Hawks hold off Giants, Lions top Cats in Saturday thrillers; Saint lose youngster to act ‘that’s got to be stamped out’

Liam O’Connell was concussed in this incident against the Tigers.Credit: Fox Footy

The AFL is under increasing pressure to act on players who push an opponent into traffic in marking contests after St Kilda defender Liam O’Connell was concussed in an 82-point win over Richmond on Saturday.

A groggy O’Connell, an Irish recruit, was helped from the field at Marvel Stadium after he appeared to be pushed by Tigers forward Rhyan Mansell into the path of an oncoming marking duel in the first quarter.

He was struck in the head, slumped to the ground, was clearly dazed and was subbed out of the game with concussion.

Mansell faces a three-match ban if match review officer Michael Christian deems the incident to be careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.

While Mansell, if cited, could argue he did not reasonably foresee that O’Connell was going to be hit, AFL greats Garry Lyon and Jason Dunstall, commenting on Fox Footy, each immediately called for action.

“That is dangerous. That is what needs to be outlawed,” Lyon said.

“We have got to stop that,” Dunstall added.

No free kick was paid. Instead, Tigers forward Tom Lynch, who had been awarded a free kick for holding, was allowed to take his shot for goal.

O’Connell is the second Saint implicated in an unnecessary push this season, after forward Mitch Owens injured his shoulder when pushed into an opponent in a pre-season practice match against Port Adelaide at Moorabbin.

O’Connell was subbed out of the game at Marvel Stadium.Credit: AFL Photos

There have been several other unpunished incidents of this kind this season, including those which left Tigers’ No.1 draftee Sam Lalor and Brisbane defender Brandon Starcevich concussed.

Hawthorn captain James Sicily was also involved in an incident where he pushed Western Bulldog Jordan Croft in the back, Croft then crashing into teammate Laitham Vandermeer, with the latter subbed out of the game because of concussion.

As reported by this masthead on Saturday, AFL operations chief Laura Kane is under growing pressure from some clubs to stamp out these acts.

To date, the AFL has held firm, having sent a memo to clubs this month warning them of a potential suspension for players who opt to push opponents in marking contests.

The AFL Players’ Association has made it clear that players have a duty of care to each other.

Thanks so much for joining us again for a long day, and night, of AFL footy.

The Lions, Hawks, Saints and Suns all recorded important wins.

Please keep checking our sports pages in the days to come as we will have plenty more AFL coverage, and of course return with more footy blogs next week.

We appreciate all your support. Bye for now.

If this was billed as the match of the season to date, then it makes sense to declare Hawthorn the team to beat in the premiership chase after their two-goal win over Greater Western Sydney in Launceston on Saturday night.

On a night when one of the light towers at the University of Tasmania Stadium briefly went out (but play continued), and a punishing wind meant all 11 goals to half-time were kicked to the one end, it was the Hawks – led superbly, among others, by Will Day (24 disposals) and Nick Watson (21 disposals, nine score involvements, a goal) – who ultimately prevailed.

They remain undefeated after four matches, and can now refresh with a bye before resuming against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, when memories of last year’s verbal stoush with Ken Hinkley will burn brightly.

Veteran nous: Jack Gunston played an important role in the Hawks’ win over the Giants on Saturday night.Credit: AFL Photos

Collingwood great Nathan Buckley, commenting on Fox Footy, said the Hawks had all tactical and personnel bases covered.

“They strangle the opposition into submission,” Buckley said.

However, it would be foolish to dismiss the Giants. They remain a legitimate flag aspirant, and will only get better once Jake Stringer adjusts to life with his new club.

The stream-lined former Bomber and Bulldog was goalless and made a patchy debut at his third club, but he adds to an already potent forward line featuring Jesse Hogan (four goals), Toby Greene and Aaron Cadman.

This was the only time the two clubs will meet in the home-and-away season. What is clear is that after their two meetings last season, when the Hawks prevailed by a goal in Launceston, before the Giants responded with a two-point win in Canberra, combined with this latest result, is that the AFL world would likely be treated to a classic should they meet in the finals.

Each side had their tactical wins, but the Hawks ultimately denied the Giants the run and carry they craved.

The Hawks adjusted in the third term, highlighting why coach Sam Mitchell is considered one of the best in the business. Buckley had questioned why their defenders had been lining up “back shoulder” to their opponents, leaving too much room through the midfield for the Giants to dominate, as prime movers Josh Kelly and Lachie Whitfield did with the use of the breeze.

Outta here: Hawk Finn Maginness goes the spoil against the Hawks on Saturday night.Credit: Getty Images

However, come the third term, the Hawks largely clogged the midfield, and the Giants lost their drive. Despite kicking into the wind, the Hawks, looking to handball more, booted four goals to two, and extended their lead to 20 points by the final break.

“We saw the breeze coming in, I thought our boys fought hard,” Watson said.

