WHILE the second expansion team, Greater Western Sydney, continued to struggle, the powers-that-be at the AFL can take some delight from the performance of the first true expansion team since 1995, Gold Coast.

In each of the Gold Coast’s first two seasons they won three games: against Richmond (twice), Port Adelaide, Brisbane, GWS and Carlton. In eight rounds this year, they’ve already won four – and have added St Kilda, Melbourne and now the Western Bulldogs to the list of teams they’ve beaten

THE Melbourne Football Club may not have won but they at least played well enough for fans and the media to ease up on the pressure that they have piled onto the club as Richmond notched their fifth win of the season with a 34-point victory in front of 39,148 fans at the MCG.

Indeed while the Demons walked off the field with a sense of having achieved something, the Tigers were less than enthusiastic about their own performance as they struggled to put away their surprisingly feisty opponent

CARLTON coach Mick Malthouse admits the Blues remain very much a work in progress after grinding their way to an 18-point win over a disappointing Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.

Carlton won a scrappy game 16.13 (109) to 14.7 (91), with captain Marc Murphy kicking three goals playing mostly as a forward in his 150th match, Jeff Garlett snaring four and Heath Scotland slotting two majors in his 250th game

ADELAIDE’S 40-point win over St Kilda at AAMI Stadium on Sunday was an important one as it levelled its season at 4-4 after eight rounds.

The Crows, while not as dynamic as last week against the Giants, still managed to run the Saints off their legs. Tom Lynch kicked 10 goals last week for the Giants and against the Saints, he finished with 2-1 but perhaps may have enjoyed the win better given he was a former Saint

HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says the scoreboard “flattered” his team in its 83-point win over Greater Western Sydney at Aurora Stadium.

And while the result was largely a comfortable one, the most important factor to come out of the round for the Hawks is that they are flying on top of the ladder after seven straight wins. After round one, the Hawks appeared to be questioning themselves after the round one loss to Geelong

FREMANTLE and Sydney played in this season’s first draw on Saturday night at the SCG despite the Dockers trailing by 27 points midway through the final term.

Fremantle had plenty of opportunities early in the game to hurt the Swans on the scoreboard but inaccurate kicking in front of goal cost the harbor side dearly

IN a game that even their most loyal followers thought would be beyond them, the Collingwood Football Club demonstrated a toughness and resilience that has silenced the chorus of naysayers.

In front of an MCG crowd of 66,768 the Magpies handed Geelong their first defeat of season and in doing so re-invigorated their 2013 campaign

IN a massive upset, the Brisbane Lions headed to Melbourne, expected by many, except their most ardent fans, to lose but instead they upset the number two placed side and came away with the points.

Simon Black started the match in his second game of the year after being the Sub last week against West Coast. He found plenty of the ball with 12 first term touches and all of them were silky and effective.

WITH only seconds to spare, Nic Naitanui became the showstopper last night, as a thrilling after the siren goal stole the show from North Melbourne.

The win saved the Eagles from another gut-wrenching home ground loss after chalking up a poor 3-2 record this year.

Déjà vu came rushing back for Eagles fans, as the heroics of Leo Barry’s 2005 grand final-saving mark were quickly reversed – this time at the opposite end

Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take and his picks on the first games of Round 8.   West Coast vs North Melbourne Friday 8:40 Patersons Stadium Round eight kicks off with what is, on paper, a very interesting game. Both West Coast and North Melbourne are currently sitting outside the top eight with

ST KILDA and Carlton have produced another thriller in their annual Monday night clash, with the Saints victorious by nine points infront of 34,000 at Etihad Stadium.

The Blues had a horrid start to the match, losing Michael Jamison (shoulder), David Ellard (hamstring) and Chris Yarran (hamstring), on top of the late withdrawal of utility Andrew Carrazzo (calf) and the absent Jarrad Waite (suspension) and Bryce Gibbs (hamstring)

AFTER losing Taylor Walker the question that hung over this Adelaide Crows team was who would step up and provide the team with it’s target in the forward line.

After handing the GWS Giants a 135 point loss, the Crows would seem to have found the answer to that question with Tom Lynch having a career day with a 10 goal performance.

Lynch, 22, was traded from St Kilda to Adelaide after the end of the 2011 season as part of a three-way deal with Richmond, which saw Ivan Maric go to the Tigers, and with the Saints getting the Crows’ second-round draft pick

MICHAEL Walters lit up Patersons Stadium with four goals on Saturday night as Fremantle defeated Collingwood by 27 points.

