AFL Results and Standings Round 16

Blues Leave Swans out on a Limb

MELBOURNE—For three quarters it was an arm wrestle.

Then Carlton snapped off Sydney's arm and beat the Swans to a pulp with it in the final quarter for a 61-point AFL win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

After kicking nine goals to Sydney's none in a final-quarter blitz, the Blues have strengthened their place in the top eight spot with a 19.10 (124) to 9.9 (63) victory.

The loss ensures that Sydney's run of six successive finals series will end this year.

While Carlton have a 9-7 win-loss record and will be in the top eight at the end of this round, Sydney sit at 6-10 with a poor percentage.

Swans coach Paul Roos labelled his side's defeat one of his side's most disappointing games under his command, as they were brushed aside mercilessly in the final term after being in the contest for the opening three.

"It's one of the most disappointing games in the last seven years, no question," Roos said.

"Generally we really fight hard and we can swing the momentum back, but in the last quarter we dropped off significantly and they were able to run.

"I think they are as a group disappointed, but the proof will be how they play next week."

While Brendan Fevola booted five goals, it was the quality of skipper Chris Judd and midfielder Kade Simpson that proved the difference for Carlton.

The Blues were heavily shackled through the second term and only shook off the cuffs with an explosive final quarter.

Judd, with 26 touches, and Simpson (30) were instrumental in lifting the Blues out of their second-quarter lethargy and back from a 15-point deficit early in the third quarter.

Thanks to their endeavours, Brad Fisher booted three timely goals and Fevola two among six Carlton goals in a row through the third quarter.

But Sydney's effectiveness around the stoppages kept them in the match for the first three terms.

When young forward Jesse White booted his fourth goal and Ryan O'Keefe added a major on the three-quarter-time siren, Carlton's lead was whittled back to nine points.

Then Judd and Simpson lifted again, setting up goals to Bryce Gibbs and Andrew Carrazzo inside the opening two minutes of the final term.

The Blues were then able to run riot with seven more goals for the quarter to post their first victory over Sydney in nine years.

Carlton coach Brett Ratten admitted he was thrilled with his side's effort to put together three consecutive wins for the first time since 2004.

"To beat a mature team that has been in the finals for so long, it was really pleasing to get that contribution across the board from a young team," Ratten said.

"From the last two weeks you could see the improvement through the week and then we made the transition to game day."

O'Keefe was easily Sydney's best, gathering 33 possessions and 14 tackles.

The Swans lost defender Ted Richards late in the match with a suspected broken rib and punctured lung after he collided heavily with teammate Craig Bolton and Fevola in a marking contest.

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ADELAIDE—West Coast may be the closest thing the AFL currently has to roadkill, but Port Adelaide still took plenty of mileage from a 36-point victory at AAMI Stadium that keeps them clinging onto the fringes of the league's top eight.

On a sun-drenched winter afternoon Port rebounded from a deflating loss to Melbourne by beating the Eagles 17.10 (112) to 11.10 (76), leaving the Eagles still winless away from home across 19 matches since 2007.

Port had many winners on the day and it was difficult to separate captain Domenic Cassisi and young midfielder Jason Davenport for best afield honours.

Davenport's first quarter effort -- 12 disposals, two goals, three assists and four tackles -- was remarkable, while Cassisi fought for everything and notched no fewer than 14 tackles.

Up forward Warren Tredrea, Brett Ebert, Robbie Gray and Nick Salter were all dangerous, while Jacob Surjan did a fine job in defence on Eagles goal-sneak Mark LeCras.

"The club was under a lot of pressure this week so it was fantastic that we really came out of the blocks fast," Power coach Mark Williams said.

"I thought Jason Davenport started the game brilliantly and had a lot to do with where we were at halftime and Dom Cassisi continues to shine from the front.

"It was (Davenport's) best game for the club, he's a fantastic, enthusiastic guy, but I think … he doesn't really believe in himself.

"So for him to get little glimpses of this to say 'wait a minute, I can do this stuff' was great for him."

Eagles forwards Ashley Hansen and Quinten Lynch worked hard against the tide, and Chris Masten had plenty of the ball.

West Coast's one and only victory over the Power in Adelaide came in 1998 and they never really looked like adding to it despite a spirited start.

Lacking the superior ruck/rover tandem of Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr, the Eagles made niggle their focus in the early exchanges, paying particular attention to tag-shy Port winger Danyle Pearce.

Though it had the desired effect on Pearce -- he battled through another quiet game -- the Eagles were outpointed virtually everywhere else.

