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Plenty of questions from massive week in AFL

18th September, 2011
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Roar Guru
18th September, 2011
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Lance Franklin of Hawthorn marks over Swans' Ted Richards.

Lance Franklin of Hawthorn marks over Swans' Ted Richards. Slattery Images.

To borrow a line from Collingwood President Eddie McGuire, “What a big week it has been in football.” One coach sacked, two coaches appointed and two cracking finals matches all gave rise to plenty of on-field and off-field questions. The answers to some will be evident in the next fortnight, while others will continue to puzzle for some time.

Why didn’t anyone see Ross Lyon’s move coming?

Comedian Dave Hughes put it best on Thursday night when he tweeted “So many AFL footy ‘experts’ talking and printing so much ‘inside info’ and none had any frickin idea that Ross Lyon was off to Freo.” Why didn’t anyone see this coming?

There has never been more attention focused on coaches, players and administrators of AFL clubs from fans and the media, yet the footy world was blindsided by Lyon’s defection on Thursday evening.

There was talk during the season that Ross Lyon wanted out of the Saints, but no one picked that a move to Fremantle was an option.

The Dockers clearly saw Lyon as a better coach that the incumbent Mark Harvey and swooped on their man without delay before anyone got wind of the impending coaching move.

Does loyalty still hold any importance in football?
Newly appointed Fremantle coach Ross Lyon was quizzed on his supposed lack of loyalty to his previous club, and was quick to point out that he had never mentioned loyalty as a motivating factor to his players in his time as Saints coach.

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Given these comments and Lyon’s move, can we pronounce loyalty in footy dead once and for all?

It can be argued that at one point players took to the field for the love of the jumper and loyalty to the club, nowadays it is as much for the money and stardom that comes with being a top-line AFL player.

Is it unfair to expect players and coaches to “owe” their clubs anything now that the game is fully professional?

Can anything stop a Geelong versus Collingwood Grand Final?
In each of the past four seasons, the two teams which have had the week off in the lead-up to the preliminary finals have gone on to play in the Grand Final.

This statistic combined with the fact that Geelong and Collingwood have been the best teams all season suggests that season 2011 will not be any different. The Eagles and Hawks will be out to prove otherwise.

West Coast defeated Geelong earlier this season, and will be confident of upsetting the Cats, although the Eagles win in round sixteen was in Perth, not at the MCG, where the two teams will face off on Saturday afternoon.

Hawthorn’s hopes of defeating a heavily fancied Mapgies team on Friday night rests squarely on the shoulders of star forward Lance Franklin.

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The Mapgies, on paper, are a superior side to the Hawks, and it appears only a Buddy Big Day (or Night) Out can stop the Mapgies making it back-to-back Grand Final appearances.

Can West Coast continue its fairytale season?
Last year’s cellar dweller has provided undoubtedly the best storyline of the 2011 AFL season. The 2010 season saw the Eagles win just four matches, yet a mere twelve months later they are one win away from a Grand Final berth.

The Eagles lost narrowly to premiership favourites Collingwood at the MCG nine days ago, and will be confident they can improve on this result when they face the Cats this Saturday at the same venue.

Win or lose, it has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the Eagles this season.

Can Mark Neeld bring success to the Demons?

Amidst the hysteria surrounding the move of Ross Lyon to Fremantle, the Demons signed Mark Neeld as their head coach on Saturday afternoon.

The former Collingwood assistant coach takes over a very talented list (albeit one now minus Tom Scully), and Neeld will be expected to take the Demons to the finals within the next two seasons.

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To do so, Neeld will need to give the Melbourne side a much needed harder edge and a greater emphasis on defensive efforts.

Did Carlton deserve a free kick in the dying minutes of its Semi-Final?

Carlton fans felt hard done by following the Blues narrow loss to the Eagles on Saturday night. Many felt that Blues player Andrew Walker deserved a free-kick in front of goal late in the match which would almost certainly have seen Carlton secure victory.

As the ball was pumped long into the Blues forward line, Walker appeared to be held by Eagles defender Darren Glass and appealed for a free kick.

While there is no doubt that Glass’s arm was around Walker’s midriff, there was not sufficient contact to warrant a free kick which would have decided which team played off in a preliminary final. Correct decision in my book.

Follow Michael on Twitter @MichaelFilosi

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