Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has revealed his unique method for helping Charlie Dixon recapture his form in the Power’s defeat of Richmond on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Toby Greene wreaks havoc with the Gold Coast in GWS’s victory, while Chris Fagan gives a nod to one of tennis’s greatest rivalries after the Brisbane Lions pip the Sydney Swans.
Here’s ABC Sport’s take on all the action across the weekend, and you can re-read the live blogs here:
1. Bombers blow it again in old-fashioned shootout
Essendon missed a chance to solidify a spot in the top four last week because it wasn’t good enough against the Demons at the MCG.
In round 19, the Bombers blew it again because they weren’t good enough for long enough against the Crows at Docklands, going down by just two points in a game with 34 goals kicked (and a total combined score of 228).
In a season as tight as this one is, one of those blow-ups is a concern.
To have two of them — back to back — is bordering on a crisis that has left Brad Scott’s men sitting in eighth spot on the ladder with five rounds left.
There were some positives to take out of it for the Bombers, with Nate Caddy’s athleticism and verve hinting he could be something special in September football.
But after getting into a winning position, to then give it away conceding the last three goals of the game is a worry, as the Bombers — who have two wins from their last seven — try desperately to convince everyone they’re not headed for another late-season collapse like 2023.
It’s not over, as they have upcoming winnable games against St Kilda (Docklands), Fremantle (MCG) and Gold Coast (Docklands).
But they finish against Sydney at Docklands and Brisbane at the Gabba.
They’d want to have things wrapped up before round 23, otherwise that much-talked-about stat around the length of time since the Bombers last won a final could well end up extending for another year, at least.
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Ben Keays (Adelaide)
2. Zach Merrett (Essendon)
1. Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide)
(All votes are decided by the ABC Sport commentary team after the match)
2. Greene reminds us why he’s the Suns’ kryptonite
When Gold Coast saw a trip to face the Giants away from home on the schedule, they could be forgiven for having a little shudder.
Not just for their well-known struggles away from home, but also because it meant another contest against Toby Greene.
Greene is the Suns’ kryptonite. He had kicked 11 goals in his last three games against the other recent expansion team.
On Saturday afternoon, it was as if the Giants skipper only wanted to deal in ridiculous moments against Gold Coast.
First, it was the moment when he took a micro-handball from Aaron Cadman in the right forward pocket and stop-started his way through the Suns defence, before kicking a cheeky checkside goal to give his side a three-goal break close to half-time.
With the game still in the balance shortly after the main break, he was close to the drop of the ball in the hotspot to fumble a first touch, then regather, turn his back to goal and deliver a Gary Ablett senior-like hook-kick over his shoulder to demoralise the Suns and put the Giants on the way to victory.
There were many other reasons the Suns lost.
Their inability to adapt to the fierce whirling wind for one, but Greene’s delivery when it counted was there.
Suddenly the Giants are within striking distance of the top four.
It’s not so much that Giants Stadium is a fortress (it’s not), but getting the double chance is important, as is the prospect of avoiding finals on the road at the MCG before they have to.
There are a few tough assignments left before September, not the least of which is the surging Hawks in two weeks, the Lions at the Gabba in round 22 and a final-round outing against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Lachlan Whitfield (GWS)
2. Sam Flanders (Gold Coast)
1. Tom Green (GWS)
3. Midfield dominance the key for Saints
At Docklands on Saturday, the St Kilda-West Coast game was a one-sided watch between two sides well out of contention.
All you can do if you are the Saints is produce a strong team performance and that they did in spades, kicking their highest score of the season, 17.11. (113).
The numbers really do tell the story of the game.
St Kilda had 15 centre clearances against a West Coast midfield missing Elliot Yeo.
The Saints overwhelmed the Eagles as the game went on, making a monstrous 67 forward entries for the game, and landing 19 marks inside 50.
One of the beneficiaries was Tim Membrey, who had a day out kicking five goals.
They also produced a whopping 23 tackles inside forward 50, compared to none for the Eagles.
Does it mean much in the scheme of things? Not really.
The Eagles are where they are for a reason, and this is just one to remind the Saints what happens when they can put the foot to the floor in an attacking sense.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Tim Membrey (St Kilda)
2. Jack Steele (St Kilda)
1. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda)
4. Ginnivan, Hawks turn the page on the Pies
There wasn’t much twilight at the MCG late on Saturday afternoon, as the rain came for Hawthorn and Collingwood.
