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Key talking points from AFL Round 7

Roar Guru
17th May, 2015
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Roar Guru
17th May, 2015
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Almost a third of the 2015 AFL season has passed and it’s now becoming more clearer as to which teams we should be watching out for come finals time.

Roos hold off Dons, but fall short of a berth in the eight on percentage
Just when it was thought that the Essendon supplements saga was well and truly dead and buried, suddenly the news arose during the week that WADA would be appealing the not-guilty verdict handed to the 34 past and present players involved in the club’s 2012 supplements program.

That appeared to conspire against the Bombers as they crashed to an 11-point loss to North Melbourne to kick off Round 7, but coach James Hird refused to use that as an excuse for their defeat.

Instead, they were simply outworked by a more committed North Melbourne outfit which recorded consecutive wins for the first time this year, but in the end did not do enough to push into the eight, the Western Bulldogs’ slightly better percentage (100% to the Roos’ 99.9%) seeing them sit in eighth to the Roos’ ninth.

Brad Scott’s men will get another chance to break into the top half of the ladder when they face the undefeated Fremantle Dockers in Perth this Saturday night.

In their favour is the fact that they did beat the Dockers in their previous meeting, which also took place in the west. The trip across the Nullarbor doesn’t seem to hold any fear for the Roos, who also beat the Eagles in the west last year as well.

It now remains to be seen whether North Melbourne can become the first team to beat the Dockers this season. The Bombers, meanwhile, will host the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium next Sunday.

Forwards power Crows to victory over Saints
Phil Walsh’s first season in charge of the Adelaide Crows continued impressively as the club overcame a slow start to defeat St Kilda by 46 points at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon.

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The win came on the back of a five-star performance from their forward line, with Eddie Betts (six goals), Tom Lynch and captain Taylor Walker (three each) kicking 12 goals between them.

Betts, in particular, kicked at least five goals for the third consecutive week and in doing so closed to within a goal of the Coleman Medal lead, which is held by West Coast’s Josh Kennedy (27 goals).

The performance of the Crows’ forward line will be first and foremost of the worries their opponents next week, the GWS Giants, who they face this coming Saturday afternoon.

The Crows have developed a habit of feasting on the young club, none more so than in Round 7, 2013, when Lynch came of age with a ten-goal performance in front of a small Sydney crowd of only 5,830.

But with the Giants’ attack, defence and team performance overall improving as many expect it to this season, we could be in for either a shootout or a close match between the two sides instead.

While Eddie Betts sits in second on the Coleman Medal tally with 26 goals, GWS forward Jeremy Cameron is not far behind, sitting in third place with 24 majors to his name.

The question will be whether the Crows’ forward arsenal can repeat its performance this Saturday, or whether the Giants’ well-organised defence, led by ex-Crow Phil Davis, can shut them down when the two sides clash in Sydney this Saturday.

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Hawks bounce back as Dees are thrashed again
After a strangely inconsistent start to this season, in which they are yet to win consecutive matches, it appears that Hawthorn are finally appearing to return to their best form.

Their stop-start form continued on Saturday as they thrashed Melbourne by 105 points at the MCG, the result seeing Paul Roos suffer the heaviest defeat of his distinguished 231-game coaching career.

After the Dees kicked the first two goals, it appeared as though the Hawks were heading for yet another upset defeat. But the two-time reigning premiers would unleash their anger, kicking 24 of the next 29 goals to romp their way to a 12th consecutive victory over the oldest club in the AFL.

Taking nothing away from the Hawks, it was as poor as a performance the Dees have produced under Roos, their previous worst being a 93-point drubbing by the West Coast Eagles at the MCG in Round 2 last year.

It was the third consecutive week in which they scored exactly 50 points, and now it seems their early-season victories over the Gold Coast Suns and Richmond are now anything but a distant memory.

However, having now overcome their toughest three-week block yet, the club can look forward to a winnable Round 8 showdown against the Western Bulldogs next Sunday at the MCG.

As for the Hawks, their huge victory has set them up well for next week’s grand final rematch against the Sydney Swans, who are also tracking very well this early in the season.

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It will be one of the matches to watch this coming weekend and will be previewed in full later this week.

