The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 9
Geelong Cats kept up with reigning Premiers Brisbane and moved closer to third-place Hawthorn with their sixth win of the season as they rained on Scott Pendlebury's parade with a 54-point demolition of the Magpies.
Only the Lions and Swans have recorded more points this season than Geelong, who are winning the tough contests with a league-high average of 25 hardball gets per game.
Oisin Mullin received unusually public praise from head coach Chris Scott for the tagging job he did on Brownlow Medal joint-favourite Nick Daicos, keeping Daicos to under 30 possessions and just two clearances, whilst the efficiency of their engine room helped the Cats rack up their big margin despite being tied with Collingwood for many key metrics like clearances, and even seven behind (52 to 59) in the inside-50 count.
Bailey Smith and Max Holmes were again the dominant force of Geelong's midfield, penetrating defensive lines with ease in the second half as the Cats racked up 11 goals to four after half-time to close out what initially appeared to be a tight contest.
Their next two games, away to Brisbane and at home to Sydney, could be consecutive matches of the round.
The big losers of Round 9
North Melbourne were another club to be handed a brutal reality check by Geelong last weekend, but they should rightly feel like they missed a big chance to turn their season back in the right direction when they squandered an opportunity to beat ladder leaders Sydney.
They produced 27 scoring shots to Sydney's 25, and were lucky that the Swans' last quarter inaccuracy kept them in the hunt late, but conversely they missed their own chances to go into the half-time break with a bigger lead and a bigger buffer against the Swans' explosive start to the second half.
A win would have seen them four spots higher on the ladder - in eighth with a 5-4 record - which would have afforded them more leeway during a crucial upcoming run of three consecutive matches against current top-ten clubs.
Captain Nick Larkey is one man who badly needs to step up when the going gets tough: in 2026, Larkey has a season haul of just two goals against the current top-ten (1.3 v Brisbane, 1.1 v Geelong, 0.2 v Sydney) and a dominant 20.4 against the rest of the competition.
Head coach Alastair Clarkson is now into the fourth year of a five-year contract, and whilst this has by far been the most promising of the lot (they're already one win away from matching last year's total of five), he'll be desperate to show club bosses another step forward or two in coming weeks.
Who kicked big bags this week?
Jack Gunston returned to second place on the Coleman Medal leaderboard with a round-best haul of six goals, whilst Melbourne forward Jacob van Rooyen kicked five - the second-most of his career - to move to 17 for the season.
There were four goals apiece for Logan Morris (Brisbane), Mitch Georgiades (Port), Darcy Wilson (St Kilda), Ben King (Gold Coast) and Oliver Henry (Geelong).
Team of the Week
Here's our Round 9 Team of the Week as determined by their AFL.com.au fantasy points, topped by Adelaide's Izak Rankine (162) and young Bomber Archie Roberts (157).
Goal of the Week
Mark of the Week
Next weekend's fixtures