The Dockers got off to the best possible start- kicking the first five goals of the game overwhelming the Magpies early

GOLD Coast’s first win at the MCG was a phenomenal one against Melbourne by 60-points. It may well have huge ramifications for coach Mark Neeld and even the president Don McLardy on Monday but right now the Suns have their second win of the season and are in a good place

THE Western Bulldogs continue to languish in the bottom four after another spirited but ultimately unsuccessful outing against North Melbourne on Saturday evening.

But it is fair to say that most will remember the game for Majak Daw’s efforts. The former Sudanese refugee kicked 6.4 to light up Etihad Stadium in a performance that won’t soon be forgotten

IN what was a classic crossroads game for Richmond, the Tigers reversed their three-game losing streak with a much needed road win over Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium yesterday afternoon.

The Tigers had begun the season with three straight wins before dropping the last three and had settled into their all too familiar ninth place spot on the ladder and a narrow loss to Fremantle two weeks ago almost demonstrating how in spit of improvements the club was not quite there yet

HAWTHORN has overcome its tough start to its season with a 6-1 record after its 37-point win over Sydney at the MCG on Saturday night.

The Hawks horror draw included all of the other seven finallists from last season – and they only lost by a slim margin to Geelong in the opening round

THE effort was there but the Brisbane Lions came up short today in an entertaining game against West Coast at the Gabba.

Both teams are down on form in 2013 and it was the visitors who controlled the early tempo of the game with Josh Kennedy kicking the opening goal. The Lions needed to improve their first quarter efforts after being blown out of games early this season and they were able to do just that, trailing by just 8 points at the first break

IN front of a packed Etihad Stadium, Geelong has put on a third quarter clinic to runaway 28 point winners against a bewildered Essendon. The two undefeated teams fought furiously, until a rampant Cats made a wasteful Bombers pay, winning 17.11 (113) to 11.19 (85).

After the Cats started the game slow out of the blocks and trailed by 21 points in the second quarter, they switched on after that and made the Bombers rue their chances.

Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take and his picks on the first games of Round 7.   Geelong vs Essendon Friday 7:50 Etihad Stadium There is always hype when two unbeaten teams meet two months into a season. But rarely has there seemed to be as much hype as there is for this

THE much-hyped Richmond-Geelong clash was very much a game of two halves. The first was an interesting, good quality game between two sides testing each other out; one team would hold the momentum for a certain period before it inevitably swung back.

Richmond led at quarter time and extended their lead in the second before the Cats got back in front to lead by five at the half.

WEST Coast’s 70-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs was somewhat of a training drill considering what the club has been through over the last few weeks.

The much-needed win gave the Eagles some confidence up forward with Jack Darling with five goals and Dean Cox kicked four

WHILE Carlton defeated Melbourne by 61-points and that was expected, perhaps what was not was the automatic dominance of forward Jarrad Waite, who took 10 marks and two goals from centre half forward.

Waite’s selection was seen to be a bit of gamble from the Blues coming into the match given he had played just the one VFL match on return from injury

A DEPLETED Fremantle Dockers team came away with the four points after a 45 point win over the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

Led by Michael Waters four goals and Jon Griffins 31 hit outs and three goals, the Dockers took control of the match early a despite commendable efforts by the Suns were able to win comfortably

THE Sydney Swans celebrated Jarrad McVeigh’s 200 games with an emphatic win over the Brisbane Lions today at the SCG.

In a bad sign for the Lions, literally, their banner broke before they ran through it. It summed up their day.

Sydney kicked the first 6 goals of the game on the back of a huge possession count in their favour as Brisbane struggled to find the ball.

IS it encouraging or not so encouraging that Hawks superstar Lance Franklin was held goal-less for the second consecutive week and the Hawks have gone on to win a close one?

The Hawks prevailed by 11-points on the back of skipper Luke Hodge’s brilliant work in the midfield with 29 disposals

IT was first against worst according to the AFL ladder but the game proved to be far more interesting than any would have expected.

Maybe it was Kevin Sheedy finding a little something extra against his old club or maybe it was just complacency by the Bombers, but in a game of two very different halves, Essendon had to shake off a 21 point halftime deficit to defeat the GWS Giants by 39 points

WITH seniors coach Ken Hinkley back at home revovering from a viral infection that had seen him hospitalised just a few days ago, Port Adelaide faced North Melbourne in Hobart and came up just 10 points short.

