Glenn’s 10: The 10 moments that shaped the AFL’s top eight
FEATS of football brilliance, match-costing mistakes, the umpire’s whistle and even the countdown clock helped shape the eight in 2017. Here are the 10 moments that mattered most.
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IT was the home-and-away season that seemingly had it all, complete with the twists and turns going down to the last frantic moments.
A few shots at goal; a couple of towering marks; a dramatic rundown of a player unaware others were stalking him; a decision to play on from fullback; and a dramatic goal-overrule helped change fortunes in one of the tightest run-downs to a finals series on record.
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Incredibly, three of those defining games came in Round 19.
Geelong and Greater Western Sydney masqueraded as the Houdini of the competition, dragging themselves up for air and wresting themselves out of impossible situations. Other teams such as Melbourne and Collingwood squandered opportunities where a few moments may have made all the difference.
Whatever way you look at it, the little moments added up to the big ones, as we look at the 10 games that helped to define the final eight.
1. The Shai Bolton overrule
Richmond v GWS, Round 9
GWS won by 3 points
Every single finals match would have been different if the result of this match had gone a different way. Richmond first-gamer Shai Bolton snapped what looked like the matchwinning goal in the dying moments, putting his team eight points ahead. But as Bolton and his teammates celebrated, another debutant Harry Perryman was insisting he had got a fingertip to the ball off the boot. A goal review followed and after a length delay Bolton’s goal was overturned. The margin was now back to two points. From the kick-in, and with time rapidly running out, the Giants swept the ball to the other end of the ground almost in a heartbeat. Jeremy Cameron nailed the matchwinning goal, sealing a second week of heartbreak for Tigers fans. If the goal had stood, the Tigers would have finished on top and would be playing Port Adelaide at the MCG, which would have left the Cats to take on the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Shai Bolton was nearly the hero, but he was denied glory in his debut game. #AFLGiantsTigers pic.twitter.com/4nvmP5NFow
— AFL (@AFL) May 20, 2017
The quote: “It’s heartbreaking. I walk away as a coach incredibly proud of our boys . they battled as hard as they could for as long as they could. We should have won,” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.
2. The Jack Darling mark and goal
West Coast v Adelaide, Round 23
West Coast won by 29 points
With only four minutes left in the final game of the home-and-away season, West Coast straddled a percentage tightrope, leading Adelaide by 23 points. Another goal would put them into the finals; another goal at the other end and Melbourne would replace them. A long bomb from Josh Kennedy seemed certain to miss when Jack Darling launched himself at the ball, crashing into the post, but dragging down the all-important mark. His goal from directly in front put the Eagles in the right mathematical frame to play finals. They fought out the last three-and-a-bit minutes as resolutely as they have had all season, guaranteeing they would play finals. When the siren sounded, retiring Eagles Sam Mitchell and Matt Priddis rejoiced about extending their season into another week. Across the other side of the country, Melbourne felt as if it was back in purgatory again, extending their finals drought for another season.
We're just going to leave this here... pic.twitter.com/mWTgrRvcY6
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) August 29, 2017
The quote: “Obviously Jack’s mark late in the game, and his defensive pressure, were really important ... Now we’re in it, we’re in it to win it,” West Coast coach Adam Simpson.
3. The Charlie Dixon rundown
Geelong v Port Adelaide, Round 10
Geelong won by 2 points
Port Adelaide looked set for a massive upset against Geelong at Simonds Stadium. The Power led by three points with just over three minutes remaining when Charlie Dixon took a mark inside attacking 50m. He took his time to get to his feet and went through a slow build-up for what was meant to be a routine shot at goal. But he miscalculated how much time he had. The umpire called play on with Mitch Duncan and Joel Selwood running at him. Dixon panicked, handballing it off to Justin Westhoff, who failed to make the distance. It led to a behind, and the Cats turned it around, with Patrick Dangerfield scoring the matchwinning goal with less than two minutes left. If Dixon had been quicker, his team might have held, and the difference would have seen them finish second behind Adelaide, earning them a home qualifying final. Geelong would have dropped to fourth and had to travel to take on the Crows.
