another Geelong draft steal.
Lachlan Geleit
Hawthorn v Fremantle
Mitchell having the guts to move Sicily forward
James Sicily was struggling big time to impact the game as a defender, lacking trust in the shoulder that has popped out twice this season.
It was getting so bad that even the commentators mentioned the growing issue.
Instead of backing their system, which most coaches would, Sam Mitchell threw Sicily forward – and it swung the game.
The Hawthorn skipper kicked three goals and turned a low scoring game their way.
Full credit goes to Mitchell and the question now turns to how they utilise Sicily for the rest of the season.
Dockers failed to put control on the scoreboard
This felt like a typical Fremantle game. They controlled field position, took 107 marks and were +22 in uncontested possession.
The only issue was they failed to put it on the scoreboard. The Dockers only had 45 inside 50s and kicked 10 goals.
Freo has consistently struggled this season to turn their control of possession into quality shots at goal, something that could cost them in finals.
At times, the Dockers need to be more direct and more aggressive and back their defenders to win contests behind the ball.
Nic Negrepontis
Sydney v North Melbourne
Mills and Parker returns show just how strong the Swans are
All the attention during the week for the Sydney Swans was Isaac Heeney’s Tribunal hearing and subsequent appeal.
Whilst his one-match ban was upheld and his Brownlow chances snuffed out in the process, the Swans had the luxury of being able to replace him with skipper Callum Mills.
Mills made his first appearance for the Bloods in 2024 since an unfortunate Mad Monday incident over nine months ago. It didn’t take long for the 27-year-old to dust off the cobwebs as he put in a solid performance on his return. 12 disposals at 83 per cent disposal efficiency, two score involvements, two intercept possessions and a goal in just 62 per cent time on ground.
The other massive inclusion was veteran Luke Parker who had quickly become the forgotten man at the Swans. After injury and a regrettable five-match VFL suspension, Parker made his first appearance of the year when he was subbed into the match in the third quarter.
The 31-year-old immediately made an impact and booted two goals, had six clearances, four tackles and three score involvements all from just 38 per cent time on ground.
The Swans sit three games clear on top of the ladder but still get to boast these two inclusions as they chase their first premiership since 2012.
Kangaroos had turned the corner, but fell away badly in Sydney
North Melbourne appeared to have turned the corner ahead of their match against the Swans.
The Kangaroos were ranked 15th in both tackles and contested possessions in the first 11 rounds but since Round 12, they were ranked 1st and 2nd in the competition and had strung some impressive and competitive performances together.
The 79-point drubbing was a setback in many ways as North were soundly beaten in every major statistic. The Kangaroos made just 45 tackles which is well below their weekly average of 58.3. Whilst they led the contested possessions count 129-126, they were chasing tail most of the afternoon and were -61 in uncontested possessions (262-201), allowing the Swans to take 103 uncontested marks.
Progress is never linear and the Kangaroos have largely been a more competitive side in the second half of this season. However, the job doesn’t get any easier as a date with Carlton on Sunday twilight looms in Round 19.
Charles Goodsir
Western Bulldogs v Carlton
The Dogs took advantage of their strengths and Carlton’s weaknesses
Despite lacking key personnel, the Bulldogs rose to the occasion, breaking even in the clearances, but winning the inside 50s by nine.
The Dogs did not allow Carlton to lock the ball in their forward half and give their dangerous talls a look.
Instead, they scored quickly from clearances and forward 50 stoppages and made the Blues play on their terms.
Carlton ranks 18th for scores conceded from stoppages inside defensive 50, while the Bulldogs rank 1st for scoring from forward 50 stoppages.
It was a great exploitation of their strength and Carlton’s weakness.
Did the Blues lose this one at the selection table?
Carlton’s midfield without George Hewett is lacking toughness and defensive stability.
Adam Cerra has not looked great since returning to the senior side, and neither has Matthew Cottrell – who was brought straight back in from injury and hasn’t had much impact whatsoever.
They chose to play Marc Pittonet, throwing Tom De Koning forward – which is odd given De Koning’s dominance as a solo ruckman over the last six weeks.
The Blues refuse to play Jesse Motlop, a known goal kicking forward, and would rather play the more pure role players in Cottrell, Lachie Fogarty and Alex Cincotta.