The Hawks were already ahead when it arrived, and the conditions that saw the Magpies look like they were running through treacle for most of the game, did not seem to affect the Hawks a jot.
Everywhere you looked there was a younger Hawks player doing the business against last year’s premiers.
Whether it was Nick Watson delivering team-lifting goals and moments, or Jai Newcombe taking contested marks like they were going out of fashion, or Massimo D’Ambrosio delivering to the forwards or occasionally stepping through tackles and finishing things off himself.
But the fulcrum — and the emotional driving force — was Ginnivan, who had 31 disposals, a couple of cracking goals and a part in almost every big Hawthorn move as this team powered out of sight of the Magpies.
He was never shy of being himself at Collingwood, such as his visit to the trots on the eve of the grand final, or his in-your-face play, or his regular attraction of controversy on the field.
It seems, however, he has found his true home with the brown and gold.
It was fitting, perhaps, that it was Ginnivan who kicked the goal that put the Hawks 60 points up late in the game before giving the “go to sleep” signal to the camera, marking the all-but-end of his former team’s flag dreams.
As the crowd roared out the club song after the siren, and the young Hawks gathered for an obligatory selfie/video (with the camera held by Ginnivan, naturally), there was a sense that the growing self-belief of his team could see them achieve just about anything.
Maybe it will be sooner than others think.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Jack Ginnivan (Hawthorn)
2. James Sicily (Hawthorn)
1. Dylan Moore (Hawthorn)
5. Cats left to reflect on ‘really bad night’
On the back of three consecutive wins, it appeared Geelong’s season was back on track ahead of its match-up with the Western Bulldogs at Kardinia Park on Saturday night.
Starting the round in third place on the ladder, the Cats were favourites but they struggled to compete with an upbeat Bulldogs outfit in wet and muddy conditions.
They failed to kick a goal in the opening quarter and trailed at every break, although the Bulldogs’ 47-point win was not confirmed until late in the final term.
Cats coach Chris Scott isn’t panicking, putting the defeat down to what he described as a “really bad night”.
“You can lose to anyone and if the opposition are really good, you’re going to find yourself under pressure,” Scott said.
“I thought it was an uncharacteristic performance.
“So if that happens regularly, you just become a bad team. I don’t think that’s us at the moment.”
The Cats slipped to sixth place on the ladder, while the Bulldogs are ninth, two points adrift of the top eight.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Adam Treloar (Western Bulldogs)
2. Rory Lobb (Western Bulldogs)
1. Ed Richards (Western Bulldogs)
6. How the Power sparked Dixon into action
Hinkley admits he poked the bear when he “picked a fight” with Dixon amid the forward’s poor run of form this season.
Up until round 12, Dixon only had 13 goals from 10 senior appearances, a dry spell that included three consecutive matches where he failed to kick a major.
Dixon was missing from the Power’s senior line-up between round 13 and 17, before returning last week in the 14-point loss to Gold Coast in Carrara.
He only kicked one goal against the Suns, but he roared back to life in the Power’s 41-point win over Richmond at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Dixon managed four goals and was a key target for the Power inside the attacking 50.
Hinkley had his own way of challenging Dixon to rediscover his form.
“Something I have learnt … in football for a long time, if you want someone to fight, pick a fight,” Hinkley said.
“And I picked a fight with Charlie about whether he did want to keep going.”
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
2. Daniel Rioli (Richmond)
1. Logan Evans (Port Adelaide)
7. Lions’ battle with Swans ‘like Federer and Nadal’
The fourth quarter of the Brisbane Lions’ two-point win over the Sydney Swans will go down as one of the best we will see this season.
The lead was exchanged several times between the two sides before Callum Ah Chee kicked the final goal of the match to put the Lions in front for the siren.
There was drama throughout the match, as the ladder-leading Swans were hit with injury after Dane Rampe (calf) and Tom Papley (ankle) were forced out of the contest in the first half.
The see-sawing nature of the Lions’ win saw coach Chris Fagan liken the encounter to those witnessed on the tennis court between two of the greatest players of all time, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“It was one of those games … it was like Federer and Nadal playing a game of tennis,” Fagan told his post-match media conference.
