The things we learnt: Freo have guts

Round 18 has come and gone, and what a round it was.

The AFL treated us to a September preview, with eight of the nine September hopefuls facing off in a fixture for the ages.

From bags of six, comeback kings and captain's goals, Round 18 simply had it all.

With that being said, here are the things we learnt from 2025's final's preview!

The Swans are still alive... just

The Sydney Swans are still in the finals hunt... by the skin of their teeth.

They pulled off a minor miracle thanks to the class of Errol Gulden to beat St Kilda by five points.

Dean Cox's side basically cannot afford another loss if they want to sneak into the eight. But while there's life there's hope, and they're playing in the manner that could see them pull this off.

They've won four of their last five and you'd think they'll knock off North Melbourne next weekend.

After that it gets a bit harder though. GWS (Round 20), Brisbane (Round 22) and Geelong (Round 23) could sort them out.

But there's still a chance...

Andrew Slevison

If the Suns land a home final, look out

Are the Suns a real threat?

Entering Friday night, all the talk surrounded Gold Coast’s history – or lack of.

Having never made the finals, the Suns entered the contest with 10 wins from their 15 games, well and truly amongst the top-end teams with a game in hand leading into season’s end.

Facing a Collingwood side at the pinnacle of the AFL, having won eight straight and cruising towards a minor premiership, the Suns had an almighty challenge that the franchise had yet to experience.

And yet they stood as all as any, holding the premiership favourites goalless for over two and a half quarters en route to an incredible six-point win.

Arguably the most impressive feature of their victory wasn’t just their electric start, but their ability to counteract the immense charge mounted by the Pies in the final term.

An incredible five straight goals saw the Magpies take the lead in the most unlikely of circumstances, and it seemed as though the result was all but settled.

However, led by their inspirational captain Noah Anderson, the Suns fought back as well as ever, claiming back their lead and holding on against the AFL’s top dog.

With their killer mindset and elite leadership, the Suns really might be a premiership threat, and if given the opportunity to open their September campaign at home, look out.

Jaiden Sciberras

The Dogs are behind the eight ball

Where to now for the Western Bulldogs?

A disappointing 11-point home loss against the Adelaide Crows has left the Dogs a game behind the pack, falling to the dreaded ninth position following Fremantle’s impressive win over the Hawks.

The issue with the Bulldogs’ loss was that all of their star players played as well as expected.

Marcus Bontempelli was as elite as ever with six goal assists and 37 touches, Ed Richards in top form as he has been all season within a midfield that comfortably won the clearance count… the Dogs didn’t play too far beyond their expectations.

Having said that, they lost to a top side yet again, marking their seventh loss from eight games against the current top eight.

So, where do they go from here?

The immediate area of necessity is within their back half. Although James O’Donnell and Rory Lobb have had good seasons, they simply aren’t at the level required to defend against the best – hence Riley Thilthorpe’s six.

Their elite scoreboard prowess is as scary as any, however good teams tear their defence apart far too easily.

Without change or the potential return of Liam Jones, the Dogs may miss out.

Jaiden Sciberras

The Thill-seeker is built for September

What a player.

Riley Thilthorpe’s career-high six goal performance against the Bulldogs was every sign necessary that the kid is built for the biggest stage.

A game-changing showing of pure dominance, Thilthorpe’s rare ability to take complete control of a contest is special, and at just 23 years of age, we’ve hardly seen the beginning.

With so much talk of Sam Darcy’s brilliance – and rightly so – the Crows key man demanded the spotlight, booting four majors in the second term and going at 100 per cent around the ground in the second half.

It sets up what is destined to be a special showing in the finals, and with the likes of Jordan Dawson and Izak Rankine continuing to perform amongst the best, the Crows could do some serious damage.

Jaiden Sciberras

Freo may have the guts they lacked last season

In 2024, Fremantle missed out on September, and they only had themselves to blame.

Four straight losses to end the year, the Dockers went from top four contenders to tenth place within just four weeks.

They lacked the killer instinct they needed to put away games, and with a young list made up of extremely young stars, it’s not difficult to see why.

This year, it feels like the Dockers have found that extra gear, and that was well on display in their win over the Hawks.

13 points down heading into the final term, knowing that a loss would send them a game behind the pack, Justin Longmuir’s men put the foot down, booting four goals to just two behinds to power home to a much needed win out West.

With their percentage sitting at the lowest of all nine teams competing for eight spots, the Dockers can’t rely on other results to get them in, and now on even points with fourth-placed Geelong, Fremantle may have the guts required to make their final push.

A contest with Collingwood awaits, the most difficult fixture on the schedule, before three straight games against bottom nine sides.

If they truly have the instinct they lacked last season, expect a huge push at the MCG this coming weekend.

Jaiden Sciberras

Lions are on the premiership prowl

The reigning premiers were in a savage mood against Carlton on Thursday night.

While challenged at times, in the end they held the Blues at arm’s length throughout the Round 18 opener at Marvel Stadium.

Chris Fagan wanted his side’s tackling and pressure to lift. 35 turnovers in the forward half which led to seven goals (eight behinds) and 20 tackles inside 50 suggests it did.

A 37-point win (103-66) could have been more if they really wanted it to be. It looked like it could have got very ugly when it was 52 points at three-quarter time.

That’s three wins on the trot and they’re on track to nail a top two spot.

That midfield of Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage, Josh Dunkley, Jarrod Berry and Will Ashcroft is elite. Throw in Zac Bailey, Cam Rayner and Levi Ashcroft who are often around the ball and it only gets better.

They were beaten at clearance but the overlap run and overall class was on another level to that of their opponents.

You don’t want to play the Lions. Their game is in very good order, and you’d imagine it will only get better.

They do have a very competitive lot of fixtures ahead which will only help them nail things down for a finals assault. That run is: Western Bulldogs (home), Gold Coast (away), Collingwood (away), Sydney (home), Fremantle (away) and Hawthorn (home).

They do need to keep winning to assure top four, but once they get there, look out whoever gets them in September.

What we learnt about Carlton is that it is definitely now time to play the kids.

Andrew Slevison