AFL Aussie Rules - Weekend Wrap up after Round 7

Hawks Thrash Pies to Post Seventh Straight Win

MELBOURNE—Hawthorn remained unbeaten after seven games of the AFL season with a 65-point drubbing of Collingwood at the MCG.

Lance Franklin found his radar to boot six goals, Jarryd Roughead also booted six, Mark Williams kicked five and Sam Mitchell dominated in the centre to finish with 39 disposals as the Hawks won 24.10 (154) to 13.11 (89).

But onballer Luke Hodge suffered what appeared a hamstring injury at the start of the third quarter after he set the game alight in the first half.

Hodge's injury marred an impressive performance from Hawthorn, who passed what coach Alastair Clarkson thought would be a major test.

However the big-match atmosphere and an attendance of 76,048 inspired the Hawks who settled into the match after Collingwood made an encouraging start and then slammed on 10 goals in the last quarter.

The Magpies began well enough with two of the first three goals, but the Hawks booted four unanswered majors and then the first of the second quarter to open a gap the Magpies could not bridge.

Hodge was probably the best player of the first half, as he kicked a goal on his non-preferred right side and then booted the first of the second with the outside of his left boot.

He left the field after grabbing at his right hamstring just as he kicked the ball to Franklin early in the third term and did not return.

Even with Hodge gone, the Hawks dominated the second half.

Mitchell constantly won the ball from stoppages, while Shane Crawford and Brad Sewell helped lead a midfield too precise for the Collingwood counterpart.

Franklin had been quiet early, but cut loose in the second half - he booted all his goals after half-time - and largely did as he pleased.

His fourth goal, early in the final quarter, sealed the contest after he easily out-bodied Magpie Tyson Goldsack and put through a goal.

Franklin, who finished with 21 disposals, 10 marks and also four behinds, now has 36 goals for the season.

Roughead's strong marking was again a feature, and he and Williams proved what a dangerous attack Hawthorn have, alongside Franklin.

In contrast, Collingwood's most damaging players were well down.

Centre half-forward Travis Cloke went goalless and was beaten by Trent Croad, Alan Didak was very quiet in the first half but lifted, Josh Fraser was beaten in the ruck and Paul Medhurst managed only one goal after six on Anzac Day against Essendon.

Tarkyn Lockyer fought hard in the forward line to finish with four goals, and Heath Shaw, Scott Pendlebury and Marty Clarke got plenty of the ball between them, but did not have the impact of their opponents.

Western Bulldogs Stun Sydney

Jason Akermanis of the Bulldogs. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

SYDNEY—The impressive Western Bulldogs continued their unbeaten start to the AFL season, beating Sydney by 18 points at the SCG.

The Dogs triumphed 18.4 (112) to 14.10 (94) to register their first victory in Sydney since 2002, withstanding a late Swans comeback to keep the pressure on ladder-leaders Geelong and Hawthorn.

Rodney Eade's team barely rated a mention in the pre-season, but the Bulldogs have now recorded six wins and a draw from their opening seven games in 2008.

The Swans, who started the year in promising form, slipped to their third loss and are still struggling to overcome the absence of spearhead Barry Hall.

Adam Cooney put in a best-on-ground performance for the visitors, kicking five goals and gathering 25 possessions, ably assisted by tireless skipper Brad Johnson (four goals).

Ryan O'Keefe worked hard for the home side, but poor kicking for goal and some dreadful skill errors condemned the Swans to their first loss at the SCG this year.

Even the late withdrawal of onballer Scott West with knee soreness failed to hinder the `Dogs, who deserved to maintain their undefeated start to the season.

There was little sign of what was to come when Sydney's Jarrad McVeigh kicked the first two goals of the game.

Eade said leading up to the match he felt his side were finally equipped to combat Sydney's lockdown style, but that didn't appear to be the case in the opening exchanges.

The visitors struggled to get their hands on the ball and the Swans were comfortably keeping the Dogs at bay.

A goal from former Cat Henry Playfair in his first game for Sydney gave the home side a 15-point edge at the first break.

But whatever Eade said at the quarter-time interval worked a treat as the Bulldogs emerged a completely different team after a quiet opening term.

Suddenly first to every contest, the Bulldogs kicked seven unanswered goals to turn a 15-point deficit into a 28-point lead.

The Swans threw everything into the third term, but repeatedly blew their opportunities in front of goal, managing only 4.6 for the quarter to the `Dogs' four straight goals.

