Teammates pile on veteran David Mundy after his post-siren goal sealed Freo’s win over Collingwood. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
In the most unusual of AFL seasons, it’s somewhat fitting that a battle between last and second-last on the ladder at the halfway mark provided what will stand the test of time as one of the biggest moments of this bizarre year.
Majak Daw’s return to senior football after two years out will be near impossible to beat. The 29-year-old completed a miraculous comeback on Saturday after suffering serious hip and pelvic injuries when he fell from the Bolte Bridge in December 2018.
The inspiring re-emergence as a top-level footballer was complete when Daw slotted a final-quarter goal and was mobbed by North Melbourne teammates. It got even better when footage emerged of his partner Emily and their young son Hendrix celebrating the achievement at home.
“There’s no better feeling than winning,” Daw told Fox Footy post-match. “Over the past two years, the battles I’ve gone through, it’s worth it, winning with your teammates and my family back home watching.”
And despite everything going on in his own world, Daw refused to be swept up in the moment as he spared a thought for a community that has seen better days.
“For everyone back home in Victoria, they’re doing it pretty tough at the moment, so to all our supporters I hope this win means something to you,” Daw said.
It was a classy display on multiple fronts.
You just wonder how much out-of-form forward Ben Brown, who has had well-publicised family struggles in recent times and was dropped during the week, would have relished being part of North Melbourne’s thumping 19.5 (119) to 7.8 (50) win over Adelaide at Metricon Stadium. Vastly-improved Kangaroo ball movement led to the highest score by any team this season and would have had Brown licking his lips when leading out of the goal square.
There was a flip side to the result as the futility of the Crows’ efforts in 2020 was laid bare, with Matthew Nicks suffering a ninth straight defeat to open his senior coaching career. Adelaide couldn’t go a full season without a win, could it?
Fremantle upset Collingwood despite being held scoreless in the opening quarter and poured more heat on the Magpies after another tough week brought upon themselves. Nathan Buckley and Brenton Sanderson are lighter in the hip pocket after the most expensive tennis match any AFL figure has ever played, and now have to work out a way to get their side firing again.
Matt Taberner kicked four goals for the Dockers and is one of only four players – along with Charlie Cameron, Tom Papley and Jeremy Finlayson – to have kicked a goal in every round this season.
Also in Perth, Hawthorn coughed up the opening five goals but recovered to beat Carlton, and we watched West Coast fight back from a 22-point deficit against Geelong in one of the games of the season to become the first team to string together five consecutive wins in 2020.
This column has pumped up the Eagles enough in recent weeks, so we’ll give it a rest for now, though we probably shouldn’t. The signs are ominous and Nic Naitanui is becoming “scary good” again after being hampered by injuries in recent seasons. So much for the big man being lazy and unfit.
Contenders, however, are emerging. Richmond is awakening from its slumber and has a handful of premiership players still to return, while Greater Western Sydney is taking small steps towards last year’s “Orange Tsunami” form.
Brisbane, too, put in another strong showing in its demolition of Essendon, holding the Bombers to their lowest score this century. The Lions-Tigers meeting at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday shapes as a belter.
The Giants lost Toby Greene and Matt de Boer to what looked like – and they hope will turn out to be – regulation hamstring injuries in the comfortable 26-point win over fellow expansion side Gold Coast. Importantly, Leon Cameron’s side dominated contested possession (+20) and clearances (+8), and won inside-50s (45-39) for the first time this season.
Richmond exposed a brittle Western Bulldogs outfit that is still searching for cohesion, despite the best efforts of Jack Macrae, who amassed 37 disposals in a monster effort with shorter quarters. Dustin Martin epitomised the Tigers’ return to form with three goals and 26 disposals in a huge performance.
At the other end of the ladder, inconsistent and unreliable Melbourne is reeling from a 51-point defeat to Port Adelaide that prompted an almighty spray from club president Glen Bartlett, who said the Demons had “trashed” the famous red-and-blue jumper.
Words like “insipid”, “disgraceful” and “soft as butter” were also thrown up and there is all sorts of heat on Simon Goodwin. Talk about a Dee-saster.
There was a time not so long ago when Melbourne was directly compared to St Kilda as the two clubs appeared on similar trajectories towards the top. The Dees almost made it, but you’d rather go marching in with the Saints right now.
Their thumping 53-point win over Sydney saw them rocket into the top four and with recruits like Zak Jones leading the charge, who knows where they’ll end up? Importantly, at least for the neutrals and broadcasters, the Saints are attempting to play an exciting brand of free-flowing football that is prettier to watch than most of the defensive dross being dished up this season.
