Stuart Dew

Shortly after Round 17, Gold Coast informed senior coach Stuart Dew that his services were no longer needed. In recent weeks, reports had leaked out that Dew would lose his position despite CEO Mark Evans recently stating that Dew would remain. Dew, 43, departs the Suns with a 36-84-1 record from 121 matches. The Suns are currently in 13th place.

Dew was appointed in 2017 and his best season in charge was 2022 when the Suns won 10 games. He was contracted through 2024. Assistant coach and former Geelong player Steven King will take over for Dew for the remainder of the season. There is already speculation that former Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is favored to replace Dew.

In early February, the AFL announced the next inductees for life membership and the Jack Titus Award, which is given annually for service to the game. The awards and the memberships will be officially presented at the league's AGM in March.

Round ten saw the top four teams on the AFANA AFL Power Poll all notch victories during the Sir Douglas Nicholls Indigenous round to tighten their grip atop the rankings. The top three didn’t have it all their own way however, as Collingwood, Geelong and the West Coast Eagles were all pushed to the wire their opponents in Sydney, Gold Coast and Adelaide respectively - the Eagles particularly impressive as they fought back from more than five goals down away from home against the Crows. For the Greater Western Sydney Giants, it was another story as they completely dominated Melbourne at the MCG, running out 26-point winners in a score line that flattered the Demons.

The big three in Collingwood, Geelong and Greater Western Sydney all had wins over the weekend to strengthen their positions on the AFANA AFL Power Poll and put themselves in great shape as the season moves into round eight. The Magpies dominated Port Adelaide early in the Friday night game to cruise to victory, while Geelong was never threatened by a disappointing Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.

Thursday night saw Geelong continue its early season dominance with a stirring win over Adelaide, the upstart Brisbane Lions stormed home to defeat the vastly improved Port Adelaide and the Grand Final replay saw the Eagles once again victorious over a disappointing Collingwood.

Highly fancied Melbourne are yet to register a win after faltering against Essendon, the much maligned Gold Coast Suns won again, and Richmond added a couple more players to its ever increasing injury list in a big loss to an impressive Greater Western Sydney Giants at Spotless Stadium.

With six teams enjoying the week off due to the programmed mid-season bye rounds, there was less quantity but no lack of quality during a fascinating round of football on the weekend. The festivities kicked off on Thursday night with Port continuing its good form with another win, but Friday night was what the AFL public was waiting for, with the Sydney Swans – the only team to defeat the Eagles – facing the West Coast again, this time on their home deck at the SCG.

Round thirteen will kick off with Thursday night footy at Adelaide Oval, with Port Adelaide – fresh off a victory over the reigning premiers – taking on the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval. This makes for a short turnaround from a cracking Queen’s Birthday Monday clash that saw a red hot Collingwood take down the highly fancied Melbourne Demons in front of a massive MCG crowd.

Boris Kilpatrick, special to AFANA from Australia

In a quirky scheduling twist this week, round eleven – celebrating Australia’s Indigenous heritage - saw the top eight teams pitted against the bottom eight, giving the top teams the chance to stretch their advantage while those struggling had the opportunity to make up some ground. Fast forward to Monday, and with all of the games in the books, the top six teams on the AFANA Power Poll all had wins, keeping them at the top of the tree.

Boris Kilpatrick, special to AFANA from Australia

With three rounds in the books, incredibly Port Adelaide remains as the only undefeated team, underlying what shapes up as one of the closest races for the top eight in recent memory. The Power had an almighty scare at home as they scraped in by just five points over a rapidly improving Brisbane Lions. In the match of the round, crosstown rivals the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants battled it out at the SCG,