After the glitch of the previous weekend when their 20-game winning streak was snapped, the Lions asserted themselves with a comprehensive victory over the young Geelong side. The midfield riches and forward options of the Lions, combined with the advantage of playing at the Gabba, makes them a side to be feared.
Like Geelong, Melbourne had impressed many critics in the first five weeks of the season, but the Demons were found out against a Paul Kelly-inspired Sydney outfit. Essendon was defeated by Fremantle, a result that owed plenty to the Bombers’ injuries as well as to Freo’s commitment. Meanwhile Hawthorn’s form is dramatically better than in the first part of the season, and the Hawks could be one of the big improvers over coming weeks.
At the bottom of the ladder, Carlton is now in the unaccustomed spot of 16th after handing the Bulldogs their first victory of the year. Another team under the spotlight will be Richmond which suffered its third-straight loss following a week of sharp criticism.
A worrying feature of round six was the injury toll, with some of the best players in the game being hurt. James Hird (fractured eye socket), Matthew Lloyd (hand), Matthew Richardson (leg), Brett Ratten (shoulder) and Nathan Thompson (knee) were some of the big names cut down.
