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What a week of footy – I tipped a massive five out of nine this week and honestly, I consider myself lucky. There’s plenty to talk about, and some big calls that it’s time to make. It’s time for some quick takes.
It’s a race in six for the premiership
Last year after just two weeks of footy I cut the AFL down to size saying there were only six teams left in the premiership race – and yes, the Western Bulldogs were one of them.
This year I have waited a little bit longer, but I’m ready to chop it down. Here we go.
The Favourites: Adelaide Crows. The last undefeated team left in the game, and they make kicking goals look easy. One measure ahead of every other club in the league right now.
The Challengers: GWS Giants. They got slammed by the Crows in Round 1 so they’re a little lower down than them, but that game aside they’ve been almost just as good. Firmly in the mix.
There’s a serious chance you could reasonably just cut the list there – but given that there’s still 17 weeks left in the home-and-away season, let’s give a few teams the benefit of the doubt.
The Superstars: Geelong Cats. Richmond Tigers. Neither team is as good as the two above it, but both have enough star power to win any game they go into, if their A-graders lift them up and carry them over the line – in exactly the way that neither’s did on Sunday. It’s less likely, but maybe it could happen four weeks in a row. Maybe.
The ‘could still put it all together’: Western Bulldogs. West Coast Eagles. Yes, go ahead and laugh, I’m still holding out hope that my pre-season tip of the Eagles could come off – they and the Bulldogs still have the talent for mine, but aren’t in the right form. There’s still time – but not a lot of it – for them to click their fingers and make magic happen.
Richmond’s next move will make or break their season
I just said a team is still in premiership mix, minutes after they got slammed by more than twelve goals. Am I completely nuts? Yes, probably.
That said, GWS lost by not a much smaller margin than that to the Crows in Round 1, and I don’t think anyone’s denying they are very much in contention.
Plenty of good teams will get torn apart by Adelaide this year, it’s not something to be ashamed of.
Richmond’s excellent start to the season came thanks to a new brand of football and some building confidence. It’s been great to watch.
Most importantly, their stars have shined – it’s those players who need to take them deep in finals, because while there is some talent in the rest of the squad, it doesn’t compare to those super deep teams like the Crows and the Giants.
What’s Richmond’s morale going to be like next week when they line up Western Bulldogs? Can they still play with confidence, or will they fall apart now that they’ve had a knock?
Time will tell, and when we find out, we’ll know whether or not Richmond really are a top quality side in 2017.
When the stars don’t shine, Collingwood crunch the Cats
Patrick Dangerfield – 21 touches, one goal. Joel Selwood – 17 disposals. Tom Hawkins – one goal. Harry Taylor – too busy wandering around the forward line to be an elite defender.
When Geelong’s four star players faltered, Collingwood took advantage and got their second win of the season, consigning the Cats to their first loss.
What does it all mean? To start with, the talk around Nathan Buckley is going to drop off very quickly – for a time at least.
Collingwood deserve some credit for keeping those star players out of the game (Levi Greenwood strikes again), and letting their own do what they do best.
However their forward line still wasn’t as accurate as you’d hope, and they still relied on their dominant midfield ability to get over the line.
That’s not to say it isn’t a damned good day to be a Pies fan, and they should soak up every minute of joy they can get out of this win.
But have they really made a change for the better, or just caught a lucky break? Time will tell.
Gary’s still got it
It’s hard to believe that a month ago we had questions going around over Gary Ablett’s form – not that it wasn’t warranted at the time perhaps, but after a performance like his on Saturday night’s, that seems like a distant memory indeed.
45 disposals, 26 of them kicks, 18 clearances, 10 inside 50s, nine tackles, four goal assists and a goal of his own – statistically, up there with the best games he has ever played, though blemished slightly by giving away two free kicks directly in front of North Melbourne goal.
It was the kind of superstar performance that can drag a team over the line, and it nearly did. Had Tom Lynch gotten off the leash a little more, then those two bright Suns would surely have delivered a victory.
If Ablett can finish the year in this kind of form, it’ll only add more drama to the question of his future. He can’t possibly be allowed to retire when he’s capable of playing this kind of footy – so will he keep shining at the Suns, or become part of the scariest midfield trio of all time at the Cats?
The Hawks and the Swans ain’t what they used to be
If there was any doubt before this week, there no longer is – whatever it was that Sydney and Hawthorn have had these past five or so years, they’ve lost it.
Many, including myself, thought Hawthorn had roared back into life last week with a win over West Coast – but a 75-point shellacking from St Kilda made it clear that for now, bad Hawthorn is the real Hawthorn.
As for Sydney, well, they used to be known for the defensive ability and work ethic. On Saturday they got out worked in both categories by Carlton and in doing so dropped to 0-6.
Enormous credit has to go to Carlton for that performance, of course. The talent may still be developing but if they continue to build that brand of footy, they can be a good team when it does.
The Hawks and Swans are just average teams now, and that’s a fact that has thrown this season into chaos. What happens next to both will be fascinating to watch.
Brad must keep backing the kids in
North Melbourne dropped Andrew Swallow and Lindsay Thomas this week, and North Melbourne got their first win of the year.
Of course, it’s not as simple as just that – the Roos were up against probably the most beatable opponent they’ve faced all year and that certainly didn’t hurt.
But this was the same sort of situation that North Melbourne were in against Geelong, the Bulldogs and Fremantle. On those occasions they faltered, on this one they didn’t.
Maybe that comes down to the young players understanding that the coach has faith in them – that it’s their responsibility, not that of the old stagers.
The Roos are in for a tough week next week, up against the all-conquering Crows, who very much like to do damage. It’s not likely to be a pretty affair.
If the match turns ugly – and odds are it will – Brad Scott can’t afford to go back into his shell. Keep backing the kids in.
Bad kicking, unsurprisingly, is still bad footy
Nine goals, nineteen behinds from the Western Bulldogs on Friday night. One goal, six behinds from Joe Daniher on Sunday against the Demons.
To Collingwood’s credit they got a win despite only being average in front of goal, but that kind of event is very much the exception to the rule these days.
There’s not a whole lot more to be said here – professional footballers should be able to execute a skill more than half the time, and when they don’t, their teams can’t expect to win.
Who knows if there’s a solution out there but if there is, the Bulldogs and the Bombers should spend most of this week looking for it.