Things we learnt: West Coast are miles off the pace

Round 19 has come and gone, and the September picture is growing ever clearer.

From the Dogs falling short to the Crows running wild, the cream is most certainly rising to the top as the season reaches the business end.

The time of year where stars are born – here are the things we’ve learnt from Round 19’s action!

Carlton has unearthed their next generation

While their talent of today may no longer reach the heights of 2023, the Blues may have found the core of tomorrow.

Fielding their youngest team in 2025 at an average of 25.4 years of age, the Blues claimed their seventh win of the season behind a gutsy performance against the Demons, with several young talents announcing their arrival following what has been a rather difficult run across 2025.

Headlining the inexperienced Carlton side was forward Ashton Moir, who, after showing glimpses of his talent within the VFL and throughout his limited AFL cameos, exploded onto the stage as a secondary tall forward alongside Charlie Curnow.

The 20-year-old was incredibly dangerous in the front half, booting three first half goals en route to a career-high four majors to go with 11 disposals, seven score involvements and four marks. Beyond his forward craft, the 188cm forward also featured in multiple centre bounces, speaking to the flexible nature of his game.

Alongside Moir, 19-year-old defender Matthew Carroll played out the best of his 12 AFL games, amounting 15 disposals, 10 intercepts and kicking his first AFL goal, while Flynn Young, Harry O’Farrell, Cooper Lord and Lachie Cowan also put on top performances within the Blues’ win.

With Jagga Smith expected to be primed and ready for Round 1 next season, and the recent commitment from star father/son talent Cody Walker for the start of the 2027 season, the Blues’ undesirable list may be in a better position than previously adjudicated.

Jaiden Sciberras

West Coast are miles off the pace

The Eagles have a lot of work to do.

Playing out the second of Saturday night’s double header, West Coast hosted the Tigers in a clash many deemed to be highly winnable for the lowly Eagles, however the result was quite the opposite.

Despite competing within the first half, an eight-goal Tigers third term saw the margin blow out to an insurmountable 53 points at 3QT, with the Tigers waltzing home to a 49-point win.

At home, against the second worst team in the AFL, the Eagles were beaten far too comfortably.

Harley Reid held his own, comfortably the best player for Andrew McQualter’s side, however the Eagles have a lot they need to address.

As it stands, they are fielding far from an AFL level team, and while they may have a number of top future prospects, their list desperately needs addressing.

If ever a side needed some assistance from the AFL, it's now.

Jaiden Sciberras

The Adelaide Crows are the real deal

Did anybody see that coming?

There is no debating now that the Adelaide Crows are every bit a premiership threat in 2025, downing the Suns in a statement home victory.

Relentless pressure, an excellent defensive set up and their highly coveted forward trio, the Crows are as scary as any.

Hitting elite form in the latter stages of the season, Adelaide held the typically free-scoring Suns without a goal for over a half of football, piling on scores at the opposite end to kill the game before the Suns could mount any sort of charge.

It simply isn’t a question now – Adelaide isn’t to be played with, and with a top four spot well in their sights, the league must remain on high alert.

Jaiden Sciberras

The Prancing Pony is a problem

The celebrations and antics are one thing, but the ability is clearly another.

Patrick Voss can play. Lining up on Darcy Moore, Voss took the All-Australian to the cleaners, nailing a bag of six against the table leaders to lead the Dockers to an almighty one-point win at the MCG.

The 22-year-old had to wait for his opportunity, but hasn’t he paid back the faith handed to him by Fremantle, finding eight score involvements from his 12 touches, taking five marks inside 50 and proving the perfect forward option beside Josh Treacy.

Beyond Voss, the Dockers’ talent seems to finally have reached the heights expected of them.

In years past, the young side lacked the composure needed on the biggest of stages, however if their victory over the Pies says anything, it’s that this Freo team has the guts that September requires.

Two games clear of ninth place, this result could be the difference.

Jaiden Sciberras

Ashcroft brothers continue to impress

There was thunder and there was lightning, but it was the Ashcroft brothers who were most frightening on Friday night as the Lions defeated the Western Bulldogs by 10 points.

Not since the Scott brothers during the three-peat years have the Lions seen a more impactful set of siblings take the stage on the Gabba in maroon, blue and gold, with both Will and Levi Ashcroft playing important roles in Brisbane’s win.

With Zac Bailey out of the side due to his one-match suspension, Levi would be the one to fill his spot on the wing, with Ashcroft making his first start on the field since Round 9.

Despite having played as an inside midfielder throughout his junior career, the younger Ashcroft has spent most of his fledgling AFL career on the wing.

However, despite the initially unfamiliar positioning, he has shown why coach Chris Fagan has played him in every game this season.

His work rate was evident throughout the match, managing to collate 18 disposals (at an 88.9% efficiency rate) with the majority of those coming from Brisbane’s defensive half. He would also contribute six score involvements, which saw him kick two goals for the match (a career high).

As for Will, the 2024 Norm Smith Medallist had a best on ground performance off the bench, achieving a game-high 21.5 ranking points according to Champion Data. That ranking would be his third highest in his 49-game career.

This was done by amassing 26 disposals, five clearances (from only 11 centre bounce attendances) and also booted a career high of three goals, which included one right on the final siren to all but secure the four points for the Lions.

It speaks to the quality of depth that this Brisbane side possesses that, for the majority of the season, these two father-son selections (who were both picked in the top five of their respective draft classes) have often started on the bench and still have an impact on the result.

While the Lions will sit in second place for the remainder of Round 19, it will be a tough run home with finals-contending teams in the Suns, Magpies, Dockers, and Hawks left to play.

But come out of those matches unscathed and a home qualifying final awaits.

Nicholas Quinlan

The Package looks primed to deliver

Jake Stringer looked very sharp for GWS on Thursday night.

While it may have been an extremely undermanned Essendon lineup, the 31-year-old appeared in very good touch against his old club.

He’s been made to do the work by coach Adam Kingsley and it’s now bearing fruit. In the 48-point win at Marvel Stadium, Stringer kicked 3.1 from 18 disposals including 11 contested possessions.

Stringer also produced eight score involvements and provided two goal assists. So, that’s eight goals (five behinds), 22 score involvements and four goal assists in his last three since the bye including four majors against Geelong.

His creativity in attack has never been an issue and after a stop-start beginning to his first season with GWS those crafty skills are being honed and sharpened. His pressure work was also impressive, highlighted by Kingsley in his post-match presser.

“When we decided to bring him across, this is what we had in mind,” Kingsley said.

“He’s going to contribute to our game both on offence and on defence, he’s going to be able to kick goals for us, but he’s going to create goals.

“We’ve been really pleased with him. His intent to chase, tackle, pressure feels like it’s at a really good level.”

Continuity is helping Stringer find his feet in orange and his presence in the Giants’ forward line could be crucial come September - once they get there of course.

Stringer has been a big-game player in the past - well, at the very least a ‘big moments’ player - and he’d be absolutely intent on having his say in some big finals.

He has played in just two Elimination Finals since winning the flag with the Doggies in 2016. His losing finals appearances for the Bombers came in 2019 and 2021 and were largely underwhelming.

The Giants recruited ‘The Package’ to take them to the next level and it looks like he’s primed to contribute greatly in a multi-dimensional forward line that’s starting to hum.

Andrew Slevison