For the first time in a long time, Carlton’s list is relatively healthy. And it feels like they’re not entirely sure what their best side looks like.
Nic Negrepontis
Adelaide v St Kilda
Riley Thilthorpe is ready to take over the Adelaide forward line
Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe looks like a completely different person in 2024, and that might be the same in terms of his on-field performance.
The former No. 2 pick has clearly put on a lot of size while being sidelined with a knee injury, while his beard has turned his appearance from a boy to a man.
Playing as the substitute against St Kilda, Thilthorpe came on at three-quarter time when the margin was just eight points and he proved the match-winner with two goals, seven disposals and two marks in the wet.
Given he’s back to full fitness now, Thilthorpe surely gets promoted to the starting line-up alongside the likes of Darcy Fogarty and Taylor Walker.
With Walker struggling somewhat in 2024 as well with only one bag of more than two goals this campaign, perhaps Thilthorpe’s return as the main target will help free the veteran up and let him fly under the radar in terms of getting the opposition’s best defender.
St Kilda’s scoring woes haunt them again
While it was wet in Adelaide on Saturday night, the Saints again failed to put any real pressure on the scoreboard kicking just 5.9 (39).
It’s long been a woe of Ross Lyon’s side and while they were without Max King, the game marked the third time in the last five games where St Kilda has scored 60 or less.
It’s simply not enough to get even close to stringing wins together as teams look to kick at least 80 points to give themselves a chance of competing.
They showed signs of what they could do in Round 17 when they hit the go-button against Sydney, kicking 13.6 (84) and they’ll be desperate to get back to that kind of output when they host West Coast at home on Saturday.
They might not get a better chance to put their offence to work in 2024.
Lachlan Geleit
Melbourne v Essendon
Contributions aplenty for Demons to win without Gawn (and Petracca)
To win without Max Gawn, everyone needs to stand up for Melbourne.
That’s exactly what happened against Essendon in the wet on Saturday night with Demons contributing all over the MCG to assist with the 17-point win.
Devoid of their inspirational captain Gawn (as well as Christian Petracca) many felt the Dees would have a major task on their hands against a Bombers side that was favoured to get up.
Jacob Van Rooyen and Harrison Petty did what they could in the ruck while the likes of Trent Rivers, Judd McVee, Ed Langdon, Clayton Oliver, Caleb Windsor, Kysaiah Pickett and more, led by acting captain Jack Viney, got down and dirty in the slippery conditions.
It was a character-building result for Simon Goodwin’s men who got themselves back in the eight with a third victory from their last four. It was the type of win that will build moral as they embark on the most important phase of the season for those sides jockeying for a finals spot.
Essendon ruck dominance did not lead to scoreboard pressure
Essendon attempted to gain ascendency in the ruck with Sam Draper up against makeshift pair Jacob Van Rooyen and Harrison Petty.
Sam Draper, with help from Peter Wright and Nik Cox, comfortably won the hit-out battle 43-27 but their midfield dominance ended there.
The Bombers’ on-ballers were unable to make the most of the first use given to them, losing the clearance battle 32-44 as well as contested possessions 135-142.
Sam Durham, Draper and Dylan Shiel were all busy around the ball with 19 clearances between them, however, Trent Rivers, Kysaiah Pickett, Alex Neal-Bullen, Jack Viney, Koltyn Tholstrup and Ed Langdon all had four or more clearances.
It was a massive missed opportunity for Brad Scott’s men who are now back in the muck in the bottom half of the eight.
Andrew Slevison
Gold Coast v Port Adelaide
Gold Coast get the spread they’ve been looking for up forward
Gold Coast got a brilliant spread up forward in Sunday’s 96-82 win over Port Adelaide.
The Suns got two goals apiece from Ben King, Malcolm Rosas, Bailey Humphrey and Jack Lukosius, while Ben Long, Noah Anderson, Ben Ainsworth, Sam Flanders, Lloyd Johnston and Wil Powell also chipped in with majors.
Given that Ben King has kicked 45 goals to lead the club’s goalkicking in 2024 with Jack Lukosius second on 19, a lot has rested on the big key’s shoulders and Damien Hardwick will love to see the load shared more often in the back end of the season.
