2012 countdown: Top 10 surprises

The best pictures of the 2012 AFL season

MELBOURNE'S shock win over Essendon, Carlton's demise and Brock McLean's tanking bomb rank among the top 10 surprises of 2012.

As we count down the rest of the week we'll name the highlights, lowlights and simply strange moments of the year in footy in a countdown of top 10 countdowns.

We've well and truly kicked off the countdowns with the best 10 AFL games of 2012,the top 10 marks, the top 10 goals, the top 10 brain fades, the top 10 individual performances and the top 10 recruits of 2012. Yesterday, it was the top 10 departures.

Today the countdown continues with the top 10 surprises of the year.

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10. Brett Duncanson's teary resignation

Former Port Adelaide president Brett Duncanson caught everyone by a surprise when he wept during his final address at the helm of the embattled club. The Power boss resigned a day after coach Matthew Primus was sacked in the fall out of the club's shock loss to Greater Western Sydney. Duncanson broke down when he came to thank his family during the press conference at Alberton. He said the board had asked him to continue but he wanted to give the club "clean air". "To continue as president of this football club would lead to constant speculation about its leadership and would not be in the best interests of the club," he said at the time.

9. Andrew Demetriou's mid-season holiday

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou copped flak when he jetted off for a mid-season family holiday to Europe including a flying visit to the London Olympic Games. Former Hawthron president Jeff Kennett branded the northern summer sojourn as an "abuse" of his position. "I think six weeks is beyond the pale…," he told SEN radio. "I can understand having a holiday…six weeks mid-season I think that is an abuse of the employment that you currently occupy." Demetriou was absent during the AFL's handling of a number of incidents including Magpie Sharrod Wellingham's high bump on Blue Kade Simpson, goal review blunders, the unveiling of Essendon's grey strip and pitch invaders at Etihad Stadium.

8. Adelaide's rise

Adelaide made the most of its much publicised "easy draw" to rocket up the AFL ladder under rookie coach Brenton Sanderson. The Crows pounced early, winning the NAB Cup, before going on to snare the four points in eight of the first 10 games of the season proper. Emerging star Patrick Dangerfield led the Crows early-season domination along with Rory Sloane, power forward Taylor Walker and veteran Scott Thompson. But it was in defence where Adelaide improved drastically during 2012 with the unveiling of Rising Star winner Daniel Talia and Sam Shaw. Adelaide's meteoric rise ended in a thrilling preliminary final loss to Hawthorn at the MCG.

7. Gold Coast stuns Carlton/Blues finals flop

Carlton had everything to play for. A finals berth, Brett Ratten's job and the opportunity for a much needed percentage boost leading into September. But the Tom Lynch and Gary Ablett led Gold Coast had other ideas with the Suns charging to a 38-point half time lead when the two sides met at Carrara in Round 22. The rattled Blues rallied in the third quarter outscoring the Suns five goals to one but it was not to be enough to avoid an embarrassing 12-point loss. Lynch starred up forward with four goals while Ablett collected 23 disposals. But the damage was already done, with injuries to key players derailing Carlton's campaign. The Blues launched 2012 in style with three wins from as many starts including a10-goal annihilation of Collingwood in Round 3. But fast forward seven weeks and the Blues, rocked by injuries to Andrew Carrazzo and Marc Murphy, copped an eight-goal hiding at the hands of AFL straggler Port Adelaide. Carlton won just five of its last 13 games to finish a disappointing 10th on the AFL table.

6. Swans win flag

Sydney took the AFL by storm in 2012, flying under the radar, on its way to a fifth flag. The Swans burst out of the blocks with five successive victories to propel to "flag favouritism". But losses in Rounds 6 and 7 put the Swans back on the outer at the Hawthorn, Collingwood and Essendon juggernauts continued to run amok. The Swans responded after losing three in four weeks to put on a nine-game win streak ended by Collingwood in a thriller at ANZ Stadium. Despite losing their last two games of the home and away season, the Swans rallied in September to see off Adelaide, Collingwood and finally Hawthorn with the likes of Ryan O'Keefe, Josh Kennedy, Lewis Jetta and Dan Hannebery at the forefront.

5. Kurt Tippett saga

Show me the money Kurt Tippett found himself in hot water at the end of the season when his backroom contract negotiations was revealed. Tippett, who had set himself on a move back to his home state of Queensland, was all of a sudden the centre of trade talks after Sydney's late multi-million dollar bid for the 200cm forward. Tippett's interest in the Swans' big bucks bid soured relations at AAMI Stadium which he only fuelled with break up text message to Crows players. "Have absolutely loved playing alongside you all. You are all friends for life! I'll be in touch. Love KT." Tippett's text prompted Patrick Dangerfield to respond on Twitter with: "The club did absolutely everything it could. But you have to want to be apart (sic) of the footy club." The saga took a turn during the AFL's trade period when it was revealed Tippett's last contract with Adelaide, signed in 2009, included a $200,000 bonus outside the salary cap. Tippett was handed a 22-game ban – 11 suspended for the next five years – and fined $50,000 for his role in the deal. Tippett joined Sydney in the pre-season draft.

4. Brock McLean drops tanking bomb

Outspoken Carlton midfielder Brock McLean reignited the 'tanking' debate revealing Melbourne was "experimenting" in 2009, losing games to win draft picks. McLean told Fox Footy's On the Couch program that he left the Demons because he suspected the club was deliberately losing games. "Circumstance in the second half of the year never sat well with me", McLean said. When quizzed further he said: Well, they don't call it tanking…We would call it experimenting or whatever it was." McLean's admissions prompted a full-scale AFL investigation which included interviews of past and present Melbourne players, coaches and administrators. The AFL's five-month probe continues with Melbourne pledging to vigorously defend any charges laid against the club.

3. Lenny Hayes' heart condition

The football world was shocked when it was announced St Kilda champion Lenny Hayes had undergone surgery to repair a leaky valve in his heart. Hayes slipped into the Epworth Hospital in September for what the 263-game veteran described as a "simple heart procedure" despite walking out with a 24cm scar from the top of the chest plate to below the sternum.

2. Fremantle's first quarter blitz against Geelong in Elimination Final

Fremantle did the unthinkable in taming feared September beast Geelong in a stunning elimination final at the MCG. The Matthew Pavlich led Dockers piled on five unanswered goals in one of the games of the season. Pavlich slotted six goals – including three of the first five – to set up the "anyone, anytime, anywhere" Dockers 16-point victory after mini final-quarter Cats fight back. The result sent the Cats, who had won three of the past five flags, packing in what would be the club's worst result since 2006.

1. Melbourne triumph over Essendon

It was the upset of the season. Essendon, brimming with confidence after an 8-1 start, was expected to brush a winless Melbourne aside when the two sides met in Round 10. But the Demons had other ideas in front of 42,987 fans outlasting the Bombers in a gruelling four-quarter performance. Melbourne trailed by eight points going into the final change when coach Mark Neeld pulled off a masterstroke in sending defender Colin Garland forward. The switch paid instant rewards with Garland slotting two last-quarter goals as the Demons held on for a thrilling six-point victory.

Follow Gilbert Gardiner on Twitter @gilbert0408

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