With just five home and away rounds remaining, Round 18 provided a taste of what was to come in September with three match-ups between finals-bound teams.
If there was a lesson to be taken from these games it was that the home ground advantage could be absolutely vital in a very even season.
Adelaide solidified their hold on top spot with a comfortable win over Geelong at home on Friday night. The Crows got out to a four-goal lead early and more or less held that margin for the rest of the game. With a qualifying final at Adelaide Oval almost certain, even the loudest doubters of the premiership credentials of Don Pyke’s team must now be silent.
Both Port Adelaide and GWS discovered the difficulty of playing the MCG against finals-calibre teams, losing to Melbourne and Richmond respectively. The Demons belted Port in the stoppages early and were never really challenged from there. With Nathan Jones still to return, who’s to say Melbourne can’t be 2017’s Cinderella story?
Meanwhile, the Giants now have just one win and two draws from their last six games. Despite leading by 22 points at the first break, GWS kicked just 23 points for the rest of the game and are all of a sudden are no certainty to finish top 4. Toby Greene did Toby Greene things again and will surely be suspended for a couple of games.
Tigers fans, on the other hand, would have loved the fight their side showed after quarter time. Other Richmond sides may have surrendered after their slow start but not this one. They’re made of the right stuff.
Elsewhere, Sydney continued their rampage with a 42-point win over St Kilda. The Saints are tied for 8th with four other teams but with clearly the worst percentage of that group and a trip to Adelaide to face the Power this week, their finals aspirations are fading fast.
West Coast missed a golden opportunity to break out of the logjam for 8th spot, giving up an 18-point three-quarter time lead to Collingwood who were two players down on the bench and missing captain Scott Pendlebury. Essendon were threatened by an inexperienced, but brave, North Melbourne side to remain at the front of that logjam.
The Bulldogs remained in the hunt with their best performance in months, Hawthorn continued their good vein of form with an easy win over Fremantle and Brisbane had a rare victory over Carlton to draw level with North on four wins. The two cellar-dwellers meet in Round 23 which could turn into the Cam Rayner Cup.
What did you like, learn and hate from AFL Round 18? Have your say in the forum here.
