It was a big round of footy and there were important storylines out of all seven games.
We have selected one positive and one negative from every club’s Round 13 performance.
See our thoughts below:
Positive: Plenty of fight
The Crows had no right to claw their way back into their meeting with St Kilda in Cairns having not registered a score until 16 minutes into the second quarter.
A goalless first term was not a great way to kick off against the Saints before an inaccurate second stanza saw them go into the break 30 points behind.
After trailing by 36 after ex-Crow Brad Crouch’s third-quarter goal, they got within 15 points by the final break before finishing the game full of running in the wet to pull off the greatest of heists by a solitary kick.
Last season, the Crows might have thrown in the towel and gone under by plenty, but the fight and belief they showed was immense.
It was a famous win, sparked by three goals from match-winner Riley Thilthorpe, which will be remembered for some time.
Negative: Dull start, Mackay situation
That comeback may have not been required if they didn’t get off to such a slow start.
Matthew Nicks would be scratching his head as to why it took a quarter and almost 16 minutes to even trouble the scorers.
Against a higher quality opponent, perhaps they wouldn’t have been afforded the luxury of being able to stay within reach before launching a late-game assault.
Also, David Mackay’s bump on Hunter Clark was not at all malicious but unfortunately the young Saint copped some terrible jaw and mouth injuries.
Mackay has to live with that even if he was attempting to win the footy. He’ll go up in front of the tribunal to learn his fate later this week.
Andrew Slevison
BYE
BYE
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Positive: Pre-season De Goey hype starting to materialise
There was plenty of talk in the pre-season about how Jordan De Goey had increased his tank and was ready to turn primarily into a midfielder, but a raft of injuries and game plan shifts have seen him often deployed at full-forward.
While he’s kicked multiple goals on five occasions, two performances in the last three weeks are probably his best this year.
We got our first proper glimpse of De Goey the midfielder against Geelong in Round 11, but without doubt his most complete outing was on Monday against Melbourne.
De Goey was near best on ground with 32 disposals, 10 score involvements and six clearances, playing 90 per cent midfield.
De Goey’s position was always one of Nathan Buckley’s big dilemmas during his time as coach.
More performances like that will see him as a full-time onballer under Robert Harvey and then whoever takes charge going forward.
Negative: Too little too late
Look, the Magpies knocked off the form team of the competition, so it’s certainly nit-picking here to highlight out a negative.
In saying that, outgoing coach Nathan Buckley will be wondering why their recent form wasn’t on show earlier in the year.
In the last month, Collingwood have gone down by one point to Port Adelaide, less than two goals against Geelong, and beaten both Adelaide and Melbourne.
It’s been a clear change in form, and while some would suggest their win came off the back of playing for their departing coach, any semblance of this form probably sees them put Brisbane away in Round 3 instead of losing after the siren, and almost certainly beat the Power in Round 10.
If the Magpies kick two more points in both those games they’re sitting 6-7, one win out of finals and Buckley’s still probably in the job.
The coaching changeover could be for the best going forward, there’s no doubt about that, but you’d imagine Buckley would have seen out at least this season if those results had flipped.
Lachlan Geleit
BYE
Positive: Alex Pearce’s return
Fremantle has been smashed on the injury front, but the silver lining was the return of defender Alex Pearce.
Three bouts of ankle surgery have kept him on the sidelines indefinitely.
Pearce re-injured himself during his only other appearance this year, but got through unscathed this time around.
He picked up 16 disposals and filled a key defensive role once again, taking over for the injured Brennan Cox.
Negative: Not a whole lot
Fremantle holding serve against Gold Coast despite the injuries that have ripped through the club this year was a big tick.
The Suns weren’t at their best, but the Dockers still had to rally without their captain, leading goalkicker and much more.
They also got through the game unscathed!
Fremantle enters the bye this week one game out of the eight and can take a much-needed deep breath.
