AFL News for the week ending August 13, 2023: Matildas make history, Pies bounce back, and Carlton outmuscle Dees and look finals bound
GO MATILDAS
Ok, it's not Aussie Rules but the Matildas rule Oz after their nail-biting penalty shootout win against Le Bleues in Saturday's World Cup win in Brisbane.
While there was also a tight AFL competition a couple of k's away at the GABBA that saw the Brisbane Lions fall over the line against a determined but ultimately unsuccessful Adelaide Crows, it was this World Cup match that held the hearts and hopes of a lot of Aussies.
And the Matildas did us proud, making history by advancing through to the semi-finals where they will face stiff competition against tournament favourite's England.
But ... might we see a major upset and the Matildas go through to the final?
Why not - isn't history just something that is rewritten every day?!
And Albo even hinted at a public holiday if they get up and win ...
No Daicos, no dramas for Pies
After their heavy and unexpected loss to a rampant fledgling Hawks side last week, the Pies were left staring down a Geelong side desperate to stay in finals contention.
And without star Nick Daicos, the Pies needed to find a response to the poor showing of the week before and how they would fill the gap that being out injured had created for them.
Having Steele Sidebottom out was another complication and then to cap it off, the Pies lost their stellar captain Darcy Moore to injury mid-match.
However, the other Daicos - Josh - stood tall, as did the Pies more generally, and while Geelong were no easybeats, the Pies seemed to control the game for much of the time.
So, Collingwood has proved they can bounce back, win without Nick and steam ahead, looking almost set for the minor premiership and maybe more.
We are the navy blues ...
Carlton racked up another win (that's eight in a row now!) against the Melbourne Demons, albeit with a touch of controversy about a touched Christian Petracca goal in the dying moments of the game.
In a turgid, low-scoring affair that never really saw either side overly dominate, the Blues seemed to be finding their way to a win but Melbourne never gave up.
The controversial decision about the final goal came during a round when there were a couple of other dubious decisions, notably two in the Pies/Geelong game with regards to out-of-bounds calls, one of which the AFL came out and admitted was an error.
The umpires do a brilliant job and like any profession are going to make errors in games, but its hard for fans when a 50/50 call comes to be the difference between winning and losing a match, as it did with the Blues/Demons game.
But, we have to move on quickly in this game and no doubt both the Blues and Demons will be already looking ahead to next week as they both head to finals.