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The games your team would love to play again

Roar Guru
21st August, 2017
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Can Jake Lever make himself Adelaide's number one priority? (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
21st August, 2017
0

With ten teams heading into a politically correct Mad Monday next weekend, I thought it was time to look back at the games the teams heading into finals will be wishing they could play again.

Whether it lost a home final, a double chance or even a seat at the table, these are the games that got away.

Adelaide
With 15 wins and one hand on the McClelland Trophy it’s hard to be too critical of the probable minor premiers – but then that’s the whole point of this think piece. In Round 19 Collingwood rushed out of the gates but faltered at the final siren, letting the Crows escape with a draw that showed Adelaide were vulnerable.

It was not 64-points-down-at-quarter-time vulnerable, like in Round 7 against North Melbourne – that was shocking to the whole competition – but the draw with Collingwood being changed to a win would have locked up the minor premiership with a week to play.

Essendon
Moving to the other side of the ladder, Essendon’s one-point loss to Sydney and eight-point loss to Brisbane in Rounds 14 and 15 almost threatened to derail the Bombers fairy tale. It could be argued if Sydney kicked straighter, this result wouldn’t be so close, but losing the game by a point due to the Swans kicking the last three goals is heartbreaking.

Losing at Docklands to Brisbane is just unforgivable for a side aspiring to the top eight. The 11 goals, 16 behinds score was the culprit this time – Essendon was leading by four goals early in the fourth quarter but still lost the game. Change those results and a home final would be up for grabs this week rather than the prospect of a must-win game against Fremantle.

Geelong
I can’t go past Geelong’s loss to the Suns in Round 7. Gold Coast won every aspect of the game and should have won by more – the 71-48 inside-50 count told the tale. The match report reads as it looked watching it live: simple skill errors and players not working hard off the ball to support their mates.

It is particularly embarrassing considering where Gold Coast ended up by the end of the season and knowing that, had the result been reversed, Geelong would have been hosting Greater Western Sydney at home in the finals rather than likely having to make the trek up to Sydney.

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(Image: Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Greater Western Sydney
GWS is an interesting one, but Round 12 against Carlton stood out – the one-point loss spoke volumes. I remember watching that game on my phone, cheering Carlton on – which was weird for a Saints fan – as it was a game of spirited underdogs clawing for the win against a stronger opponent.

GWS should have won that game; they were easily the better team on paper, but on the field Carlton wanted it more and got the points. However, flip the result and GWS are top of the ladder taking and home the McClelland Trophy with a potentially easier road to the grand final.

Melbourne
Melbourne are going to be my fairy tale pick even though I don’t think they’ll make the big dance. Scarily, though, is that they would have 12 more points – which would put them second – if you flip the results of the games against Fremantle in Round 4 (a two-point loss), Hawthorn in Round 7 (a three-point loss) and North Melbourne in Round 19 (a four-point loss).

Young sides need time to develop, and I wish them well. A strong Melbourne is good for the league, but if they fall short, these games have to be ones the coaches will bring up in the post-season review as ones that got away.

Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide’s Round 10 loss to Geelong by two points is the game the Power would want to have again. A Dangerfield goal at the 29-minute mark of the fourth term was their undoing, but also sticking out is the nine free kicks for push-in-the-back offences. Other stats favour the Power, including clearances, contested possessions and hit-outs.

A ticket to the top four could have been theirs had this game gone the other way. They still might get that fourth spot, but Port Adelaide is likely taking the elimination route.

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Richmond
The Tigers were another team to go through a double header of heartbreak, going down to the Bulldogs in Round 7 by five points and then Fremantle by two in Round 8.

The salt in the wound was that the loss against Fremantle, a team with a poor record playing away, was at Richmond’s home at the MCG. This is surely a loss that stings, especially because it was the last kick of the game by David Mundy that sunk the Tigers. To be fair, though, the Dockers were leading by 30 points at three-quarter time and probably deserved to hang on.

The Bulldogs loss came up from kicking five first-quarter goals to one and then putting the cue in the rack and kicking six goals in remaining three terms. Flip these two results and the Bulldogs are off the finals radar and the Tigers are top of the league.

(Image: AAP Image/Julian Smith)

St Kilda
The less I write about this obvious match, the less I open the wound of Port kicking two goals back-to-back in front of a departing crowd. Round 19, ten points up at Adelaide Oval on a miserable night, should have been their first win at the venue, but it wasn’t to be. If this result went the way of the Saints, they would have been in the eight for the first time since 2011.

Sydney
The Swans were in a slump, so picking on their one-point loss to Collingwood in Round 3 would be a little too easy. Instead their current streak of losses to Hawthorn, in Rounds 10 and 19, by a goal are of note.

Hawthorn have the keys to the palace when it comes to beating the Swans: just don’t let them get a possession. Play keep-away and the Swans can’t score – footy sometimes can be a really simple game. Swap those results and the Swans would go on a streak to be comfortably inside the top four with their Giants cousins.

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Gold Coast
Gold Coast feature on the list a second time, this time for going down to the Eagles by three points in Round 11. The game was played on the Gold Coast, so the non-travel-savvy Eagles have that ready-made excuse.

Not having Josh Kennedy didn’t help, but a lack of composure by some of the more experienced Eagles hurt. The Suns winning the tackle count by 17 and the contested possession count by 19 shows that they were just hungrier for the ball. Swapping this result would have had them inside the eight instead of taking a likely early shower.

Of course this is just a simplistic view. Throw the crystal ball in the air and any permutations could be produced, but it shows just how close the 2017 season has been – and that all the contenders have skeletons that could cost them home finals, double chances or even a chance at glory.

But what do you think, Roarers – which games do you think your team would love to have a second chance at? Let us know in the comment section below.

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