A stirring weekend of footy filled with tight arm wrestles, four games were decided by a single kick. The AFL wanted equality and equilibrium and they got it.

Hawthorn revived life into their season, stunning Adelaide with a 14-point victory at Adelaide Oval.  The Hawks aren’t done with yet.

Sydney snatched one from the jaws of defeat against Essendon, while Geelong was let off the hook by Fremantle in the dying stages of their clash.

GWS moved back into outright first place after their impressive 60-point blitzing of Brisbane and Melbourne declared genuine premiership aspirations, claiming a famous three-point victory over West Coast at Domain Stadium.

THE GOOD

The Swans celebrate their thrilling win

Always play in front

Gary Rohan reminded us of one of footy’s oldest rules at the SCG on Friday night – always stay in front of your man.

Essendon led by as many as 19 points deep into the fourth quarter, the Swans were able to pull it back to five points with a minute to play.

Dane Rampe hacked the ball to the goal square with 20 seconds left, where Rohan out marked his opponent, Michael Hurley, by pure positioning. Rohan delivered the final blow after the siren and secured an illustrious one-point victory.

McDonald’s moment

Tom McDonald rode a fierce Jeremy McGovern tackle to slingshot through a match-winning goal late in the fourth quarter.    

McDonald was the hero for Melbourne on the night. In the absence of Jesse Hogan and Jack Watts, he booted five majors, including the last two of the game to lead the Demons to a gritty interstate win.

Tom McDonald kicks the match-winner against West Coast

Five shades of Gray

Robbie Gray put Collingwood to the sword on Saturday afternoon, kicking five goals in a prosperous performance.

One moment particularly stood out. In the second quarter, Chad Wingard won the clearance to Gray, just inside the 50-meter arc, who cleared little separation from Tyson Goldsack. Gray turned him inside out and snapped around his body, scoring his fourth major for the day.  

THE BAD

Mummified 2.0

‘The Mummy’ was released in theatres weeks ago, but Dayne Beams was the victim of the AFL’s version on the weekend.

In the opening stages of the game, Beams went into his first contest and was squarely crunched by Shane Mumford. He immediately went down, clutching his shoulder and wrapping it in his guernsey as he ran off.  

The luckless Beams is understood to have suffered serious injury, who didn’t return to the game following the incident.

Dayne Beams runs off injured

Roo’s deja vu

Nick Riewoldt blundered an opportunity in the fourth quarter, running into a seemingly guaranteed goal, only for Jack Leslie to smoother his kick from point blank range.

It drew comparisons to his mishap in the 2010 Grand Final, when Heath Shaw notoriously smothered his goal opening. Suffice to say, one had slightly bigger implications.

Purple haze

Geelong led Fremantle by three points with 30 seconds remaining in the duress of Simonds Stadium. It was potentially the 30 seconds that decided Fremantle’s season.

All players out on their feet, the Dockers somehow linked up from defense and scrambled the ball inside 50. Bradley Hill got it to Michael Walters, who is usually a dead-eye goal scorer. Under extreme pressure, Walters mishit the kick through the behind posts as the final siren sounded.

Joel Selwood was concussed early against Fremantle

THE UGLY

Selwood KO’d, again

Football’s toughest customer, Joel Selwood, has suffered yet another nasty concussion. In the opening minute of the game, he forcefully collided with Hayden Ballantyne and hit the deck hard.

The Cats skipper laid motionless, before refusing to be stretchered off, instead being helped by Geelong trainers and eventually jogging by himself. He never returned to the game.

Geelong would be wise to approach his recovery with extreme caution given his history of head knocks.