Australian Football

Finals Week 1

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Premiership Season 2016 - Finals Week 1 Review

Total Crowd 238,841 (Avg 59,710)

There were those who doubted the wisdom of the AFL's decision to schedule a bye for all sides before week one of the finals, perhaps even those at the AFL who made the call. But after a weekend that produced produced upsets, a thrilling finish and a litany of enthralling highlights, the pre-finals bye is now being hailed as great success by far more than most would have forecast seven days ago. 

Perhaps not all were entirely happy with how it all panned out, though. In particular, the bye did no apparent favours to the West Coast Eagles, who were in white-hot form when the home-and-away season drew to a close, but were soundly beaten by the Bulldogs, who more than any other team benefited from the week off, with four key players returning from injury, at least two of whom probably would not have been available had the match been played a week earlier. 

The weekend got better from there, with Geelong and Hawthorn turning on a thriller for the umpteenth time in a row, with their match not decided until after the final siren. Saturday saw GWS announced itself as a force seeing off Sydney with a big second half, while even Saturday night's match, though following the script most had expected, was set alight by Eddie Betts, whose six-goal performance had the Crows' fans in raptures.

Kicking off the long weekend of finals footy was the first Thursday night final to be played in V/AFL history and the way the match panned out, the Western Bulldogs could be forgiven for advocating all future finals involving them being played on that day. The Dogs were ferocious from the word go but wasted early chances by kicking three behinds in a row. When the Eagles replied with two straight goals, the prospect of a big West Coast win loomed large. 

But Bulldogs' fans need not have worried. Their team's manic attack on the ball and any Eagle in possession of it would continue for the full 120 minutes of the match. After West Coast had kicked those first two goals, the Dogs kicked seven in a row to stun Eagles players, coaches and fans. So comprehensive was the performance, the Dog won all four quarters, a very rare feat playing away interstate in a final, and cantered away to a 47-point victory. 

Friday night's match didn't provide the unexpected winner that Thursday had, but it did produce yet another thrilling instalment in the saga that is Geelong versus Hawthorn, a thrilling adventure ride that seems to get better with each passing chapter. The Cats were favourites to take out this match and, ultimately, they did but not before a match that saw one side, and then the other, in the ascendency.

Geelong held the early advantage and led by 14 points early in the second quarter before the Hawks hit their straps to lead by seven at half time. They extended that margin to 17 points midway through the third term and Geelong appeared to be hanging by a thread. But the Cats hit back late in the third term to take the led and set up a thrilling final quarter which climaxed with Isaac Smith having a post-siren shot to win the match for Hawthorn. Smith missed, allowing Geelong to somehow sneak into a preliminary final, and it is now the Hawks who hang by a thread. 

The first of two Saturday matches pitted Sydney, which finished at the top of the ladder against the fourth-placed GWS Giants. The match was played at Stadium Australia, a controversial move given it took away the home-ground advantage that Sydney had earned by finishing on top and that no AFL match had been played there this year.

Nevertheless, Stadium Australia was the venue, and it was ultimately an unhappy one for the Swans. After an incredibly tight first half, full of hard, tough, in-close football (and no shortage of errors) the Giants hit their straps in the third and fourth quarters and stunned Sydney to win by 36 points, the best performance by a first-time finalist since the VFL expanded beyond 12 teams in 1987. The Giants now find themselves only one game away from a Grand Final berth in openly their fifth year in the competition. 

Saturday night provided the only first-week final which followed the storyline that most would have predicted, with Adelaide having a big win over North Melbourne to advance to the semi-final stage. The Kangaroos stayed in touch until half time but succumbed to the potency of Adelaide's multifaceted forward line in the third and final quarters, the Crows eventually winning by more than 10 goals. Eddie Betts stood out for the Crows, his six-goal haul taking his season total to 72, a brilliant achievement for a small forward. 

So, after the first week of the 2016 finals series, eight has become six. Two of those, Geelong and GWS, have earned the week off and are within sight of a Grand Final berth. The other four will do it all again next weekend as they fight to become part of the final four clubs left in the race. On Friday night, Hawthorn will attempt to keep alive its hopes of a fabled fourth consecutive premiership. The Hawks will start favourites, but if the Bulldogs bring to the table what they did against the Eagles on Thursday, they will not be without a chance.

Saturday night will see the Swans return to a preferred venue, the SCG, to host the Adelaide Crows in the other semi final. Sydney didn't finish on top without reason, and will be slightly favoured to win but, as with the Bulldogs against the Hawks, the Crows' very best, which has been as good as anyone's this year, will see them give the Swans a huge run for their money. 

May the second week of the finals be just as good as the first!

Leading goalkickers after Finals Week 1

82 - Josh Kennedy, WCo (2)
74 - Lance Franklin, Syd (0)
72 - Eddie Betts, Adel (6)
66 - Tom Lynch, GCo (-)
62 - Josh Jenkins, Adel (2)
54 - Tom Hawkins, Geel (2)
53 - Jeremy Cameron, GWS (4)
50 - Jack Gunston, Haw (2)
48 - Jack Riewoldt, Rich (-)
46 - Luke Breust, Haw (3)

R-23, Ladder