AFL round 15: Giants, Swans ready for battle in wet conditions; Lions thump Power

Tom Papley has booted a goal from outside 50m to make it three straight goals for the Swans who have their best lead of the evening.

They look well up for it right now, the Giants need a circuit-breaker.

Swans 34, GWS 21 with 12 mins to go in Q1.

Geelong’s heavy loss to Carlton and injury to Tom Hawkins has been exacerbated by a one-match suspension offered to skipper Patrick Dangerfield.

Match review officer Michael Christian has reviewed footage of Dangerfield’s dangerous tackle on Sam Walsh during the Cats’ 63-point loss to Carlton at the MCG on Friday night.

Dangerfield pinned Walsh’s arms in a tackle from behind, with Walsh’s head hitting the ground. Christian graded the incident as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact, triggering a one-match ban.

The Cats are deliberating whether to challenge the suspension at the AFL Tribunal. A club spokesman said a decision will be made in the coming days.

Walsh said he had been cleared medically after the tackle to keep playing.

“That was fine. I sort of had both of my arms pinned, momentum went into the ground, but I felt fine after it, took my kick, and was ready to go. I felt fresh,” Walsh told 3AW.

Walsh played out the game and was one of the Blues’ best with 33 disposals in a win which has stamped their premiership credentials.

If they choose not to challenge, Dangerfield will miss next Saturday night’s key clash against Essendon at the MCG.

Cats coach Chris Scott said on Friday night he had not been concerned about the legality of the tackle.

“The way holding the ball is being interpreted at the moment, if you have hold of an arm, you are very likely to get a free kick for holding the ball,” Scott said.

“Pat didn’t sling him, he had more of an arm and with that kind of momentum, you both go to ground. That’s the way I saw it.”

However, Melbourne great Garry Lyon and Richmond triple-premiership forward Jack Riewoldt said during match coverage on Fox Footy that Dangerfield was likely to have a case to answer.

“This has got all the elements of some issues for Danger, both the arms are locked away there,” Lyon said.
Riewoldt said: “That’s trouble for mine, both arms are pinned and he dropped his body weight.”

Dangerfield, who had not played a game since round seven because of injury, finished with 17 disposals and four clearances in the Cats’ sixth loss in their past seven games. Unbeaten after seven rounds, the Cats have slipped to an 8-6 win-loss record. Their only win in the past seven games was against lowly Richmond.

Cats forward Gryan Miers was handed a $3750 fine for striking Lachlan Cowan.

The Cats woes were compounded on Friday when Tom Hawkins, 36 next month, limped from the field late in the third term, having pushed off on his left foot and then fallen to turf.

Scans will determine the severity of the injury.

Hawkins had surgery on the same foot after the 2022 grand final, and missed most of the pre-season.

Scott said Hawkins, a five-time All-Australian, would have a clearer understanding after the foot was fully assessed.

“He had to come off with a foot issue – it’s mid-foot – he has had an issue with his toe but it is a fair way away from that. The experts we have don’t know, so I certainly don’t have anything more to add,” Scott said.

“They are not saying (that it might be season over) and I certainly don’t want to say anything that alleviates the concern because we are concerned, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions, either.”

The two clubs traded goals to open the second term but now Errol Gulden has taken a handball from a teammate and kicked a running goal.

Swans 28, GWS 19 with 16 mins to go in Q2.

This is a game focused on direct matchups, Toby Bedford went straight to Chad Warner to play his tagging role and the Giant has kept the midfielder star relatively quiet so far.

In the middle of the ground, Brodie Grundy is dominating Kieran Briggs in what is a huge challenge at the rucks and will start to play a bigger role as the game goes on.

It is proving extremely difficult for forwards to take overhead marks, and it took 17 minutes for a goal from Sydney from Hayden McLean.

The game then caught fire. Both Sydney clubs want to show that they are the premiership contender in this city and it is proving to be an extremely first opening quarter as many suspected.

The Swans have a slight lead at the first siren but both these sides are starting to warm to the challenge in the Sydney derby.

The goals came late in the term and it will be interesting to see if they become more frequent in the second quarter or whether things take a while to free up.

Grundy has been brilliant for the Swans, he looks like his best years at Collingwood with the way he is moving around the ground and making important contributions.

Brisbane’s Eric Hipwood has slotted five goals in a record 79-point pounding of Port Adelaide that lifts the Lions into the AFL’s top eight.

The Lions booted a dozen consecutive goals in their highest ever score against Port, winning 23.14 (152) to 10.13 (73) at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

Orchestrated by midfielders Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley, the Lions’ third straight win hoists them to eighth spot ahead of Sunday games.

Port, whose third consecutive loss is their biggest ever to the Lions, were within six points early in the second quarter.

But propelled by Dunkley, who had 20 disposals and six tackles in a standout first half, the visitors kicked the next seven goals in a stunning 21-minute burst to the break.

The onslaught featured two majors each to Hipwood, Logan Martin and ruckman Oscar McInerney as Brisbane took a 45-point halftime lead, 12.8 to 5.5.

The Lions continued in top gear after the break, scoring another five consecutive goals and cracking the 100-point barrier just nine minutes into the third term.

When Hipwood converted his fifth major midway through the quarter – his side’s 12th in a row – the Lions held a commanding 77-point advantage.

The prolific Dunkley finished with 32 possessions, while midfield mates Neale (37 touches, 10 clearances), Dayne Zorko (25 disposals) and Zac Bailey (26, one goal) also thrived.

McInerney logged a career-high three goals – he shared the hitouts with Port’s recalled ruck Jordon Sweet 30-32, but the big Lion gathered eight clearances in his influential display.

Hipwood, who kicked six goals against the Western Bulldogs two games ago, feasted in attack alongside Joe Daniher (three goals), Morris and Cam Rayner (two goals, 20 disposals), while Hugh McCluggage and Bruce Reville also booted two goals each.

Port, who lost goalsneak Willie Rioli (calf) pre-match, meekly folded when the Lions charged and couldn’t score a goal for about 45 minutes.

Vice-captain Zak Butters (35 touches, eight clearances) and skipper Connor Rozee (28 possessions) found few effective allies in the Power’s fourth defeat in seven games.

Forward Mitch Georgiades kicked three goals as Port crashed to an unwanted record: their previous heaviest loss to the Lions was 69 points in 2006.

AAP

Toby Greene has pounced on an error from the Swans who fumbled at centre-half back and that was all the Giants needed as they grabbed the ball and found Greene who snapped the goal.

But the Swans have powered out of the centre bounce with Brodie Grundy following the ball from the middle and passing it not the forward line where Justin McInerney kicked the goal.

Not to be outdone, the Giants did similar working it out and finding Jake Riccardi in the goal square where he took the mark and kicked the goal.

Swans 15, Giants 13 with two mins to go in Q1.

Sydney’s Hayden McLean has kicked the opening goal capping off a move that started with a kick in at the other end and finished with Nick Blakey finding the big forward on the lead.

He marked and kicked the goal.

Those majors will be at a premium in the wet conditions today.

Swans 8, GWS 1 with six mins to go in Q1.