“One team would be on top and then the other team would be on top.”
After a slow start to their season, the Lions have won seven straight matches to move to third place on the ladder.
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane Lions)
2. Chad Warner (Sydney Swans)
1. Cam Rayner (Brisbane Lions)
8. Dockers’ win over Demons comes at a cost
It’s not often a side can win by 50 points in the AFL, yet finish the match in an anxious state.
But that’s how Fremantle feels after skipper Alex Pearce re-injured his left arm in the Dockers’ convincing defeat of Melbourne in Perth on Sunday afternoon.
Pearce was subbed off in the third quarter in what was his first match since fracturing his left forearm against Gold Coast in round 15.
He will have scans, but Dockers coach Justin Longmuir admits to being “nervous”.
“He’s [Pearce] a little bit frustrated,” Longmuir said.
“He would have liked to have gotten through the game.
“Being the captain of the club and being in such good form all year, he wants to be out there competing with his brothers.
“Fingers crossed he’ll be out there next week.”
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Caleb Serong (Fremantle)
2. Josh Treacy (Fremantle)
1. Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)
9. Kangaroos see positives despite going down to Blues
At the beginning of round 19, second-placed Carlton was not expected to face much of a challenge from North Melbourne, who sat in 17th position with a 2-15 win-loss record.
But there were moments during Sunday’s twilight clash at Docklands where it seemed the Kangaroos could cause a major boilover.
They led by 11 points at half-time and despite falling behind the Blues in the third quarter, they still had moments where they threatened their high-flying opponents.
It was a performance that attracted praise from Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson, who noted how his young side had the Blues under pressure for passages of play.
“The bounce of the ball, a decision here or there and it could’ve been a very different result,” Clarkson said.
“It was a three-goal margin at the end but it was an arm-wrestle from go to whoa.
“It’s a real credit to our lads that we were able to hold in there for the fight.”
The Blues appeared to be relieved to have chalked up the win, although they didn’t come through unscathed, with Tom De Koning (foot) and Sam Walsh (back) hampered by injury.
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Harry Sheezel (North Melbourne)
2. Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne)
1. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has revealed his unique method for helping Charlie Dixon recapture his form in the Power’s defeat of Richmond on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Toby Greene wreaks havoc with the Gold Coast in GWS’s victory, while Chris Fagan gives a nod to one of tennis’s greatest rivalries after the Brisbane Lions pip the Sydney Swans.
Here’s ABC Sport’s take on all the action across the weekend, and you can re-read the live blogs here:
1. Bombers blow it again in old-fashioned shootout
Essendon missed a chance to solidify a spot in the top four last week because it wasn’t good enough against the Demons at the MCG.
In round 19, the Bombers blew it again because they weren’t good enough for long enough against the Crows at Docklands, going down by just two points in a game with 34 goals kicked (and a total combined score of 228).
In a season as tight as this one is, one of those blow-ups is a concern.
To have two of them — back to back — is bordering on a crisis that has left Brad Scott’s men sitting in eighth spot on the ladder with five rounds left.
There were some positives to take out of it for the Bombers, with Nate Caddy’s athleticism and verve hinting he could be something special in September football.
But after getting into a winning position, to then give it away conceding the last three goals of the game is a worry, as the Bombers — who have two wins from their last seven — try desperately to convince everyone they’re not headed for another late-season collapse like 2023.
It’s not over, as they have upcoming winnable games against St Kilda (Docklands), Fremantle (MCG) and Gold Coast (Docklands).
But they finish against Sydney at Docklands and Brisbane at the Gabba.
They’d want to have things wrapped up before round 23, otherwise that much-talked-about stat around the length of time since the Bombers last won a final could well end up extending for another year, at least.
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Ben Keays (Adelaide)
2. Zach Merrett (Essendon)
1. Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide)
(All votes are decided by the ABC Sport commentary team after the match)
2. Greene reminds us why he’s the Suns’ kryptonite
When Gold Coast saw a trip to face the Giants away from home on the schedule, they could be forgiven for having a little shudder.
Not just for their well-known struggles away from home, but also because it meant another contest against Toby Greene.
Greene is the Suns’ kryptonite. He had kicked 11 goals in his last three games against the other recent expansion team.
On Saturday afternoon, it was as if the Giants skipper only wanted to deal in ridiculous moments against Gold Coast.
