Well, week two of the AFL Finals is in the book, and we had some clear winners and clear losers.
With only two games, it is pretty simple to identify who is who, right? But within those games there were other winners, and other losers. And that’s what The Mongrel is here for.
Here are the real winners and losers from the Semi-Final clashes.
THE WINNERS
JOSH WEDDLE
Am I on an island thinking this bloke could be the difference-maker in a premiership team?
Such a tough matchup, he is a powerhouse when the footy is on the deck, and his burst speed (and sustained speed) leaves opponents for dead. He killed the combination of Isaac Cumming and Brodie Smith (I thought Curtin was the obvious matchup for him on the wing) and really should have snagged three or four last quarter goals.
He is knocking on the door of a huge game, and if I were Chris Scott, I’d be putting a bit of work into this bloke for the Prelim.
JAI NEWCOMBE
A powerhouse. Again.
Newcombe has elevated his game in finals, with his four post-season outings far eclipsing hsi home and away averages, to date. That is the sign of a serious player, and right now, he would be the number one seed to take out the Gary Ayres Medal.
It was Newcombe setting the tone for the Hawks, early, winning clearances like they were the lowest prize amount in Powerball (I win that prize a lot… it earns me about 20% of what I outlaid on the ticket… grrrr). He had six clearances in the first quarter, with five of them coming at centre bounces. Considering he only attended seven centre bounces, eh was dominant, and deserves all the praise that came his way.
JOSH WORRELL
One of the very few Crows to hold up his end of the bargain, Worrell got better as the game continued.
His fellow members of the back six were under constant duress, and whilst Worrell didn’t win every contest he was involved with, he gave this game everything he had, finishing with 12 intercept and eight rebounds amongst his career-high 33 touches.
Career-high numbers in finals games are something I rate highly, and Worrell’s work in this one proves that he is now in the top echelon of intercept defenders in the game.
JACK GUNSTON
I’ll get into his opponent in a minute, but the work of Gunston in this game was masterful.
The way he picked his spots, the way he knew where to lead and when to make the break… it spoke of a man who has forgotten more about forward play than most will ever know.
Now on 70 snags for the year, his record in big finals would be a huge worry to the Cats next week, and possibly the team playing on the opposite side of the bracket the week after.
JOSH WARD
I have to admit, last year, I wasn’t completely sold on Ward as a bonafide midfielder. I guess it is a lesson that sometimes, you just need to be patient with a player. I wonder whether Essendon are falling into the trap of expecting too much from Elijah Tsatas or Ben Hobbs, at the moment? Not all players burst out of the blocks…
Ward had a career-high 31 touches, as his link-up work and ability to provide the first-release option for his fellow mids, made him a fantastic contributor to this win.
Welcome to the big time, Josh… we’ve been expecting you.
SAM BUTLER
It’s been a hard road back for Butler, but his pressure and goal sense were a welcome addition to the Hawthorn forward line, particularly with Jack Ginnivan struggling to find the footy.
Butler finished with two vital goals, and laid a game-high nine tackles. Three of those came inside 50, as he continually ramped up the pressure.
He has snuck under the guard of many, but what a time to make a statement!
HUGH MCCLUGGAGE
Answered some critics in a big way, after being tagged out of the game last week against the Cats.
Came into the game under an injury cloud and quickly dispelled any doubts, with a 33 disposal outing. He is a class outfit, and with the Suns refusing to tag him, he was back to his best.
HARRIS ANDREWS
The most dominant defender of his age, Andrews played the zone off role early in the game, but his services were required on Ben King, after the forward got off the chain against Darcy Gardiner.
From that point on, King was not a factor, as the Brisbane captain owned the contest, recording yet another defensive double-double, with ten intercepts and ten one-percenters.
His name should have been more prominent in the MVP conversation.
TOUK MILLER
Started on Dayne Zorko and worked both at half-forward and up into the midfield for periods.
With both Rowell and Andrews copping a heap of defensive attention, Miller was able to pick up a bit of the slack, with 28 touches and five tackles.
Personally, I would have liked to see him go to Hugh McCluggage.
DAYNE ZORKO
Some players are athletes. Others are footballers.
Dayne Zorko is a footballer!
Some of his ball use is so good that there is absolutely no room for error… and he has such faith in his skill that he bites the kick off anyway. The ultimate risk-versus-reward player, Zorko can tear a game apart from half-back, and at his advancing age, puts plenty of those his junior to shame on a weekly basis.
SAM COLLINS
Ty Gallop worked his way into the game, but overall, Collins was a dominant force in the Suns’ defence, and I shudder to think where they’d be without him.
Will be a better player again in 2026 with the return of Charlie Ballard to the lineup, but as the ball continually flew inside the Suns’ defensive fifty, his attack on the contest was second only to Harris Andrews at the opposite end.
BRANDON STARCEVICH
Had Ben Long’s number, and given the season Long has had, that speaks volumes.
Starcevich is still without a deal for next year, and as he performs like this, he adds a few more dollars to his asking price. A fantastic, unsung, performance.
CAM RAYNER
Crashed and bashed his way back into the hearts of the neutral fans.
After last week’s… unpleasantness, Rayner rebounded by playing the type of smashmouth footy Lions supporters love to see. Crashing through tackles and kicking one of the great finals goals, he was a game changer in this one, and on a personal note, it was brilliant to see him play the game the way he did.
No BS, no shenanigans with his opponent… just taking the game on.
And winning.
JOSH DUNKLEY
Last, but definitely not least, comes the record-breaker.
Charged with keeping Matt Rowell under wraps, Dunkley took his role seriously, racking up 11 tackles in the first half, to make Jimmy Bartel start shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
His second half produced another seven, as he continued to make life difficult for the Gold Coast mids in a powerful display of two-way midfield footy.
His team-first game was one of the best of the season, and for a bloke who doesn’t look for accolades, he sure as hell deserves them.
THE LOSERS
MARK KEANE
He had a mare.
Every time he turned his head to watch the footy – and there was a heap of ball-watching from him – Jack Gunston was either on his bike making a lead, or darting out the back into space.
Keane has had an excellent season. I thought he was unlucky not to be named in the All-Australian team, but he was given a lesson by a bloke with a football brain in this game.
Keane’s stats look fine, and if you’re one of those people who assess a player’s game by their supercoach score, I’m sure you’d think he was okay.
He wasn’t. He was let down by a poor defensive midfield performance, but he was caught in no man’s land far too often. Possibly his worst outing of the season.
THE ADELAIDE MIDFIELD
Soundly beaten and exposed as second-rate by the hard attack on the footy of the Hawks.
So often, this team has leaned on Jordan Dawson, but the skipper was down. Jake Soligo couldn’t hit the ocean from the beach with his kicking, and Sam Berry was monstered at stoppages by Newcombe.
Really, the only player that stood up, won the hard ball, and offered a yelp, was Rory Laird, who was moved out of the midfield and back into defence. It was nowhere near enough.
TEX WALKER
Looked every bit of his 35 years against a Hawthorn defence that was too big, too strong, and too quick for him.
He tried to drag himself into the game with some long shots at goal, but even one of those came at the expense of playing the team-game and spotting the leading Darcy Fogarty – another who desperately needed to wield some influence on the contest.
Whether you love him or hate him, Tex is a champion of the game. I hope this was not the last time we see him… but it kind of felt like I was watching the game pass him by.
That said, there were plenty who felt that way five years ago, too.
JACK GINNIVAN
If I had to pick one player on a winning team who didn’t step up to the plate, it’d be Ginnivan.
Luckily for him, he had a number of other dangerous forwards/half-forwards casing issues for the Crows, because Ginni barely fired a shot. Not the worst thing for the Hawks, as I don’t think he’ll play two games like that in a row, but the next time someone asks him what he plans to do in Adelaide, maybe he can answer with “get a kick”, as opposed to some smart-arsed remark.
JORDAN DAWSON
This one stings, a little, as I love what Dawson has done this season. However, unlike Newcombe, his form has fallen away at the pointy end of the year.
With 21 touches, he was not the Crows’ worst, but his role on this team means that they require his absolute best to make an impact.
And he was quite a way away from his best.
Dawson ran at 57% efficiency and had just three score involvements for the game. It is unfair to place the weight of the loss on him, but when you’re the AFLPA best captain, you must step up in finals. He didn’t do that, this season.
BEN KING
You make your name in finals. Regardless of how the home and away season plays out, September footy trumps it.
And King started the game like he was ready to be the difference between the teams. With three marks inside 50 and 2.1 to his name early, he looked like the spearhead the Suns needed him to be.
And then he ran into Harris Andrews.
Now, this is not a huge shot at King, because there are plenty of forwards that have come up against Harris and failed, but his job, once Andrews moved onto him, was to contest, and bring the footy to ground.
And on several occasions he just didn’t have the strength to do that.
King has had a great year, but his capitulation to Andrews mirrored that of his team. In a theme that will largely reflect the Suns heading into 2026, he needs to get stronger.
NOAH ANDERSON/MATT ROWELL
Sorry boys, but when you lead the club, you have to stand up when the heat is on, and despite a solid start, these two were overshadowed by the work of the tough and hard Brisbane midfield.
Of course, Rowell had to contend with arguably the best two-way player in the game, in Josh Dunkley, but it was interesting to see how this impacted the output of Anderson, as well.
You just felt that the Suns were waiting for one of their stars to step up, but every time they got their hands on it, the pressure came from all angles. The number of times Anderson was closed down as he tried to get a couple of steps in before disposal was phenomenal.
Yes, so whilst these two make the list that is less complimentary, it was largely due to the measures in place to stop them.
BEN LONG
Hurst me to write this, as he is my favourite Sun to watch, but he had his worst outing of the year at the worst possible time.
The Suns needed their senior bodies to stand up, but he was soundly beaten by Brandon Starcevich, and could not work his way into the contest, at all.
REILLY O’BRIEN
Well, I was a bit torn s to whether to include Lloyd Meek in the winners, or ROB in the losers section.
Seems I made my mind up. The Adelaide ruck has had a forgettable finals series. Always tried his guts out, but there were moments in this game where hard work was matched by his opponent, and that meant that Reilly had to rely on… skill?
Not his forte, is it?
Plenty of others that could have made the grade across both categories.
Feel free to add your own.
