Sydney put its foot to the floor in the second half of its match against St Kilda, running out easy 51-point winners. Daryn Cresswell and Matthew Nicks kicked three goals apiece. Jason Ball was dominant in the ruck for the winners - getting 24 hit outs. Jude Bolton and Leo Barry were very good for the winners. Robert Harvey had 29 touches but precious few gave him any support to speak of. The Saints now look out of finals' contention.
The Kangaroos made life difficult for those sides chasing a place in the final eight, defeating Melbourne by seven points. The Kangaroos are now six points clear of ninth-placed Essendon. Sav Rocca kicked three goals for the winners in an even performance. Shannon Grant (31 possessions), Brady Rawlings (32) and Ben Robbins (27) won plenty of the ball. Cameron Bruce (six goals) - playing a midfield / forward role did well for Melbourne while Nathan Brown collected 27 possessions.
The Western Bulldogs pushed the ladder leaders all the way at The Dome before going down by 15 points. Port Adelaide were best served by star forward Warren Tredrea who kicked six goals. Byron Pickett kicked four goals and Chad Cornes also did well up forward - marking exceptionally well. Jarrad Schofield (25 possessions) and Peter Burgoyne (25) did well in the midfield. The Bulldogs were best served by Scott West who got 36 touches. Nathan Eagleton did well against his old side getting 29 touches and Brad Johnson (29) was the other standout performer.
Geelong pulled a rabbit out of the hat for the second week in a row - kicking a late goal to beat Richmond by four points. The Cats led by 33 points at one stage but Richmond refused to lie down - hitting the lead late in the final quarter. Gary Ablett kicked three goals and was one of the Cats best. Ben Graham had an excellent first half and finished with five goals. Mark Coughlan was brilliant for Richmond finishing with 32 touches and almost single handedly keeping his club's finals' hopes alive. As it stands the Tigers season looks over.
Collingwood were too strong for Fremantle - running out soft 41-point winners and again questions have been raised about the Dockers ability to perform on the big stage. Nathan Buckley and Scott Burns starred for the winners. Matthew Pavlich lost no admirers and was clearly the Dockers' best player.
Brisbane won but still looks a shadow of the side that has taken all before it in the past two seasons. The Lions chased tail for most of the day and the Hawks looked set to cause one of the biggest upsets of the season. But Brisbane rallied late to get over the line by 12 points. Michael Voss was the best for the winners while Luke Power continued his impressive form this season. Shane Crawford got 30 possessions for the losers.