The visitors then kicked four of the first five goals to start the final quarter to guarantee the four points.

Melbourne Dees Down Dockers for First Win in 2008

Dean Bailey the coach of the Demons. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE—Melbourne posted the second biggest halftime comeback in AFL history, the club's best ever fightback, and a remarkable first win of the season over Fremantle by six points at the MCG.

Down by 51 points late in the second quarter and 50 points at halftime, the Demons turned things around spectacularly in the second half, kicking 14 goals to four for a stunning 17.17 (119) to 15.23 (113) win.

So bad were the Demons in the first half they were booed off at halftime by sections of the crowd - the epitaphs of several players and first-year coach Dean Bailey seemingly written.

But after spreading manure all over the MCG in the first half, Melbourne started growing roses in the second as much-maligned tall Brad Miller and small forwards Austin Wonaeamirri and Aaron Davey led a freakish second-half resurgence.

Staring down their seventh successive defeat to open the season, Melbourne instead handballed their first-half ineptitude to Fremantle and kicked five successive goals to open the third term.

They included two brilliant running goals to Davey - one featuring three bounces and two defenders sidestepped - to close within 19 points.

When Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich steadied the ship with two late third-quarter goals to shatter the Demons' momentum and restore a 32-point three-quarter time lead, Melbourne looked dead in the water.

But Melbourne kept coming, kicking nine final quarter goals to pinch one of the most unlikely victories in AFL/VFL history.

Only Collingwood's fightback from a 52-point halftime deficit against St Kilda in 1970 outstripped the Dees' effort today.

Russell Robertson snared three of his four goals in the final term, while the livewire Wonaeamirri also kicked four and Davey and Miller booted three each for the match.

After the Demons had chipped the lead back to less than a goal, Wonaeamirri - promoted off the rookie list only last month - kicked two goals in two minutes from the 21-minute mark to give his side the lead.

He and Davey were exceptional, while the often frustrating Miller brought his A-game in a quality four-quarter performance.

Remarkably, the vast majority of the Melbourne supporters in the small 20,000-crowd stayed after halftime and cheered like five times their number, with Bailey saying they helped lift the team over the line.

"They stuck through the whole game and when you're down by 50 points at halftime, for the Melbourne people to stick it out is a real credit to them," said Bailey, who somehow managed to remain emotionless himself despite his first win as a senior coach.

"I couldn't believe it was 20,000 - it sounded like 70,000 in the last quarter.

"To come back from that far behind gives the players a lot of confidence and they'll be bouncing around at training."

While the win has salvaged pride and hope at Melbourne, the Dockers face the next fortnight in lockdown.

They gave the impression of a team in dire need of a spine transplant, capitulating meekly to a Demons outfit many thought may not win a game all season.

Only Pavlich, who kicked five goals, was present for the Dockers for all four quarters.

Others performed to halftime but had clocked off by midway through the third term - leaving coach Mark Harvey to declare he is now on a mission to weed out the slackers.

"We've got to work out what we stand for as a football team - quickly. And if not, I'll sort it out," Harvey said.

AFL Collated Results and Ladder - Round 7

• CARLTON 2.4 10.7 12.8 17.9 (111)
  
• WEST COAST 2.1 2.7 8.9 10.14 (74)
  

Goals: Carlton: B Fevola 4 E Betts 2 B Gibbs 2 K Simpson 2 S Browne C Cloke D Ellard B Fisher M Murphy N Stevens S Wiggins. West Coast: S Armstrong 2 J Kennedy 2 A Embley C Jones Q Lynch M Rosa W Schofield A Selwood. Best: Carlton: H Scotland A Carrazzo N Stevens K Simpson B Fevola. West Coast: D Cox J Kennedy J Graham D Wirrpanda A Embley. Injuries: Nil. Reports: Nil. Umpires: D Margetts S McLaren M Head. Official Crowd: 41,254 at Subiaco Oval.

