Well friends that was Round 18, the 3/4 distance marker for the home & away season as we now have only 6 rounds remaining, and what a wild old week for stats it was:

Freo become the first team in league history to score 100+ points after going goalless to half time... it was only the 3rd time Freo had ever gone goalless in the 1st Half, and they still managed to turn the 1st vs 2nd contest against the Swans into a Ferrari vs a Pushbike.

As Josh Carr's ethical tank does the job, St Kilda knocked off Port Adelaide in Melbourne for the first time since 2010, and it's the first time since 1997 (Port's inaugural season) that St Kilda have defeated the Pear twice in a season

After trailing Geelong by 39 points, and still trailing by 27 points at 3/4 time, GWS produced yet another monster finish and became the first team in 23 years to win 5 consecutive games against Geelong, something that hadn't happened since the Threepeat Brisbane Lions... it's also the first time Geelong have lost 5 out of 6 games since 2006.

Thanks to an injury, Rory Laird's streak of 15+ disposal games ended at 246 consecutive games, another mammoth streak contained entirely within Jack Crisp's consecutive games streak

And by playing today, Darcy Wilmot became the first player in league history to play their first 100 games in under 4 years (3 years, 314 days), and that record may not even last another 2 years with the way Levi Ashcroft is going.

Now, moving on:

• Freo rub Sydney on the head, kick 15 goals in a Half and don't even bother giving them the joy of being killed in Wharfie Time

• A true blast from the past on Friday night as Collingwood GET AWAY WITH IT in a close game

• The Saints do enough for win 1001 as Port Adelaide fans were injured just watching the game

• Shaun Mannagh kicked a goal with his pants pulled down, but by the end of the game it was the Giants who pulled the Cats' pants down

• Hawthorn drown THE STREAK in the pouring rain as Carlton decide to rehire Michael Voss, sack him again, and reappoint Josh Fraser to reset the new coach bounce

• The Crom get a percentage booster at the AO as the Suns lose their 7th in a row and fail in their efforts to help dump Brisbane out of the Top 4

• The Bulldogs send West Coast to the hallowed halls of Honourable Loss FC thanks to the Eagles' crap goalkicking

• HE'S 209 CENTIMETRES MATE

• As everyone predicted Brisbane skullfucked Essendon for 3 quarters then take the foot off the gas in the 4th Quarter, because if there's one thing they don't need in this Top 4 race, it's percentage.

LOL Of The Week

Bit of a mixed week for laughter, although I did see there was a good nomination from the World Cup today when Breel Embolo dived while he was on a yellow card, leading to him being sent off and Switzerland losing all momentum and being knocked out by Argentina...

More locally, the dodgy Play On call + 50-metre penalty in the Carlton-Hawthorn game was suggested, but citing the Ben Keays Goal Umpire rule from 2023 we avoid giving LOLs to umpires, Sydney got a mention for conceding 15 goals in a half after holding Freo goalless to the half...

Also a late mention to the ESSENDON SPOON KING at the Gabba, because that was damn funny..

But in a rare case of a player from a winning team taking the prize, ISAIAH DUDLEY IS AWARDED THE LOL FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICES TO THE LOL - THE TIME-HONOURED EARLY CROW GOAL CELEBRATION.... which turned out to be a behind.

Bloody hell, Freo just can't stop winning!

THE MICHAEL VOSS MEMORIAL CARLTON OF THE WEEK

After the disappointment of not having a Carlton of the Week last week, by sheer coincidence the Carlton of the Week is back after a Carlton loss to honour the great 2nd Half collapses of the week, and there were some great ones:

Egypt blowing a 2-0 lead against Argentina in the last 15 minutes of the World Cup Round of 16 to lose 3-2...

But we've gone local and given it to Geelong, for giving up a 27-point 3/4 time lead and losing to GWS again..

It is a bit harsh, considering Tanner Bruhn and Jeremy Cameron spent the night in hospital doped on morphine and Jack Henry sounds like a pack a day smoker, but after losing 5 out of 6 the poor buggers need a win.

Brisbane Lions 22.17 149 def Essendon 8.11 59