Round 18 stuff

Ok I went

West Coast
Swans
Gold Coast
Crows

Didn't see that coming, Richmond winning in Perth   

2nd year in a row too.

Brisbane thrashing Gold Coast.

Brisbane beat Gold Coast by 54 points.

No Ablett, no Suns.

Hawthorn beat Sydney by 10 points in a classic

Great win by Hawthorn.

Terrific game to watch.

The Guardian often has good write-ups of games.

Here's this weeks.




Jarryd Roughead made his 200th AFL match one to remember as the Sydney juggernaut finally came unstuck in a 10-point loss against Hawthorn at the MCG. The Swans' undefeated streak finished at 12 games as the reigning premiers won 15.14 (104) to 13.16 (94).

Roughead kicked four goals, three of them coming in the second half as the Hawks seized control of the game in incredible fashion. Roughead needed 45 seconds in the final quarter to slot his fourth, then two minutes later Paul Puopolo booted his second to give the hosts a 21-point lead that proved insurmountable.

When Puopolo kicked truly, after winning a holding-the-ball free kick for wrapping up Dane Rampe, Hawthorn had kicked nine of the past 11 goals in the game. "To kick four and get a win like that, you have to be happy," Roughead told the Seven Network.

The 2014 season has long been regarded as the most even of the modern era, and this result confirms as much - setting up a mighty battle for the minor premiership over the final five rounds. The Swans, Hawks and Geelong are all level with 13-4 records.
Hawks fans Lance Franklin was given a predictably hostile welcome by Hawks fans at the MCG. Photograph: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Saturday night's clash was correctly billed as a genuine blockbuster - 72,760 fans came to see not only a rematch of the 2012 grand final but a potential preview of this season's premiership decider. It lived up to such billing with both sides enjoying patches of dominance and playing at a standard more commonly associated with September.

Lance Franklin, up against his old side at the MCG for the first time, was dominant but inaccurate in the first half, booting 2.5. Franklin and Kurt Tippett nonetheless had combined for four goals by half-time, when the Swans led by seven points.

It then looked like a case of Sydney by how far when Adam Goodes, previously quiet, started the third quarter with two goals in the space of 90 seconds. But Roughead, Issac Smith and Luke Breust answered with two goals each as the Hawks steadied to take a nine-point lead at the final break.

Goodes was magnificent in the final quarter, kicking another two goals as the Swans threatened to pinch the points. Had the dual Brownlow medallist been awarded a mark in the goal square with four minutes remaining, there would have only been a kick it in.
Dayne Zorko Dayne Zorko of the Lions celebrates a goal during the match at the Gabba. Photograph: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Battling Brisbane embarrassed Gold Coast and dealt their AFL finals hopes a near mortal blow with a 54-point Q-Clash drubbing. In an astonishing Queensland derby, the shellshocked Suns were blown away by a seven-goal first term by the Lions before the heavens opened.

An impressive Brisbane went on with the job for a 16.14 (110) to 8.8 (56) upset in front of 27,167 fans - the biggest Gabba crowd of the year - to expose their young neighbours as immature finals pretenders.

Although struggling to avoid the wooden-spoon, the hosts' dominance was such that they could claim to have regained state supremacy with the hatchet job. While the Lions were hungry and ruthless, the Suns' dreadful effort in the opening quarter-and-a-half was a damning indictment on their play-off credentials.

It remarkably took them 27 minutes to take their first mark, an intercept by Sam Day in defence, and they managed only 35 disposals in total in a one-way opening term. By that time, Brisbane had 135 possessions, 22 marks, had six different goal scorers and led by 41 points.

The Suns not only paid for a lack of run and willingness at the contest, there were countless clangers and fumbles as they resembled a mob of strangers. They were leaderless without Gary Ablett - Gold Coast are now 0-7 without their injured captain in their four-season history - and it's hard to see them recover with the Brownlow Medallist out for the year.

Since he dislocated his shoulder, the Suns have lost to two cellar-dwellers in the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane. Ablett was one of five of the Suns' best 22 on the sidelines, and they also lost big men Charlie Dixon (groin) and Zac Smith (ankle) once the damage was done.

Brisbane's Mozzie Squad of Josh Green (three goals), Dayne Zorko and Lewy Taylor were highly influential before and after a thunderstorm hit just before quarter-time.

But it was Irishman Pearce Hanley (45 disposals) and vice-captain Tom Rockliff (46) who were the biggest stars with career-high possession counts. Ruckman Stef Martin dominated at the stoppages to continue his purple patch, while the Lions young cubs lowered the colours of their better-regarded rivals.

Adelaide beat Collingwood by 16 points

Anyone beating Collingwood makes my heart sing