The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 13
Fremantle Dockers and Sydney Swans share the mantle this week, not just because of the wins they achieved in vastly different circumstances, but narrow losses for Geelong and Hawthorn beneath them now mean they have extended a massive gap as the top-two teams of the competition.
Halfway through the competition, they've got buffers of 14 and ten points respectively on the third-placed Cats, and the Dockers also overtook Sydney on percentage when they kicked 19 goals straight against a hapless and helpless North Melbourne.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir felt beforehand that this weekend "could have been a slip-up game" owing to many factors such as an unfamiliarity with the Hands Oval ground in Bunbury, the fact the team did not travel together as a unit to the ground, the hype around the club in Perth media after they dismantled the reigning Premiers last week, and the fatigue that is setting in from having now played 13 consecutive games without a bye.
Fremantle were ruthless from start to finish and now get to enjoy a week off that Longmuir says was "definitely" needed following a lot of travel, and they'll get to ease back into things with a seven-week period that includes five home games and trips to Adelaide and Sydney.
Sydney had a different kind of encouraging win: one in which they were forced to pull themselves back from an underwhelming performance and overcome a 33-point second quarter deficit to defeat St Kilda.
Dean Cox was rapt with his players' "belief" and "maturity" to manufacture such a comeback despite St Kilda doing very little wrong throughout the game, and such wins can be just as influential in a Premiership season as 100+ point thrashings.
Little wonder these two are standout flag flavourites now.
The big losers of Round 13
A kick here and a kick there and Collingwood Magpies could have had eight wins to their name instead of five, which would have had them sitting pretty in fourth place alongside Hawthorn.
They too are in need of a bye for dramatically different reasons after suffering three single-digit point defeats in the last four rounds, two of them against clubs they could have been level with on points (Western Bulldogs and Melbourne) had they been able to complete the job.
"While there’s a breath, we’re going to be taking all the oxygen we can," Craig McRae told Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night almost directly after the King's Birthday loss to Melbourne.
"We believe and we’ll strive to get better every day,” added McRae, who conceded the team now has to work one week at a time to ensure they at least qualify for the expanded top-ten system, which remains well within their reach.
He did also hint that the Magpies would be huge off-season players again at the end of 2026 as he looks to address what he believes to be multiple squad deficiencies.
Key forwards will be one of those, with only Dan McStay (22 goals) and Jamie Elliott (17) inside the top-40 goalkickers of the competition in 2026.
Who kicked big bags this week?
There was a shootout in south-east Queensland when Logan Morris (Brisbane) and Ben King (Gold Coast) were trading blow for blow early in the Q-Clash, only for Morris to pull away with a round-best seven goals. King finished with four, as did Gold Coast pair Josh Treacy and Patrick Voss.
The other big haul came from St Kilda's Liam Ryan, who chimed in with five in the easy win over Richmond.
Team of the Week
Goal of the Week
Whilst it wasn't the most skillful or dazzling goal of the weekend, it's always hard to go past a last gasp match-winner - particularly when it's accompanied by thousands of home fans going bananas in response.
Mark of the Week
The naughty boys
Potential suspensions:
Taylor Walker (Adelaide) - Rough conduct - 1 match (upheld at tribunal)
High-range fines:
Jack Martin (Geelong) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000
Brody Hough (West Coast) - Rough conduct - $2000 or $3000
Ben Long (Gold Coast) - Striking - $1875 or $3125
James Peatling (Adelaide) - Wrestling - $1875 or $3125
Noah Anderson (Gold Coast) - Umpire contact - $1000 or $1500
The following players were all offered $1000 fines for the melee involving the Hawks and Bulldogs:
Nick Watson, Blake Hardwick, James Sicily, Mabior Chol, Jack Ginnivan, Rory Lobb, Michael Selwood (twice), William Lewis and Nick Coffield
Next weekend's fixtures
