Hawks slumping, Swans facing rare uncertain times
KEY STORYLINES TO WATCH FOR IN ROUND 13 OF THE AFL SEASON
HOLLYWOOD HAWKS BECOMING HORROR HAWKS
Premiership favourites after backing up an impressive finish to 2024 with an Opening Round win, Hawthorn have stumbled to three-straight defeats. After losing to top-four sides Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Collingwood, it doesn't get any easier for Sam Mitchell's team as they face the Western Bulldogs followed by Adelaide in the next fortnight.
IS FREMANTLE'S RESURGENCE REAL?
The Dockers head to their mid-season bye at 7-5 after upsetting Gold Coast and have a huge chance to cash in over the next month, with four straight games against teams in the bottom half of the ladder. Justin Longmuir's men can set themselves up for a huge run towards September if they're good enough.
THIS MAY WELL BE THE END OF A GREAT AFL CAREER
Scans are expected to confirm that former GWS co-captain Callan Ward has another ACL tear, ending his season. At 35 and after 327 games, it looks like his dream of playing in a premiership will not come true.
TIGERS SMELL BLOODS
The Swans were awful at home against Adelaide and their season is in free fall. Where has their Bloods Culture gone? Now they head to the MCG for a dangerous assignment - the only thing Richmond did wrong against GWS was goalkicking.
CROWS ON THE CHARGE
As embarrassing as Sydney were, the Crows were ultra impressive as they continue their rise under Matthew Nicks. A blockbuster home match awaits against reigning premiers Brisbane this Friday night. If Adelaide can knock off the Lions then the lid will be off at West Lakes.
JACK DARLING TAKES ON HIS MATES IN WOODEN SPOON SHOWDOWN
Jack Darling will be the centre of attention on Sunday when North Melbourne take on West Coast in a bottom-of-the-table clash in Bunbury. Darling won a premiership at West Coast during his 298-game career with the Eagles, and he still has plenty of friends at the club despite joining North Melbourne at the end of last year.
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- ABC News
Now that Rockliff is toppled, what will happen to Devils AFL team and stadium?
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That is the cut-off for obtaining all required planning and environmental approvals for the stadium. The stadium — pivotal to the Devils survival — has bounced from one planning process to another. Rightly or wrongly, the government has tabled legislation aimed at bypassing the Project of State Significance process bid to fast track the stadium, cognisant of looming deadlines. A vote to pass or deny that legislation — which, if passed, would have granted planning approval for the stadium — is due in the coming weeks. An election does not simply delay that. It obliterates it. It will mean the parliament is dissolved and puts the vote itself in doubt. It is true, timelines agreed upon in early 2023 have been bent and massaged over the past two years. And on current timelines, the vote would fall just outside the June 30 cut-off. But a week or two is small potatoes. An election will be a roast dinner. The Devils' high performance centre — which faced steep geotechnical hurdles at the club's preferred site of Rosny, and was subject to an elector poll of Clarence City residents — has also been pushed back. But that was a year ago, and the centre still remains on track to be built. The real threat lies in the uncertainty and the make-up of a future parliament which nobody knows what it will look like — not even the Labor party. It is what prompted tears from Devils boss Kath McCann on Wednesday, and chief executive Brendon Gale to declare that an election puts the team "at risk". If Tasmanians are marched to the ballot box, the current make-up of the state's lower house will change. The government will most likely change too. However, what is highly unlikely is either major party winning a majority of seats in the parliament. This is where the Devils are snookered. It is extremely likely that whoever wins the most seats will need the support of the Greens or the crossbench to form government, and neither major party will deal with the Greens. That leaves a hodgepodge of currently unknown independents that will be relied upon. And while the numbers in the lower house may change, the flavour of the crossbench will probably remain the same. That flavour is strongly anti-stadium. While the Labor and Liberal parties both support the stadium and the team, that matters for little if neither are able to form government without convincing anti-stadium crossbenchers to flip — and that will be first chip those crossbenchers attempt to cash. Which independent will support a minority government without demanding the stadium be dropped? Will pro-stadium independents be elected, when the stadium remains grossly unpopular amongst the Tasmanian public? 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That leaves the last pathway — the AFL. There is zero prospect of the AFL removing the condition for a stadium at Macquarie Point. It simply won't fly with the 18 club presidents who already needed their arms twisted to agree to the current deal. Other material changes, like the requirement for a roof on the stadium, also won't be up for negotiation. Rumours continue to swirl of a Labor pivot to the proposed Stadium 2.0 proposal, but the ABC understands the party has told the Devils that is not in their plans. The ABC also understands that the Stadium 2.0 proposal is looked upon even less favourably than the Macquarie Point stadium by a large chunk of the Tasmanian Parliament, including the Greens. Where there may be some bend is on timelines. There exists a world where the AFL allows an election to run its course, and if whoever forms government somehow manages to keep its pro-stadium position intact, perhaps things can continue, albeit delayed. 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AFL live: Western Bulldogs vs Hawthorn Hawks — round 13 blog, scores and stats
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