The AFL has ticked off on a controversial decision in the final minutes of Geelong's thrilling win over Port Adelaide. @SeanSowerby7 #7News pic.twitter.com/WOelzWfVVy
— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) May 26, 2017
The quote: “I understood it ... time ran out. Unfortunately they (the umpires) got it 100 per cent correct. I don’t think I have ever seen it before, but that doesn’t matter,” Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.
4. The Michael Walters miss
Geelong v Fremantle, Round 14
Geelong won by 2 points
Another case of the Cats just scrapping through, which has been the difference between them hosting a home qualifying final against Richmond or being thrust in a daunting road trip to Adelaide to the take on the Crows. After a tough day at the office, Chris Scott’s team looked beaten against lowly Fremantle. At one stage they trailed by 35 points before the home side rallied in the final term. The Cats clung to a narrow lead in the dying seconds when Fremantle’s Michael Walters missed a quick snapshot from 20m that would have stolen the game back. If the kick had gone through, Geelong would have been on the road again to take on the AFL’s top side.
A resilient Geelong has claimed a thrilling 2 point win over Fremantle at Kardinia Park. @MarkM_9 #9News pic.twitter.com/4gLSPCLhz4
— Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) June 25, 2017
The quote: “One thing you can’t accuse our players of, right at the moment, is giving up. When things were going against us we just found a way to stay in the game,” Geelong coach Chris Scott.
5. The Isaac Smith miss
Hawthorn v Geelong, Round 17
Surprise, surprise, this was another bullet dodged by the Cats. On a day in which Patrick Dangerfield’s season looked over for a brief period before he re-emerged as the match winner, the Hawks appeared set to have an upset win to help Luke Hodge celebrated his 300th game. Geelong wrested the lead back late in the game. With less than 30 seconds left, Hodge took a handball from Shaun Burgoyne and nailed a goal from just inside 50m. The difference was four points. With 18 seconds left, the Hawks gained a centre break and the ball landed in the arms of Isaac Smith. He marked, but played on, with his kick going across the wrong side of the posts. A loss would have sent the Cats interstate for the first final. In isolation, if the Hawks had won, they would still have missed out, but a win like that could have changed their momentum.
The quote: “I wasn’t quite sure if I marked it outside 50 or inside 50, so I wasn’t sure on the distance and also I saw I had time and space in front of me and usually on the run I don’t miss and yesterday I did,” Hawthorn’s Isaac Smith.
6. David Mundy’s after-the-siren goal
Richmond v Fremantle, Round 8
Richmond lost by 2 points
A week before the Shai Bolton overrule, there was the David Mundy muck-up. Well, it wasn’t Mundy’s fault; the blame rested entirely with the Tigers. After trailing heavily at one stage, Richmond put itself back in front with a late goal to Brandon Ellis with 21 seconds left. It should have been game over; it wasn’t. Lachie Neale got the break and booted to Mundy in attack who gratefully accepted the ball. His coach Ross Lyon didn’t see that, or the subsequent goal he kicked that buried Richmond. Lyon later joked that he was already at Union Club Hotel in Fitzroy “on my second pot”. The truth was, he was in the lift, heading down to give his players a spray that he didn’t end up giving. He found out Mundy had sunk the Tigers again, and it just highlighted Richmond’s inability to close out tight games, an area that Damien Hardwick has addressed in the many months since. The Tigers would have finished top if they had won this game.
David Mundy has broken Richmond hearts for the second time in 3 years after kicking a match winning goal, after the siren at the MCG today pic.twitter.com/3dg3iENSgX
— 7 News Perth (@7NewsPerth) May 14, 2017
The quote: “Before the game I had about six shots from that exact spot and shanked all of them. So I just stuck to my routine and it came nicely off the boot,” Fremantle’s David Mundy.
