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Dan Crouch

Snapshot for round 21 of the AFL season


Magpies coach Craig McRae was left pondering the cost of his team's loss to Hawthorn. Picture: Morgan Hancock.

A look at round 21 of the AFL season, in which Brownlow medal favourite Nick Daicos suffered a knee injury in Collingwood's shock loss to Hawthorn.


THEY SAID IT: "There's more than the four points lost here today. There will be a couple of players chasing the clock to get up." - Collingwood coach Craig McRae was left counting the cost of his team's upset loss to Hawthorn. Brownlow medal favourite Nick Daicos (knee) is out for six weeks and Nathan Murphy (ankle) will be missing for two to three weeks.


PLAYER OF THE ROUND: Errol Gulden was a unanimous choice for a first Brett Kirk Medal as best afield in the Sydney Derby and will be firmly in the frame for another accolade when All-Australian selectors meet later this year. The 21-year-old was electric in Sydney's 11-point victory over GWS with 32 disposals, eight score involvements and a game-high 677m gained, and lit up the contest with a 45m running checkside goal-of-the-year contender before adding a crucial major in the final term to round out another dazzling display. Special mention to Hawthorn captain James Sicily for his 19-mark effort against Collingwood.


THE MOMENT: Essendon produced two huge plays in the last 80 seconds to secure a one-point win over West Coast. First, Jye Menzie collected a crumb at pace before firing off a handball under pressure to set up an easy goal to Kyle Langford in the goalsquare. Then with 34 seconds remaining, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher took a strong mark deep in defence to kill off West Coast's final push forward. 


TALKING POINT:  The AFL is investigating crowd behaviour after a fan reached out to put a hand on the shoulder of Richmond's Marlion Pickett during the third quarter against the Western Bulldogs. Pickett turned around and pushed a drink out of the fan's hand and then made a beeline for the same section of the crowd at three-quarter-time.


TRIBUNAL WATCH: GWS small forward Toby Bedford was handed a one-match ban for his high bump on Sydney's Jake Lloyd. His teammate Brent Daniels was also rubbed out for a week for a dump tackle. Sydney's Braeden Campbell also received a one-match ban for his high bump on Lachie Whitfield. West Coast ruckman Bailey Williams will miss Saturday's western derby against Fremantle after receiving a one-match ban for his high bump on Essendon's Mason Redman. 


STATS THAT MATTER: North Melbourne's 32-point loss to the Demons was their 18th consecutive defeat. It's North's longest losing streak since 1935.


INJURIES: J Henry (Geel, foot), T McKenzie (PA, knee), F Callaghan (GWS, calf), N Daicos (Coll, knee), N Murphy (Coll, ankle), T Mitchell (Coll, leg), J Hopper (Rich, concussion), A Scott (Dogs, concussion), W Powell (GC, leg/ankle), C Jones (Adel, foot), Harrison Petty (Melb, ankle), E Hughes (Frem, ankle).


WHAT'S NEXT: Collingwood and Geelong kick off the round on Friday night in a huge clash for both clubs. Brisbane host Adelaide at the Gabba, while the Saturday night blockbuster between Carlton and Melbourne at the MCG is set to draw a huge crowd. West Coast will be aiming to get off the bottom of the ladder with a derby victory over Fremantle in Perth. Port Adelaide will be desperate to snap a four-game losing streak when they tackle GWS in the final match of the round.


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