Round 12 saw Blues recruit Jack Newnes etch himself into footy folklore, the Giants sink to a new low and a struggling Kangaroo with a lot to ponder.
Here are this week's Heroes and Villains.
HEROES
Jack Newnes: Eat your heart out, Robbie Gray - you've been pipped.
Don't worry about whether the downfield free kick to set it all up was there, or if the deliberate free kick against Matt Taberner (who was arguably best on ground before Newnes bobbed up) was fair, let's just focus on Newnes' outrageous kick after the siren that lifted the Blues to a much-needed win over the Dockers.
Newnes was hard up against the boundary, with a wet ball, battling photographers (just move, mate!), masked security, and a chorus of boos from Freo's faithful. But he stepped up off a five-step run-up to send the ball sweetly through the big sticks - on the wrong side for a right-footer.
JACK NEWNES WINS IT AFTER THE SIREN 🤯#AFLFreoBlues pic.twitter.com/Rs9qmX1fup
— AFL (@AFL) August 15, 2020
It's arguably one of the top five after-the-siren goals of all time. Better than Gray's, better than current Freo coach Justin Longmuir's over the Saints and perhaps the best since 'Blighty'.
Adding another layer to the already ridiculous situation is that it should have been Michael Gibbons, not Newnes, who had the final kick, given the Blues' No. 40 was much closer to where the free kick was paid.
Not only that, but it's the second-straight year the Blues have defeated the Dockers in the dying moments at Optus Stadium (and in the wet) after Marc Murphy's famous banana with just seconds remaining last season.
Chris Fagan: Who said Fagan was footy's Mr. Nice Guy?
At half-time of Saturday afternoon's gritty armwrestle against the Kangaroos -- in which the Lions were far from their best in earning a nailbiting one-point win -- Fagan was captured by TV broadcasters giving his side an old-fashioned spray.
The universally admired and respected coach denied it was a spray, instead sheepishly admitting he was "speaking with passion" when he discovered broadcasters had captured the vision.
"Was that on television was it? Oh, OK. Just vision? Not voice? No, that's good," he said after the victory.
"I just felt the group was a bit flat - normally I'm the calm one and they're the noisy ones and I thought I had to be the noisy one today as they were a little bit down on themselves and I tried to give them a bit of a lift."
Whether or not the 'non-spray' worked was debatable, but the Lions managed to turn a three-point half-time lead into a 12-point buffer by the final break, which proved vital as they held off the gritty young Kangaroos.
It may have been ugly but Fagan was all smiles after the win, which took the Lions to second on the table, behind leaders Port Adelaide on percentage only.
Footy Frenzy: There were plenty of skeptics (some even here at ESPN!) but it's fair to say year the AFL's Footy Frenzy has been a raging success.
For 20 consecutive nights we were treated to at least one live game, in what was the most action-packed three-week period in the league's history.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the AFL into trialing the compressed fixture and the widespread positive reception, from fans, players and clubs means there's a real possibility we could see a festival of football each and every year.
This could seriously work in the heart of winter each season when most of us are lazing on the couch and eager for a regular sporting fix.
A huge shoutout to all of those who made the past three weeks a possibility, particularly the players who never once complained about the short turnarounds.
Oh, and we're pretty sure the footy didn't suffer at all...
VILLAINS
Dwarfed Giants: Well, well, well. If you thought GWS's 2019 Grand Final effort was the most putrid performance in recent times, you may need to reconsider.
This latest effort from Leon Cameron's side takes the cake. The Giants utterly embarrassed themselves on Thursday evening when they faced a depleted Swans outfit -- which has been languishing in the bottom four all year -- and were pumped by 41 points.
GWS managed just three goals for the entire game. Yep, THREE goals. Not only that, but all of their majors came courtesy of free kicks.
The Giants failed to display any sort of hunger or pressure, allowing their cross-town rival to humiliate them and expose some significant chinks in their armour.
"We need to have some home truths in the coming days in the review and clearly that's not going to be a great review," Cameron told reporters after the game. "We need to cop our right whack because one team turned up and the other didn't tonight and that's really disappointing and we've got nine days to prepare for a huge challenge."
The loss sees GWS lose touch with the top four. So much for that big, big sound...
Mason Wood: He's been North Melbourne's perennial tease for years. High in potential but inconsistent in return, Wood is now playing for his career ... and that's only if he gets another crack in 2020.
The soon-to-be 27-year-old had a two-minute patch to forget late in North's eventual one-point loss to the Lions, and it's a performance that might have sealed his fate.
With five minutes remaining in the contest, the Roos were on the march. Breaking quickly from half back, Wood fluffed an uncontested mark on the forward flank which would have put Brisbane's defence under a mountain of pressure. He would have had a spare man to handball to inside, who then would have had one-on-ones inside 50.
At this stage, the Roos were down by just seven points. Barely one minute later, Wood was on the receiving end of an outlet handpass in space - again with a free man on the inside but lacked the awareness to dish it off, instead taking a few steps and being caught holding the ball. They were two massive moments and the Lions kicked what ended up being the eventual sealer (just!) courtesy of Oscar McInerney not long after.
Overall, Wood managed just six disposals for the match. He had five turnovers, gave away two free kicks (including a bizarre and somewhat blatant throw), and had just one tackle from 84 percent game time. According to the AFL Player Ratings, he was the second-worst player on the ground, behind fringe Lion Matt Eagles.
In 2020, Wood is averaging just seven touches and is yet to kick a goal this season. Being out of contract at the end of this year, it's hard to see North persisting any further with him, given he has teased fans for far too long.
The question now is, which team -- if any -- is willing to take the punt?
Bombers forwards: Against St Kilda, Essendon won more of the ball and had more clearances and inside 50s, yet could only tally a score of 33 points in a disappointing six-goal loss.
There wasn't a single Bomber forward who played any kind of role to justify selection in next week's game against Richmond.
Shaun McKernan was perhaps the most disappointing of the lot, finishing the game with just four touches, no goals, and spending most of his afternoon arguing with the umpires.
James Stewart also failed to hit the scoreboard. He had five disposals for the game, the same number as Josh Begley who made a series of horror mistakes in the first half which led to Saints goals.
Jacob Townsend and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti both kicked a goal, but were relatively unsighted.
Yes, Joe Daniher and Jake Stringer in particular leave big holes in attack, but it was a performance that must have left both John Worsfold and Ben Rutten concerned about the viability of this forward line going forward.