AFL Round-Up: Freo finds a trump card, Saints have a gem, and Petty proves his worth

Some of the game’s biggest stars came to play across the weekend, as Collingwood survived a Carlton scare, and Melbourne ended Geelong’s unbeaten run.

A few unheralded young guns are starting to come to the party.

Here’s the wrap of the action from this weekend’s footy.

1. Clear-thinking Crows prevail over muddled Port

Ken Hinkley was open and forthright, almost apologetic, after the game when addressing his decision to play a clearly injured Connor Rozee.

“I made a mistake. I’m not a coward when it comes to owning a mistake, and that was what it was, a mistake,” Hinkley said.

This would be an admirable admission if said mistake wasn’t so completely, glaringly obvious to everyone.

The silly thing is it wasn’t a risk Port Adelaide needed to take. Sure Rozee is their captain and a fantastic player, and they had other outs to contend with, but a clear and early decision to leave him out and back the squad would have provided clarity to the team and removed a sideshow that continued to play out all the way through Thursday night’s loss.

Adelaide, on the other hand, could not have been more focused in executing their plan — they were going to suck Port up and spring forward as fast as humanly possible the second they won the ball.

It worked, time and again. While Port Adelaide second guessed and held their hands up in guilt, the Crows were ruthless and clinical, and worthy Showdown winners.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Jake Soligo (Crows)

2. Matt Crouch (Crows)

1. Esava Ratugolea (Power)

2. Nick Daicos is special

It’s so plainly obvious by now that anyone who engages in the “is Nick Daicos really that good?” debate must be doing so solely to get a rise out of others.

Very few players in the league see the game like he does, as a little brain-training puzzle designed to be manipulated and moulded into a correct answer.

Very few players have his consistency, brilliant in basically every game he has played since a debut a little over two years ago.

And very few players can raise themselves for the capital-M moments like this guy, who is not afraid of the spotlight and instead relishes the responsibility of being the main man of a juggernaut club.

In a true arm wrestle against Carlton, the game was crying out for someone to step up and be the game breaker. Was there ever really any doubt who it would be?

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Nick Daicos (Magpies)

2. Jack Crisp (Magpies)

1. Sam Walsh (Blues)

3. The best midfield in Sydney wears red and white

Chad Warner got only two votes for the best on ground medal against GWS, and Chad Warner was absolutely spellbinding out there.

The voters had him behind Errol Gulden and Isaac Heeney among midfielders, and the most startling thing is you can’t really blame them.

At the feet of Brodie Grundy, who is rolling back the years and playing inspired football with Sydney, this group can stake as strong a claim as the league’s premier on-ball brigade as any.

The Swans were helped by an early injury to Tom Green, who no doubt would have relished the sloppy conditions and made life a bit tougher for Sydney in the contest.

The weather made slick ball movement tricky and put a premium on field position and the contested ball. Sydney dominated in those regards, and looked every bit a flag contender in the process.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Errol Gulden (Swans)

2. Will Hayward (Swans)

1. Chad Warner (Swans)

4. Darcy Wilson could be St Kilda’s next superstar

The Darcy Wilson that is playing for the Saints now, dominating games from a wing and looking like a 100-game veteran within his first two months of footy, isn’t the same one clubs had on draft boards last year.

Wilson slipped to pick 18, and there weren’t many overwhelmed with shock when he did. He was clearly a good prospect and a great runner, but seemed to lack the weapons of other midfielders picked ahead of him.

Even at the time, the Saints didn’t agree. But after a preseason in which he has bulked up considerably and added raw speed to his arsenal, he suddenly looks like the bargain of the century.

Harley Reid may well end up a vacuum for all Rising Star discourse this year, but Wilson’s start to AFL life shouldn’t be ignored.

He was critical in St Kilda’s win over North Melbourne and it’s not hard to look into the future and imagine a world in which Wilson is one of the premier inside-outside midfielders in the league.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Jack Sinclair (Saints)

2. Darcy Wilson (Saints)

1. Brad Hill (Saints)

5. A little Petty theft goes a long way

While most of the talk was rightfully about Bayley Fritsch’s goal of the year contender that sunk Geelong in the dying stages of Saturday night’s match, it was the lead up play that really told a story.

With 3:14 on the clock and three points in it, Geelong’s players did what they’ve done countless times in the clutch before and made the call to switch the play, and then attempt to go through the guts.

