Eagles fall to Kangaroos as Power, Hawks claim AFL wins
The second-placed Eagles will rue their upset loss to the Kangaroos, who stay in the hunt for an AFL finals berth, while the Power and Hawks claim away wins.
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Kangaroos upset Eagles to keep finals hopes alive
North Melbourne remains in the race for the finals with an upset 40-point win over West Coast in Hobart.
The dogged Kangaroos ran away with it in the second half in the 12.9.81 to 6.5.41 victory against an Eagles side missing Josh Kennedy and Luke Shuey to injury.
North Melbourne more than doubled West Coast's inside 50s – 38 to 16 during a scrappy first half but managed only a 34-31 lead at half-time.
External Link: North – Eagles summary
They pulled away in the all-important third quarter, though, booting four-straight to lead 61-38 heading into the final term.
West Coast could not respond, with its sole second-half goal coming from Elliot Yeo at the start of the third.
The Kangaroos' Ben Cunnington was one of the best on ground with a match-high 39 touches and a crucial major midway through the third.
Jack Ziebell, Mason Wood and Shaun Higgins kicked doubles, as did the Eagles' Willie Rioli – his highlight a low skidding goal in the opening quarter.
External Link: North – Eagles stats
The Eagles were looking for four straight wins and a top-two berth to secure a home qualifying final.
They return home to play Fremantle next round.
The Kangaroos, whose remaining four games are against sides below them on the ladder, are a win outside the top eight.
Power beat Bulldogs to move into top four
Port Adelaide has clawed its way back into the top four, prevailing over the Western Bulldogs by 44 points in a wet-weather slugfest in Ballarat.
Sunday afternoon's 11.12 (78) to 5.4 (34) victory in bitterly cold conditions snaps a two-game losing streak and leaves the Power two points clear of fifth-placed GWS.
Charlie Dixon starred for the Power with five goals while Jared Polec, Chad Wingard and Brad Ebert led the way in the midfield.
The 14th-placed Bulldogs managed just one goal for the second half and went scoreless in the final term on the way to a fourth straight loss.
External Link: Bulldogs – Power summary
Perhaps their only good news is they appeared to escape unscathed after a shocking run of injuries.
A pre-game flurry of hail, persistent rain and a temperature of four degrees Celsius at the opening bounce made for a scrappy contest with goals at a premium.
The Bulldogs had the breeze in their favour early and made a promising start, restricting the Power to a two-point lead at quarter-time.
The Power dominated the second term as conditions briefly cleared – they had 20 inside 50s to the Bulldogs' five – but used the ball poorly and failed to capitalise on their supply.
The visitors led by four points at half-time but were quick out of the blocks in the third term through Dixon, who towelled up Bulldogs opponent Marcus Adams.
External Link: Bulldogs – Power stats
Gun midfielder Jackson Macrae (36 disposals, 12 clearances) continued to spur the Bulldogs on but the Power's well-drilled backline was letting nothing through and the floodgates opened for the visitors with seven goals after half-time.
Brilliant utility Robbie Gray was quiet by his lofty standards with 19 touches and a goal, while Paddy Ryder and Tom Jonas made solid returns from injury.
Macrae, Jackson Trengove (28 hitouts, 10 clearances) and returning skipper Marcus Bontempelli were the stand-outs for the Bulldogs.
The Power face a tough run home with next week's Showdown followed by games against second-placed West Coast, third-placed Collingwood and a resurgent Essendon.
Hawks dominate Dockers to win in the west
Tom Mitchell has boosted his Brownlow Medal hopes with a star display in Hawthorn's 59-point thrashing of Fremantle in Perth.
Mitchell tallied 42 possessions, seven clearances and two goals on Sunday as the Hawks prevailed 17.10 (112) to 7.11 (53) in front of a crowd of 41,845.
Hawks forward Luke Breust (four goals), Jaeger O'Meara (33 disposals, one goal) and veteran Shaun Burgoyne (20 disposals, seven clearances) were also crucial in the win.
Fremantle was held goalless from the 11-minute mark of the first term until the 22-minute mark of the third quarter, allowing the Hawks to boot eight unanswered goals and build a 50-point lead.
The win lifted Hawthorn (11-7) into seventh spot on the ladder.
But with teams likely to need at least 13 wins to make this year's finals series, the Hawks still have some work to do, especially with tricky games against Essendon, Geelong and Sydney (SCG) in their run home.
External Link: Dockers – Hawks summary
Mitchell is the hot favourite to win this year's Brownlow Medal and his performance against the Dockers will help his cause.
The 25-year-old made a scintillating start to the match with four early centre clearances to help the Hawks boot three of the opening four goals.
The Dockers sent tagger Bailey Banfield to Mitchell after the early barrage and it allowed the home side to work their way back into the contest.
The margin was just 11 points at quarter-time but the game became one-way traffic from that point on.
External Link: Dockers – Hawks stats
Fremantle registered just six inside 50s in the second quarter and the second half proved just as painful as the Hawks strolled to victory.
The Dockers threw full-back Joel Hamling at full forward in the second half out of desperation but the premiership defender was not able to score a goal.
Mitchell kept running to the end in a match that should earn him another three Brownlow Medal votes.
And importantly, Hawthorn's percentage improved by 3.7 per cent in the dominant win.
Burgoyne's strong return from a hamstring injury also gave Hawthorn supporters plenty of reasons to smile.
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External Link: AFL 2018 ladder
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