Round 7 is in the books with several interesting results occurring across the weekend.
With headlines on and off the field, these were the main talking points from another round of footy!
See the talking points below.
Tasmania finally gets the tick of approval
The AFL’s worst-kept secret was confirmed on Saturday, with Tasmania all but getting the nod to become the competition’s 19th franchise as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed funding to a new stadium in Hobart.
While many looking at the move from a checks and balances point of view as a risky one, it’s great for footy fans and Tasmanians that this state will now have a team to call their own.
It may not be smooth sailing, to begin with, but Tasmania has given far too much to the code across more than a century to not have its own side.
It’s good to see the AFL rewarding its heartland, and you’d expect this Tassie team to be everyone’s second-favourite side once they make their arrival.
Well done to all involved in getting this across the line.
__Will Ashcroft will very quickly become one of the AFL’s best_
While this group of draftees have already begun to make an impact, Will Ashcroft could be putting his nose in front as the best of the lot.
Obviously, Harry Sheezel has been immense for North Melbourne, but what Ashcroft is doing in a contending team has been super impressive.
Already averaging 23 disposals, four clearances and five score involvements a game, Ashcroft went a level above that in the win against Fremantle.
While he was typically classy with 28 touches and seven score involvements, Ashcroft showed off another side to his game with two majors, including one Goal of The Year contender.
We’ve seen how Nick Daicos has risen to become one of the competition’s superstars so early on his career. It wouldn’t shock at all to see Ashcroft follow a similar path.
Have Sydney really escaped the dreaded runners-up hangover?
Sydney were up against history going into 2023 with several recent examples of sides falling off the year after being thrashed in a Grand Final.
We thought they’d escaped that fate once they started 2-0, but since then, it’s not looking pretty.
With a 1-4 record in the last five rounds, Sydney looks like a middle-of-the-pack team, while their killer instinct appears to be gone with two tough losses late to Port Adelaide and now GWS.
If the Swans were to contend again and finish top four, they simply had to be taking care of sides like the Power and Giants, proving their status as merely a finals contender.
There’s no doubt the talent and the coaching are there to push again, but the Swans can’t afford many more blemishes before 2023 is considered a disappointment.
Next week’s game against Collingwood at the MCG could be the making or breaking of this side.
All eyes will be on that huge clash.
That might be the easy kill Carlton needed
After a disappointing fortnight, Carlton would have been thrilled to find form again versus West Coast.
While they were probably always going to take care of the depleted Eagles, they’d be excited with how dominant they were.
Their midfield looked to click again, while their forward line flourished as Charlie Curnow had a career game.
After starting this season off indifferently, is this the game that kickstarts the Blues and shows them how they want to play going forward?
They go through a gauntlet in the next five weeks with Brisbane at Marvel, the Bulldogs at Marvel, Collingwood at the MCG, Sydney at the SCG and Melbourne at the MCG awaiting them.
We’ll see where they truly stand once they’re through that patch, but there’s no doubt they’ll be feeling better about themselves than they were just one week ago.
Maybe you can play yourself into fitness
Geelong’s Tom Hawkins was short of a gallop early this season after having surgery over the summer, but god he is firing now.
Calls came early for the Cats to hold back their star forward to let him get some run in his legs, but they persisted and allowed the veteran to work his way into peak condition.
While it might have taken a few weeks, Hawkins is proving it’s well and truly doable with 17 goals in his past three games, including a career-best bag of eight on Sunday against Essendon.
At 34 years old, the superstar shows no signs of slowing down and simply put, we shouldn’t doubt Geelong’s conditioning team again.
They’ve had clear success with their Hawkins decision this year, as well as with their call for Patrick Dangerfield to do a mini pre-season during the 2022 campaign.
They’re the best in the business for a reason.
That might have been Collingwood’s best win of the McRae era, and that’s saying a lot
Collingwood’s performance against Adelaide wasn’t their best, but that was as gutsy as they’ve ever been under Craig McRae.
A one-point win, having come back from 22 points down in the fourth quarter, may be business as usual for Collingwood … but they’d be super proud of this performance in particular.
The Crows have looked imperious at times this season and are no slouches, particularly at home.
Add in that they were down manpower, coming off a four-day break and having the away crowd … (and some interesting umpiring) … to deal with, this win may be Collingwood’s most unbelievable of the last 18 months.
They literally led for 20 seconds, but luckily enough, it was the final 20, and the Magpies now sit 6-1 on the season and top of the ladder.
Some may argue last year’s wins at the death against Essendon and Carlton were better, or maybe even last week, but you get the feeling they haven’t worked harder for the one they picked up on Sunday night.
This might even be recency bias, but it is just unbelievable stuff.