Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
The league is better when Carlton are good: The things we learned
Jaiden Sciberras • April 27th, 2025 8:22 pm
Anzac Day weekend has come and gone, with a number of top-tier contests marking a very strong round of AFL football.
Kicking off with a Demon win, a moving Anzac Day commemoration and a Blues scalp, this weekend's fixtures delivered in a major way.
With that being said, here are the things that we learned during Round 7.
Max Gawn is the key
The Demons are a completely different side when Max Gawn is at his best.
Against no slouch in Toby Nankervis, Gawn was absolutely everywhere, collecting 25 touches, nine marks and 12 score involvements to anchor the Demons to their second win of the season.
Arguably the best on ground in both of Melbourne’s wins thus far, it’s clear that if Simon Goodwin wants his side to fire, he needs to squeeze every ounce of top-level football out of the 33-year-old as he possibly can.
While the Demons have shown much better signs in their past two games, there is still plenty to prove if they want to propel their season back on track.
Injured first-team players, consistency from their midfield core and an ideal front-half mix all remain challenges for Goodwin, however the signs for the Dees are positive.
Paul Curtis is North Melbourne’s best talent
From all of their top-end draft stock, it seems hard to believe that a former pick 35 has become the cream of the crop.
Curtis has been on fire in 2025, taking his game to an entirely new level in the forward half for the Roos.
Another three goals against Port Adelaide saw the 22-year-old leap into the top five in the Coleman Medal race, tied for 18 goals with teammate Nick Larkey.
Rapidly becoming one of the competition’s most premium small forwards, Curtis has booted multiple goals in every game this season, looking lively and playing with heart and passion in each contest thus far, irrespective of North Melbourne’s form.
With Harry Sheezel having a down-year, George Wardlaw finding his stride post-injury and obvious holes around the ground, Curtis has been a constant shining light for the Kangaroos.
If he maintains this sort of level, the sky is the limit.
The Doggies engine room is scary good
Seven elite-tier midfielders in one side, Luke Beveridge is spoilt for choice at the centre of the park.
The return of Marcus Bontempelli has propelled the Bulldogs to the next level after comfortably taking care of one of the premiership favourites in the Giants away from home.
Not only did the Bulldogs pile on five straight goals in the third term to run away with the contest, they did so in the absence of Sam Darcy, Cody Weightman, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Lachie McNeil, four of the side’s first-team forwards.
The spark spawned directly from the centre of the park. Four goals from James Harmes and two from Matt Kennedy exemplifies the importance of goals from the midfield.
Beyond scores, the Dogs finished with a whopping +22 in the clearance count, with seven midfielders and their ruckman each finishing with 20+ disposals and six of the aforementioned managing five or more clearances.
Tom Liberatore, Ed Richards, Joel Freijah, Matt Kennedy, James Harmes, Riley Sanders, a returning Adam Treloar and of course, Marcus Bontempelli.
Scary hours out of Fitzroy.
Gold Coast are more than just their midfield
29 points down, 20 minutes into the second term, and didn’t they turn the tables.
11 goals to three from that stage, the Suns went ballistic against the reigning Grand Finalists to win by 38 points.
The most impressive factor of Gold Coast’s come-from-behind win was the absence of their midfield elites.
Yes, the Suns did finish +9 in the clearance count, but it’s fair to say their midfield three of Noah Anderson, Matt Rowell and Touk Miller played their poorest game of the season thus far.
Just 16 disposals and five turnovers for Rowell, 21 at poor efficiency with just three clearances for Anderson and just the 24 at 71 per cent for Miller, the elite trio did not deliver in the manner that we would typically expect.
But that didn’t matter for Damien Hardwick’s men.
A phenomenal game from Bailey Humphrey, over 1000 metres gained between back flankers Daniel Rioli and John Noble and eight goals combined for key forwards in Ben King and Jed Walter was the difference in the contest.
Good teams win in multiple ways.
Carry on this sort of team-based performance and the Suns present as a real premiership threat.
The AFL is better when Carlton are good.
Love them or hate them, an in-form Blues side makes for electric viewing.
Nearly 70 thousand fans in attendance to watch a Carlton side that have only beaten North Melbourne and West Coast in their last 13 games take on a raging Geelong side, and didn’t they deliver.
A spectacle for the ages, Carlton put on by far their best performance of 2025, standing up against one of the competition’s best sides to win in extraordinary fashion.
Both Harry McKay and Elijah Hollands were enormous after dealing with a number of respective personal challenges, Captain Cripps turned up when called upon and George Hewett continued his All-Australian form as the Blues claimed their third straight victory.
One of the biggest teams in the land, who have failed to deliver for years.
When the Blues are good, the game is good. More of this.
It’s a big week for the Swans
From the Grand Final in 2024, to a 2-5 start in 2025.
Dean Cox has taken the helm at the Swans and the transition has not been pretty.
Another loss today, falling from 29 points up to capitulate under Gold Coast pressure, the Swans simply had no answers.
While Sydney does have a number of players out of the side with injury, they seem to be missing several important pieces needed to capitalise on their list.
A clear lack of forward threat has seen the Swans exceed 90 points just once this season, and with the Tom McCartin experiment clearly failing, Cox will need to solve their scoring issues as soon as possible.
Have we seen the peak of this Sydney list, or are the returning first-teamers the answer?
All eyes on the Swans.
