‘One of the best': Dogs' pulsating win draws praise; Bottom-placed Eagles push Crows to the brink

The Age

10 hours ago

That followed Aaron Naughton kicking the first two goals of the second half to increase the Bulldogs' lead to a match-high 21 points, only for the contest to transform into a tense arm wrestle.
Sam Darcy, who otherwise had a mostly quiet afternoon, was part of two integral moments that ensured the Dogs prevailed and remained just one win outside the top eight with two rounds to go.
Darcy firstly played on from a mark just outside the Bulldogs' attacking 50 before delivering a magnificent pass to Rhylee West, whose superb checkside finish gave their side the lead for good.
But that was not confirmed until the final minute, after Demon Harry Petty's clever tap to teammate Daniel Turner in the goal square saw Melbourne slash the deficit to six points with 52 seconds left.
The Demons' upset bid effectively ended with a courageous Darcy mark, where he ran back with the flight before hurdling a pack of players to emerge with the Sherrin, in a moment skin to Nick Riewoldt's famous effort 21 years ago at the SCG.
'It was huge,' Beveridge said of Darcy's final-quarter interventions.
'We changed the ruck situation because of the day that he was having. Things weren't going right. He ended up going into the ruck and sharing some time with Tim ... what do they say? It might not be your day, but it might be your moment. Well, he had a couple of critical moments.
'That was just a sensational mark that he took there.'
Only Adelaide and Geelong boast a superior percentage to the Dogs, but they will likely need to win their last two matches, against West Coast then the Dockers, or rely on their rivals above them slipping in the next fortnight.
Ed Richards was outstanding in one of the best games of his career.
The star midfielder amassed 31 disposals, two goals – both of them in the final term, to regain the lead for the Bulldogs – 17 contested possessions, 15 score involvements and 14 clearances in a performance that should earn him maximum Brownlow Medal votes.
Beveridge also hailed fellow on-ballers Marcus Bontempelli (33 disposals) and Tom Liberatore (24), while Naughton finished with at least five goals for the fifth time in his past six games.
Melbourne were gallant in defeat, and edged in front with back-to-back goals to Harvey Langford and substitute Blake Howes almost 20 minutes into the final term.
Demons captain Max Gawn was a towering presence and thorn in the Bulldogs' side all day. He seems certain to end this season as an eight-time All-Australian.
Veteran defender Tom McDonald was another strong performer in a mostly inexperienced Melbourne backline, while Clayton Oliver won 10 of his 27 touches in the last quarter, and Jai Culley enhanced his hopes of gaining a new contract with another eye-catching display.
'I'm really proud of the group, first and foremost. It's been a tough week for everyone, but for the guys to play the way they did, and to be so close, I think it says a lot about this group and the path they're on,' Chaplin said.
'I thought our leaders were fantastic all week, led by 'Gawny' and 'Vines' [Jack Viney], Ed [Langdon] in his 200th, 'Trac' [Christian Petracca] – they've had to deal with a fair bit.
'But to go down against a team that is in really good form and pushing for finals, by a goal – and right in the last minute – I couldn't be prouder of the group.
Chaplin, who started the day coaching his son's under-12s Camberwell Sharks team, repeated he did not want to replace Goodwin full-time at the Demons despite harbouring ambitions to be a senior AFL coach.
'I want to be a senior coach [one day]. I really enjoyed it. It's not too different. I mean, you're sitting up there, and you're always in conversations with the assistants in what we can change, but now you're the face of it.
'Every conversation you have with somebody; it could be their most important conversation of the day, and that's really important to me. I've just got to make sure that I keep giving to the rest of the group, and we keep driving the club forward.
'I've had some amazing support this week, and just really want to finish this next two weeks off, and it gives me an opportunity to lead a program and sit in the driver's [seat].'
Demon Caleb Windsor suffered a left hamstring injury, while Bulldog Laitham Vandermeer sustained a concussion after falling backwards in an aerial contest with Kysaiah Pickett.
Injured Thilthorpe the hero as Crows avoid huge upset
AAP
Riley Thilthorpe suffered a frightening injury scare before becoming the match winner as Adelaide avoided the upset of the season in a thrilling nine-point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium.
