Was round 18 the weekend that we officially put a line through another premiership contender?The Western Bulldogs -- who have thrilled crowds all year with their run-and-gun style of play -- were batted, bruised and badly beaten on Saturday night in what could turn out to be the most pivotal night of their season. While the 15-point loss to St Kilda was hard enough to swallow, it was the serious injuries which they picked up that has many doubting whether the Dogs can have a serious tilt at the flag.Mitch Wallis fractured his tibia and fibula in a horrific collision with Shane Savage, before key forward Jack Redpath ruptured his ACL. Both players will miss the remainder of the season, while Dale Morris may also spend time on the sidelines after tweaking his hamstring earlier in the contest.With the Dogs on the slide, West Coast, Geelong and North Melbourne managed to keep their top-four hopes alive as Greater Western Sydney came from behind against the Power to snatch second spot.?The jostling for position ahead of September has been fascinating to watch with every game, and margin, proving critical as only a small percentage separates second down to seventh.But its the evergreen Hawks that continue to hold onto top spot of the ladder -- two games clear of the chasing pack.Speaking of the Hawks, a special mention must go to Sam Mitchell who starred in his 300th match with 38 disposals. What a terrific player he has been since entering the competition in 2002.HEROESSam Gibson:?Friday nights clash with Collingwood was must-win for the confidence-sapped Kangaroos and a dominant display by winger Sam Gibson went a long way in securing the four points. The 30-year-old racked up a game-high 33 disposals, took seven marks and kicked a great goal, but it was his gritty first half along with Daniel Wells that set the win up as the Roos stormed out to an early seven goal lead. If North Melbourne are to rediscover their early season form, Gibson will need to play more consistent football as his link up play from half-back to half-forward is first rate.?The Roos have stopped the free fall for now and will take some confidence leading into this weekends AFL/ VFL games record breaking game for Brent Harvey.Patrick Cripps vs. Josh Kennedy: Two of the competitions most elite hard-ball winners fought brilliantly at the SCG. Cripps -- the youngest player in AFL history to reach 250 clearances -- had 32 disposals and laid a career-high 13 tackles in his sides six point loss to Sydney. The 21-year-old has played some memorable games already in his short career, but his effort on Saturday shows why many expect him to be Cartons next captain. Josh Kennedy continued his consistent season with 35 disposals, six tackles and an important goal. It was Kennedy who sparked the Swans into life after a rather lacklustre opening quarter.Tom Rockliff: To say the Brisbane Lions have been under the pump this season is a massive understatement. In times of crisis, you look to your captain, and Tom Rockliff was inspirational in leading his side to a 37-point win over Essendon to finally snap a 12-game losing streak. Although it came against the lowly Bombers, Rockliff was tireless in his pursuit to win the ball in congestion, and his gutsy performance will work wonders on the clubs younger, developing players. Rockliff wasnt the only Lion to star with Daniel Rich, Pearce Hanley, Stefan Martin and Mitch Robinson all having a tremendous influence on the match. Its the sort of win that will provide coach Justin Leppitsch with a slight reprieve, now they just need to build upon it.VILLAINSEssendons goalkicking:?Its hard to be critical of a struggling side thats missing a dozen of their best 22, but Essendons goalkicking in 2016 has been nothing short of atrocious. It seems ridiculous that they dont have a full-time goalkicking coach with their returns being so poor each week. The Bombers -- who currently pose few attacking threats -- hold the worst goalkicking accuracy of the competition by a significant margin. From their 17 matches this season, Essendon sit dead last in converting their chances with only 41.5 percent of shots registering a goal, significantly below the AFL average of 50.6 percent.Melbournes late fade out:?For a side that hasnt had much luck on the road in recent years, Saturday afternoons last-quarter capitulation at Domain Stadium will be rued as the one that got away. While they are a young team on the rise that can take plenty of positives out of their clash against the finals-bound Eagles, the Demons, if they are honest with themselves, need to take a good look in the mirror and wonder how they surrendered the contest. They Demons manufactured 