“It was a bit of an adjustment. Us forwards had to get moving. We were a bit slack in that first quarter, so it was a bit of an adjustment. We just needed energy. We definitely brought that.”

There was a moment of exhilaration from Watson when the man nicknamed the Wizard cheekily “showed”, as Hawks great Jordan Lewis described it, the ball at a trailing Whitfield before burning off his opponent and finding a leading Blake Hardwick. The latter duly converted.

The diminutive Watson also won free kicks for high tackles.

“About time, I have missed a few in the past. Thanks to the umps for giving to me,” Watson said cheekily.

Hardwick was magnificent all night, whether playing as a small forward, or as a spare man marshalling his teammates in defence. Cam McKenzie was another to shine, Josh Weddle was his typically robust self and had five intercept marks, Finn Maginness returned to his role as a blue-chip tagger, while Day delivered an exhilarating burst from a stoppage to drill a 60m goal as part of his overall superb midfield effort.

The decision to have Jack Gunston play as a defensive forward on Giants’ interceptor Sam Taylor was a masterstroke, Gunston booting two goals.

“It was a tough - he (Taylor) can take a grab leading up, he can drop off (and mark),” Gunston said of his task.

For the Giants, master tagger Toby Bedford largely had the better of Jai Newcombe, while Whitfield, Lachie Ash and Tom Green had plenty of the ball. Skipper Toby Greene, with two goals and 19 disposals, was also active, so was Hogan in his first game this season since breaking his thumb in a door of the team bus, but they couldn’t will their team across the line as they experienced their first loss of the season.

Zach Guthrie of the Cats competes for possession.Credit: Getty Images

Geelong coach Chris Scott won’t get carried away but admits his side’s third term cost them any chance to beat the Lions tonight.

Scott said the Cats were showing positive signs but had to stop making the critical errors that had cost them against St Kilda the previous week, and again in the second half in Brisbane.

But he still sees plenty of positives in his side’s young emerging talent and their strong passages of play, such as in their first half against the Lions.

“We were in complete control,” Scott said post-game.

“We had a few issues, that I won’t talk about, that made it a bit harder for us, but to put it in simple terms: The ball was in their half for too long in the third quarter, and it didn’t give us a chance to put their defence under pressure.

“When you have a quarter like that in such an energy sapping game, it makes it a little easier for them in the final quarter.”

Scott said the Cats had to learn some lessons but wouldn’t get too carried away about being 1-2 so far.

“There were some issues we will review very hard, we will rue the missed opportunity, but you don’t need to play the reigning premier to know the competition is really close,” Scott said.

“It’s very annoying we let it slip. We’ve made a few critical errors in passages that have cost us in recent games – that’s all it takes.”

Tom Atkins gets a handball away.Credit: AFL Photos

Geelong star Tom Atkins doesn’t think the Cats are far away from top form, but they have some work to do.

Atkins and the Cats rued a poor second-half performance in which their turnovers fuelled the Lions’ revival.

“I felt like we were in the game with how we came in at half-time,” Atkins told Fox Footy.

“We just gave the ball back to them too easily in the second half and their momentum came from there. [It was] pretty similar to the preliminary final [2024].

“They took a lot of gutsy kicks and, whether that was a lapse of concentration or fatigue, it was a strange night – the rain stopped at half-time but it was still muggy and hot.”

Hugh McCluggage of the Lions gets a kick.Credit: AFL Photos

Lions star Hugh McCluggage says the reigning premiers refuse to go backwards and want to keep competing for premierships.

The Lions improved to 3-0 with their win over Geelong tonight, the reverse of their 0-3 start last season, but McCluggage knows his club has plenty to improve on.

“You see by the way we have scrapped through quarters to win matches that the hunger is still there,” McCluggage told Fox Footy.

“We’ve been through a lot as a group, for seven or eight years we have been pushing to get to the top like we did last year, but you don’t want to go back to the bottom now. You want to keep making the most of the opportunities, and we think we have some great talent – last year we had so many kids in the group and we still got it done.

“Now we are priding ourselves on being consistent and a good team that can bring players in. You saw tonight we brought sub Bruce Reville on and he made an impact right away. I think that is a sign of a good club. Geelong [and] Sydney keep bringing in young players and getting the job done with them. We want to do that too.”

Patrick Dangerfield left the field under the blood rule.Credit: AFL Photos

Patrick Dangerfield might need some post-game stitches following a horrible head clash with Zac Bailey tonight.

Former Lions skipper Dayne Zorko celebrates a goal.Credit: AFL Photos

The reigning premiers have had a rousing night at the Gabba, coming back from a serious deficit to snatch the lead and the game against Geelong this evening.

The Lions romped home in the second half as a bloodied Patrick Dangerfield was forced off due to a fierce cut above his eye following a head clash.

That’s a huge win for the Lions. The Cats look strong but still have some work to do.

Geelong’s Jhye Clark has cut the Lions’ lead, running into attack and booting a goal.

Two minutes to go, two goals needed.