Scott Thompson

Midfielder Corey Maynard will retire at the end of the season due to ongoing hip issues.He was drafted in 2017 as a rookie and debuted that year. He had an impressive preseason in 2018, was elevated to the senior list and played the opening round that year but a hip injury sidelined him for the rest of the year. Maynard, 27, said the hip issues just would not allow him to continue. He said although he was bitterly disappointed, he is comfortable with his decision.

Football Manager Josh Mahoney praised Maynard for his professionalism and leadership, "It's really unfortunate for Corey ..

After another top notch round of footy, Richmond holds onto top spot on the AFANA Power Poll as a result of its 47 point win over the Adelaide Crows, damaging the Crows chances of returning to finals football in 2018. Collingwood had to fight hard to defeat a determined Essendon, while the Swans stumbled at home against a very impressive Geelong.

Port Adelaide kept in touch with the top two after a comfortable win over Saint Kilda, the Eagles returned to the winners list in the “battle of the decimated forward lines” as they held off the Giants in Perth, and the Hawks solidified their run at the finals with a second half blitz to defeat the Bulldogs. 

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Celebrating milestones in Round 17 are:

200 games: Justin Koschitzke (StK)
200 club games: Scott Thompson (ADE)
100 club games: Sean Dempster (StK)
100 games: Matt White (RICH)
100 games umpired: Shane Stewart, Jacob Mollison
50 games: Shane Savage (HAW), Matt Shaw (GC)
50 club games: Matt Maguire (BRIS)

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Stephen Milne (StK) will play his 264th senior game in Round Seven, putting him equal with James McDonald for the most games played by anyone in the game’s history who began his career on a Rookie list.

Jamie Kloeden reporting for AFANA from AAMI Stadium, Adelaide, Australia

With a win, either Adelaide or Fremantle would be heading to the hallowed turf of the MCG to meet the high flying Hawks in a Preliminary Final. A loss would mean a disappointing end to the season where getting so close would be no consolation. With the end of each season come retirements and Crows’ veteran and their oldest listed player Michael Doughty, has already announced that this is his last season. He certainly played this game like a man who wasn’t ready to finish up. The other old hand back in the Adelaide defense, Ben Rutten, has earned his fair share of criticism for not being the player that he was in past seasons and he too looked like he had a point to prove while going head to head with the Dockers’ in form superstar Matthew Pavlich.

G Michael reporting for AFANA from Adelaide, South Australia

A brilliant performance by Patrick Dangerfield saw the Crows blitz Gold Coast by a whopping 91 points in Round 23. With support from Scott Thompson, the young Crow took the game apart in the second half to amass 36 possessions for the game whilst also scoring two goals. As both Dangerfield and Thompson firm among the favorites for the Brownlow Medal, the Crows secured a Top Two position for the season, returning to the Finals for the first time since 2009 and ending the home and away with an equal club record of 17 wins for the season.