Saturday’s shootout between Greater Western Sydney and Western Bulldogs not solely supplied an ideal exhibition of the talents of AFL soccer but in addition the very best whole match rating since Round 7, 2021.
The Bulldogs missed equalling their highest rating in opposition to the Giants by one level (Round 22, 2019), and confirmed that they nonetheless have the firepower to assist form the ultimate eight.
Although they nonetheless stay one sport off the tempo in tenth place, they’ve a superior share to the 5 groups presently above them – a helpful benefit in what seems more likely to be a good tussle for positions 5 to eight over the ultimate 10 rounds.
As you’ll count on in a sport through which 35 objectives have been scored, a variety of milestones have been achieved: Coby Weightman, the dynamic Bulldogs ahead, scored 5 objectives within the first half of the sport.
His fifth was his fiftieth purpose in AFL soccer and advised that this first-round draft decide, who was a Rising Star nominee and obtained one vote within the Brownlow Medal final yr, shall be an virtually sure qualifier for top 100 purpose kicker standing on the Bulldogs both this yr or subsequent.
He completed the sport with 5 objectives and a relocated dislocated elbow which hopefully won’t trigger the lack of too many (if any) video games.
Aaron Naughton additionally kicked 5 objectives and continued his regular climb up the Bulldogs’ purpose kickers checklist, passing now-Geelong participant Shaun Higgins, former coach Don McKenzie, Bernie O’Brien – who performed one yr at Carlton in the course of his profession on the Bulldogs which completed in 1938 – and Ryan Griffin, who left the membership for Greater Western Sydney in controversial circumstances in 2015.
Naughton’s speedy climb up the purpose kicking checklist means he’ll now have two well-known names in his sights: Ted Whitten junior and Barry Hall.
Talking about controversial, Greater Western Sydney’s Toby Greene kicked a private greatest seven objectives, which included his 250th purpose. Greene is by far the Giants’ second best purpose scorer however nonetheless stays 175 objectives behind the now-Geelong-based Jeremy Cameron.
Toby Greene (Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
At 28 years of age, he would seem to have the power to bridge this hole. All different GWS purpose scorers already additionally characteristic within the membership’s top 100 purpose scorers.
From a video games perspective, Adam Kennedy equalled the now-Melbourne-based Adam Tomlinson because the tenth best video games participant on the Giants.
At the Western Bulldogs, the proficient and very hardworking Jack Macrae strikes in the direction of the 200-game mark, passing Brian Lake and equalling Liam Picken on 198 video games. GWS launched ex-Foster participant Ryan Angwin to AFL soccer. Angwin was the Giants’ decide at 18 within the 2020 draft.
In the ultimate sport of Round 13, Jarrod Witts equalled the sport tally at Gold Coast of Dion Prestia who six years in the past left the membership to play for Richmond. The following yr, Witts joined the Suns after 4 years at Collingwood.
Born inside a month of one another practically 30 years in the past, the 2 gamers reached the overall of 95 video games with the identical variety of wins (26), which suggests no progress has been made within the Witts period when in comparison with the Prestia period.
However, I’d counsel that – as their win over Adelaide leaves them in eleventh place, just one sport out of the eight with a greater share than fellow contenders Collingwood and Port Adelaide – this could be the Gold Coast Suns’ greatest season ever.
The Suns have by no means completed greater than twelfth, so the following 10 matches ought to inform a narrative.