For the Kangaroos it was a much needed victory, just their second for the season, and one that their supporters would have felt would have been easier to get

IT was the battle of the two powerhouse forwards of the game in Travis Cloke and Nick Riewoldt. Cloke’s Collingwood men fought off another gallant fight back by St Kilda in front of 40,071 people at Etihad Stadium.

The Pies won by 26 points but were challenged by Riewoldt’s men for the majority of the night

  Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take and his picks on the first games of Round 6.   Collingwood vs St Kilda Friday 7:50 Etihad Stadium Collingwood’s opponent last week, Essendon, is certainly in dazzling form. But few would have predicted the Bombers to so run over the top of the Magpies towards

THE Brisbane Lions secured their second win of the season after a hard fought win over the Melbourne Demons at The Gabba in front of a disappointing crowd of just 19,018.

In a scrappy affair that won’t make too many 2013 highlight reels, Brisbane did just enough to see off the plucky Dees who were hoping to get their second win in succession

HAWTHORN’S Cyril Rioli was the story of this epic three-point win over North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

Rioli kicked four goals in the second half and was the most electrifying forward on the field but suffered a hamstring injury mid-way through the final term that appeared serious. Given Rioli’s history with hamstring injuries, this one could blowout to be a six week injury

PORT Adelaide came back from a 41 point deficit late in the third term to stun the West Coast Eagles by five points on Saturday night at AAMI Stadium.

It was vintage West Coast for the first half with the Eagles overwhelming the Power through the midfield and generating a lot of supply inside their forward half of the ground

EVERYONE expected Geelong to race away with a thumping victory over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, but few would have predicted what happened in the final term.

Leading by 36 points at three-quarter time it seemed to be a matter of how much the Cats would win by. But Geelong could manage just five behinds in the last quarter, going goalless as the Bulldogs kicked three goals

TWELVE months is a long time in football, and it probably feels especially long for Brenton Sanderson and the Adelaide Crows after they lost to a surging Carlton team by 32 point at the MCG yesterday.

This year the Crows have managed just two wins in five games and have yet to consistently show any of the form that saw them finish second on the ladder in

IN a game that ultimately featured the second highest total score of the year, the Gold Coast Suns piled on eight goals in the final term to run away as 44-point winners over the GWS Giants at StarTrack Oval in Canberra yesterday afternoon

RICHMOND has been left heartbroken following Thursday night’s one-point loss to Fremantle at Paterson’s Stadium overnight.

Hayden Ballantyne was the hero, snapping his fourth goal in the dying stages to pinch victory for the Dockers

ESSENDON is likely to race to a 6-nil start with a meeting against Greater Western Sydney next week but coach James Hird has told fans not to get too carried away following its round five Anzac Day win over Collingwood by 46-points at the

  Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take and his picks on the first games of Round 5.     Collingwood vs Essendon ANZAC Day, April 25 2013 2:40pm Melbourne Cricket Ground As we commemorate and remember our fallen servicemen and women on ANZAC Day, Collingwood and Essendon once again do battle on the

THE Sydney Swans have held off a late St Kilda charge to win by 16 points in Wellington, New Zealand. In a historic day for the AFL, Sydney has won the first game for premiership points outside of Australia, defeating a young Saints team

Round 4 is in the books, so without further ado let’s look at the match reports for each game:   GEELONG 19.10 (124) def SYDNEY 16.7 (103) GEELONG remain undefeated in season 2013 after a 21 point win over the Sydney Swans at the SCG. After an exhilarating opening term, which saw 15 goals kicked between

MELBOURNE 22.12 (144)  def GWS GIANTS 15.13 (103) IN the face of the fiery hell burning below, Melbourne has exorcised their Demons by unleashing a record-breaking 12-goal last quarter haul to overcome Greater Western Sydney. It marks the highest ever last quarter score in the history of the club. Demons coach Mark Neeld can now

NORTH Melbourne jumped the Brisbane Lions in the first quarter to be run-away winners by 63 points. The Roos were unbeatable in the third quarter with seven goals to Brisbane’s two goals, to kill off any hope of a Lions comeback. The Roos got as much as 65 points up in the third term, but it was the debut and early substitution of Majak Daw that shocked the Etihad Stadium crowd

ADELAIDE 12.8 (80) def WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.4 (28) THE result was a 52-point win to Adelaide and in this encounter that was slow to get going, it was Patrick Dangerfield, who scored the Crows first three goals and created some excitement. The only real talking point was the suspected shoulder injury to Ryan Griffen, which

IT is as if the Hawks round one loss to Geelong has added a hard edge to the brown and gold – and rather than become dispirited after that close result – they have instead become unified.