Jhye Clark’s switch to Zach Guthrie was ambitious but came off. Guthrie’s quick handball to Jack Henry was urgent and clean. And Henry’s corridor kick to Tom Stewart was probably a decision Chris Scott would have poetically defended in the post-match presser had he been asked about it.

Where it fell down was through the brilliant forward pressure of Harrison Petty. 

Leaving opponent Jake Kolodjashnij in his wake, the Demon burned all his remaining energy to make the contest and spoil the ball to the feet of Christian Petracca, who put the Sherrin inside 50 before Fritsch waved his wand a created a bit of magic.

It was a moment that summed up a superb night for Petty, whose clean hands throughout made everyone else who was struggling with the dewy conditions look a little bit silly.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Clayton Oliver (Demons)

2. Steven May (Demons)

1. Gryan Miers (Cats)

6. Veteran’s moment of madness costs Eagles dearly

As Jake Waterman manhandled the Essendon defence, the Eagles looked like pulling off the unlikely in the dying stages at Perth Stadium.

Down by by 10 points and with nine and a half minutes on the clock, the big West Coast forward claimed a beautiful contested grab on a slight angle and more than likely would have snagged the goal to put the Eagles within a kick.

Instead, the ball was handed back to the Bombers after veteran Jamie Cripps put Nic Martin on his back following a handful of fairly aggressive jumper punches.

Martin was the one to initiate contact with a left handed swipe at Cripps, but the retaliation was unwarranted, unnecessary, and heartbreakingly costly.

Just one more goal was scored for the rest of the match after that point, and it went the Eagles way.

Coach Adam Simpson went out of his way to defend Cripps after the match, but there no doubt would have been some pretty frustrated teammates in the rooms following the final siren.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Zach Merrett (Bombers)

2. Tim Kelly (Eagles)

1. Sam Durham (Bombers)

7. The Big Kahuna could be Freo’s big trump card

Fremantle’s key forward stocks have been an issue for many years — coincidentally since the moment Matthew Pavlich retired.

But where there once was famine, now there is feast. Jye Amiss is already a stellar young forward prospect but he now has a genuine partner in crime in Josh Treacy.

Freo fans have been waiting and waiting for Treacy to have a season like this, when it all comes together and he finds away to channel all of his physical gifts into consistent performance.

Treacy is a mainstay of the forward line now and, as a leaper and a flyer who can also hunt and hurt and ground level, he is a perfect foil for Amiss.

When Richmond threatened the Dockers in the second half on Sunday, Treacy put them back away again with his work in front of goals. He’s a difficult match up and a potential difference-maker as Freo plots a path to finals.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Hayden Young (Dockers)

2. Luke Ryan (Dockers)

1. Caleb Serong (Dockers)

8. James Sicily leads from the front

At clubs like Hawthorn, the remarkable deeds of the great leaders are passed down through generations. Though a round eight win over the Bulldogs won’t compare to the more grandiose of these stories, James Sicily’s heroics in this game are worthy of the highest praise.

Sicily dislocated his shoulder in the first quarter of the game. They popped it back in, strapped it back up and sent him back there.

Then in the third quarter, he rolled his ankle so badly it tore the existing strapping tape under his sock. He taped it back up and gave it another shot.

Unable to jump or properly lift his injured arm above his head, Sam Mitchell sent him forward in the last quarter. He took a strong late mark and kicked the winning goal.

His young Hawthorn teammates had no choice but to go along for the ride with him. They were all as committed and tough as their skipper, and a stirring upset win was their reward.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Jarman Impey (Hawks)

2. Marcus Bontempelli (Bulldogs)

1. Dylan Moore (Hawks)

9. Lions survive the carnage, but at what cost?

It was a brave victory from the Lions on Sunday evening in trying circumstances.

While it looked like the Suns barely came to play in the first half, and shocking run of injuries saw the Lions scrambling to fill holes.

Brisbane travels to Adelaide for a crucial match next week, and they’ll almost certainly do it without Lincoln McCarthy, Noah Answerth, Darcy Gardiner, and Brandon Starcevich.

Answerth should be only a week with concussion, and the Lions can survive without Starcevich for a few weeks while he deals with a calf.

Where the concern will be is with the knee injuries of McCarthy and Gardiner. Both looked unnervingly similar, as non-contact, percussive sort of injuries.

How long they spend on the sideline will play a huge part in the story the Lions tell this year.

ABC Sport player of the year votes:

3. Dayne Zorko (Lions)

2. Hugh McCluggage (Lions)

1. Josh Dunkley (Lions)