Source :- THE AGE NEWS
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- Sydney are guaranteed two home finals with their likely qualifying opponent being Brisbane Lions.
- Melbourne’s premiership aspirations have been dealt a major blow after star forward Jacob van Rooyen was suspended for three matches for an ugly hit.
Sydney already looked secure in second spot ahead of their clash with Essendon but they made sure even Harry Houdini could not break their lock on their ladder position with a 36-point win at the MCG.
They sit two games clear of third place with one game remaining and are guaranteed two home finals with their likely qualifying opponent being the reigning back-to-back premiers, the Brisbane Lions.
A blistering open quarter was the difference between the two teams as Sydney piled on nine goals to Essendon’s three to lead by 37 points at the first break.
At that point it looked like a massacre was in play as Charlie Curnow had added three goals to his Coleman Medal-winning tally and Chad Warner had chimed in for three majors himself.
The ball was criss-crossing the MCG as Sydney moved the ball with ruthless efficiency in front of a low crowd (not unexpected) of 24,767 spectators and Errol Gulden looked in the mood to break his career best disposal tally of 42.
Whether it was a case of Sydney dropping their foot off the accelerator or Essendon finding the brakes the game changed in the second quarter. Essendon began creating forward half turnovers as Zach Merrett and Will Setterfield made their Sydney opponents rush.
Their efforts were admirable given the quality of the opposition and in the end the Bombers won the quarter by 13 points to get a sniff.
When Will Setterfield kicked Essendon’s second goal in the second half, they had dragged the margin back to 11 points. It was built on the back of hard work with defender Zach Reid restricting Curnow and Vigo Visentini laying two of the biggest tackles an Essendon ruckman has laid in the one game for some time.
The 20-year-old, who also kicked his first AFL goal, humbled Sydney stars Tom Papley and Warner in the second and third quarters as the Bombers forced the harbour town team to wake up.
Logan McDonald was the man who steadied the team with two score involvements that stretched the lead to 23 points. He handballed to Jai Serong who kicked a walk-in goal and then kicked a long goal from the boundary.
With the threat extinguished the main interest became whether Gulden would break the metres gained record he holds and also lift his career best disposal tally above 42.
He finished with 47 touches and the Swans are at the SCG for the next month at least, hoping to return to the MCG on the last Saturday in September. Star midfielder Isaac Heeney said he was excited at the prospect of having another crack at a grand final if they made it. “I think our game style suits [the MCG],” Isaac Heeney said on Fox Footy. “We have done a lot of work to make sure if we get back here on that last day, we will make sure we are mentally ready and physically really prepared.”
MRO verdict is in, and it’s not good news for the Dees
Jon Pierik
Melbourne’s premiership aspirations have been dealt a major blow after star forward Jacob van Rooyen was suspended for three matches for an ugly hit that ended Aliir Aliir’s 200th game celebrations prematurely.
The Demons’ clinical 76-point demolition of Port Adelaide was overshadowed by the van Rooyen incident in which he leapt in the air, took his eye off the ball and carelessly made heavy contact with his hand to Aliir’s head in the second quarter.
Aliir lay on the ground for some time before being slowly helped to his feet and to the Power dugout shortly before half-time.
Match review officer Michael Christian on Sunday graded the incident as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, handing van Rooyen a major ban. With one game remaining in the home-and-away season, he appears likely to miss Melbourne’s first final since 2023.
The Demons have until Monday lunchtime to decide if the club will challenge the ban at the tribunal this week. The club was contacted for comment.
“Jacob’s one of the nicest blokes you’ll meet in footy,” said van Rooyen’s teammate Bayley Fritsch, who booted four goals in the rout.
“I saw him go up to Aliir after the game to say sorry. Obviously, he didn’t mean it at all.”
Van Rooyen, who was roundly booed for the remainder of the contest, apologised to Aliir twice – immediately for his spoil gone wrong, then again one-on-one after the game.
Demons coach Steven King didn’t witness the collision real time, but it appears likely he’ll have to prepare for next Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs and at least the start of the finals without the man who leads the Dees’ goalkicking leaderboard this season (42).
“I haven’t really seen it, to be honest,” King said on Saturday night.
“Obviously, Aliir went down, and it was really unfortunate for him, being such a brave intercept player.”
Power counterpart Josh Carr noticed Aliir wasn’t his usual ebullient self in the home rooms after the game.
“He’s OK. He’s, obviously, a little bit flat and a bit quiet, but Aliir’s Aliir,” Carr said.
“He’ll find a way to get himself up. This is the honest truth, but I haven’t looked at it (incident) closely, but at first thought I can see how it happens.
“It didn’t look great, but I didn’t think it was overly (with) malice either.”
Meanwhile, Collingwood’s Beau McCreery has been fined $5000 for careless umpire contact for the third time this season. It is the Magpies’ fifth offence, putting them at risk of a big fine from the AFL.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