First, it was the moment when he took a micro-handball from Aaron Cadman in the right forward pocket and stop-started his way through the Suns defence, before kicking a cheeky checkside goal to give his side a three-goal break close to half-time.
With the game still in the balance shortly after the main break, he was close to the drop of the ball in the hotspot to fumble a first touch, then regather, turn his back to goal and deliver a Gary Ablett senior-like hook-kick over his shoulder to demoralise the Suns and put the Giants on the way to victory.
There were many other reasons the Suns lost.
Their inability to adapt to the fierce whirling wind for one, but Greene’s delivery when it counted was there.
Suddenly the Giants are within striking distance of the top four.
It’s not so much that Giants Stadium is a fortress (it’s not), but getting the double chance is important, as is the prospect of avoiding finals on the road at the MCG before they have to.
There are a few tough assignments left before September, not the least of which is the surging Hawks in two weeks, the Lions at the Gabba in round 22 and a final-round outing against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Lachlan Whitfield (GWS)
2. Sam Flanders (Gold Coast)
1. Tom Green (GWS)
3. Midfield dominance the key for Saints
At Docklands on Saturday, the St Kilda-West Coast game was a one-sided watch between two sides well out of contention.
All you can do if you are the Saints is produce a strong team performance and that they did in spades, kicking their highest score of the season, 17.11. (113).
The numbers really do tell the story of the game.
St Kilda had 15 centre clearances against a West Coast midfield missing Elliot Yeo.
The Saints overwhelmed the Eagles as the game went on, making a monstrous 67 forward entries for the game, and landing 19 marks inside 50.
One of the beneficiaries was Tim Membrey, who had a day out kicking five goals.
They also produced a whopping 23 tackles inside forward 50, compared to none for the Eagles.
Does it mean much in the scheme of things? Not really.
The Eagles are where they are for a reason, and this is just one to remind the Saints what happens when they can put the foot to the floor in an attacking sense.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Tim Membrey (St Kilda)
2. Jack Steele (St Kilda)
1. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda)
4. Ginnivan, Hawks turn the page on the Pies
There wasn’t much twilight at the MCG late on Saturday afternoon, as the rain came for Hawthorn and Collingwood.
The Hawks were already ahead when it arrived, and the conditions that saw the Magpies look like they were running through treacle for most of the game, did not seem to affect the Hawks a jot.
Everywhere you looked there was a younger Hawks player doing the business against last year’s premiers.
Whether it was Nick Watson delivering team-lifting goals and moments, or Jai Newcombe taking contested marks like they were going out of fashion, or Massimo D’Ambrosio delivering to the forwards or occasionally stepping through tackles and finishing things off himself.
But the fulcrum — and the emotional driving force — was Ginnivan, who had 31 disposals, a couple of cracking goals and a part in almost every big Hawthorn move as this team powered out of sight of the Magpies.
He was never shy of being himself at Collingwood, such as his visit to the trots on the eve of the grand final, or his in-your-face play, or his regular attraction of controversy on the field.
It seems, however, he has found his true home with the brown and gold.
It was fitting, perhaps, that it was Ginnivan who kicked the goal that put the Hawks 60 points up late in the game before giving the “go to sleep” signal to the camera, marking the all-but-end of his former team’s flag dreams.
As the crowd roared out the club song after the siren, and the young Hawks gathered for an obligatory selfie/video (with the camera held by Ginnivan, naturally), there was a sense that the growing self-belief of his team could see them achieve just about anything.
Maybe it will be sooner than others think.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Jack Ginnivan (Hawthorn)
2. James Sicily (Hawthorn)
1. Dylan Moore (Hawthorn)
5. Cats left to reflect on ‘really bad night’
On the back of three consecutive wins, it appeared Geelong’s season was back on track ahead of its match-up with the Western Bulldogs at Kardinia Park on Saturday night.
Starting the round in third place on the ladder, the Cats were favourites but they struggled to compete with an upbeat Bulldogs outfit in wet and muddy conditions.
They failed to kick a goal in the opening quarter and trailed at every break, although the Bulldogs’ 47-point win was not confirmed until late in the final term.
Cats coach Chris Scott isn’t panicking, putting the defeat down to what he described as a “really bad night”.