The 42-point win against Fremantle was its third in a row on Saturday in Launceston. Arguably they have the toughest draw out of any team in the first seven rounds, playing most finallists from last season.

ALL the hype heading into this contest was all about Richmond. And fair enough, too. The club had started 3-0 for the first time in nearly 20 years, had beaten tough opponents Carlton and St Kilda and smashed the Western Bulldogs the week before.

MICK Malthouse had his first win as a Carlton coach after his Blues defeated West Coast by 24 points at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night.

Sam Rowe had Carlton on the board with the first goal of the game at the six minute mark

IT was always going to be a big ask for St Kilda and on an emotional day when the Saints took on the prodigal son Brendon Goddard and his new team, the talent gap between the two sides was visible as Essendon came away with a 37 point victory at Etihad Stadium last night

THE Gold Coast Suns started strongly, applying heaps of pressure early withstanding Port’s good start after the visitors kicked the opening two goals. However, The Suns, superbly led by Gary Ablett Jr with 15 first quarter touches, were able to apply some scoreboard pressure of their own to surprisingly lead at quarter time

GEELONG remain undefeated in season 2013 after a 21 point win over the Sydney Swans at the SCG, winning 19.10 (124) to 16.7 (103).

After an exhilarating opening term, which saw 15 goals kicked between the two sides, the grinding contest many expected came to be

Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take and his picks on all of the games in Round 4.   Sydney vs Geelong Friday 7:50 SCG There are five undefeated teams heading into this weekend, but by later tonight that will be cut to four as the reigning premier faces its toughest test yet against

EXACTLY one week after the spectacular Collingwood-Carlton clash there was a similar feeling at the MCG as the Magpies took on Hawthorn in front of 70,000 screaming fans.

For most of the afternoon the match lived up to that billing. Collingwood exploded out of the blocks to dominate early, and the Pies looked as good as they have over the past five or so years

Round 3 is in the books, so without further ado let’s look at the match reports for each game:   ESSENDON 10.12 (72) def FREMANTLE 9.14 (68) OUT of the darkness Essendon have lifted themselves from one of the most tumultuous weeks in the club’s history to record an inspiring four-point upset win against Fremantle

RICHMOND’S 67-point demolition of the Western Bulldogs on Sunday has handed the Tigers their best start in 18 years as they race to an undefeated three-zip start to the season.

The Tigers face Collingwood in a blockbuster next week which will test exactly where the Tigers are at in the early stanza of the season

LAST night’s 72 point victory over the GWS Giants was exactly what St Kilda needed to jump start their their 2013 campaign for so many reasons.

Breaking away from its dependence on an ageing core of star players, the Saints win was characterised by strong performances from younger players

AFTER asking for and getting CEO Cameron Schwab’s resignation earlier in the week and retreating to Sorrento for a team bonding session, the Demons began their game against the Eagles with real fire and intensity. While they trailed at the end of each break in signs encouraging to all footy fans they even held the lead at various points in both the first and second quarter

CARLTON remains winless in season 2013 after going down to Geelong by 16-points at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

The Blues ran out of legs in the second half as the Cats overpowered them to win 18.11 (119) to 15.13 (103).

In a further blow, ruckman Matthew Kreuzer was sent to hospital with a suspected broken thumb in the first quarter. The injury is expected to sideline the important big man for two months

THE Brisbane Lions have defeated the ever improving Gold Coast Suns by only 2 points in a thriller at Metricon Stadium.

In a scrappy affair, due in part to the wet conditions, it was the experience of Jonathan Brown who kicked a game high five goals which ensured the Lions prevailed in front of a disappointing crowd of 12,961. Brown also won the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for Best on Ground

A BREATHTAKING third quarter by Sydney, one which included the visiting Swans outscoring the Roos 11 goals to one, has set up an incredible victory after a gallant first half by North Melbourne. The Swans’ the second half was one of sheer brilliance and the Roos simply had no answer, losing by 39 points.