Nic Negrepontis
Positive: Standing up in the Adelaide Oval furnace
David King on SEN’s Whateley’s talks about PFI (preliminary final integrity) – the notion that certain games throughout the season elevate a team’s status if they are able to overcome the challenge in front of them.
Geelong weathering the storm in a frenzied environment against the Power was highly impressive and their ability to mount a comeback from several Port Adelaide surges was the biggest positive to come out of the game.
Negative: N/A
On a night where the Cats were scheduled to fly in and out of Adelaide, had to be tested and isolate for several hours pre-game and still ended up winning, there’s no negatives to report from a highly impressive performance.
Laurence Rosen
Positive: Rowell returns
Gold Coast young gun Matt Rowell got through his first game back from a long-time knee injury unscathed.
In his first appearance at AFL level since Round 1, Rowell finished with 14 disposals, three clearances and three score involvements from 73 minutes of game time.
The former No.1 draft pick started forward before pushing into the midfield. He’ll be better for the run with 10 games left in the season.
Touk Miller (31 disposals, eight clearances and six tackles) and Wil Powell (26, eight defensive bounds and 587 metres gained) stood out for the Suns.
Negative: Lost opportunity against depleted opposition
The Suns blew a golden opportunity to get another interstate win against a depleted Fremantle side.
Wasteful kicking for goal came back to haunt Stuart Dew’s side with a 0.5 return in the second quarter letting the Dockers off the hook.
Gold Coast kicked 6.13 to lose by 27 points with coach Dew questioning the team’s hunger and application after the game.
“It's as disappointing a game for us for the year,” Dew said.
“We didn't look hungry enough. We have to cop that. We didn't make Fremantle earn that victory anywhere near as much as they should have.
“We have to wear that whack this week.”
Alex Zaia
Positive: Kelly and Haynes elite
Josh Kelly and Nick Haynes reminded the competition just how good they are.
Classy midfielder Kelly has been solid this season but his display against North Melbourne was next level.
He racked up 39 touches and kicked two goals - including a superb opposite-foot snap from the pocket - plus a game-high 12 score involvements, as well as eight inside 50s, six tackles and six clearances.
In defence, Haynes was immense with 14 marks, 26 disposals and 14 intercepts, thwarting as many Kangaroos forays as he could.
The pair did all they could to lift the Giants over the line.
Negative: Third quarter
The Giants lost their footing during the third quarter when they were at times dominant, but were ultimately unable to capitalise.
They had a plethora of ball forward early in that term before inviting the Kangaroos in with turnovers.
GWS returned just four behinds to North’s 4.3 which saw them 28 points in arrears at three-quarter time.
Usually a fine finisher, Toby Greene was wasteful kicking 1.4 with two of those misses coming in the third term when his side desperately needed a goal.
That in isolation was not enough to deny the Giants the win, but their overall third term display was.
Andrew Slevison
Positive: Jai Newcombe slotting in
Jai Newcombe now holds the record for most tackles on debut in VFL/AFL history, laying 14 on Friday night.
Not only that, but he provided another ready-made grunt on-ball rotation for the Hawks and gave them the freedom to get a bit more creative with Tom Mitchell.
Mitchell spent patches of the first half inside 50 and playing across half-forward and was effective in that role.
It will be interesting to see how the Hawks continue to incorporate Newcombe going forward.
Negative: O’Brien can’t find his spot
Despite Hawthorn’s strong win, Tim O’Brien still struggled to have an impact.
With Mitch Lewis missing through concussion, the 27-year-old had his shot, but finished with 11 disposals, four marks and a behind.
Jacob Koschitzke continues to hit the scoreboard, Emerson Jeka is likely going to get more opportunities going forward, as will Jackson Callow, and the Hawks have a plethora of ruckmen available.
It’s hard to see where O’Brien fits in.
Nic Negrepontis
Positive: Jackson reannounces himself as key Rising Star hope
On a difficult afternoon for Melbourne, Luke Jackson reminded the footy world why he should be well in the frame to win this year’s Rising Star award.
