Larkey’s nine inspires Kangas to end 20-match losing streak
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North Melbourne have broken a 20-game AFL losing streak with a career-high nine goals from Nick Larkey inspiring a 35-point upset over the Gold Coast.
The Kangaroos didn’t hit the lead until early in the third quarter before powering ahead to win 20.12 (132) to 14.13 (97) in Hobart.
The result lifts the club off the bottom of the ladder into second last, meaning they will forego the No.1 draft pick, pending the result of the West Coast and Adelaide clash.
Pumped: Nick Larkey slotted home nine goals.Credit: Getty Images
The Kangaroos could still finish last and keep the top pick if last-placed West Coast topple Adelaide on Saturday night.
Larkey passed his previous career-high of seven with a set shot close to goal in the final quarter after earlier keeping North Melbourne in the contest during a bright Suns’ start.
He picked up three goals in the all-important third quarter, as well as two goal assists for the match and 21 disposals.
Larkey, who has mounted an increasingly strong case for all-Australian selection with 20 goals in his last three games, iced the match with his ninth moments before fulltime.
It was the first time the Kangaroos – wooden spooners in 2021 and 2022 – have scored more than 100 points this year and just their third win of the season.
The Suns finish the season with nine wins and in 15th position on the ladder.
North Melbourne’s Bailey Scott and Matt Rowell were busy, finishing with an equal game-high 33 possessions.
The Gold Coast had a 26-15 lead at quarter-time after kicking the first three goals of the match, two of those off the boot of Sam Flanders.
They slotted the first three of the second term before the Kangaroos hit back with a run of four, which included three to Larkey who also set up Curtis Taylor.
Tempers flared after Rowell crunched North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin in a legal tackle, with the Suns taking a six-point lead into the main break.
North Melbourne hit the lead for the first time early in the third quarter courtesy of an Eddie Ford goal and surged to an 85-63 lead heading into the last term.
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Serong shines for Dockers
Fremantle have ended their disappointing AFL season on a positive note with a 37-point win over Hawthorn in a dead-rubber fixture at the MCG.
Tough midfielder Caleb Serong led from the front and emerging talent Tom Emmett shone again as the Dockers prevailed 14.9 (93) to 8.8 (56) on Saturday.
Justin Longmuir’s side won three of their last five games to finish the year with a 10-13 record, after reaching a semi-final in 2022.
Caleb Serong gets a handball away.Credit: Getty Images
Serong, who lined up against younger brother and Hawks utility Jai for the first time, was outstanding in the Dockers’ midfield with 31 disposals and nine clearances.
Hayden Young (22 touches, five clearances) and Andrew Brayshaw (32, three) were also influential, while Emmett impressed in his second senior game.
The 21-year-old, who beat cancer and overcame a serious Achilles injury before he was drafted by Fremantle last year, finished with 17 disposals and two goals.
Jye Amiss (three goals), Michael Walters and Josh Treacy (two each) also hit the scoreboard.
Amiss took his season tally to 41 majors, making the 20-year-old spearhead the youngest Docker in history to boot 40 or more in a single year.
Hawthorn veteran Luke Breust kicked two goals and James Sicily stood firm in defence for three quarters, but the skipper couldn’t drag his side over the line when swung forward for the final term.
Will Day (30 disposals, six clearances), Conor Nash (23, five) and James Worpel (23, four) also worked hard for the Hawks (7-16), who will finish the season in 16th position.
Fremantle are only two rungs higher, still in the bottom third of the ladder.
Both sides were out of finals contention heading into the final home-and-away round and it showed in a scrappy opening.
Hawthorn kicked the first two goals but the Dockers wrested midfield ascendancy through the hard work of Young and Serong.
It helped the visitors boot eight of the next 10 majors, including two to Walters, to take a commanding 29-point lead to the main break.
The teams went goal for goal in the third term and Emmett’s second major was a highlight as he squeezed through a shot from a tight angle while being pushed off-balance.
Lachie Schultz added another for the highlights reel with a dribbling right-foot effort from the boundary line as the Dockers kicked three goals to one in the final term.
HAWTHORN
2.0 4.1 7.4 8.8 (56)
FREMANTLE
3.4 8.6 11.8 14.9 (93)
GOALS – Hawthorn: Breust 2, Amon, Newcombe, Moore, Koschitzke, Worpel, Scrimshaw. Fremantle: Amiss 3, Walters 2, Treacy 2, Emmett 2, Schultz, Switkowski, Johnson, Brayshaw, Sturt
BEST – Hawthorn: Sicily, Hardwick, Newcombe, Moore. Fremantle: Serong, Brayshaw, Emmett, Ryan
UMPIRES – Fisher, Heffernan, Adair, McGinness
CROWD 27,951 at MCG
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