Hawks captain Sam Mitchell tries to slip the tackle of Eagle Sam Butler during the AFL Round 13 match between the West Coast Eagles and the Hawthorn Hawks at Subiaco. Slattery Images
The criticism of Channel Ten promoting this weekend’s Essendon and Hawthorn clash with supposedly too much violence and not enough footy doesn’t stack up. After all, Ten might be onto something.
That “violent” footage they show – the heated aftermath of Matthew Lloyd’s bump on Brad Sewell – came from round 22 last year.
That match was not only the last time these two teams met, it was also the last time these two teams were placed in the position of having their seasons on the line.
Now, they are both 1-4 and in desperate need of a win.
If the Hawks lose, they face a prolonged uphill climb yet again, in the face of another injury crisis. They’ve had a tough draw to start the year, but losing last week to North Melbourne in Tasmania raised genuine eyebrows.
The injury excuse carries legitimacy – their big void-filling off-season recruits, Shaun Burgoyne and Josh Gibson, haven’t seen much action and their ruck stocks have been practically wiped out – but another loss would make it like 2009 all over again, although this time you’d think more than ten wins would be required for a top eight spot.
If the Bombers lose, meanwhile, they face an even bigger mountain and will almost certainly remove themselves from the finals race. Their playing style has come under attack, even from ex-players like Lloyd and Scott Lucas, and last week’s shellacking at the hands of Collingwood has put the spotlight on further.
Serious questions are already being asked of coach Matthew Knights, and another loss would not help that situation at all.
The timing of this game is absolutely perfect. Two strong rivals meeting to save their season – can you seriously blame Ten for anticipating a heated battle?
But they won’t be the only rivals going at it, of course.
Over the weekend the AFL would once dub Rivalry Round, a number of clubs face being forced into an unenviable position.
West Coast are also 1-4 and whilst John Worsfold might have confidently emerged from his meeting with the club board this week, the pressure is sure to go up a notch if they drop another derby to Fremantle.
The Eagles have lost to their cross-town rivals in their last five encounters. They haven’t triumphed since Mark Harvey took over as Dockers coach.
Fremantle have had a cracking start to the year but as is so often the case with the derby, it’s probably best to throw the form guide out the window. It’s a good time for the Eagles to snatch an upset, but can they rise to the challenge?
Then there’s perhaps the most disappointing team of all so far this year, Adelaide, who also face a cross-town rival in Port Adelaide.
Again, like the derby, when it comes to the Showdown the form guide is best placed on the other side of the window. But for the record, the Crows have been simply awful.
Neil Craig’s tactics have been criticised much in the same way as Knight’s have, only the expectations of the Crows are well above those of the Bombers, and the fact they are yet to register a win is eye-opening to say the least.
The injury card is also applicable here – and you gotta feel for the club with one of the few shining lights of the season, Patrick Dangerfield, being sidelined this week – but it’s obvious there are more issues at play.
Some might say it’s already be too late to save their season, but if they are to at least give it a crack, a win against Port is the only place to start.
They, along with a couple of other clubs this week, face a massive fallout if they can’t get themselves over the line.
Bayley Fritsch should become an even more important player from a structural perspective, given key forward Jacob van Rooyen will be unavailable due to concussion.
Kane Cornes was trying to highlight Adelaide's problem with intercept marks, but Hutchy saw it as another attack on Tex Walker.
The Crows and Lions played out the second draw of the 2024 AFL season, with scores locked at 90-all at the final siren.
Nobody knew what to think!
A massive stage from Taylor Walker!
Not sure there was much of an argument to be made!
