Swans complete remarkable win over Cats, Hawks respond against Saints
Sydney's come-from-behind win over Geelong is the highlight of a loaded day of AFL, which also saw the Hawks return to winning ways and the Crows, Giants and Power claim victories.
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Hawks make the most of Saints' wastefulness to win
Hawthorn has finished with a wet sail to overcome St Kilda by 35 points in an AFL match where both teams have suffered the yips in front of goal.
The Hawks never trailed on Saturday night in Launceston but were made to work for a 13.11 (89) to 7.12 (54) victory.
Isaac Smith kicked four goals and was backed up by Jack Gunston, who booted three including a crucial major early in the final term.
Hawthorn piled on four-straight goals to run away with the match after having its lead cut to just a point early in the third quarter.
External Link: Hawks v Saints summary
St Kilda was left to rue a host of missed set shots — Hawthorn wasn't much better throughout but brought it together late.
Ball magnet Tom Mitchell was again in the thick of the action with 45 disposals, 16 higher than his next-best teammate Ricky Henderson (29).
Mitchell had a hefty 27 possessions by half-time.
Shaun Burgoyne made a solid return for Hawthorn with 16 touches and five marks.
External Link: Hawks v Saints stats
St Kilda was sluggish out of the blocks, kicking 0.4 for the opening term, as Hawthorn opened up a 19-point lead at quarter-time.
Tim Membrey looked set to break St Kilda's duck early in the second term but had the miss of the season, somehow finding the post at point-blank range from inside the goal square.
He made up for it, though, booting his side's first minutes later.
St Kilda dragged themselves back into the contest with three-straight goals to trail 33-25 at the main break.
Paddy McCartin kicked the first of the third term as the match tightened.
But back-to-back goals to Gunston and a running effort from Luke Bruest pushed Hawthorn out to 51-40 heading into the final term.
From there, it was one-way traffic.
Four-consecutive goals early in the fourth quarter broke the back of St Kilda, recording just one win from six rounds.
Crows run away with win over Suns
External Link: Adelaide v Gold Coast summaryExternal Link: Adelaide v Gold Coast stats
Giants comfortable in victory over determined Lions
Greater Western Sydney has consolidated its position among the early AFL frontrunners, with a 34-point win over Brisbane in an AFL match in which both teams kicked poorly.
GWS never trailed at any stage on Saturday night but neither did it look like tearing apart the winless Lions, and the home team recorded a 10.17 (77) to 5.13 (43) victory.
Hard-working Matt de Boer tallied a career-best 34 touches for GWS, who was also well served by fellow veterans Brett Deledio and Ryan Griffen, plus Lachie Whitfield, Tim Taranto and Stephen Coniglio.
External Link: Giants v Lions summary
Brisbane couldn't get anything going offensively in the first half, kicking just 1.6.
The Lions enjoyed a 47-4 advantage in the hitouts, with Stefan Martin dominating against makeshift ruckmen Jon Patton and Adam Tomlinson, but GWS largely controlled the game at ground level.
With goals from Zac Langdon, Jeremy Cameron and Deledio, GWS carved out a 17-point lead at the first break.
The Lions' first six shots were behinds and they didn't post a goal until 11 minutes into the second quarter when captain and leading possession-getter Dayne Beams landed a long-distance set shot after taking a courageous diving mark.
External Link: Giants v Lions stats
GWS hit back with majors to Daniel Lloyd, Adam Tomlinson and de Boer to lead by 33 points at half-time.
It took the Lions less than two minutes of the third quarter to kick a goal but GWS kicked the next two majors to establish a match-high advantage of 39 points.
Brisbane booted the last two goals of the term, including a 60m-plus bomb from an otherwise quiet Eric Hipwood, to trail by 26 at the last change and couldn't reduce the deficit in the last quarter.
Langdon came off in the second quarter with a knee injury, while Brisbane's Nick Robertson was placed on report.
Swans rally late for gutsy road win in Geelong
Sydney has stormed home with a seven-goal final-quarter blitz to stun Geelong by 17 points in the AFL match at Kardinia Park.
The Swans looked down and out when they trailed by 22 points at three-quarter time, having booted only one goal in the previous two terms.
Rookie Robbie Fox got the visitors up and going with a huge mark and goal early in the fourth quarter and his team-mates responded, as they kicked away to win 12.14 (86) to 10.9 (69).
External Link: Cats v Swans summary
It was Sydney's third straight victory at the stadium — the only three matches the Cats have dropped in the past 21 on their home deck.
With Callum Sinclair holding sway early in the ruck against Rhys Stanley, the Swans were good value for their 15-point lead at quarter-time.
But the home side wrested the momentum back their way in the second term, booting four goals to nil to lead by by 12 points at the long change.
Geelong midfielder George Horlin-Smith was concussed early in the quarter and took no further part in the match.
Sydney's only score of the second term was a behind following a dreadful error by Luke Parker.
External Link: Cats v Swans stats
The Swans midfielder took a strong mark at the top of the goalsquare but botched his simple set shot, allowing Zach Guthrie to get a finger on the ball while manning the mark.
Sydney finally broke its goalscoring drought midway through the third term.
But even then it required the intervention of the video official to determine that Isaac Heeney's accidental back heel had crossed the goal line after the umpires had initially called a rushed behind.
Fox and Will Hayward booted two goals apiece in the one-sided final quarter as Sydney turned a 22-point deficit into a 17-point triumph for its fourth win of 2018.
Jordan Murdoch was reported just before half-time for a high bump on Heeney, although there didn't appear to be any malice from the Geelong utility.
The Cats have another home game at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night against the GWS Giants, while the Swans' next challenge is against North Melbourne at the SCG.
Port flex muscle to beat in-form Roos
Port Adelaide has emerged from a horror week to post a morale-boosting 33-point win over North Melbourne at Docklands Stadium.
Jared Polec starred with 34 possessions and Sam Gray kicked four goals as the Power bounced back from consecutive losses with a 15.12 (102) to 10.9 (69) win in front of 17,617 fans on Saturday.
Port dealt with more than their fair share of adversity in the lead-up to the clash.
A difficult week included the messy falling out between chairman David Koch and the AFL over Sam Powell-Pepper, the family tragedy of Todd Marshall and a season-ending knee injury to Hamish Hartlett.
North's impressive early-season form saw them in the top four going into the clash but the Power simply had more contributors.
External Link: North v Port summary
Ken Hinkley's men didn't surrender the lead after Chad Wingard kicked his first goal midway through the first quarter.
But in a blow for Port, Wingard hobbled to the bench in the final term with a hamstring injury after kicking his second goal.
Tom Jonas did a good job on Ben Brown for the most part but the star Kangaroos spearhead still booted four goals.
Both sides were ferocious in their attack on the ball. However, Port were cleaner in possession and deserved their 16-point lead at the first break.
North lifted in the second quarter — Majak Daw inspired with a brilliant chase down tackle on Port skipper Travis Boak — but they couldn't capitalise.
External Link: North v Port stats
The Power did well to soak up the pressure and increased their advantage to 25 points at half-time after a late goal to Aidyn Johnson.
Jack Watts swooped on a loose ball and kicked a brilliant goal soon after the restart and Port were always going to be hard to beat from there.
Back-to-back goals from Jarrad Waite and Jy Simpkin gave home fans hope but Sam Gray's fourth goal late in the term was followed by Robbie Gray's first to push the Power's lead out to 37-points at three-quarter time.
Brown added his fourth and Waite his third as North fought to the finish line.
Hinkley's men head west to take on the Eagles at Perth Stadium in round seven, while the Roos travel to Sydney to clash with the Swans at the SCG.
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