No Giant letdown for GWS as Malthouse faces uncertain future
The topic of a letdown following GWS’ impressive victory over Hawthorn was brought up by the leadership group during the week, but it didn’t become an issue as they continued their impressive start to the season with a record 78-point thrashing of Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

The fourth-year club entered their match against the Blues as hot favourites and more than justified that tag, posting a club record margin and score as they extended their season record to five wins and two losses.

The Giants won every quarter to prove that last week’s upset victory over the Hawks was no fluke, with Jeremy Cameron continuing to rediscover the form that saw him kick 62 goals and earn All-Australian selection two seasons ago.

But as good as the performance by Leon Cameron’s men was, it was yet another dismal effort from the Blues and club great Mark Maclure came out to suggest that coach Mick Malthouse could be sacked as early as this week.

However, Blues president Mark LoGiudice has continued to reiterate that Malthouse will see out the remainder of this season, after which the board will decide whether he stays on beyond this season or not.

Already former West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold has emerged as a potential replacement for Malthouse, and at age 46 (he turns 47 in September), he may provide a fresh input for the beleaguered club which made the huge (and perhaps wrong) call to sack favourite son Brett Ratten at the end of 2012.

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After their latest debacle, the Blues will be embracing for yet another week of intense media scrutiny, while the Giants will now set their sights on attempting to shut down the Crows’ forward arsenal of Eddie Betts, Tom Lynch and Taylor Walker, who shared twelve goals between them against the Saints at the Oval.

Strong second half sees Swans home against Cats
The Sydney Swans continue to demonstrate why they are premiership contenders in 2015, a strong second half seeing them post a 43-point victory over the Geelong Cats at ANZ Stadium.

After being held goalless against Melbourne last week, resulting in a box of donuts being found in his locker room as a joke, Buddy Franklin returned to his best and kicked four goals, but the star of the night was the ever-improving Luke Parker.

Seen as a captain-in-waiting, Parker kicked a personal best five goals as the Swans came from nine points down at half-time to run over the top of the Cats, who produced a far more better performance than in the corresponding match last year, in which they copped a 110-point hiding at the SCG.

The Cats appeared to have carried on the form which saw them defeat Collingwood last week in the first half, but the late withdrawal of Tom Hawkins, a serious foot injury to Mitch Duncan and a below-par performance from captain Joel Selwood all proved to be the difference between them and the Swans.

The Swans can now look forward to next week’s grand final rematch against Hawthorn, who will still be without suspended captain Luke Hodge as he completes his three-match suspension stemming from Round 5, with some confidence.

It was the Hawks who handed them a 63-point thrashing in the season finale last year, but the Swans, based on their performance against the Cats, should provide a much better performance this Saturday night even though there is nothing to be won for the winner.

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Eagles bully Suns into submission
The West Coast Eagles’ status as the competition’s flat track bullies once again became a hot topic after they handed the Gold Coast Suns a 92-point humiliation at Domain Stadium on Saturday night.

The last time Rodney Eade coached at the ground he was in Western Bulldogs colours, and he watched on as Josh Kennedy kicked ten goals for the Eagles as they thrashed his side by 123 points nearly four years ago to the day.

And the last time the Eagles played at home, the club were at their ruthless best as they restricted Greater Western Sydney to their lowest score since late 2012, while piling on 18 goals themselves.

Thus, the recipe was there for an ugly night for the Suns, and that’s exactly what happened as their inexperienced defence coughed up 21 goals, with four of them coming from (yes, you guessed it) Josh Kennedy before he was unwillingly subbed out in the third quarter, by the end of which the Eagles had built a 102-point lead.

Coach Adam Simpson said that he subbed Kennedy out as a precaution to the elbow injury he suffered against the Giants a fortnight ago, which could have potentially ended his season.

The Eagles cooled off in the final quarter, during which the Suns kicked four meaningless goals to prevent the margin blowing out further. Still, it didn’t prevent the struggling Suns from crashing to their worst defeat for quite some time.

And with matches against Collingwood, Hawthorn, the Sydney Swans and Fremantle to come in the next month, it’s very hard seeing the club’s fortunes turning around in the short-term.