7. Mitch McGovern’s mark and goal
Collingwood v Adelaide, Round 19
Draw
This game should have been Collingwood’s long before the incident that decided it. The Magpies led by 50 points early into the third term before the visitors turned in a stunning comeback. Each time the Crows came at them, the Magpies seemed to find a new gear. But three late goals made the difference only a kick in last minute of play. In the final passage a long ball into attack found Mitch McGovern drag down a superb mark. His goal, which came after the final siren, levelled the scores. If the Crows had lost, they would have played Richmond at home, instead of GWS, meaning the Cats could well have had that home deck final at Simonds Stadium against GWS.
Wow! #AFLPiesCrows #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/vLFFtq46IZ
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) July 30, 2017
The quote: “I always think were a chance. I encouraged the players to keep believing, hanging in there and sometimes it changes. To their credit they were able to give themselves an opportunity at the end,” Adelaide coach Don Pyke.
8. Paddy Ryder’s perfect tap to Robbie Gray for the matchwinning goal
Port Adelaide v St Kilda, Round 19
Port Adelaide won by 2 points
This was football’s version of the great escape. St Kilda looked set for one of its most famous on-the-road victories, which might well have built the momentum towards a finals berth. a win that would have gone a long way to putting them into finals territory. Late in the game, they led by 10 points. The Power clawed one back but the game seemed out of their keeping when they trailed by four points with less than 20 seconds left. A boundary throw-in on the wing saw Patrick Ryder tap the ball perfectly to a loose Robbie Gray and he took off as the time clock ticked down. He finished a near perfect passage with a superb goal which effectively sunk the Saints’ season.
"The St.Kilda midfielders won't want to turn up to training tomorrow" - @kanecornes analyses the final minutes of Port's win. #9AFLSFS pic.twitter.com/5Cd7FUL9VA
— Sunday Footy Show (@SunFootyShow) July 30, 2017
The quote: “Good player, isn’t he (Gray), (but) don’t undersell what Ryder did. Together they did well … we train that sort of stuff to hopefully get one of those wins for us and in a season as tight and tough as it is, it’s significant.”
9. Majak Daw’s game-saving mark
North Melbourne v Melbourne, Round 19
North Melbourne won by four points.
Where do you start with the Demons? There was the frustrating third quarter against the Dockers that cost them dearly and the first quarter against the Magpies that did the same. Then, there was the Round 19 clash with the lowly Kangaroos, albeit in Hobart. Michael Hibberd had the chance to steal the game late in the contest but his flying shot from outside 50m sailed across to the wrong side of the goals. The Kangaroos fought on gamely, but a kick in the dying moments back towards the Demons’ forward line seemed headed for Max Gawn. But it held it short and Kangaroos big man Majak Daw threw up his hands and dragged down a game-saving mark. If he had missed it, and one of the Demons had marked, they would most likely be playing finals this week.
The quote: “We’re disappointed as a footy club, no doubt about that. “It’s a tough place to play footy. We experienced that last year and experienced that again today.,” Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin.
10. Brendon Goddard’s decision to play on from fullback, Tom Papley’s smother and Gary Rohan’s goal
Sydney v Essendon, Round 14
Sydney won by 1 point
One of the most talked about and dissected passages of play of the season. It might not have changed much in terms of the ladder, but if it had been a different result, it would have given the Bombers even more confidence headed into Saturday’s elimination final against the Swans. Essendon had led by 19 points with less than five minutes remaining. But the Swans kicked the next two goals of the game and kept coming. After a behind, Brendon Goddard played on from full back and went a step too far, leaving Tom Papley with the opportunity to smother the ball out of bounds. From the throw-in, Dane Rampe chipped a quick ball into the goal square where it was marked by Gary Rohan. His goal put the Swans in front, a crucial win for the home side in terms of their momentum.
Just like The Return of the King, Rohan saves the day with a late charge #AFLSwansDons pic.twitter.com/3asv03IWJS @SydneySwans @AFL #LOTR
— Matthew Rimmer (@DrRimmer) June 23, 2017
The quote: “You don’t have to be Einstein, we were in a lot of trouble with 4:30 to go and 19 points down. You’re in the lap of the players (in those situations) ... the boys worked through it really well and we had a bit of luck,” Sydney coach John Longmire.
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