Tom Wills, the founding father of Australian football in Queensland in the 1860s, would have been one very proud man last weekend. Because in a year of memorable moments for the Queensland sides in the AFL this was memorable-plus.
It’s a hot field argument after the Lions and the SUNS sat 1st and 2nd on the ladder for the first time at Round 5 and featured in the top four 10 weeks in a row from Rounds 3-12, but Round 17 delivered a focus on Queensland football like never before.
Twice in 24 hours the eyes of the footballing nation zeroed in on the two clubs from north of the Tweed. In prime time on Thursday night and Friday night they saw the expansion clubs of Brisbane and Gold Coast beat arguably the two most traditional power clubs in the competition.
Carlton and Collingwood, foundation members of the competition in 1897, the only clubs to win 16 grand finals and the first clubs to win three and four premierships in a row respectively, fell to clubs that were born in 1987 and 2011.
Yes, Essendon, too, have 16 premierships but in the inaugural season of 1897 and again in 1924 they were awarded the flag without a Grand Final.
In 1897 Essendon were declared premiers when, after a 14-game home-and-away season of eight teams, they posted a 3-0 record in a round-robin finals series of the top four teams.
And in 1924, after a nine-team season of 16 home-and-away games, they were declared premiers on percentage from Richmond after a 2-1 split in an experimental round-robin four-team finals series which was dumped immediately afterwards.
So, despite the inevitable protests of Essendon supporters, and those who might claim that Melbourne deserve top billing as the oldest professional club of any code in the country, there is an undeniable aura around Carlton and Collingwood.
These are two clubs who, before last weekend, had played a combined 5328 games, including 72 Grand Finals, for 3,117 wins and 32 flags.
But in front of a national television audience of 1,730,000 on Thursday night, and XXX on Friday night, the two comparatively infant clubs from Queensland knocked off the two almighty powerhouses.
Brisbane beat Carlton at Marvel Stadium to continue their campaign for a top-two home-and-away finish and potentially two Gabba finals en route to their third Toyota AFL Premiership Grand Final in a row, and Gold Coast, in the biggest home game in club history, moved one step closer to their first finals appearance with a heart-stopping win over Collingwood at People First Stadium.
And, in a milestone befitting the occasion of their first Friday night television game at home, the SUNS beat the side that sat on top of the AFL ladder for the first time to post their 100th win. And arguably their best in 15 years and 322 games.
While it might seem like it’s been a long wait for the Suns to reach 100 wins, it’s nothing compared to three of their predecessors. Hawthorn and North Melbourne, who joined the competition in 1925, waited 470 games and 389 games respectively, and St.Kilda, foundation members of the then VFL in 1897, lost their first 48 games, were 2-97 after six years, and took 376 games to reach 100 wins.
Yes, Tom Wills would have been very, very proud.
Last weekend was the 37th time since the birth of the Suns in 2011 the two Queensland clubs have won on the same weekend, but, more significantly, the 29th time in the last six years and the 8th time this year – with six full rounds to play.
The year-by-year count for ‘twin wins’ went 0-1-0-2-0-1-2-0-2 from 2011-19 and has jumped to 4-5-4-4-4-8 from 2020-25.
And, in a bizarre scenario caused by the Cyclone Alfred washout of Opening Round in Queensland, there could potentially be three Queensland wins in Round 24, when the SUNS will play twice to catch up the washout of their scheduled season-opener.
The Lions sit 2nd and the SUNS 5th on the ladder displayed on the AFL website – and if it was done on win ratio the SUNS would jump to 4th and Queensland would have both clubs in the top four again.
Statistically, Will Ashcroft was the Queensland standout in the Lions side that beat Carlton, collecting 29 possessions and a goal to maintain his narrow lead at the top of the premiers possession count. He has 460 to sit rank 13th in the League – just four possessions ahead of veteran teammate Dayne Zorko, who had 28 possessions against the Blues for a season total of 456.
Zorko was the only Queenslander to poll in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award in Round 18, picking up two votes.
Importantly, Charlie Cameron continued his form resurgence with three goals – his second bag of three in a row after he went goalless in Rounds 14-15 – while the ever-consistent Jaspa Fletcher, who could be in for a positional change after the loss of Noah Answerth to a season-ending achilles injury, had 22 possessions.
In the SUNS camp, Jed Walter and Ethan Read played against Collingwood for the first time, and, with fellow Queenslander Conor Budarick, enjoyed a breakthrough first win against the 2023 premiers.
Walter and Read joined Ben King in arguably the best combined showing of the key forward trio in a welcome reward for coach Damien Hardwick, who has stuck by the young Queenslanders.
Bodhi Uwland led the Queensland possession count in the Suns side with 19.
Corey Wagner moved one step closer to his first finals appearance as Fremantle posted a critical 13-point home win over Hawthorn, continuing his good form with 18 possessions, seven tackles and five score involvements.
Ben Keays did likewise as Adelaide grabbed a similarly important nine-point win over the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, collecting 19 possessions.