AFL premiership race down to four as Cats, Bulldogs take contrasting paths to preliminary finals

Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs remain in contention for Australian football's most coveted prize.

I cannot recall a more influential five-possession game than what Esava Ratugolea produced against the Giants. His imposing presence and ability to compete in the air further challenged a brave Giants defence that already had star forwards Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron to contend with. Had Greene — and late withdrawal Jesse Hogan for that matter — played on Friday night, it is fair to assume the Giants would have managed more than 10 goals from their 49 inside 50s. Geelong had the same number of entries for 15 majors.

Contentious umpiring calls in the final quarter only added to the drama. Lions fans roared with contemptuous rage and, as an impartial observer, I have to agree there were a few puzzling frees to the Bulldogs. The competition's MVP hurt his knee in the dying minutes and could not complete the match. His absence on Saturday night would make a difficult challenge almost impossible.

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

AFL live: Season on the line for Lions and Bulldogs in cut-throat semi-finalA full house is expected at the Gabba as Brisbane welcomes the Western Bulldogs with a spot in a preliminary final on the line. Follow our live AFL ScoreCentre for all the scores, stats and results.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

AFL 2021 LIVE updates: Johannisen sub again as Bulldogs lock horns with Lions for preliminary final berthLIVE | The Western Bulldogs will put it all on the line tonight against the Brisbane Lions with a preliminary finals berth up for grabs. Join us for all the key moments in our live blog. Swans member so didn’t have a horse in the race. The umps clearly did. Atrocious
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »

Insane AFL record just won’t dieThe Geelong Cats ended the Greater Western Sydney Giants’ season and advanced to the preliminary finals on Friday evening.
Source: newscomauHQ - 🏆 9. / 77 Read more »

Insane AFL record just won’t dieThe Geelong Cats ended the Greater Western Sydney Giants’ season and advanced to the preliminary finals on Friday evening.
Source: newscomauHQ - 🏆 9. / 77 Read more »

AFL live: Season on the line for Lions and Bulldogs in cut-throat semi-finalA full house is expected at the Gabba as Brisbane welcomes the Western Bulldogs with a spot in a preliminary final on the line. Follow our live AFL ScoreCentre for all the scores, stats and results.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »