The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 21
Could it possibly be anyone other than Carlton Blues?
They went into the Josh Fraser era with a 'nothing to lose' mentality, knowing their 2026 season had been all but written off and they were being taken over by an interim coach who had publicly expressed a disinterest in the position on a permanent basis.
They immediately looked far more relaxed and expressive when they used their 'new coach bounce' to defeat the Bulldogs and Fraser was also able to tighten things up defensively.
After a 1-7 start to the season in which they conceded 96+ points seven times, the Blues have done so only twice - losing 103-39 to Hawthorn in a weekend to forget, and in a 110-97 win over the out-of-form Suns two weeks back.
A meeting with reigning premiers Brisbane was set to be the most difficult test of Fraser's 11 games in charge, not least because they were on a five-game losing streak to Brisbane under the Marvel Stadium roof, but Fraser's group responded with not only their best performance of 2026 but perhaps in the last two or even three seasons.
Whilst George Hewett, who has been far better utilised by Fraser than his predecessor, was absolutely everywhere with eight clearances, 33 disposals and 11 score involvements, the next generation was standing up to the might of the Lions as well.
Cooper Lord's (21yo) 24 disposals came at 96% efficiency and contributed five inside-50s, Jagga Smith (20yo) was even better with 27 at 97%, whilst up at the other end Wade Derksen (25yo) and Lachie Cowan (21yo) combined for 19 intercept disposals.
Whether or not Fraser wants the head coaching job remains his business, but there's no doubting he's now the lead candidate, with those inside Ikon Park pushing him to seriously consider staying on.
The big losers of Round 21
The obvious one would be the Brisbane Lions given the circumstances, but they're only out of the top-four on percentage with a pair of home games still to come.
Things are a lot more dire now for North Melbourne after their fifth consecutive defeat, and more than one of them have come in circumstances in which they were in a position to win.
From losing to Melbourne despite a 6.1 first quarter, to missing last quarter shots for goal to defeat Collingwood, and now they led in each of the three breaks against the Hawks only to fail to execute at key moments.
Head coach Alastair Clarkson said after the match that North still lack "the hallmarks of a good side", namely the ability to take one's chances more often than not when they present themselves.
"We're competing and we're getting closer to some of those sides but it's also telling us that we've got a way to go. (Bailey Scott) has a shot from the goal square, and it tickles the post, should be a goal.
"Finn O'Sullivan at the 20-minute mark of the last quarter, should be a goal. Jack Darling takes a mark 30m out last quarter, two goals down, should be a goal.
"At AFL level, those shots and opportunities should be executed."
They're now two wins outside of the ten thanks to Carlton's resurgence and have a difficult trilogy of must-win games against the Bulldogs (away), Geelong (home) and Sydney (away) to be any chance of featuring in wildcard round.
Team of the Week
The standout performer of the weekend, at least as far as the AFL.com fantasy scores is concerned, was running Gold Coast defender John Noble.
Noble's 34 disposals, ten marks and seven tackles saw him amass a score of 152 points with a very polished performance, albeit in defeat.
Who kicked a big bag this week?
How annoying it must have been - once again - for Al Clarkson to see Nick Watson dominate the Kangaroos knowing that North Melbourne turned down the opportunity to draft him in 2023, instead selecting Colby McKercher and Zane Duursma with picks 2 and 4 respectively.
It was not the first time Watson stood up against the Roos, with his five goals from ten disposals at the weekend taking his tally against North to 11 goals from three matches (all wins).
Watson moved to number three on the Coleman Medal race ahead of veteran teammate Jack Gunston, whilst Peter Wright and Daniel McStay kicked six and five goals respectively in defeats.
Carlton's Brodie Kemp and Adelaide's Riley Thilthorpe were also amongst the big scorers with five each.
Goals of the Week
Mark of the Week
The naughty boys
(Sunday's games yet to be reviewed at time of writing)
Harry Dean (Blues) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000 fine
Patrick Voss (Dockers) - Wrestling - $1875 or $3125 fine
Michael Sellwood (Bulldogs) - Wrestling - $1875 or $3125 fine
Liam O'Connell (Saints) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500 fine
Next weekend's fixtures
North Melbourne are on their last legs when they take on the Western Bulldogs on Thursday, with the Bulldogs probably needing to win all three of their remaining games to make the top-six given their vastly inferior percentage.
St Kilda v Carlton shapes up to potentially be one of the most consequential matches of the run home on Sunday evening given the Saints could reclaim tenth spot with a victory.