The 19-year-old was a threat around the ground, finding the ball 21 times, as well as kicking two goals in arguably his most well-rounded game for the season.
Jackson is flourishing under the tutelage of captain and fellow ruckman Max Gawn and deserves to be just about favourite for the Rising Star in 2021.
Negative: Are chinks appearing in Melbourne’s armour?
The table-topping Dees have lost two of their last four games, and even in last week’s win over Brisbane were less than impressive in the first half before recovering to win.
Monday’s loss to Collingwood could land up being an outlier, with the emotion around Nathan Buckley’s final game proving too much as a determined Pies outfit prevailed.
There are bigger games to come for Simon Goodwin’s side, but just how they respond to a difficult last month in the second half of the season will be crucial.
Laurence Rosen
Positive: Ben Cunnington is so good
Ben Cunnington never got the credit he deserved in the North Melbourne teams fighting it out at the top of the ladder, but his dominance remains despite the club’s current predicament.
The midfielder was everywhere against the Giants, booting two goals and winning nine clearances from his 25 touches.
Tim Watson was particularly impressed with Cunnington.
“Cunnington is a superstar inside midfielder. He’s one of the best inside mids in the game. His ability to gain possession of the ball and deliver it be hand or by foot is elite,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
Negative: Not being able to hang on
North put themselves in a strong position to beat GWS, leading by 28 points at three-quarter time, but we all know how it ended.
The Giants midfielders got on top, Toby Greene started to get involved and the young Roos were unable to halt the momentum.
It will be a great learning experience for a young side that still needs to work out how to close out games when in winning positions.
At the very least, the fact that they were able to push an experienced side like GWS to the limit will excite North fans.
Nic Negrepontis
Positive: Rozee finds form
Connor Rozee started like a house on fire against Geelong.
The 21-year-old was electrifying early kicking four first-quarter goals, becoming the first player to achieve the feat against the Cats since 2007.
Rozee finished with an equal career-high five goals with his return to form a welcome sight for Power fans.
He had only kicked six goals in nine games leading up to Thursday night’s match.
Key forward Charlie Dixon also impressed with four majors and four contested marks.
Negative: Power unable to stop Cats forwards
Port Adelaide had no answers to Geelong’s three-pronged attack.
Jeremy Cameron (5 goals), Tom Hawkins (4) and Gary Rohan (3) booted 12 goals between them as the Cats ran out 21-point winners.
Three of Cameron’s five goals came in the final quarter with the visitors booting six of the last seven majors in what was a see-sawing contest.
Power coach Ken Hinkley conceded that his side isn’t at the same level as the best teams in the competition at the moment.
“Right now, we’re not good enough against them. We’re good enough to challenge them and get really close,” Hinkley said post-game.
“So right now, right here we’re just a little bit off those teams. It doesn’t mean we’ll be off them at the end but we’re off them at the moment.”
Alex Zaia
Positive: Lambert return
After six matches out of the side with a calf issue, Kane Lambert returned with a bang.
Lambert had a team-high 27 touches and kicked two goals in a very promising performance.
At times his disposal was not at its usual crispness, which we can put down to rust, but his ability to find the ball like he hadn’t missed a trick would have pleased Damien Hardwick.
Defender Nick Vlastuin (apart from an errant kick-in late) played his best game of the season in another positive sign for the Tigers.
Negative: Rudderless finish, lack of composure
The Tigers really should not have lost this one.
They had the game shot to bits when Shai Bolton put them up by 22 points at the 15-minute mark of the final term.
Four unanswered Eagles goals certainly changed that.
Some decisions with the ball were out of character from the Tigers and a lack of composure at crucial stages cost them dearly.
A top-four spot now looks unlikely but things can change quickly if they can produce a well-timed, late-season run as we have seen in the past.
Andrew Slevison
Positive: Tom Highmore
Tom Highmore has been in and out of St Kilda’s side all season.
The intercept defender went a long way to cementing his spot in the team with a commanding performance across half-back against Adelaide.
