AFL finals hopes rose and fell on the boot of Richmond and former crows ruckman Ivan Maric.
THEY SAID IT: “The rule, I’m sure, says something about: ‘If you don’t dispose of the ball correctly, it is incorrect disposal’. We are a little bit bamboozled by that.” Carlton coach Mick Malthouse was fuming about the umpiring in his side’s narrow loss to Hawthorn on Friday night.
STATS THAT MATTER: Hawthorn have notched 10 wins in a row for the first time since 1983-84. If they beat West Coast and Brisbane in the next two rounds, they’ll equal their club record streak of 12 ahead of their round-15 clash with Geelong.
MAN OF THE ROUND: Underrated Fremantle midfielder David Mundy kicked two crucial goals late in the third quarter, among his 27 disposals, to ensure the Dockers made comfortable work of Brisbane on Saturday.
KEY MOMENT: Richmond ruckman Ivan Maric plucked the ball directly from a boundary throw-in and snapped a goal early in the last quarter to snuff out a threat of an Adelaide comeback at the MCG on Saturday.
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TALKING POINT: With young forward-ruckman Joe Daniher impressing in his second AFL game against Gold Coast on Saturday night, will Tom Bellchambers get back in the Bombers side?
TRIBUNAL WATCH: Hawthorn’s Luke Hodge should be cleared for the collision which fractured Marc Murphy’s cheekbone. But a later incident in which he delivered a high bump on Lachie Henderson will be scrutinised. Greater Western Sydney’s Jeremy Cameron might be cited for a round-arm swipe which downed Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard. A light jab by Fremantle’s Stephen Hill to the face of Brisbane’s Andrew Raines might also attract attention, although was probably too soft to constitute a strike.
KEY INJURIES: Marc Murphy (Carl, cheekbone), Michael Hurley (Ess, wrist), Tom Lynch (GC, PCL), Michael Rischitelli (GC, elbow), Lance Franklin (Haw, hand), Travis Boak (Port, finger), Cameron Hitchcock (Port, ankle).
UNDER PRESSURE: Carlton, coming off tight back-to-back losses and barely hanging on to eighth spot, have the bye next weekend before tough clashes with Sydney and Collingwood. The ever-present pressure on Melbourne hasn’t decreased over their bye weekend, with Jeff Kennett urging the AFL to help him step straight into their presidency. HAWTHORN 4.4 6.6 11.8 15.12 (102) CARLTON 4.2 8.5 11.6 13.9 (87) Goals: Hawthorn: J Roughead 4 L Franklin 4 J Gunston 3 B Hill D Hale L Hodge S Mitchell. Carlton: E Betts 3 J Waite 2 B Gibbs C Judd D Armfield L Casboult M Kreuzer M Robinson S Rowe Z Tuohy. Best: Hawthorn: G Birchall L Hodge B Lake J Roughead L Franklin B Hill J Gibson S Mitchell. Carlton: B McLean B Gibbs C Judd K Simpson J Cachia H Scotland E Betts. Injuries: Hawthorn: L Franklin (hand). Carlton: M Murphy (broken cheekbone) M Robinson (shoulder) A Carrazzo (calf) replaced in selected side by S Rowe. Reports: Nil. Umpires: Matt Stevic, Ray Chamberlain, Mathew Nicholls. Official Crowd: 45,670 at Etihad Stadium.
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RICHMOND 5.2 9.7 11.10 16.14 (110) ADELAIDE 2.1 5.4 6.10 10.12 (72) Goals: Richmond: D Martin 4 J Riewoldt 3 B Ellis 2 S Grigg 2 C Newman I Maric J King S Edwards T Cotchin. Adelaide: J Jenkins 2 P Dangerfield 2 D Mackay I Callinan J Porplyzia N van Berlo S Thompson T Lynch. Best: Richmond: D Martin B Deledio N Foley B Houli B Ellis J Riewoldt T Cotchin. Adelaide: P Dangerfield S Thompson B Rutten R Sloane R Douglas. Injuries: Nil. Reports: Nil. Umpires: Simon Meredith, Shane Stewart, Dean Margetts. Official Crowd: 43,615 at MCG.
FREMANTLE 3.4 6.7 8.9 12.14 (86) BRISBANE 2.1 3.7 4.9 6.10 (46) Goals: Fremantle: C Mayne 2 D Mundy 2 M Johnson 2 D Pearce J Hannath M De Boer R Crowley S Hill Z Clarke. Brisbane: J Lisle 3 A McGrath 2 T Rockliff. Best: Fremantle: D Mundy M Barlow G Ibbotson M Johnson D Pearce T Mzungu. Brisbane: M Golby S Mayes J Patfull J Adcock R Lester J Redden. Injuries: Nil. Reports: Nil. Umpires: Stephen McBurney, Jeff Dalgleish, Craig Fleer. Official Crowd: 33,384 at Subiaco.
