It was worth the wait.
The first week of the finals produced the highlights, intensity and quality football we had been longing for all year.
The reigning premiers were beaten by the new $2.60 CrownBet.com.au AFL premiership favourite – the West Coast Eagles, Fremantle did just enough to squeeze by Sydney, Adelaide extended its spirited season with a gutsy win over the young Bulldogs and the Kangaroos capped off the weekend with a thrilling win against the Tigers in front of 90,000 at the MCG.
This is the kind of finals series that restores your faith in the AFL and leaves you salivating for more.
With last year’s Grand Finalists both facing early elimination this week, this is truly the year that anything can happen.
Let’s take a look at all the games and some updated markets.
West is best as the Tigers prove third time isn’t always lucky
The finals kicked off on Friday night in the West with the Eagles stunning the Hawks by 32-points, turning the premiership market on its head in the process.
The Eagles – who had the late withdrawal of reigning Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis to contend with – blew the game apart in the second quarter with a five-goal-to-none burst.
The home side then repeated the dose in the third quarter whilst restricting the Hawks to just two goals, rendering the game as good as over.
The Eagles’ forward six were as dangerous as ever, and the late-season addition of forgotten man Josh Hill since the derby has given coach Adam Simpson another dimension in his forward line.
Hill was the equal-leading goal scorer on the field with three and kicked the sealer late in the match out of mid-air when the Hawks threatened to come back.
The loss leaves the Hawks with the daunting prospect of facing a red-hot Adelaide at the MCG on Friday night. Providing they win, they will then need to travel to Perth again to face the Dockers in the preliminary final.
Going into the weekend as outright favourites for the flag, the Hawks have taken a huge hit in premiership reckoning with the punters.
Sportsbet now has the reigning premiers on the third line of betting at $3.65 to complete the three-peat in season 2015.
Saturday afternoon saw the finals stay in the West for one more day with the Dockers outstaying a plucky Sydney side by nine points.
The Swans, which were without Lance Franklin, lost Sam Reid early in the match to a hamstring injury and looked to be lacking fire power up front to combat Fremantle’s hot start.
The Dockers looked to have the match in control from the start, jumping out to a four-goal lead in the second quarter.
Had it not have been for some wasteful kicking from the Swans (11 behinds in the first half, two more than the entire total for the Dockers for the match) the game would have been much closer.
The Swans were not to be denied, and on the back of a colossal third quarter from Josh Kennedy, in which the superstar amassed an incredible 19-disposals – the Swans remained in touch going into the final change.
Again, wasted opportunities came back to haunt the Swans, with a dropped Kurt Tippett mark 15 metres out from goal and a wayward Isaac Henney goal that hit the post amongst the chances the Swans failed to grasp.
In the end the Dockers did enough to progress directly through to the preliminary final and are now in the box seat to make just the second Grand Final in the club’s history.
Fremantle are $1.80 favourites to make the 2015 Grand Final with Crownbet.
Saturday night saw one of the more pulsating finals in recent memory with the Crows getting over the top of the Dogs by 7 points at the MCG.
The Bulldogs started the game in sensational fashion, kicking the opening three goals of the match and dominating possession.
The Crows were able to strike back with a flurry of offense and take a quarter time lead.
For the majority of the match the Crows had the lead, but missed opportunities to put the Dogs away. A trend that almost came back to haunt them.
The last quarter was some of the most frenetic football you will see in 2015, and for a brief period it looked like the Dogs were going to pull away after taking a two goal lead midway through the final term.
The Crows had one last push in them.
Captain Taylor Walker ran the ball from the wing through to the forward 50 and then delivered an immaculate 50 metre pass to present Charlie Cameron the chance to ice the game.
Cameron converted and the Crows sealed a clash with the Hawks on Friday night at the same venue.
The solitary Sunday final of week one saw the Kangaroos condemn the Tigers to another first round finals exit, winning the second elimination final of the weekend by 17-points.
The Tigers led for the majority of the match, but the Roos kept in touch for much of the game and surged when it mattered most to book a date with the Swans in next week’s semi-final.
Brad Scott’s gamble of resting a large number of his senior players paid huge dividends with his team seemingly outrunning and outlasting their opponents as the match grew to its crescendo.
Another punt that Scott took was on the acquisition of Jarrad Waite – and again, the North Melbourne coach came up trumps.
Waite was the leading goal kicker on the ground with four majors and was arguably the most important player on the field, providing a marking target every time the Roos moved the ball forward.
The Tigers, who were still in contention until late in the match will feel aggrieved that a holding the ball decision was not paid in the dying minutes that would have resulted in a shot on goal.
The non-decision, which Tigers’ coach Damian Hardwick described as ‘diabolical’ looked to be a clear-cut free kick, but Richmond on-baller Shane Edwards was not rewarded.
The Tigers only have themselves to blame though, with Ty Vickery missing an open goal only minutes later that would have put the Tigers within a kick heading into the final moments of the match.
The win sees the Kangaroos progress through to the semi-finals to face Sydney at ANZ Stadium, a match that will harbour no fear for the Roos given the Swans long injury list and poor form at the secondary Sydney venue.
North Melbourne are $2.45 outsiders with Crownbet to beat Sydney at ANZ Stadium in Saturday night’s semi-final.
Injury news:
Fremantle: Positive news out of the weekend’s action for the Dockers with defender Luke McPharlin likely to be available for next week’s preliminary final after being a late withdrawal with calf tightness.
Nat Fyfe and Matthew Pavlich were both on crutches and in a moon boot respectively after the week’s victory, but Fremantle coach Ross Lyon confirmed both were precautionary and the Brownlow medal favourite and Fremantle captain are both expected to play next weekend.
West Coast: It is all good out west for the Eagles with Matt Priddis and Chris Masten both expected to be available for their preliminary final match against the winner of Sydney/North Melbourne.
Priddis, who was a late withdrawal from Friday’s match against Hawthorn with a thigh injury is a certain starter while Masten will need to prove his fitness after suffering a hamstring injury.
Sydney: A litany of concerns for the 2014 Grand Finalists going into the semi-final against North Melbourne.
The club has confirmed Sam Reid’s hamstring injury has ruled the tall forward out for the remainder of the year.
This, on the back of confirmation Lance Franklin will not play again this season after his mental health issues leaves a gaping hole in the Swans forward half.
Nick Smith is a good chance to play after suffering a hamstring injury over a fortnight ago, but both Kieran Jack and Luke Parker are not expected to be back this weekend.
Hawthorn: The big news out of Hawthorn is the injury to star forward Jack Gunston, who is certain to miss Friday night’s match against the Crows.
Gunston twisted his ankle badly in the loss to the Eagles and is unlikely to play again this season unless the Hawks can progress through to their fifth straight Grand Final.
North Melbourne: A clean bill of health for the Roos coming out of their elimination final victory, with the only concern coming from an ankle injury sustained by Jamie McMillion.
McMillion twisted his ankle late in Sunday’s win but is expected to be fully fit for Saturday’s crunch match against the Swans.
Adelaide: No fresh concerns out of Saturday night’s win over the Bulldogs.
