Round 17 had a few surprises with the Lions upsetting the Hawks for the second time this season. The round was highlighted by two close games; the first between the Giants and the Tigers and the second game was between the Kangaroos and the Swans.
Crows v Cats
Crows: Rory Sloane resigning gave the Crows the necessary boost that they required to get the four points. Also, they finally had their best team on the park! Kyle Cheney, Rory Atkins, Jordan Galucci and Wayne Milera played to their optimum, while Rory Laird was outstanding with forty-three possessions.
Cats: Patrick Dangerfield, need I say anymore; he collected thirty-three possessions, kicked three goals and had an impressive ten tackles. Tom Hawkins had one of his better games for the season finishing with four goals and Rhys Stanley played a solid game.
Saints v Blues
Saints: The question has to be raised; is Jack Steven an elite player? Rowan Marshall, Jack Newnes, Luke Dunstan and Jack Billings were all impressive.
Blues: Patrick Cripps did what Patrick Cripps does week in week out winning plenty of the ball and giving the Blues a glimmer hope, a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Zac Fisher wasn’t too bad either.
Hawks v Lions
Hawks: Tom Mitchell, say no more, Tom Mitchell then daylight, although there were other players that played some good footy; Liam Shiels, James Sicily and Jaeger O’Meara too name a few.
Lions: The application and endeavour shown from the entire twenty-two without their inspirational leader in Luke Hodge. They proved that the recent form they have displayed is start of a trend, rather than an aberration. They are executing the game plan of Chris Fagan and the coaching staff.
Demons v Bulldogs
Demons: Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver were outstanding for the Demons. Alex Neal-Bullen, Jake Melksham exceeded my expectations.
Bulldogs: Although the Bulldogs got smashed Mitch Wallis, Jack Macrae and Lachie Hunter played their role for the team, while Josh Dunkley was one of their best.
Suns v Bombers
Suns: It was difficult to find positives for the Suns, but they did have some players that performed to an acceptable level: Jarrod Harbrow, Steven May and Touk Miller just to name a few.
Bombers: Zach Merrett and Dyson Heppell led from the front for the Bombers, while Kyle Langford had possibly his best game for the year.
Giants v Tigers
Giants: Despite being without their two key forwards in Jonathan Patton through injury and Jeremy Cameron due to suspension, the Giants were outstanding.
Tigers: The Tigers displayed great spirit and mental fortitude to fight back, coming perilously close to collecting the four points.
Magpies v Eagles
Magpies: The Magpies started well kicking the first three goals of the contest. Jack Crisp was solid in defense, while Jordan de Goey and Josh Thomas played their roles well with four and three goals respectively.
Eagles: Jeremy Mcgovern put in a quality performance as he played as a centre half back and took an impressive twelve marks. Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey and Jack Redden were impressive in the midfield with thirty possessions each. The Eagles did well to come back from an awful start.
Kangaroos v Swans
Kangaroos: The Kangaroos were competitive from start to finish, despite not collecting the four points they showed great endeavour. Jack Ziebell led the way with five goals.
Swans: The Swans took home the four points, even though they were without Daniel Hannerbery for the entirety of the game and Josh Kennedy for the majority of the contest. Lance Franklin kicked his nine hundredth goal of his AFL career.
Dockers v Power
Dockers: The Dockers managed to win the game despite being without captain Nat Fyfe. Their defense was exceptional, especially Joel Hamling who kept Charlie Dixon scoreless.
Power: The Power were insipid, but they did have a few players who played their role for the team; Dan Houston was a standout in defense, while Tom Rockliff, Travis Boak and Chad Wingard were all solid.