ESSENDON 4.3 9.3 13.7 17.13 (115) GOLD COAST SUNS 1.2 5.5 7.5 11.6 (72) Goals: Essendon: J Daniher 3 S Crameri 3 M Hurley 2 P Ryder 2 A Davey B Goddard B Howlett B Stanton D Myers M Hibberd N Kommer. Gold Coast Suns: C Brown 2 M Rischitelli 2 T Nicholls 2 D Prestia G Ablett J Harbrow J Hutchins S Day. Best: Essendon: B Goddard P Ryder M Hibberd J Watson J Daniher S Crameri C Hooker J Carlisle B Stanton T Pears. Gold Coast Suns: G Ablett J O’Meara R Thompson T Sumner C Brown J Harbrow. Injuries: Essendon: M Hurley (wrist). Gold Coast Suns: T Lynch (knee) M Rischitelli (elbow). Reports: Nil. Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Jacob Mollison, Luke Farmer. Official Crowd: 31,452 at Etihad Stadium.
PORT ADELAIDE 6.5 12.7 17.9 19.11 (125) GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY GIANTS 1.1 1.5 3.10 6.14 (50) Goals: Port Adelaide: A Monfries 3 J Schulz 3 T Boak 3 C O’Shea 2 J Butcher 2 T Logan 2 C Wingard H Hartlett J Westhoff K Cornes. Greater Western Sydney Giants: J Cameron 2 L Whitfield T Adams W Hoskin-Elliott Z Williams. Best: Port Adelaide: T Boak Brad Ebert C Wingard K Cornes C O’Shea A Monfries. Greater Western Sydney Giants: A Tomlinson T Scully J Giles T Greene. Injuries: Port Adelaide: C Hitchcock (rolled ankle) T Boak (dislocated finger). Greater Western Sydney Giants: Nil. Reports: Nil. Umpires: Brett Rosebury, David Harris, Leigh Fisher. Official Crowd: 6,601 at Skoda Stadium.
COLLINGWOOD 4.2 11.4 13.6 15.9 (99) WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.2 2.5 4.9 9.11 (65) Goals: Collingwood: T Cloke 5 J Elliott 2 B Kennedy D Jolly J Blair J Thomas K Martin P Seedsman S Dwyer S Pendlebury. Western Bulldogs: D Giansiracusa 2 J Stringer 2 K Stevens M Boyd R Griffen R Murphy T Liberatore. Best: Collingwood: H Shaw D Swan S Pendlebury T Cloke H O’Brien M Williams N Brown J Elliott. Western Bulldogs: R Murphy R Griffen W Minson J Stringer B Goodes. Injuries: Collingwood: L Ball (calf) replaced in selected side by A Oxley. Western Bulldogs: K Stevens (shoulder). Reports: Nil. Umpires: Scott Jeffery, Jason Armstrong, Jordan Bannister. Official Crowd: 32,253 at Etihad Stadium.
Bye – West Coast, Geelong, North Melbourne Kangaroos, Melbourne, St Kilda, Sydney
LADDER AFTER ROUND 12
P W L D For Agst PC Pts
Hawthorn 11 10 1 – 1307 897 145.7 40
Geelong 11 10 1 – 1291 997 129.5 40
Essendon 12 9 3 – 1267 963 131.6 36
Sydney 11 8 2 1 1144 848 134.9 34
Fremantle 11 8 2 1 990 770 128.6 34
Collingwood 12 8 4 – 1152 1062 108.5 32
Richmond 11 7 4 – 1081 946 114.3 28
Carlton 12 6 6 – 1211 1036 116.9 24
West Coast 11 6 5 – 1135 987 115.0 24
Port Adelaide 11 6 5 – 1071 935 114.6 24
Adelaide 12 5 7 – 1108 1070 103.6 20
Gold Coast Suns 12 5 7 – 1031 1114 92.6 20
North Melbourne 11 4 7 – 1148 1033 111.1 16
Western Bulldogs 11 3 8 – 854 1126 75.8 12
Brisbane 11 3 8 – 829 1127 73.6 12
St Kilda 11 2 9 – 900 1049 85.8 8
Melbourne 11 1 10 – 724 1455 49.8 4
GWS Giants 12 – 12 – 876 1704 51.4 –
LEADING GOALKICKERS 35: L Thomas (Kangaroos) 0 34: J Riewoldt (Richmond) 3, T Cloke (C’wood) 5, J Kennedy (West Coast) 0 33: J Cameron (GWS Giants ) 2 31: L Franklin (Hawthorn) 4, J Roughead (Hawthorn) 4 30: N Riewoldt (St Kilda) 0 29: T Hawkins (Geelong) 0 27: J Garlett (Carlton) 0, S Crameri (Essendon) 3
