The Western Bulldogs produced an irresistible second half of football to record their highest score and biggest winning margin against the West Coast Eagles. The win allowed the Dogs to sneak back into the top eight after a slow start to the season. Their 6 wins and 5 losses put them within striking distance of the teams above them and sets them up for the second half of the season. West Coast have one win from eleven games, which equals their worst start to a season. The loss to the Bulldogs was also their seventh consecutive loss, all of which had a deficit of 50 points or more. The Bulldogs ruckman Tim English played a magnificent game, dominating the ruck and picking up 25 possessions in general play. It is rumored he will decline offers to return to Western Australia, and in the near future, will sign a new contract to stay with the Dogs.

Just as Round 10 was set to commence, Bomber's player Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (or Tippa for short), announced his immediate retirement. Tippa, 29, played 20 games in 2021 but took a leave of absence from the club in February for personal reasons. He played 126 games and kicked 153 goals. He recently played several games in the VFL, but decided to retire. Hailing from the Tiwi Islands, Tippa first moved to the Northern Territory, then relocated to Victoria to play in the Under-18 competition. He was originally a defender and his dash out of defense and long-kicking were eye-catching. However, he was overlooked in the drafts.

In 2015, Essendon was in the midst of the supplements controversy. This opened the door for Tippa who was brought into the club's VFL program. With many senior Bombers suspended for the 2016 season, Tippa was added to the rookie list. He began as a running defender but a four-goal haul late in the season saw him switched to the forward line. HIs style and ability to chase down opponents to apply gripping tackles made him an instant hit with teammates and fans alike.

The Collingwood Magpies delivered the Fremantle Dockers a lesson in  wet weather football at Optus Stadium. It is the second week in a row the Dockers have floundered in rain and raises questions as to whether their high-pace, high-skill game can be adapted to wet and slippery conditions. The Magpies played traditional wet weather football where they gained territory at all costs, whether it was by kicking the ball forward along the ground or simply just knocking it forward with a fist. The Dockers played their high possession game, which fell apart with skill errors in the conditions and gifted Collingwood several goals through sloppy turnovers.

The first quarter was even with both teams booting two goals in the sodden conditions. Darcy Cameron took a solid wet-weather mark after using strength on Sean Darcy to boot the Pies' first goal. At the other end Rory Lobb kicked truly after being awarded a free kick for having his arms chopped in a marking (catching) contest. Sam Switkowski put the Dockers in front with a clever shot from the boundary line, before Brody Mihocek soccered a goal from close range for the Magpies, after a quick transition from defense.

Round nine was Leon Cameron's last as coach of Greater Western Sydney after almost a decade in charge. Assistant coach Mark McVeigh will take over for the remainder of the season. Cameron and the club had put contract talks on hold, but after a number of discussions, the parting of ways was mutual and amicable. He made the announcement to the playing group on the Thursday before round nine. Although the Giants have gotten off to a rocky start this season (2 wins, seven losses) Cameron did have some success taking the club into preliminary finals in 2016 and 2017, and into a Grand final in 2019. His record is 87 wins, 71 losses and three tied games.

Just ahead of round eight, inaugural Sun and two-time Tiger premiership midfielder/forward Josh Caddy, 29, announced his immediate retirement after 12 injury-riddled seasons in which he played 174 games and kicked 164 goals. He was originally drafted by the Suns in 2010 ahead of their entry into the AFL and played 24 games in two seasons. He requested a trade back to Victoria for family reasons and moved to Geelong at the end of 2012. He went on to play 71 games for the Cats before being traded to Richmond at the end of 2016.

He had an excellent first season as a Tiger, playing 22 games, including the premiership. He followed up in 2018 with 46 goals, was nominated for All-Australian, and was in the top 10 for the Coleman Medal (AFL goal kicking) and Richmond's best and fairest. The next season in 2019 saw him start as a forward but he was later moved to a wing position. He was a member of Richmond's 2019 premiership team.

