Australian Football

Round 19

Premiership Season 2014 - Round 19 Review

Total Crowd 254,431 (Avg 28,270)

With four weeks to go in the home and away season, the race for places in the top two, top four and top eight remains wide open after Port Adelaide, Essendon, North Melbourne and Adelaide all lost in round 19.

That race could have been wider open still but for an errant late kick from Carlton's Cameron Wood as the round got underway at Subiaco on Thursday night. His hack out of Fremantle's goal square was marked by Docker Lachie Hansen with Fremantle a point behind and less than a minute on the clock. Hansen converted the goal and gave the Dockers an unconvincing five-point win, after the Blues had led for much of the second half and by as much as 15 points late in the third quarter.

Friday night saw Sydney hold off Essendon by 22 points, the win being set up by a dominant first quarter which saw the Swans kick 5.3 to 1.1 to take a 26-point lead. The Dons were competitive for the remaining three terms, winning the third and losing the second and last quarters by only two points each, but were unable to bridge the gap. The narrowness of the margin saw the Swans lose their grip on top spot, with Hawthorn grabbing it from them.

Adelaide, having in round 18 finally made it into the top eight for the first time since early 2013, looked set to celebrate that fact with a big win over West Coast as the Crows kicked the first four goals of their match against the Eagles. But things turned sour soon after that, as West Coast turned the match around quickly to kick the next four to make a game of it. The two sides then fought out a terrific high-scoring battle over the next two terms with Adelaide ahead 97-95 at the last change. But with everything to play for, the Crows went missing on their home turf in the final quarter, the Eagles kicking six goals to one to knock Adelaide back out of the eight.

A more dour encounter greeted fans at a cold, clear MCG as Richmond battled it out with a tenacious GWS Giants outfit in Saturday's twilight match. The Tigers looked like blowing the Giants away in the second quarter but GWS fought hard throughout the second half and at one stage of the third quarter crept within 16 points of Richmond before the Tigers steadied to win by 27, a fifth consecutive win which keeps their faint finals hopes alive.

Saturday night at Docklands saw North Melbourne and Geelong battling it out and for the second time this season, the Cats came out on top, this time by 32 points. The was set up with a big second quarter and, although North challenged hard in the third term, the 28-point lead Geelong had banked at half time was enough to keep the Kangaroos at bay. The win keeps Geelong's top two hopes alive, while the loss ended North's chances of a top four finish.

The other Saturday night match was a one-sided affair, with Gold Coast breaking free from St Kilda in the third quarter after a relatively even first half. With Dion Prestia starring the Suns finally recorded their first win without the help of Gary Ablett and kept their chances of an inaugural finals appearance alive. For the Saints, the loss was a disappointment after their big round-18 win against Fremantle and sees them remain at the foot of the ladder.

Sunday at Docklands saw 18,079 fans witness Melbourne take on Brisbane in what many have described as the worst AFL game in history. Though that's unlikely to be the case, the match was riddled with errors and frustrated both coaches. The Demons led at the last change but despite kicking the first goal of the final quarter, fell away badly as Brisbane kicked the match's last six goals to win by 23 points. The loss was Melbourne's 18th in succession at the venue.

At York Park in Launceston, the Western Bulldogs were blown away early by Hawthorn, then worked their way back into the match, only to be blown away again in the last half of the last quarter as the Hawks cantered away to win by 10 goals, despite Sam Mitchell and Isaac Smith being late withdrawals before the game began. 

The round ended as it had begun - with a thriller decided by a goal. The winning team, Collingwood sneaked back into the top eight on the back of it, a fitting tribute to the retiring Nick Maxwell, who did a lap of honour around the MCG before the match began. The loss was a continuation of Port Adelaide's faltering season, with the Power now having lost five of their last seven matches. A game outside of the top four, they will have a tough job getting back in but will give themselves a chance if they can knock off Sydney at the Adelaide Oval next Saturday night.

R-19, Ladder