If they can get that kind of even output from their forward six, Gold Coast will be incredibly hard to beat as clubs won’t know where to lock down in defence.
With a trip to play GWS away set for Saturday, they’re going to need a number of their options to stand up again as they push for a maiden finals berth.
Port’s vaunted midfield failed with Jason Horne-Francis enduring a shocker
Port Adelaide’s trump card all season has been their midfield, but they were clearly second-best in that area on Sunday.
At the stoppage at People First Stadium, the Power lost clearances 36-26 as the Suns successfully got the ball to the outside in a back-and-forth scoring game.
For a team that relies so much on their midfield to give their forwards the opportunity to kick a winning score, Port Adelaide was never going to get the job done with those kinds of numbers.
One player in particular that didn’t stand up was Jason Horne-Francis who had just nine disposals while giving four free kicks away due to frustration.
With Zak Butters and Connor Rozee having 35 and 29 disposals respectively, they needed their midfield partner to lift as well up against a strong Suns on-ball unit.
They’ll be hoping to rebound in a big way next Saturday night against Richmond at the Adelaide Oval.
Lachlan Geleit
Richmond v GWS
Tigers allowed way too many easy goals
Richmond were more than competitive against GWS on Sunday.
The Tigers were fairly dominant in certain aspects of the game, comfortably winning clearances 39-31, centre clearances 17-11 and contested possessions 126-118.
But they were absolute battered in transition with the Giants slingshotting from half-back, entering their forward 50 and scoring at will.
Adem Yze’s side won the inside 50 count 53-36, but from the Giants’ entries they scored ridiculously easily by kicking 17 goals and taking a mark inside 50 every second time they went in.
Richmond’s defence just didn’t know where to go or what to do due to the swiftness in which their opponents moved the ball up the ground.
Positively, small forward Steely Green kicked three goals in just his third AFL game.
The attacking efficiency of the Giants was elite
On the flip side, the Giants absorbed whatever the Tigers threw at them and then rebounded with absolute elite efficiency.
They entered forward 50 only 36 times but still managed to kick a winning score of 17.6.(108), while taking 18 marks inside 50.
The Giants scored three goals directly from kick-ins and a massive 52 points from their defensive half in the eventual 24-point triumph.
The way the likes of Harry Perryman, Lachie Whitfield, Joe Fonti, Finn Callaghan, Lachie Ash and co. moved the ball from defensive 50 through the midfield was devastating.
At the other end, captain Toby Greene capitalised on the swift upfield work with four goals while providing four goal assists and Jesse Hogan was also the recipient of the brilliant ball movement with four majors of his own.
Adam Kingsley’s side did, however, allow the Tigers to pump the ball inside their own 50 on 53 occasions while giving up 24 scoring shots which isn’t going to stand up against a serious contender.
Andrew Slevison
West Coast v Brisbane
The Eagles put no defensive work into Lachie Neale
When you come up against Brisbane, you simply must tag Lachie Neale. Particularly when the game could have gone either way in the last quarter.
Neale was comfortably best on ground, finding 34 disposals and winning 13 clearances.
Could Elliot Yeo have put some defensive work into him? Could they have trusted Harley Reid with such a role? Would it have aided his development?
Regardless, it was a huge coaching mistake to let Neale run riot.
Lions fought hard, banked the points and entered the top four
It was always going to be difficult for Brisbane to come up against an emotional West Coast team in the wake of Adam Simpson’s departure.
The Lions had to handle a hostile Eagles crowd and a group of players intent on giving something back to their premiership coach on his way out, even if he wasn’t at the helm for the match.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan admitted it was a challenge for his players to navigate their way through such a match, but he was delighted with the way they fought hard, banked the points and moved on.
Co-captain Lachie Neale and his midfield mates Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry (in game 150) and ruckman Oscar McInerney did the business from a clearance perspective by winning that count 47-38. That gave the Lions forwards enough chances to kick a winning score which they did on the back of 56 inside 50s.
The 13-point win, while not pretty, was crucial for the Lions who have picked themselves up to currently sit inside the top four.
That’s six wins in a row. Next up: a home date with tearaway leaders the Sydney Swans.
Nic Negrepontis & Andrew Slevison