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,

Chris Kowald reporting fro AFANA from Optus Stadium, Perth

West Coast defeated a gallant Geelong in a game that will be remembered for its extraordinary changes in momentum and fortune. An epic game against Hawthorn, a six-day break and a trip on the road, seemed to have taken its toll on the Geelong midfielders. West Coast started with purpose with repeated pushes forward. After three entries into the attacking zone, Nic Naitanui scrambled the first goal from short range.

Chris Kowald reporting for AFANA from Optus Stadium, Perth

The Gold Coast Suns traveled to Perth to play a ‘home’ game at Optus Stadium. The Suns had won their first two games, against North Melbourne and Carlton, but found the Dockers a tougher proposition at the new Perth stadium.

As we all know, the AFL has been, for several decades engaging in limited overseas recruiting, the International Rules series, and the International Cup. Leagues, some affiliated, have sprung up in many countries. Of course, the game is on television in many countries including the USA and Canada. Last year, Port Adelaide and Gold Coast played a mid-season game in Shanghai, China. On the back of that the AFL has just come to an agreement to air one game per round, plus the finals and Grand Final, on three free to air stations in China. This will give (reportedly) millions of Chinese a chance to see the game. Port Adelaide will feature in 11 of the 23 games to be broadcast, including their Round Nine clash with Gold Coast. It remains to be seen what impact this will have.

By Boris Kilpatrick, special to AFANA from Australia

Hawthorn and Geelong gave us yet another Easter Monday classic with the Hawks scraping home by a solitary point in the match of the round. With just two weeks of the season in the books, the AFL brains trust must be delighted that there are just four teams sitting on two wins. Greater Western Sydney, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Gold Coast have set the pace with the Suns being the big surprise packet after outclassing an error-riddled Carlton on Saturday.

Chris Kowald reporting from Optus Stadium, Perth

Before play started, the new Optus Stadium resonated to the sound of Prince’s classic song Purple Rain. The Fremantle Dockers responded by being ‘on song’ to defeat the Essendon Bombers, who last week defeated last year’s Grand Finalists, Adelaide.   

By Brook "Boris" Kilpatrick, special to AFANA from Australia

The 2018 AFL season kicked off on Thursday night with reigning premiers Richmond unfurling the premiership flag in front of a massive crowd of over 90,000 at the MCG. The Tigers had an early scare as their opponent Carlton kicked the first five goals of the match, before parity was restored and Richmond ran out comfortable 26-point winners.

Chris Kowald reports for AFANA from Optus Stadium, Perth

The newest AFL venue in Australia provided a dazzling backdrop for Buddy Franklin to strut his stuff and lead the Sydney Swans to victory over a brave West Coast Eagles.  West Coast started brightly, buoyed by the return of big man Nic Naitanui who had the better

by Troy Thompson, reporting for AFANA from Melbourne

After five goals in the first eleven minutes of the match by Carlton, Richmond worked their way back into the match before blowing the Blues away in the final quarter, running out winners by 26 points.  It was a perfect night for football and the 90,151 fans saw a good contest with improvement by the Blues and a solid finish by the reigning premiers.

by Chris Kowald reporting for AFANA from Perth

Chris reviews changes to AFL playing rosters and peers into the crystal ball

AFL clubs use the off season drafts and trading to get the most appropriate players for their squads. A notable feature of this year's trading is an increase of traded players returning to their home states. Here is my take on what trades happened and how teams will fare in 2018.