“You can lose to anyone and if the opposition are really good, you’re going to find yourself under pressure,” Scott said.
“I thought it was an uncharacteristic performance.
“So if that happens regularly, you just become a bad team. I don’t think that’s us at the moment.”
The Cats slipped to sixth place on the ladder, while the Bulldogs are ninth, two points adrift of the top eight.
ABC player of the year votes:
3. Adam Treloar (Western Bulldogs)
2. Rory Lobb (Western Bulldogs)
1. Ed Richards (Western Bulldogs)
6. How the Power sparked Dixon into action
Hinkley admits he poked the bear when he “picked a fight” with Dixon amid the forward’s poor run of form this season.
Up until round 12, Dixon only had 13 goals from 10 senior appearances, a dry spell that included three consecutive matches where he failed to kick a major.
Dixon was missing from the Power’s senior line-up between round 13 and 17, before returning last week in the 14-point loss to Gold Coast in Carrara.
He only kicked one goal against the Suns, but he roared back to life in the Power’s 41-point win over Richmond at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Dixon managed four goals and was a key target for the Power inside the attacking 50.
Hinkley had his own way of challenging Dixon to rediscover his form.
“Something I have learnt … in football for a long time, if you want someone to fight, pick a fight,” Hinkley said.
“And I picked a fight with Charlie about whether he did want to keep going.”
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
2. Daniel Rioli (Richmond)
1. Logan Evans (Port Adelaide)
7. Lions’ battle with Swans ‘like Federer and Nadal’
The fourth quarter of the Brisbane Lions’ two-point win over the Sydney Swans will go down as one of the best we will see this season.
The lead was exchanged several times between the two sides before Callum Ah Chee kicked the final goal of the match to put the Lions in front for the siren.
There was drama throughout the match, as the ladder-leading Swans were hit with injury after Dane Rampe (calf) and Tom Papley (ankle) were forced out of the contest in the first half.
The see-sawing nature of the Lions’ win saw coach Chris Fagan liken the encounter to those witnessed on the tennis court between two of the greatest players of all time, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“It was one of those games … it was like Federer and Nadal playing a game of tennis,” Fagan told his post-match media conference.
“One team would be on top and then the other team would be on top.”
After a slow start to their season, the Lions have won seven straight matches to move to third place on the ladder.
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane Lions)
2. Chad Warner (Sydney Swans)
1. Cam Rayner (Brisbane Lions)
8. Dockers’ win over Demons comes at a cost
It’s not often a side can win by 50 points in the AFL, yet finish the match in an anxious state.
But that’s how Fremantle feels after skipper Alex Pearce re-injured his left arm in the Dockers’ convincing defeat of Melbourne in Perth on Sunday afternoon.
Pearce was subbed off in the third quarter in what was his first match since fracturing his left forearm against Gold Coast in round 15.
He will have scans, but Dockers coach Justin Longmuir admits to being “nervous”.
“He’s [Pearce] a little bit frustrated,” Longmuir said.
“He would have liked to have gotten through the game.
“Being the captain of the club and being in such good form all year, he wants to be out there competing with his brothers.
“Fingers crossed he’ll be out there next week.”
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Caleb Serong (Fremantle)
2. Josh Treacy (Fremantle)
1. Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)
9. Kangaroos see positives despite going down to Blues
At the beginning of round 19, second-placed Carlton was not expected to face much of a challenge from North Melbourne, who sat in 17th position with a 2-15 win-loss record.
But there were moments during Sunday’s twilight clash at Docklands where it seemed the Kangaroos could cause a major boilover.
They led by 11 points at half-time and despite falling behind the Blues in the third quarter, they still had moments where they threatened their high-flying opponents.
It was a performance that attracted praise from Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson, who noted how his young side had the Blues under pressure for passages of play.
“The bounce of the ball, a decision here or there and it could’ve been a very different result,” Clarkson said.
“It was a three-goal margin at the end but it was an arm-wrestle from go to whoa.
“It’s a real credit to our lads that we were able to hold in there for the fight.”
The Blues appeared to be relieved to have chalked up the win, although they didn’t come through unscathed, with Tom De Koning (foot) and Sam Walsh (back) hampered by injury.
ABC Sport player of the year votes:
3. Harry Sheezel (North Melbourne)
2. Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne)
1. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