OUT of the darkness Essendon have lifted themselves from one of the most tumultuous weeks in the club’s history to record an inspiring four-point upset win against Fremantle at Patersons Stadium in Subiaco, Western Australia

  Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take and his picks on all of the games in Round 3.   Fremantle vs Essendon Friday 6:40pm Patersons Stadium It’s been a horror week for Essendon off the field, with parts of the media calling for James Hird’s head. The question is whether this will affect

HAWTHORN enjoyed their first win of 2013 with an impressive 50 point thumping of the West Coast Eagles at Patersons Stadium yesterday. The Hawks got off to a great start kicking five goals to one in the first term and extended their lead out to 39 points during the second quarter. While the Eagles attempted to rally however, every score they managed was more than matched by the visitors

Round 2 is in the books, so without further ado let’s look at the match reports for each game:   RICHMOND 14.15 (99) def ST KILDA 12.10 (82) THE Tigers were too strong for a desperate St Kilda team in front of 56,783 at the MCG – winning by 17 points but it was the

GEELONG have once again “got out of jail” in a thrilling but controversial 4-point win over a bitterly disappointed North Melbourne infront of a 34, 152 crowd at Etihad Stadium.

With the roof open and the sun shining, it appeared to be perfect conditions for football on Sunday afternoon, yet when the rain fell hard in the last quarter, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott looked agitated and frustrated

THE reigning premiers don’t exactly look like the reigning premiers at the moment. The cushy start to season 2013 for the Swans shouldn’t come back to bite them – better to play the expansion teams in rounds one and two than rounds 22 and 23 – but it is evident that Sydney is working its way back into form

IMPORTANTLY, Collingwood did it without ruckman Darren Jolly, who was subbed out of the match in the opening term. The 17-point win over Carlton gave the Pies early bragging rights in the Mick Malthouse-Nathan Buckley rivalry – but the Jolly injury threw a spanner in the works.

Jolly was a big loss but it perhaps paved the way for youngster Jamie Elliott to step up with five goals up forward.

FREMANTLE’S 28-point win over the Western Bulldogs may have seemed like a canter in the end but it was a meaningful victory for the Dockers at Etihad Stadium. It was another win in Melbourne, a place which they have struggled to win in recent seasons and gives them more confidence on the road

DEE-plorable, dee-vastating and dee-sastrous. Like a leaky, faulty water pipe, Melbourne’s floodgates burst again with a whopping 148-point annihilation. Last night’s loss for the Demons marked their worst at the MCG in their 155-year history.

KEN Hinkley was the belated second choice at the end of last year to take over the coaching role for Port Adelaide after Leon Cameron spurned the club’s offer to take a “coach in waiting” position with Greater Western Sydney

THE Adelaide Crows, fresh from a 14 day break have defeated the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba by 19 points.

Brisbane, desperate to atone for last week’s shock loss to the Bulldogs, came out with plenty of run and aggression around the stoppages. And the eyes and pressure were on Daniel Rich the talented youngster with the booming left boot

THE Tigers were too strong for a desperate St Kilda team in front of 56,783 at the MCG – winning by 17 points but it was the battle of the Riewoldts that dominated the action on a perfect autumn night

WITH the split-round that opened the season now over we now move to our regular slate of nine games and Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH gives us his take on all of them

AFTER months of waiting the 2013 AFL season is now well and truly underway.  Round 1 was a split round marathon but Football Nation’s team of writers provided a detailed report on all the action and outcomes from all the games.   ESSENDON 18.9 (117) def ADELAIDE 11.16 (82) ESSENDON’S 35-point win over Adelaide at AAMI

GEELONG has managed to do it again by defeating Hawthorn by seven points at the MCG on Easter Monday. An unanswered six-goal blitz on both sides of the main break gave the Cats an extra reason to celebrate during the Easter weekend.

IT has been labelled as one of the worst round one performances in the history of the game. Melbourne’s fans were booing their own players, the footy world was wondering what the Demons had been doing for six months over the pre-season and the coaches appeared to be bemused

COLLINGWOOD has come on top in their round one clash with North Melbourne, winning 15.13 (103) to 13.9 (87) infront of a packed crowd at Etihad Stadium.

The Pies were forced to withdraw seasoned campaigners Heath Shaw and Dayne Beams before the match, giving the Roos a chance to expose their younger replacements in debutees Jack Frost and Josh Thomas

THE scoreboard says that the Sydney Swans once again took care of their young cross-town rival this time by 30 points on Saturday night but it’s clear that Greater Western Sydney are going to put together good football for longer periods in 2013 than they did in

GOLD Coast skipper Gary Ablett was the talking point of the Suns’ shock 13-point win over the Saints at Metricon Stadium last night. It has Suns coach Guy McKenna suggesting that Ablett is now better than his champion father after his 34-disposal night which included four goals including three in the last quarter. Also on

