AFL

A snapshot for round 24 of the AFL season

By AAP Newswire

Aug 27, 2023

Charlie Curnow is mobbed by his Carlton teammates. — Charlie Curnow's second straight Coleman Medal was effusively celebrated by his Carlton teammates. -AAP Image

THEY SAID IT: "It's really clear that you can't play the type of football Dustin has played without being so heavily invested in the football club" = Richmond caretaker coach Andrew McQualter doubts Dustin Martin will entertain any offers from rival clubs. Damien Hardwick's confirmation as Gold Coast coach has added to the speculation about Dusty's playing future.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

PLAYER OF THE ROUND: Taylor "Tex" Walker. The veteran Adelaide spearhead wasn't in the mood to share the ball with his teammates against wooden spooners West Coast, finishing with 9.4 from 19 shots on goal. Walker also tallied 21 disposals, 11 marks and two clearances in the 45-point win, which was in the balance until he kicked four final-term goals.

THE MOMENT: Charlie Curnow's second goal in the Sunday night match against GWS gave the Carlton key forward his second straight Coleman Medal, putting him ahead of Walker.

TALKING POINT: With the top eight decided, some major decisions loom for clubs that missed the finals. West Coast coach Adam Simpson has two years remaining on his contract, but the deathly silence from the club's board since the 101-point loss to Fremantle a fortnight ago doesn't bode well for him. Simpson is expected to learn his fate in the coming days. Essendon coach Brad Scott is promising "extraordinary measures" to bridge the gap to the top sides after the Bombers ended their season with humiliating losses to GWS and Collingwood.

TRIBUNAL WATCH: "He might be in trouble. I think I got in trouble for that, so we'll see how he goes. I was hoping for a free kick. That's fine." GWS captain Toby Greene was candid on Fox Footy post-game about Carlton defender Jacob Weitering, who will come under video scrutiny after making contact with Greene's face in a scuffle during Sunday night's game.

STATS THAT MATTER: Brisbane will host two finals after winning all 11 of their home games this season. But bad goalkicking has sunk more than one September campaign and they'll want to improve on their woeful 9.18 in Saturday's win over St Kilda.

INJURIES: S Taylor (GWS, hamstring), J Melksham (Melb, knee), B Acres (Carl, shoulder).

WHAT'S NEXT: Minor premiers Collingwood open the finals series on Thursday, September 7 against Melbourne. Carlton will host Sydney in an elimination final on Friday night, with the Brisbane-Port Adelaide qualifying final and the St Kilda-GWS elimination final to be played on Saturday. The AFL will confirm the week-one finals schedule on Monday morning.