Youngster Patrick McGinnity's freakish running snap gave the Eagles the first goal of the game but their time in front was brief, Port's forward line proving varied and dangerous on the end of a sustained superiority in midfield.

Davenport's first term pyrotechnics played a large part in establishing the flow of the game, while Cassisi maintained admirable intensity as he has for most of the season.

Tredrea, Ebert and Justin Westhoff -- who was laid flat on his back by a crunching bump from Darren Glass in the second -- all proved damaging in attack to set up a 47-point margin at the main break.

The second half unfolded without any significant changes to the script, the Eagles hapless away from home and the Power doing most things well.

West Coast salvaged a little pride by winning the final quarter, but they did so without ever having a chance to claim the match.

"It's not ideal and it's something we want to turn around and we're working hard on doing that," Eagles coach John Worsfold said of his club's horrid away record.

"The first quarter was very disappointing and the players have worked very hard on going out ready to start the game, but there's obviously things we need to do better."

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WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.5 4.6 10.9 15.13 (103)
ESSENDON 3.1 6.2 8.2 11.4 (70)
Goals: Western Bulldogs: M Hahn 5 S Welsh 3 S Higgins 2 A Cooney D Cross J Hill R Murphy W Minson. Essendon: M Lloyd 2 A Davey B Prismall B Stanton H Hocking J Winderlich K Reimers M Hurley P Ryder S Lonergan.
Best: Western Bulldogs: B Lake M Hahn B Johnson R Griffen T Williams A Cooney D Morris. Essendon: D Fletcher H Hocking A Lovett M Hurley A Welsh B Stanton S Lonergan.
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Scott Jeffery, Scott McLaren, Ray Chamberlain.
Official Crowd: 47,120 at Etihad Stadium.

CARLTON 3.4 4.6 10.8 19.10 (124)
SYDNEY 3.1 6.3 9.5 9.9 (63)
Goals: Carlton: B Fevola 5 B Fisher 3 B Gibbs 2 M Kreuzer 2 M Murphy 2 A Carrazzo C Judd C Yarran E Betts K Simpson. Sydney: J White 4 R O'Keefe 2 D Jolly L Ablett M O'Loughlin.
Best: Carlton: C Judd K Simpson R Houlihan B Fevola M Kreuzer M Murphy. Sydney: R O'Keefe R Shaw A Goodes J White J Bolton J McVeigh.
Injuries: Carlton: M Jamison (groin) replaced in selected side by A Hartlett. Sydney: T Richards (rib/lung) N Malceski replaced in selected side by P Bevan, M Pyke replaced in selected side by L Ablett.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Michael Avon, Brett Rosebury.
Official Crowd: 42,018 at Etihad Stadium.

GEELONG 7.4 9.9 14.13 17.15 (117)
MELBOURNE 0.2 3.2 7.3 11.5 (71)
Goals: Geelong: M Stokes 3 A Mackie 2 G Ablett 2 S Hogan 2 T Varcoe 2 H Taylor J Selwood K Tenace P Chapman S Byrnes T Hawkins. Melbourne: C Morton 3 M Bate 3 L Jurrah 2 B Moloney L Dunn R Petterd.
Best: Geelong: J Selwood M Scarlett C Enright P Chapman G Ablett C Ling J Corey. Melbourne: R Petterd B Moloney J Grimes C Bruce.
Injuries: Geelong: T Harley (knee) replaced in selected side by T Gillies. Melbourne: P Wheatley (thigh) replaced in selected side by J Bennell.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Hayden Kennedy, Shane Stewart, Chris Kamolins.
Official Crowd: 21,160 at Skilled Stadium.

HAWTHORN 3.4 5.6 12.9 18.13 (121)
COLLINGWOOD 2.3 7.5 7.7 11.10 (76)
Goals: Hawthorn: L Franklin 5 L Hodge 3 S Mitchell 3 J Roughead 2 B Dowler B McGlynn C Rioli J Lewis X Ellis. Collingwood: T Lockyer 3 J Anthony 2 C Wood D Beams D Swan P Medhurst S O'Bree S Pendlebury.
Best: Hawthorn: L Hodge L Franklin B McGlynn S Mitchell J Lewis X Ellis. Collingwood: S Pendlebury H Shaw T Lockyer D Swan L Davis B Johnson.
Injuries: Hawthorn: S Mitchell (concussion). Collingwood: N Brown (knee) S Prestigiacomo (winded) T Goldsack (illness) replaced in selected side by S Wellington.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Stephen McBurney, Mathew Nicholls, Shane McInerney.
Official Crowd: 66,149 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