The West Coast Eagles were eaten alive by a hungry Richmond Tiger outfit that is determined to regain lost prestige. The proud Tigers finished twelfth in 2021 and were determined to show the football world that they still had what it takes to rip a team apart on a Friday night stage. Their first goal came after Eagles’ captain Luke Shuey dropped a mark (catch) and Kane Lambert launched an attack, where Jayden Short kicked to Jason Castagna who marked and kicked truly.

Melbourne started the game without their coach Simon Goodwin, out due to the health and safety protocols.  Hawthorn started with goals, to Koschtizke who marked on the lead and two to Breust who played on and snapped truly. Fritsch kicked Melbourne's first twelve minutes into the game after the Demons caught the Hawks out the back of the contest on a turnover.   Oliver and Petracca dominated around the ground for the Demons.  But the Hawks were able to get some good movement halving the center clearances. 

Ward kicked the Hawk's third, but it was Koschtizke who deserved the credit when he backed into the contest preventing Hunt from marking and the spill favoring the goal kicker. The Demons worked their way into the game to be just two points down at quarter time thanks to Petracca hitting Tom McDonald with a short pass for a goal and young Toby Bedford marking and kicking his first goal for the club.  The Dees were on the board early but it took a review to determine whether the first one was a goal to Harms or a mark to McDonald. It mattered little to Melbourne as McDonald eventually took the paid mark from point blank range.

The Fremantle Dockers played the complete team game to be convincing winners over the Carlton Blues at Optus Stadium. Both teams started cautiously by playing along the boundary lines when defending and attacking. The Dockers’ ruckman Sean Darcy had a slight edge over Carlton’s Marc Pittonet at bounce downs but Carlton’s midfielders Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh and Adam Cerra combined well to give Carlton first use of the ball. The Carlton tactic was to kick long and high to their twin towers in attack, Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay. The Dockers lined up with three tall men in the last line of defense with Alex Pearce, Brennan Cox and Griffin Logue intent on punching the ball to prevent marks (catches).  

The first quarter was an even tussle, with Matthew Owies snapping Carlton’s first goal when the ball hit the ground after a ruck contest in the forward pocket. The second goal brought Curnow into the game when he marked a centering kick from Jack Martin and kicked truly. Pittonet injured his knee in a ruck contest and retired from the game, which then gave Darcy the chance to dominate in the ruck.

The Sydney Swans didn’t just defeat the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium, they comprehensively thrashed them to hand the Eagles their biggest home game loss in the club’s history. The Swans were without Buddy Franklin, who has made a habit of tormenting the Eagles at Optus and veteran midfielder, Josh Kennedy, who was rested for the game. The Eagles virtually rested their own Josh Kennedy in the first quarter as the ball rarely got near their big forward. The Swans had a massive 21 forward entries in the opening term, while West Coast could only manage four. Sydneys’ reserve ruckman Peter Ladhams dominated in the ruck to highlight the extended absence of the Eagles’ ruckman Nic Naitanui. The Eagles' midfielders Elliot Yeo, Tim Kelly and Luke Shuey, who were all returning from extended layoffs, barely touched leather in the opening quarter as Sydney’s Callum Mills, Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden did as they liked. Tall forwards Hayden McLean and Logan McDonald dominated in the air and kicked two goals apiece and a busy Ben Ronke booted a goal after two early misses. The lopsided first quarter score line flattered the Eagles as Sydney missed some very gettable shots.

A few years ago. the AFL launched a service called AFL On Demand, which provides footy fans with a wide variety of content. Recently, I decided to take a peak at it for myself and see what it is like. Think of it as the "Netflix of the AFL". While you won't get any live AFL games (those can be found on Watch AFL), highlights (in both short and long form) are included, which are uploaded shortly after the games conclude. The service is completely free, and does not require any VPN or log-ins. 

Other content found on AFL On Demand includes original programs such as the Yokayi Footy show, which discusses AFL from an Indigenous viewpoint, AFL Exchange, a video podcast discussing the latest AFL news,  The W Show, focusing on AFLW, and some documentaries like Unveiling An Icon , which is about former St Kilda and Western Bulldogs player Nicky Winmar and his stand against racism. Each of the clubs have their own section, however most of the content in the club section hasn't been updated in quite some time.