Garrick Ibbotson

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago 

Just ahead of Round 23, out of favor Docker defender Garrick Ibbotson and veteran Bomber midfielder Brent Stanton both announced their retirement.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Chad Cornes (254 games) and Kane Cornes (244 games) are now the sixth pair of brothers in League history to reach 500 combined games. The leading families are: Madden (710 games, Simon 378 and Justin 332), Nankervis (578 games, Ian 325 and Bruce 253), Coventry (533 games, Syd 227 and Gordon 306), Richardson (518 games, Wayne 277 and Max 241), Wakelin (513 games, Darryl 252 and Shane 261), Cornes (500 games, Chad 355 and Kane 245), Rocca (499 games, Saverio 257 and Anthony 242), Matthews (487 games, Leigh 332 and Kelvin 155), Hocking (473 games, Stephen 199 and Garry 274), Collier (470 games, Harry 253 and Albert 217).

Fremantle’s hopes of playing Finals may have been washed away after their loss to Hawthorn in a torrential rain-soaked Round 19 game. A crowd of over 30,000 fans braved the weather to watch a one sided contest that, in reality, was decided in the first quarter of the match. There was an air of anticipation before the game as last time the two teams met, Fremantle outplayed the Hawks until a spirited fight back saw the Hawks victorious. Coming into the match, Hawthorn was on Final Four pace, having won nine out of their last 11 games.

South Australia has the Showdown, Queensland the Clash but the Western Derby is considered one of the most exciting games of the entire season. Unlike other games, it doesn’t matter where the West Coast Eagles or the Fremantle Dockers are on the Ladder. The Derby is guaranteed to be a cracking, hard fought match. For the record, this time the teams were fifth and sixth on the Ladder and 41,000 fans were treated to a classic encounter.

In a season-defining win, the Richmond Tigers have come of age, defeating one of the most talented and improved sides in the AFL, the Fremantle Dockers, and recording their third victory in a row. After many seasons at the bottom of the Ladder, the young Richmond side has shown that it is heading in the right direction and that it may well upset other stronger and more experienced teams on the road to improvement.

Late July and early August is when teams either make or break their seasons. Fremantle had been losing consistently over the last few weeks with the loss of top line players to injury proving telling. Sydney hadn’t fared much better and a win in this contest would consolidate their top eight position and put pressure on Fremantle for a home ground Final.

Charges Laid:

Bradd Dalziell (WCE), tripping Richmond's Daniel Connors: assessed as reckless conduct (two points), low impact (one point), and body contact (one point), equaling four activation points, a Level One offense, 80 demerits, and a reprimand. He has no record and accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 60 demerits, still a reprimand with the demerits held over toward his future record.

A clash between the two top teams in any sport is guaranteed to get the fans out and the hype up. The Collingwood Magpies had the sit on top spot while their challengers, the Fremantle Dockers, were looking to take it away from them. In their 16 year history as a club the Dockers have never been on the top of the table, and this round was their best chance to change that statistic in front of 42,000 fans at Subiaco Oval.