BRISBANE 1.1 3.3 7.7 9.8 (62)
FREMANTLE 2.3 4.4 6.5 7.5 (47)
Goals: Brisbane: J Brown 4 B Dalziell D Bradshaw D Rich J Sherman M Clark. Fremantle: K Bradley 2 A Campbell A Grover D Mundy N Suban S Thornton.
Best: Brisbane: D Rich B Dalziell M Rischitelli S Black M Clark. Fremantle: P Duffield G Ibbotson C Pearce N Suban P Hasleby.
Injuries: Brisbane: D Bradshaw (hamstring) J Brennan (ankle). Fremantle: A Foster (ankle) C Tarrant (knee).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Stuart Wenn, Jeff Dalgleish.
Official Crowd: 22,595 at Subiaco.

PORT ADELAIDE 6.5 10.8 15.9 17.10 (112)
WEST COAST 1.1 3.3 6.5 11.10 (76)
Goals: Port Adelaide: B Ebert 3 D Rodan 2 J Davenport 2 M Broadbent 2 N Salter 2 R Gray 2 W Tredrea 2 J Westhoff K Cornes. West Coast: A Hansen 3 M LeCras 2 Q Lynch 2 C Masten J Kennedy M Rosa P McGinnity.
Best: Port Adelaide: D Cassisi J Davenport W Tredrea K Cornes J Surjan S Salopek D Rodan B Ebert D Brogan. West Coast: C Masten Q Lynch A Hansen.
Injuries: Port Adelaide: D Brogan (corked thigh) J Westhoff (concussion) R Gray (corked knee). West Coast: T Stenglein (back) replaced in selected side by N Naitanui.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Michael Vozzo, Troy Pannell, Sam Hay.
Official Crowd: 21,106 at AAMI Stadium.

RICHMOND 4.5 10.6 11.9 12.13 (85)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.3 3.6 8.11 12.13 (85)
Goals: Richmond: J Riewoldt 3 M Morton 2 R Nahas 2 D Polo M Coughlan M White S Edwards T Hislop. North Melbourne: L Harding 3 B Harvey 2 D Hale 2 A Swallow C Jones H McIntosh L Greenwood L Hansen.
Best: Richmond: R Tambling S Edwards C Newman J Riewoldt M Coughlan. North Melbourne: B Harvey B Rawlings L Harding H McIntosh J Gibson.
Injuries: Richmond: B Cousins (illness) replaced in selected side by J McMahon, T Cotchins (illness) replaced in selected side by M Coughlan. North Melbourne: A Swallow (corked knee) D Hale (leg) M Firrito (corked buttock).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Dean Margetts, Mathew James, Damien Sully.
Official Crowd: 30,604 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

AFL Ladder P W L D For Agst PC Pts
1 *St Kilda 15 15 -- - 1537 919 167.2 60
2 Geelong 16 14 2 -- 1776 1278 139.0 56
3 Western Bulldogs 16 11 5 -- 1797 1396 128.7 44
4 Collingwood 16 10 6 -- 1571 1400 112.2 40
5 *Adelaide 15 10 5 -- 1373 1221 112.4 40
6 Brisbane 16 10 6 -- 1468 1347 109.0 40
7 Carlton 16 9 7 -- 1661 1476 112.5 36
8 Essendon 16 8 8 -- 1516 1496 101.3 32
9 Port Adelaide 16 8 8 -- 1507 1594 94.5 32
10 Hawthorn 16 8 8 -- 1411 1523 92.6 32
11 Sydney 16 6 10 -- 1369 1526 89.7 24
12 North Melbourne 16 4 11 1 1191 1508 79.0 18
13 West Coast 16 4 12 -- 1347 1554 86.7 16
14 Richmond 16 3 12 1 1322 1675 78.9 14
15 Melbourne 16 3 13 -- 1223 1677 72.9 12
16 Fremantle 16 3 13 -- 1221 1700 71.8 12
*(denotes teams yet to play)

LEADING GOALKICKERS
60: B Fevola (Carlton) 5
55: J Brown (Brisbane) 4
51: L Franklin (Hawthorn) 5
49: N Riewoldt (St Kilda) 3
46: J Roughead (Hawthorn) 2
41: M LeCras (West Coast) 2
40: D Bradshaw (Brisbane) 1, W Tredrea (Pt Adel) 2
37: S Johnson (Geelong) 0
36: J Porplyzia (Adelaide) 0, J Koschitzke (St Kilda) 1
35: J Anthony (C'wood) 2, M Lloyd (Essendon) 2