• GEELONG 4.1 7.6 11.8 15.15 (105)
  
• BRISBANE LIONS 5.6 6.8 10.9 11.12 (78)
  

Goals: Geelong: J Bartel 2 R Gamble 2 S Johnson 2 M Stokes 2 P Chapman J Corey T Hawkins A Mackie D Milburn C Mooney M Rooke. Brisbane Lions: M Clark 3 L Power 2 D Bradshaw A Corrie S Harding R Hooper J Patfull M Rischitelli. Best: Geelong: J Bartel J Kelly M Scarlett A Mackie R Gamble J Corey. Brisbane Lions: J Adcock J Brennan J Patfull T Notting J Charman M Clark. Injuries: Geelong: J Bartel (cut head). Brisbane Lions: A McGrath (ankle). Reports: M Stokes (Geelong) reported for striking M Rischitelli (Brisbane Lions) in the second quarter. Umpires: M Vozzo C Kamolins S Meredith. Official Crowd: 23,388 at Skilled Stadium.

• HAWTHORN 5.4 8.6 14.9 24.10 (154)
  
• COLLINGWOOD 2.0 5.3 10.8 13.11 (89)
  

Goals: Hawthorn: L Franklin 6 J Roughead 6 M Williams 5 L Hodge 2 R Campbell S Dew R Ladson C Rioli C Young. Collingwood: T Lockyer 4 L Davis 2 M Clarke B Johnson N Maxwell P Medhurst S O'Bree H Shaw D Swan. Best: Hawthorn: J Roughead S Mitchell L Franklin B Sewell G Birchall T Croad M Williams R Campbell S Crawford. Collingwood: T Lockyer H Shaw M Clarke S Pendlebury S Burns. Injuries: Hawthorn: C Bateman (hand) replaced in the selected side by S Dew) L Hodge (hamstring). Collingwood: A Rocca (ankle) replaced in the selected side by R Cook). Reports: Nil. Umpires: C Donlon S McBurney S Ryan. Official Crowd: 76,048 at MCG.

• ST KILDA 4.4 7.5 13.7 17.8 (110)
  
• RICHMOND 4.1 9.4 13.8 16.11 (107)
  

Goals: St Kilda: S Milne 7 C Gardiner 2 R Harvey 2 D Armitage S Birss N Dal Santo F Gehrig N Riewoldt A Schneider. Richmond: M Richardson 5 N Brown 2 S Edwards 2 M Morton 2 T Simmonds 2 M White 2 J Riewoldt. Best: St Kilda: S Milne R Harvey L Ball N Dal Santo A Schneider S Fisher. Richmond: T Simmonds N Brown M Richardson B Deledio L McGuane K Johnson. Injuries: St Kilda: X Clarke (hamstring) N Riewoldt (knee). Richmond: Nil. Reports: J Koschitzke (St Kilda) reported by emergency umpire Shane Stewart for striking T Simmonds (Richmond) in the third quarter. Umpires: H Kennedy S Wenn T Keating. Official Crowd: 40,585 at Telstra Dome.

• ADELAIDE 1.8 6.11 14.11 15.17 (107)
  
• NORTH MELBOURNE 2.2 4.3 5.6 11.8 (74)
  

Goals: Adelaide: J Porplyzia 4 B Burton 3 S Goodwin 3 K Tippett 2 R Douglas T Edwards J Jacky. North Melbourne: S Grant 2 L Harding 2 B Harvey 2 N Thompson 2 C Jones L Thomas D Wells. Best: Adelaide: J Porplyzia G Johncock B Burton T Edwards S Goodwin R Shirley S Thompson N Bock. North Melbourne: A Simpson L Harding D Wells D Pratt. Injuries: Adelaide: R Douglas (strained medial ligament) J Porplyzia (shoulder knock). North Melbourne: Nil. Reports: Nil. Umpires: J Schmitt R Chamberlain S Jeffery. Official Crowd: 41,898 at AAMI Stadium.

• WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.1 10.2 14.2 18.4 (112)
  
• SYDNEY 5.4 6.5 10.10 14.10 (94)
  

Goals: Western Bulldogs: A Cooney 5 B Johnson 4 M Hahn 2 R Murphy 2 S Tiller 2 T Callan N Eagleton W Minson. Sydney: M O'Loughlin 3 A Buchanan 2 J McVeigh 2 J Bolton P Everitt A Goodes K Jack D Jolly R O'Keefe H Playfair. Best: Western Bulldogs: A Cooney B Johnson R Murphy D Giansiracusa M Hahn L Gilbee. Sydney: R O'Keefe J McVeigh T Richards J Moore J Bolton M O'Loughlin. Injuries: Nil. Reports: Nil. Umpires: B Rosebury M Stevic S McInerney. Official Crowd: 29,018 at SCG.