Sydney was superb against Brisbane, downing the reigning premiers for the first time since 1998. Michael O'Loughlin was brilliant for the winners kicking five goals while Adam Goodes continued the form that has seen him installed Brownlow Medal favorite. Leo Barry was another solid contributor.
Fremantle destroyed the Western Bullldogs by 83-points to win its first game in Melbourne since 2001. It was the usual suspects doing the job for the Dockers - Peter Bell and Paul Hasleby winning plenty of the ball. Paul Medhurst and Justin Longmuir were among the many stars down forward. The Bulldogs plight was worsened with serious injuries to Rohan Smith (knee) and Daniel Bandy (ankle).
Some early Russell Robertson magic sparked a Melbourne side into action, the Demons downing the highly-fancied Port Adelaide by 27 points. Andrew Leoncelli and david Neitz also starred for the winners while Port was best served by Gavin Wanganeen.
On Friday night at the Dome, an erratic Hawthorn went under to a never-say-die Kangaroos by 28-points. The mid-sized runners served the kangaroos best with Jess Sinclair, Anthony Stevens and Adam Simpson running riot. Drew Petrie capped of his teammates good work with four goals. Nathan Thompson (five goals) was the shining light for the losers.
Geelong won respect but not the four points when it went under to West Coast by 16 points at Subiaco. The Cats followed up their brave 14-point loss to Brisbane last week and looked like causing an upset when leading at three-quarter time. But the home team rallied thanks to ruckman Michael Gardiner Andrew Embley and Daniel Chick. Cameron Ling starred for the Cats in his 50th game.
St Kilda took another step towards establishing itself as a genuine finals' contender when it held off a determined Carlton by 12 points. And it was a mix of the old and the new that served the Saints well. Nick Riewoldt, Brendan Goddard and Lenny Hayes were superb as was Robert Harvey and Justin Peckett also served the side well.
Collingwood defeated Adelaide in a thriller at AAMI Stadium. Chris Tarrant was the hero for the Magpies kicking a goal after the siren to secure a famous five-point win. Paul Licuria was brilliant in the final quarter. Ronnie Burns did well for the home team.
