The Five Best Moments of the 2022 AFL Season

Did your favourite make the cut?

The AFL season is done and dusted, and it’s been a huge year.

Before finals get underway and everyone goes nuts, we thought we’d have a look at our favourite moments of this year – the glorious, the heart-warming and the hilarious.

5. Noah Anderson’s after-the-siren kick to win.

Gold Coast had previously only won one game with a kick after the siren – against Richmond in Round 16, 2012.

No one expected the same thing to happen in this year’s Gold Coast v Richmond clash.

At three-quarter time, Richmond was up by 28 points, but a late surge from the Suns and some bad mistakes from the Tigers put Gold Coast within one goal.

In the final seconds, the ball found its way to Noah Anderson in the forward 50, on a tight angle in front of goal.

Never in doubt, Anderson slotted the goal in perfect form, putting Gold Coast ahead by two points, and causing cheers to erupt across the country.

4. Josh J. Kennedy’s Final Game.

Few forwards have had an impact on a club like Josh Kennedy has had on the West Coast Eagles.

And in Round 21, Josh Kennedy played his final game in the blue and yellow, and not wanting to disappoint, kicked a massive eight goals.

The two-time Coleman Medallist, three-time All-Australian and 2018 premiership player played his 293^rd game in magnificent form and was chaired off to uproarious applause.

3. Everything Flagmantle.

If 2022 has been the year of anything, it’s been the year of Flagmantle.

There was a lot of excitement around Fremantle to start this year, and it all began with Heath Chapman’s brilliant spoil to win the game in Round one.

From there, it’s been a huge year for Freo – two winning Derbies, ending Melbourne’s winning streak and racking up a few huge wins along the way.

Freo are now in the finals for the first time since 2015, and with only a few games left until David Mundy’s retirement, the buzz around Fremantle is still very much alive.

2. Jordan Dawson’s huge Showdown-winning kick.

In hindsight, we know that Port Adelaide had a rough start to the season, with five losses in a row.

But back in round three, not all was lost for the Power, and in the Adelaide showdown, they looked poised to get their first win of the season.

Then – on the siren, Adelaide were two points down and the Crows’ Lachie Murphy won a free kick on a tight angle in front of the Adelaide goal.

But Murphy’s neck was in too much pain, so the responsibility fell to ex-Sydney player Jordan Dawson, playing just his third game for the Crows.

45 metres out, Dawson kicked the ball, and for a few moments, it looked like all was lost – but it wasn’t over yet.

The ball curved back in like a banana, and slotted in for the six points, giving Adelaide the win and causing the crowd to erupt.

1. Buddy Franklin’s 1000^th Goal.

This was not just a great moment for AFL Fans, but for sporting fans across the globe.

Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin slotted his 1000^th career goal in the third quarter in Sydney’s round two match against Geelong, becoming only the sixth player to ever do so.

The crowd, and the country erupted, rushing the field surrounding the legend.

There isn’t a footy fan alive who watched that moment and didn’t feel huge pride and excitement.

This was truly one for the history books.

Header image: AFL.