The 14th round of the 2025 AFL season saw many highlights and lowlights, including the Hawks claiming another top-tier scalp, GWS upset the Brisbane Lions and Bailey Smith having a day to remember.
Hawks win a nail-biter in Tassie
The Hawthorn Hawks have claimed another top-tier scalp in Tasmania; this time, it was the Adelaide Crows by less than one possession – three points – in a nail-biter clash.
Coming from nowhere, the Hawks were able to steal a late comeback victory in a hard-fought match. Although there were 13 straight behinds kicked in the second half, the Hawks were able to get the better of their opponents, with Connor Macdonald kicking a goal with seven minutes left to go in the match.
Macdonald, who stood up with two majors was one of the highlights of the game, as well as Jarman Impey (28 touches, ten marks and four tackles). Meanwhile midfield veteran Jai Newcombe was tagged out of the clash and was had a limited impact.
“I was really proud of the boys. Adelaide, they’re a good side, they’re very good, they’re going to be right there,” Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said.
“It was probably our best win of the season. It was a really tough night, we were minus-10 tackles at quarter-time, and we ended up being able to wear that back and be in front in the end.
“Having that stability behind the ball means we didn’t want to lose clearances as significantly as we did, particularly early. But our defenders held up really well, which gave us enough chances early in the game to get the win.
“I’m sure you saw, on the bench, there was a fair bit of steam coming off the heads of the players. It was a beautiful day, absolutely magic, but obviously the temperature drops quite steeply with no cloud cover. It meant it was going to be slippery.
“I thought [Adelaide] handled it really well early, they were slick, [in] their first quarter they were really hard to tackle. Their ball use and clean hands was first class. It took us a little while to get up to speed to be honest. I think it was the conditions that led to the low scoring.”
CMac with the clutch finish! Ice cold stuff.#AFLHawksCrows pic.twitter.com/e5dJJEI4NZ
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) June 13, 2025
GWS upset the Brisbane Lions
Competing at The Gabba, the GWS Giants have produced one of the upsets of the season, defeating Brisbane by 11 points without skipper and All-Australian Toby Greene, who was a late withdrawal from the match.
Proving too good for their opponents, the Giants took on the tough challenge of the Lions and succeeded. Firmly in the top-eight, the Giants’ victory has also put a dent in the chances of Brisbane winning a second consecutive premiership and will now go back to the drawing board.
2024 Coleman Medal winner Jesse Hogan stole the show with six goals, while Aaron Cadman (five goals) and Callum Brown (three goals) also found themselves on the score-sheet with multiple goals.
“I thought Cads was really strong and hard to play on, particularly for a guy who hasn’t played a lot of footy down there,” GWS coach Adam Kingsley said.
“I thought ‘Cads’ really cashed in on being hard to play on and continually moving.
“That’s the key for him, he’s so athletic. When he launches at the ball he’s really hard to defend and that’s exactly what he did today.”
"I'm glad I finally pulled one down because I've sat up there a few times but haven't pulled one down" 😂
Aaron Cadman put the league on notice yesterday 😮💨
Watch the Sunday Footy Feast on 7plus 👉 https://t.co/amBbe1vkeK pic.twitter.com/rwDpX3ev7p
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 15, 2025
Bailey Smith has a day to remember
Bailey Smith had a day to remember against the Essendon Bombers with the Cats’ recruit arguably having his best match for the club since his arrival at the start of the season with 41 disposals, seven marks and two tackles as Geelong moved to second on the AFL ladder.
Defeating Essendon by nearly 100 points, Smith controlled the midfield with Jeremy Cameron (six goals) and Shannon Neale (four goals) putting on a show in the Forward 50.
“Clearly, there’s a big gap,” Essendon coach Brad Scott said in his post-match press conference.
“Even with us at full strength, there’s a big gap between where Geelong are and where we are.
“When you’ve got a team with two first-gamers, I think a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and whatever it is.. You’re coming up against the most organised, best-drilled, experienced team in the competition, in my view. They taught us a lesson and we’re going to learn it.”
T̶h̶e̶ ̶F̶o̶r̶w̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶5̶0̶ ❌
The Danger Zone ✅ pic.twitter.com/8g1a9t36F7
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) June 14, 2025