WESTERN BULLDOGS 19.13 (127) def BRISBANE LIONS 7.17 (59) THE Western Bulldogs have started their 2013 campaign against the more fancied Brisbane Lions with a dominant 68 point victory. And what a victory it was for the Doggies. The Bulldogs came into the match with little support for a win but they showed plenty against

RICHMOND’S nine-game hoodoo has finally been broken. The Tigers had lost all matches against Carlton since 2008, but a win now shows the football public and their fans that this year they mean business

THE footy season has returned and so has Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH with his weekly match previews.  With a split-round to open the season this is Daniel’s preview for the second week’s games.   Carlton vs Richmond Thursday 7:45pm, MCG Another year, another Carlton-Richmond round one clash, another wave of expectation and hope for Richmond. This blockbuster,

A WEEK after being hailed as premiership favourites by the leagues captain and coaches the West Coast Eagles could not have started 2013 any worse with a 28 point defeat by Fremantle last night at Patterson Stadium

ESSENDON’S 35-point win over Adelaide at AAMI Stadium last night was full of emotion considering the dark months at Windy Hill leading up to the match

The footy season has returned and so has Football Nation’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH with his weekly match previews.  With a split-round to open the season Daniel’s first preview will look at the first two games of the 2013 season.   Adelaide vs Essendon Friday 8:10, AAMI Stadium Season 2013 kicks off without the Carlton-Richmond quasi-blockbuster we’ve

THE Brisbane Lions won their first NAB Cup against Carlton on Friday night and appear to be set for a cracking season. Certainly the positives were Josh Green’s heroic efforts up forward to combine with Jonathan Brown. Both were sensational in their commitment up forward and finishing with a bag of goals between them. Also

ROUND 3 of the NAB Cup competition is complete and Football Nation’s team of writers takes a detailed look at the action and outcomes of each of the games

WEST Coast suffered a shock loss at the hands of an underrated Port Adelaide by six points in their Round 3 NAB Cup match in Alice Springs last night. The Eagles led at the first break but after falling behind in the second term they were unable to put away a gritty Power squad that kept finding answers for everything the Eagles threw at them

FREMANTLE ended their NAB Cup campaign in convincing style with a 109 point thumping of the Western Bulldogs in Mandurah yesterday.

And after a disappointing and listless performance a week ago against Carlton, the Dockers this time fielded a near full strength side with Aaron Sandilands the only key player missing from the side

GEELONG has defeated a gutsy North Melbourne by 12 points in their round three NAB Cup encounter at Simonds Stadium, removing the Roos’ chance of a pre-season grand final appearance

THE Brisbane Lions have won their way into the NAB Cup Grand Final after downing Collingwood by 34 points at Etihad Stadium.  The Lions will meet Carlton in the pre-season competition final next Friday night for their first chance at silverware since the triple premiership years of 2001-2003 and their first night Grand Final since, ironically,

ON a blistering hot and windy day at Casey Fields the Melbourne Football Club started their match well against St Kilda. From a scoring perspective the second half was ok as well relative, of course, to what the Saints were able to put on the board

SYDNEY got the win by 36-points over Gold Coast yesterday but it came at a major cost with young defender Alex Johnson, who was a revelation last season, suffering a suspected ACL injury

IT has been a horror month for the Hawks on the field. They’re winless and one of their key playmakers – Matt Suckling – is likely to under go a knee reconstruction after the one-point loss to Richmond on Saturday

WE have seen glimpses from Essendon big man Paddy Ryder but coach James Hird said in the after match press conference that he wants to see more consistent dominance from him after his outstanding display against GWS on Friday night

AFTER a disappointing game last week against Geelong, Adelaide’s performance against Carlton last night was going to be the subject of close scrutiny and they didn’t disappoint holding on for a three-point win in spite of a scoreless final term

ROUND 2 of the NAB Cup competition is complete and Football Nation’s team of writers takes a detailed look at the actions and outcomes of each of the games

FIRST year draftee Nick Vlastuin must be on the Richmond’s selection committees’ minds given his outstanding pre-season and such was his promising form in the eight point win over the Bombers in Wangaratta on the weekend, Vlastuin is well and truly in contention for a senior debut in round one

IT’S hard enough to travel from one side of the country to another and then back it up with a top notch performance but to do so in a pre-season game is impressive.

To do it against a team as talented as West Coast however is remarkable

ST KILDA has ensured that the Sydney Swans have maintained a winless NAB Cup campaign after two rounds, following a 23-point win at Etihad Stadium tonight

A GAME that was largely in their control for the whole day threatened to slip away from the Melbourne Football Club in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter