move into the top eight of the Road to Singapore - the rac

Was round 18 the weekend that we officially put a line through another premiership contender?The Western Bulldogs -- who have thrilled crowds all year with their run-and-gun style of play -- were batted, bruised and badly beaten on Saturday night in what could turn out to be the most pivotal night of their season. While the 15-point loss to St Kilda was hard enough to swallow, it was the serious injuries which they picked up that has many doubting whether the Dogs can have a serious tilt at the flag.Mitch Wallis fractured his tibia and fibula in a horrific collision with Shane Savage, before key forward Jack Redpath ruptured his ACL. Both players will miss the remainder of the season, while Dale Morris may also spend time on the sidelines after tweaking his hamstring earlier in the contest.With the Dogs on the slide, West Coast, Geelong and North Melbourne managed to keep their top-four hopes alive as Greater Western Sydney came from behind against the Power to snatch second spot.?The jostling for position ahead of September has been fascinating to watch with every game, and margin, proving critical as only a small percentage separates second down to seventh.But its the evergreen Hawks that continue to hold onto top spot of the ladder -- two games clear of the chasing pack.Speaking of the Hawks, a special mention must go to Sam Mitchell who starred in his 300th match with 38 disposals. What a terrific player he has been since entering the competition in 2002.HEROESSam Gibson:?Friday nights clash with Collingwood was must-win for the confidence-sapped Kangaroos and a dominant display by winger Sam Gibson went a long way in securing the four points. The 30-year-old racked up a game-high 33 disposals, took seven marks and kicked a great goal, but it was his gritty first half along with Daniel Wells that set the win up as the Roos stormed out to an early seven goal lead. If North Melbourne are to rediscover their early season form, Gibson will need to play more consistent football as his link up play from half-back to half-forward is first rate.?The Roos have stopped the free fall for now and will take some confidence leading into this weekends AFL/ VFL games record breaking game for Brent Harvey.Patrick Cripps vs. Josh Kennedy: Two of the competitions most elite hard-ball winners fought brilliantly at the SCG. Cripps -- the youngest player in AFL history to reach 250 clearances -- had 32 disposals and laid a career-high 13 tackles in his sides six point loss to Sydney. The 21-year-old has played some memorable games already in his short career, but his effort on Saturday shows why many expect him to be Cartons next captain. Josh Kennedy continued his consistent season with 35 disposals, six tackles and an important goal. It was Kennedy who sparked the Swans into life after a rather lacklustre opening quarter.Tom Rockliff: To say the Brisbane Lions have been under the pump this season is a massive understatement. In times of crisis, you look to your captain, and Tom Rockliff was inspirational in leading his side to a 37-point win over Essendon to finally snap a 12-game losing streak. Although it came against the lowly Bombers, Rockliff was tireless in his pursuit to win the ball in congestion, and his gutsy performance will work wonders on the clubs younger, developing players. Rockliff wasnt the only Lion to star with Daniel Rich, Pearce Hanley, Stefan Martin and Mitch Robinson all having a tremendous influence on the match. Its the sort of win that will provide coach Justin Leppitsch with a slight reprieve, now they just need to build upon it.VILLAINSEssendons goalkicking:?Its hard to be critical of a struggling side thats missing a dozen of their best 22, but Essendons goalkicking in 2016 has been nothing short of atrocious. It seems ridiculous that they dont have a full-time goalkicking coach with their returns being so poor each week. The Bombers -- who currently pose few attacking threats -- hold the worst goalkicking accuracy of the competition by a significant margin. From their 17 matches this season, Essendon sit dead last in converting their chances with only 41.5 percent of shots registering a goal, significantly below the AFL average of 50.6 percent.Melbournes late fade out:?For a side that hasnt had much luck on the road in recent years, Saturday afternoons last-quarter capitulation at Domain Stadium will be rued as the one that got away. While they are a young team on the rise that can take plenty of positives out of their clash against the finals-bound Eagles, the Demons, if they are honest with themselves, need to take a good look in the mirror and wonder how they surrendered the contest. They Demons manufactured 66 inside 50s to the Eagles 37 and led at every change only to fail to kick a goal in the final quarter and fall to their 17th consecutive Perth defeat. For the Demons, they will lament a landmark opportunity that got away.Port Adelaide:?With their finals hopes on the line, Port Adelaide failed to capitalise against the Greater Western Sydney Giants, despite looking in control for the majority of the match. The Power outclassed their opponents for two and a half quarters only to relinquish all control of the game. The Giants kicked four goals in a 10-minute third-quarter burst that buried the Power and their hopes of a top-eight finish. Ken Hinkley will be disappointed that his side was unable to curb the influence of Stephen Coniglio, Dylan Shiel and Devon Smith, who outsmarted them inside forward 50. Stitched Royals Jerseys . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Royals Jerseys 2019 . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Royals Jerseys China . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Cheap Royals Jerseys . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Johanna Konta is the first British woman to break into the top 10 of the world rankings in 32 years after beating Madison Keys to reach the final of the China Open.Konta, the 11th seed, overcame her American opponent 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-4 in an encounter that lasted more than two and a half hours.The 25-year-olds victory in Beijing means she will climb into the top 10 of the next WTA rankings, becoming the first British woman to achieve the feat since Jo Durie in 1984.Durie, 56, was quick to offer her best wishes to Konta, tweeting:By reaching the China Open final Konta will also move into the top eight of the Road to Singapore - the race to reach the WTA Finals later this month.Konta said in her on-court interview immediately after Saturdays victory, broadcast on BT Sport: Im definitely enjoying my time here, its my first time playing Beijing and hope to play many more times. Its a pleasure to play here.Asked what the secret was to beating eighth-seeded Keys - who made 47 unforced errors compared to 32 from the British number one - Konta said: I dont think there really is a secret.dddddddddddd Shes such a high quality player, she has such weight of shots Im pretty sure I was cleaning the back of the court there, she was keeping me back.I really just tried to run down as many balls as I could and really just take the chances that I got.Konta, who is looking for the second WTA title of her career, said of Sundays final: Its pretty special. Im just enjoying being here, Im just trying to prolong it as long as possible and I feel very very blessed to be coming back tomorrow to play in the final.Konta will face Polands Agnieszka Radwanska in the final after the third seed beat Ukraines Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in their semifinal. ' ' '