Carlton should not have left their finals hopes in the hands of others. Meanwhile,the Hawks have developed some embarrassing habits - embarrassing for all the teams left in their wake.
Sydney,Hawthorn and Geelong had thumping wins while Dyson Heppell,Dustin Martin and Dylan Grimes all said emotional goodbyes.
These brash,young Hawks are as good as any team in it. Rarely will a club enter September in white-hot form and with their list in such strong health.
Hawthorn had just finished barely above the bottom four despite having one of the league’s oldest lists,so something had to give.
There’s one round remaining in one of the more engrossing seasons of recent memory. Here’s how things could fall for your team.
The Blues,Hawks and Western Bulldogs all prevailed on a day of drama. Meanwhile,AFL greats have their say on Dan Houston’s controversial shirtfront of Adelaide star Izak Rankine. Houston has been sent directly to the tribunal.
(Dan) Houston,the AFL has a problem that only a red card can fix. The Brisbane Lions also have a problem,and it’s more than Joe Daniher missing a late shot on goal against the Magpies.
The Hawks look set to soar into September after a 63-point win over Richmond at the MCG,and they’ve been dealt a lucky break after what looked like a serious collarbone injury to Will Day.
A typical Luke Breust game in 2024 is a good time but not a long time,which is wildly atypical across a 546-goal,triple-premiership-winning career that should have him in Australian Football Hall of Fame contention.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said his whole club was frustrated with its performance this season. Meanwhile,the data backs up Sam Mitchell’s hope that his surging Hawks play a brand of footy that will stand up in September,and Carlton will blood at least one debutant this week.
In a league where there are fixturing quirks aplenty,it’s up to teams to make the most of any advantage,particularly when it comes to how many times they play the worst-performing teams.