Sunday's first versus last battle was meant to be a stroll in the park for the Crows, but West Coast kicked six unanswered goals from late in the first quarter until early in the third to open up a shock 17-point lead in front of 32,845 fans.
The Eagles still led by 10 points when Tim Kelly goaled early in the last quarter, but Adelaide kicked the next four to secure the 13.9 (87) to 12.6 (78) victory.
It lifted the Crows (16-5) a game clear on top of the ladder ahead of their last two matches against Collingwood and North Melbourne.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks had his hands on his head on seeing Thilthorpe writhing in pain on the turf after being collected high by a flying Liam Duggan bump in the third quarter.
Thilthorpe was left nursing a neck and shoulder injury and went to the bench for an extended medical check.
Duggan's high bump is likely to end in a suspension for the Eagles co-captain, who was playing his 200th game.
Thilthorpe was able to return later in the term and kicked a goal during a run of four straight majors as Adelaide momentarily settled the ship.
West Coast pushed ahead again courtesy of two goals to Liam Ryan late in the third quarter and a major to Kelly early in the fourth.
With eight minutes to go, Adelaide were holding on to a one-point lead.
Enter Thilthorpe.
Giants thump North Melbourne in Canberra mismatch
The Giants had 10 days to stew on their shocking and unexpected 88-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs last week - one that not only damaged their premiership credentials, but plunged their finals prospects into mathematical doubt.
On Sunday, they achieved the tiniest degree of atonement.
Tiny because it was, after all, only against North Melbourne. And they did only what they had to do: win.
Do that again – on Saturday, against the Gold Coast Suns – and their spot in the top eight will be secure, assuming they also take care of business in the final round against St Kilda.
From a North Melbourne perspective, this performance was even more reason to be sceptical about the Alastair Clarkson project at Arden Street, which doesn't seem to be trending in the right direction, no matter how hard you squint.
The final margin of 54 points flatters them. The outcome was never, not once, in any doubt. You might call it an honourable loss for the Kangaroos – 20.13 (133) to 12.7 (79) – but they're sick of those. This was their seventh consecutive defeat, their worst sequence of the year, and with an average deficit of 52 points.
From the outset, this game felt like a mismatch. It felt like both teams clocked that pretty early and conducted themselves accordingly. As a contest, it was basically over late in the first quarter, when Cadman kicked the last of four unanswered goals (and their fifth overall, from just 11 inside 50 entries) by Greater Western Sydney, who were playing, for the last time this season, at their home away from home in Canberra.
The margin at quarter-time was just 15 points, but there was already the palpable sense that the afternoon was heading in a singular direction. So it proved.
The Giants added another four goals in a row to start the second term and stretch the margin to 48 points. Unlike in their last win, the derby against the Swans a fortnight ago, there were no party tricks; it was as if they were conserving energy for tougher battles ahead, which won't have pleased their perfectionist coach Adam Kingsley. Their best remains arguably the best in the competition, but there's a question mark on their consistency, and it won't go away.
Their star-studded forward line, in the absence of Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan, did the damage. Callum Brown kicked an equal career-best five goals, rising star Cadman had four (but should have also had five, after being inexplicably run down in the goal square), and returning skipper Toby Greene and dynamite recruit Jake Stringer booted three each.
In the middle, hometown lad Tom Green (10 clearances, 14 score involvements, one goal) and Finn Callaghan (31 disposals, nine clearances, one goal) ran the show.
The visitors had their moments, sure. On debut, Cooper Trembath was their top-scorer with three goals, delighting the strong contingent of family members who had flown up to Manuka Oval to watch him, and there were occasional flashes of real class from Luke Davies-Uniacke. A few times, the 'Roos enjoyed a little run-on – but those periods were almost tacitly approved by the opposition, who seemed to go through the motions and let it happen.