Highmore collected 22 disposals, took 13 marks and made 15 intercepts – all career-best numbers – to go with four tackles and five inside 50s.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten praised the 23-year-old Saint post-game, describing him as a “shining light” on a bleak night for the club.
Negative: Season over after blowing 36-point lead
St Kilda’s finals hopes have gone up in smoke after letting a 36-point lead slip on Saturday night.
The Crows were held scoreless in the first 51 minutes of the match and trailed by as much as six goals in wet conditions at Cazaly's Stadium.
Somehow, the Saints let the game slip through their grasp, conceding the last seven goals of the match to lose by six points.
The defeat leaves St Kilda 5-8 and in 13th position on the ladder with the second worst percentage in the competition (78.3).
Plenty of soul searching will be done at Moorabbin over the bye week.
Alex Zaia
Positive: Tall stocks strengthening
Sydney youngster Joel Amartey has proven he’s certainly capable at AFL level in his two games this season.
The 21-year-old had the best game of his three-game career against Hawthorn, kicking two goals, collecting 12 disposals, making seven tackles and getting his hand to eight hitouts.
It’s not exactly a stat line that screams dominance, but the big man is doing enough to make an impact and hold his spot in the side ahead of some AFL quality depth.
This season has seen Tom Hickey turn into a clear number one ruck, Logan McDonald show signs of stardom, while Amartey and Hayden McLean haven taken big steps in their development.
With Lance Franklin, Sam Reid and Cal Sinclair all having football ahead of them, the Swans are more than stocked with talls that can do damage against any team in the competition.
Negative: Bad result sets them up for tough patch
We said last week that Sydney’s win against St Kilda was massive, as they’d likely beat Hawthorn to well and truly cement themselves in the eight before the bye.
Obviously, that didn’t go to plan, with the Swans getting comprehensively beaten by a 17th placed Hawks side.
The Swans still hold an 8-5 record and with breathing space inside the top eight, but their draw after the bye becomes a lot harder as they face Port Adelaide (away), West Coast (home) and Western Bulldogs (away) immediately after their week off.
They’ll be hoping to pinch one of those games against fancied opponents.
If not, they’re staring down an even win loss record and will need to fight tooth and nail to play finals footy come September.
Lachlan Geleit
Positive: Another golden moment from Josh Kennedy
Three days after Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal on loan from New York Red Bulls, the Invincible cut in onto his right foot and netted in a third round FA Cup fixture against Leeds United. The match was at the Emirates Stadium, where he stands immortalised among five statues.
As he leapt down the touchline to embrace manager Arsene Wenger, commentator Jon Champion gushed “he may be cast in bronze, but he is still capable of truly golden moments”.
After 249 games, 662 goals, three All-Australian nods, two Coleman Medals and a premiership in blue and gold, Josh J. Kennedy’s place on the West Coast pantheon is similarly assured.
His curling shot to seal the Eagles’ victory in front of 50,834 at Optus Stadium on Sunday evening was another memory to savour for spoilt fans, and an indication he isn’t through yet despite a successor in Oscar Allen having been anointed.
Otherwise, draftee Luke Edwards was the second-leading ball winner on the ground with 27 disposals, to go with six intercepts, five marks, four entries and two goal assists. Suffice to say the Crows may regret having passed on the son of Tyson.
Negative: Conceding on turnovers
Confronted by Richmond’s press, the Eagles too often turned inward for high-risk, low-reward options, and lacked the skill to execute.
It enabled the Tigers to turn moments of West Coast control into scraps for the loose ball on the ground, from where they pile on pressure, generate forward momentum and score. The visitors kicked six of their seven goals across the second and third terms from Eagle turnovers.
The hosts were able to chain from their defensive arc and get on top in the centre at times, they shot the lights out when they got an opportunity and ultimately, it may be an acceptable level of risk when a possession offense meets a high pressure, turnover-based offense.
However, even a team that successfully chips it around has to know when to trust the talls down the line, and minimise the time in the maelstrom at ground level.
Nathan John
BYE