Dogs bark up finals tree
J. Daniher (Essendon) 6 B. Brown (Nth Melb) 4, L. Franklin (Sydney) 1 J. Kennedy (West Coast) 6 T. Hawkins (Geelong) 6, T. Walker (Adelaide) 1 J. Riewoldt (Richmond) 0, J. Cameron (GWS) 1 T. Lynch (Gold Coast) 3, R. Gray (Pt Adel) 1, E. Betts (Adelaide) 0 B. Hardwick (concussion). J. Kennedy (hamstring), S. Naismith (knee) J. Waite (calf). J. Hogan (collarbone). W. Setterfield (concussion). C. Blakely (shoulder). N. Cockatoo (leg). M. Kreuzer (concussion). A. Sexton (concussion), B. Ainsworth (knee), C. Ah Chee (concussion) L Young (knee) THE AFL’s hunger games season marches on, with another weekend that did little to settle the fate of sides left in finals contention.
Only St Kilda’s wound suffered on Saturday night looks like a mortal blow. Mathematically, the Saints are still in contention.
But a third defeat in a row, and the nature of that two-point loss to Port Adelaide — delivered by Robbie Gray with seconds remaining — must surely have broken St Kilda hearts.
Hawthorn sit two points below them on the table, but their sixpoint defeat of Sydney gives Alastair Clarkson’s side a sniff.
And yesterday, the reigning premier breathed life back into its defence. The Western Bulldogs looked like their flag-winning selves with a 30-point win over Essendon that temporarily put them back in the top eight.
Coach Luke Beveridge said he was starting to see signs of last year’s form.
“We’ve had to really focus to remind ourselves of the type of footy we need to play to establish ourselves as a recognisable and threatening team,” Beveridge said.
“It’s great in the recent three weeks we’ve been able to do that.
“We’d like to keep teams to a lower score but it was great that we were able to score the way we did.”
The 19.13 (127) was their biggest score in 47 matches, headlined by a four-goal bag to best-afield contender Jason Johannisen.
“That’s been the recipe for us for a long period of time. We need a (goalkicking) spread and we got it again today,” Beveridge said.
The Bulldogs can take a further step towards September when they travel to bottom side Brisbane Lions next weekend.
Essendon are out of the top eight but are far from done.
John Worsfold dismissed the suggestion its final four games were more inviting than others.
“Today was inviting for us playing a side that was level pegging for us and we weren’t good enough,” Worsfold said.
Elsewhere, Melbourne’s fortunes took a hit with a poor loss to North Melbourne in Hobart.
The Demons now face a mustwin clash with GWS on Saturday.
On a forgettable Saturday night, Geelong and Richmond beat lacklustre opponents — Carlton and Gold Coast — to keep their top four bids on track. Finally, yesterday, league leader Adelaide appeared to troll the competition by drawing with Collingwood at the MCG.