Did anyone see this coming?

Many pundits expected the Brisbane Lions to just waltz through the Sydney Swans, given the club-imposed suspensions to Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordan, and Riley Bice, but it was the complete opposite.

It was utter domination from the Swans, outlined by their elite inside-50 numbers, winning the count by 17 (69-52). That was largely thanks to their midfield getting the upper hand over the Lions, winning the clearance battle by 10 (45-35).

Along with that, some of their stars shined bright. Logan McDonald booted a whopping six goals, while Tom Papley and Charlie Curnow kicked five apiece – elite numbers from that trio of forwards. Errol Gulden also went ballistic… again. The midfielder accumulated a game-high 34 disposals, game-high 915 metres gained and game-high eight clearances.

With the game locked away in the final term, the Swans rested some key players, preparing for their home prelim in two weeks’ time.

That prelim will come against the winner of Fremantle or Geelong, while Brisbane will host Adelaide next Saturday at the Gabba in a semi-final clash.

Unfortunately for the Swans, captain Callum Mills suffered what looked to be a severe knee injury, forcing him out of the game in the first quarter, and potentially the season.

It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Lions though. Despite entering this game as the premiership favourites and losing, they did this exact same thing last year but went on to win flag. The three-peat could very well still be on.

Connor Scanlon

It's deja vu for the Bulldogs

Since becoming the top Dog at the Western Bulldogs in 2015, few have been as successful as Luke Beveridge at the Kennel.

With a win percentage in the mid-fifties, breaking the 62-year premiership drought in his second season and turning the club into a perennial finals team arguably places him as their best-ever coach.

But on Saturday, his kryptonite of elimination finals would once again strike on Saturday night.

Their away trip to Adelaide Oval to face the Crows marked Beveridge’s 8th elimination final from 12 seasons.

And with a 22-point defeat, it was his sixth defeat at this stage of the season.

It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of chances, with the red, white and blue generating 12 more inside 50s than their opponents.

But with poor efficiency and poor kicking in front of goal, it’s one Bulldogs fans will be wondering what could have been with a potential 2021 semi-final rematch against the Lions.

And once again, the Bulldogs find their season coming to an end in the first week of September.

Nicholas Quinlan

Carlton caput in the wake of Dangerfield masterclass

If there’s one thing you can trust more than a momentum-charged Carlton, it’s the poise and quiet confidence of a Chris Scott-led Geelong.

Despite the game having all the hallmarks of yet another Carlton takeover, especially when Ollie Hollands slotted one in the second term to put the Blues up 13-34, you just knew the Cats would come.

And come they did, putting on six goals to two in the third term in what felt like a genuine flattener for Carlton, and proved to be impossible to quell.

The Blues’ transition game and attempts to cut through the middle of the MCG proved ineffectual to the prepared and disciplined Cats defensive structure in the second half.

Patrick Dangerfield’s 21 touches and five goals clearly made him the most influential man on the ground, and the value of the 36-year-old in this finals series will be a huge asset for the Cats.

Tom Stewart (20 disposals, seven marks) held down the fort in defence while Gryan Miers (24 disposals, two goals) continues to impress with his ACL seemingly causing no issues.

Max Holmes looked proppy and spent the least amount of time on ground of anyone (60 per cent). It will be interesting to see if Geelong take the risk again next week.

Josh Fraser will hope to add some more strings to their bow in attack in 2027 but will be immensely proud of his efforts and his side’s transformation in such a short amount of time.

For Geelong, a trip to Perth awaits as they look to eliminate Fremantle in straight sets and walk into a third consecutive, and seventh of the last eight Prelim finals weekends.

Ethan Clark