Australian Football

Round 15

Premiership Season 2017 - Round 15 Review

Total Crowd 306,713 (Avg 34,079)

Round 15 didn't quite produce four games decided by three points or fewer as its predecessor had, but it did provide us with the season's first drawn match, between two of this year's heavyweights, GWS and Geelong. And in truth, there were three other matches that came within a whisker of being decided by three points or fewer. The margin in the Bulldogs-Eagles, Bombers-Lions and Dockers-Saints matches were all within the three-point range before the winning side in each match kicking the closing goal in the final couple of minutes. 

At the end of it all, four sides perhaps stand out as potential premiers, the current top four - GWS, Adelaide, Geelong and Richmond. As even as this season continues to be, these four have probably played more consistently good football than the others. Whether they can continue to do is another question altogether.

The round kicked off on Friday with Melbourne hosting Sydney and looking for a top-four spot. The game was immediately tarnished by a punch from Demon Tomas Bugg which landed on Swan Callum Mills' chin, concussing him and forcing him out of the match. Bugg had little impact himself on the match from there, and Sydney overcame poor kicking early in the match to record a 35-point win which sees it pushing for a top-eight place, a remarkable achievement for a side that lost its first six games.

On Saturday the Western Bulldogs' stop-start season came to a stop once more at Docklands, with the Dogs going down narrowly to West Coast for the second time this season. The Eagles dominated the first three quarters before the Bulldogs, who had looked out of sorts all game, came home with a rush, getting within a point before a late goal from Nathan Vardy saw West Coast home by seven.

Across town at the MCG, Carlton pushed Adelaide right to the brink. The Crows got off to a flyer, kicking the first four goals, but the Blues pegged them back, actually hitting the front midway through the final term before late goals saw Adelaide to a 12-point win.

Saturday's twilight game pitted Gold Coast against North Melbourne at Carrara in Gary Ablett's 300th AFL match. The Suns broke away to a 40-point lead before withstanding several fight-backs from North, eventually winning by 19 points. The 'Little Master' celebrated his 300th game with a typically prolific performance, collecting 37 possessions.

The two Saturday night games saw four of the five top sides in action, with GWS hosting Geelong and Port Adelaide Richmond at the Adelaide Oval.

The Sydney Showground match was a thriller, with Geelong narrowly holding sway over the Giants against the odds for much of the night. The Cats were missing injured skipper Joel Selwood and were debuting three players, yet were ahead by as much as 20 points early in the final term before GWS made a late charge to hit the front by a point late in the match. Geelong's final foray forward saw Tom Hawkins mark and have a shot after the siren. An accurate kick would have seen the Cats home but he missed, and the match was drawn. 

At the Adelaide Oval the home side was favoured to win, and with Richmond struggling to find an avenue to goal in the first half, it looked like Port Adelaide would take the game as predicted by most. But the Tigers were brilliant after the long break, kicking eight goals to three, to turn a 15-point deficit into an impressive 13-point win and move into the top four. 

Sunday's matches produced two thrillers and another blow for Collingwood and its coach Nathan Buckley.

The early game saw Brisbane travel to Melbourne to take on Essendon at Docklands and the Bombers lived up to their favouritism for much of the match, leading by 27 points early in the final term. But a run of five goals from Brisbane quickly turned the match on its head and the Lions scored an upset eight-point win to severely dent the Dons' hopes of playing in finals in 2017. 

At the MCG Hawthorn faced Collingwood, the two sides having met at the same venue only six weeks earlier. The Magpies started well but before long found themselves four goals in arrears before mounting a comeback that saw them lead at the start of the final quarter. But the Hawks finished strongly, eventually winning by four goals to reduce Collingwood's finals chances down to 'mathematical' status only.

The final game of the round saw St Kilda take on Fremantle at Subiaco. A brilliant six-goal game from Michael Walters saw the Dockers ahead for most of the match, albeit never by much, but the Saints showed great composure late in the game, with two late majors from Josh Bruce helping them steal a nine-point win. 

With eight rounds to go before the finals, there are only four teams that most would rule completely out of finals calculations (although all teams can still make it in theory), Round 15 might see a few more added to that list - or perhaps it will muddy the waters further. Either way, we are likely to see more thrillers, with the season already having provided plenty.

Leading goalkickers after round 15

40 - Jeremy Cameron (GWS), Lance Franklin (Syd)
38 - Joe Daniher (Ess)
37 - Eddie Betts (Adel)
35 - Jack Riewoldt (Rich), Robbie Gray (Port)
34 - Josh Kennedy (WCo), Ben Brown (NM), Taylor Walker (Adel)
32 - Tom Hawkins (Geel), Tom Lynch (GCo)

R-15, Ladder