Add Category
Updated
GWS completely annihilates Carlton to the tune of 93 points, while Richmond outclasses Hawthorn and Port Adelaide overcomes Gold Coast in a wet slog.
See how it all unfolded.
GWS humiliates horrible Carlton
The blowtorch is back on AFL cellar dwellers Carlton after it suffered a demoralising 93-point loss away to GWS Giants on Sunday.
The 20.18 (138) to 7.3 (45) result represented the Blues' (1-8) biggest loss of the season, while the Giants (6-3) moved back up to third with their largest victory of the campaign.
The Giants dominated every statistical category bar hitouts, in what at times looked little more than a training run, as Carlton failed to put any defensive pressure on the free-running home side.
GWS piled on seven straight goals in the first quarter and 15 out of 16 in the first half after Carlton's Harry McKay booted the first major of the game.
GWS brought up a century of points less than ten minutes into the second half and were up by as much as 99 in the final quarter, but kicked a string of behinds to save Carlton the indignity of losing by a three-figure margin.
Giants forward Jeremy Finlayson equalled his carer best haul of five and Harry Himmelberg and Brett Deledio kicked three with the latter playing his first game since round three.
Neither of the Giants two leading all-time goalkickers, Jeremy Cameron, the Coleman Medal leader, and Toby Greene, kicked a major, with Cameron going goalless for a second straight week.
Carlton champion Patrick Cripps cut a frustrated figure and was held to a season-low 12 disposals by Giants tagger Matt de Boer, who got 27.
Carlton's cause wasn't helped by losing Marc Murphy to a rib injury in the first quarter after he got hit by Giants ruckman Shane Mumford, while David Cunningham withdrew before the game with soreness.
GWS also finished the game a man down with dashing defender Zac Williams off the ground for the second half with a tight hamstring
McKay kicked the Blues' only two first half goals and finished with three.
GWS also finished the game a man down with Williams off the ground for the second half with a tight hamstring.
Richmond carves up Hawthorn at the 'G
A star turn by Dustin Martin has fired Richmond to a 36-point win over an injury-depleted Hawthorn at the MCG.
The Brownlow Medal winner was influential from the outset on Sunday, finishing with 37 possessions and two goals in a 14.11 (95) to 8.11 (59) win in front of 64,936 fans.
The Hawks lost star defender James Frawley to hamstring soreness before the match, then had to make do without Ben McEvoy and Mitchell Lewis for most of the second half.
McEvoy didn't return after the main break after his right ankle got caught underneath him in a tackle in the first quarter, while Lewis was ruled out early in the third quarter with concussion.
Richmond improved to a 6-3 record with the win, while the inconsistent Hawks dropped to four wins and five losses.
Bachar Houli (35 touches) and Brandon Ellis (35) were also important for the Tigers, with Tom Lynch and Josh Caddy each booting three goals.
Ricky Henderson (30) and Jaeger O'Meara (29) worked hard for Hawthorn, with Luke Breust its top scorer with three majors.
The Hawks dominated early but were wasteful in front of goal, allowing Martin to put the Tigers up by three points with a goal after the quarter-time siren.
Having weathered the early storm, Richmond booted four unanswered goals to help set up a 16-point half-time lead, Martin hitting the scoreboard late in the quarter for his second.
Breust fired the Hawks to within four points with back-to-back goals after the restart, but the Tigers slammed through five of the last six goals of the quarter to take a 28-point lead into the final term.
Tom Scully gave Hawthorn a glimmer of hope with the first goal of the last quarter but the Tigers weren't to be denied.
Power hold their nerve after Suns challenge
Port Adelaide has banked a slogging 38-point win against Gold Coast to climb back into the AFL's top eight.
The Power prevailed 13.11 (89) to 7.9 (51) on Sunday on a rain-soaked Adelaide Oval to rise from 11th spot to seventh.
Port's second-gamer Billy Frampton and Kane Farrell kicked three each and ex-captain Travis Boak was best-afield with 36 disposals.
Boak's teammates Darcy Byrne-Jones (24 touches, 10 inside 50s) and Tom Rocklff (30 possessions) were also prominent in Port's fifth win of the season.
Rockliff was reported for tripping Gold Coast's Anthony Miles, though replays show minimal, if any, contact between the pair in the second quarter incident.
Rockliff's report came during an even first half when the unfancied Suns more than held their own.
Gold Coast's Alex Sexton kicked two early goals to help his side to a nine-point lead at quarter-time as heavy rain made ball-handling challenging.
The Power rallied in a slippery second term and booted three goals to take the lead, only for Ben Ainsworth to convert a set shot after the half-time siren to put the Suns back in front, 6.7 to 6.3.
Port then dominated territory in the third quarter, recording a whopping 22 inside 50s to just the Suns' four.
The weight of attack eventually paid off with the Power booting three goals to one to create a 13-point lead at three quarter-time.
Gold Coast's fate was effectively sealed when Farrell slotted his second major early in the last term — the Suns managed just one point in the final quarter, and one goal in the second half.
Gold Coast slipped to a sixth loss in nine games despite another standout performance from Brayden Fiorini, who gathered a game-high 38 disposals, while Lachie Weller (25 possessions), Jack Bowes (25 touches) and Darcy MacPherson (20 touches, 12 tackles) battled gamely.
Port play Hawthorn in Tasmania next Saturday afternoon while the Suns host ladder leaders Geelong on Saturday night.
AFL ladder
AAP
Topics: australian-football-league, sport, australia, sa, port-adelaide-5015, qld, carrara-4211, vic, richmond-3121, hawthorn-3122, carlton-3053, nsw, homebush-2140
First posted