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Freo stay unbeaten but not without a scare
Fremantle remains the competition’s pace-setters after surviving a ferocious comeback from the Western Bulldogs to post a 13-point victory and thus keep alive their best ever start to a season.

The Dockers looked set for a regulation day in the office when they kicked the first five goals, then led by as much as 34 points in the second quarter before the Bulldogs launched a huge comeback to peg level with six minutes remaining.

However, Ross Lyon’s men were able to come away with the win, with club veteran Matthew Pavlich kicking the match-sealing goal with 30 seconds to go, thus keeping them two games clear on top of the ladder.

While the Western Bulldogs did provide the Dockers a tough challenge, North Melbourne could present an even tougher challenge when you consider the fact that the Roos did beat the Dockers in Round 6 last season and are capable of beating the top teams such as the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn.

The Dockers could face the Roos without Brownlow Medal favourite Nat Fyfe, who was booked for tripping in the third quarter but could yet escape with a fine if the judiciary deem it not to be serious.

Fyfe or no Fyfe, and ignoring their loss to the Roos last year, the Dockers should still start favourites to win on Saturday night and keep intact their undefeated start to season 2015.

Tigers end seven-year curse against Pies
Following a week of criticism following their loss to North Melbourne in Hobart, Richmond secured a much-needed win and ended a long seven-year hoodoo against Collingwood by way of a narrow five-point victory at the MCG on Sunday.

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The Tigers appeared set for another long afternoon when the Pies led by 20 points at the first change, but a nine-goal second quarter saw the Tigers take the lead and after several lead changes, were able to hang on for the win when it mattered most.

To say the least, Damien Hardwick’s men have not performed up to expectations this season, in which they were expected to contend for a top-four position following a pair of elimination final exits in the last two years.

A loss to the Pies would have caused serious ramifications for the Tigers, who would have crashed to a season record of 2-7 had they not gotten up. But now, at 3-4, and currently 10th on the ladder, they will be poised to break into the eight when they head to the Oval to take on Port Adelaide next Sunday.

It will be the first trip to the City of Churches for the Tigers since they copped a 57-point hiding from the Power in last year’s finals series, which put to an abrupt end their famous late-season run which saw them win nine straight matches and rise from as low as 16th after Round 14 to eighth by the end of Round 23.

With the Power currently struggling for form, this presents a good chance for Damien Hardwick’s men to extract some revenge for that poor defeat while at the same time continuing their own season resurgence.

Lions turn off embarrassing Power
After defeating Carlton for their first win of the season last week, the Brisbane Lions had every reason to be confident that it could defeat Port Adelaide at the Gabba on Sunday night.

After all, the Power arrived at the Gabba on the back of an upset 10-point loss to the West Coast Eagles and without a victory in the Sunshine capital since 2007. Despite this poor record, Ken Hinkley’s men still entered the match against the Lions as hot favourites.

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However, they were made to look second rate as they crashed to an embarrassing 37-point loss to the previously bottom-placed Lions, thus keeping them outside the eight and with questions continuing to be asked about their premiership credentials in 2015.

High-profile recruit Dayne Beams and former Rising Star winner Daniel Rich picked up 55 possessions between them as the Lions broke through for their first win at the Gabba this season.

Coach Justin Leppitsch will be pleased at the output of his Lions side as they dominated last year’s preliminary finalists after quarter-time, for easily the club’s best win since he took over as coach at the end of the 2013 season.

The win also represented a 150-point turnaround from their previous meeting with the Power, which ended in a 113-point defeat at the Adelaide Oval as the Power marked a decade since their only AFL flag way back in 2004.

The Lions will now seek win number three when they take on Essendon at Etihad Stadium next Sunday, while the Power will return home to face Richmond at the Oval later that day.

Now taking a look at the ladder and once again both WA clubs sit 1-2 on the ladder, followed closely by the Sydney Swans, Adelaide Crows and GWS Giants. Hawthorn is the highest ranked Victorian club; they, Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs round out the eight.

Despite its win on Friday night, North Melbourne were denied a place in the eight by mere percentage, sitting in ninth position, while Carlton’s humiliating 13-goal loss to the Giants has seen it crash to the bottom of the ladder at the end of any round for the first time since claiming its most recent wooden spoon in 2006.

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