66 inside 50s to the Eagles 37 and led at every change only to fail to kick a goal in the final quarter and fall to their 17th consecutive Perth defeat. For the Demons, they will lament a landmark opportunity that got away.Port Adelaide:?With their finals hopes on the line, Port Adelaide failed to capitalise against the Greater Western Sydney Giants, despite looking in control for the majority of the match. The Power outclassed their opponents for two and a half quarters only to relinquish all control of the game. The Giants kicked four goals in a 10-minute third-quarter burst that buried the Power and their hopes of a top-eight finish. Ken Hinkley will be disappointed that his side was unable to curb the influence of Stephen Coniglio, Dylan Shiel and Devon Smith, who outsmarted them inside forward 50. Wholesale Shoes Cheap China . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Wholesale Shoes Online . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. http://www.wholesaleshoescheap.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Shoes Cheap Free Shipping .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Wholesale Mens Shoes . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Its no surprise that one of the most coveted volleyball recruits out of high school is already an impact player in college.Wisconsins Molly Haggerty makes the game look easy, though credit for some of that goes to teammate Lauren Carlini and the Badgers coaching staff. The 6-foot-1 freshman outside hitter, the espnW player of the week, averaged 5.88 kills per set last weekend and packed 27 kills into three sets in the Badgers sweep at Texas A&M.Haggerty picked right back up at Texas on Sunday, with 20 more kills, 14 digs and five aces to propel No. 3 Wisconsin past the 2015 national runner-up, which was ranked second at the time. The Badgers (8-1) denied Texas three match points in a 20-18 final set.The gym was very loud, said Haggerty, who has three career double-doubles in her nine collegiate matches. But the whole match, the team was composed and calm. We never really panicked. Being new to this team, it was really cool to see how relaxed we were on the court. That kept us going in the right direction.Playing alongside Carlini, one of the best setters in the game, helps. The two Illinois natives are old friends from their club volleyball days at Sports Performance.Lauren definitely helped expedite Mollys learning curve, Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield said.Carlinis ability to be consistently precise with the ball, he said, allows Haggerty to shine.Theres no stop-and-go, he said. Molly can accelerate without hesitation.Haggerty does most things at full velocity. Winning the national championship is a goal of most elite players; Haggerty is determined to win four -- all part of 10 volleyball goals for her collegiate career that she has written down. The others include four Big Ten championships for Wisconsin and winning conference freshman of the year and national frreshman of the year for herself.ddddddddddddAs lofty as that might sound, consider her high school years. Haggerty led St. Francis High in Wheaton, Illinois, to four state titles, including one her senior year, when the school moved up in classification from 3A to 4A. Her club team won four AAU national championships. Twice in that span, she earned MVP honors, and twice she earned All-America honors.My freshman year of high school, the goals I set were winning four state championships, she said. Same thing for college. My goals wont change because I aim high -- not low.Competitiveness is in her nature, whether its her favorite card game, Trash, or enjoying HORSE in the driveway with sisters Meghan and Maddie. All the Haggerty children are Division I athletes. Meghan starred for Nebraska volleyball, and Maddie plays volleyball at Michigan State. Brother Ryan played basketball at Milwaukee.Molly gave a verbal commitment to Nebraska volleyball her sophomore year but decided it wasnt the best fit for her and switched to Wisconsin.Everybodys known who she was since she was very young, Sheffield said. A lot of top-level kids come into college as great athletes, really good at one or two skills. Shes just a really good all-around player, whether its attacking, blocking, passing, swinging, defense. The great thing is theres also so much room for her to grow. Im excited to have four years with her.Haggerty and her unbridled enthusiasm await conference play, which starts this weekend with home games against Ohio State and Maryland.The Big Ten is so strong, she said. Growing up, I always watched the Big Ten, so Im very excited to be playing in it. ' ' '