The big winners of Round 19 were...
Adelaide Crows were only a few points ahead of opponents Gold Coast Suns when it came to points for and points conceded averages across the season, but more than 60 points separated them at the weekend in a devastating performance that left head coach Damien Hardwick flabbergasted but not ultimately concerned.
"Every good side I’ve been a part of gets a kick in the nuts at some stage and today was our kick in the nuts," Hardwick said of one of the worst halves of football in club history as the Gold Coast recorded a goalless half-time score (0.4) for the first time in their history.
Recruit Alex Neal-Bullen earned special praise from Crows coach Matthew Nicks after his career-best 31 disposals as Nicks hailed the "experience" that he and Isaac Cumming in particular have added to an otherwise youthful side that are living up to the top-eight expectations placed upon them.
They certainly need the four-point buffer that they have established inside the top four: there's no such thing as an easy Showdown on paper, whilst they also have to host reliable travellers Hawthorn and Collingwood on the run home.
The big losers of Round 19 were...
Western Bulldogs and losing to top-eight sides has become an iconic marriage throughout the season, and yet because of the Suns' huge loss to Adelaide, they still remain one win outside of the eight.
Thursday night's defeat in Brisbane extended their record against current top-eight clubs to a horrendous W1 L9, and after some stubborn defences of their credentials throughout the year, head coach Luke Beveridge admitted some "glaring" issues with their game such as defending corridor attacks.
2025 is far from over for Beveridge's side, though: three of their five remaining matches are against clubs starting this round 13th or lower (Melbourne, Essendon, West Coast), whilst their other two games are what they would call in the game of soccer a 'six-pointer'.
They've got both GWS Giants and Fremantle at home, two of the clubs they could end up competing with for eighth place.
Thanks to their bullying of the weakest times in the competition, they still boast the best percentage of any side outside the top-four, and that could ultimately see them edge someone else out of the eight come seasons' end.
Coleman Medal Leaderboard
There's just no stopping Jeremy Cameron at GMHBA Stadium, where he added another five goals to extend his lead at the top of the Coleman Medal race to 11.
The newest entrant into the top five is Hawks veteran Jack Gunston who continues to have a bizarre affinity for Launceston, where he has topped the Hawthorn goalkicking count in five of their last six games.
Patrick Voss (Fremantle) had a weekend to remember with a round-leading six goals in the Dockers' one-point win over Collingwood whilst Isaac Heeney (Sydney) and Kozzie Pickett (Melbourne) had bags of five alongside Cameron.
AFL Coaches' MVP Leaderboard
Tom Green (GWS), Isaac Heeney (Sydney), Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne), Tim Taranto (Richmond) and Alex Neal-Bullen (Melbourne) all picked up the ten maximum votes this weekend, so look out for them to be amongst the Brownlow votes.
But most importantly as far as this particular honour is concerned, Nick Daicos got eight votes for his game-best 43 disposals and seven tackles. He remains the standout favourite for the Brownlow Medal.
Goal of the Year: Round 19 Nominations
Liam Ryan (West Coast):
Mason Wood (St Kilda):
Mark of the Year: Round 19 Nominations
Tom De Koning (Carlton):
Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs):
