As round ten comes to a close and the mid-year byes are upon us, it gives everyone a chance to sit back and reflect on what a great AFL season it has been so far.
A new club has come into the competition and they’ve played admirably and their new stadium has opened. Greats of the game are showing their age however still starring, while a few young guns are blossoming into elite AFL footballers.
But perhaps the best thing about this season to date is the evenness of the competition.
Great sides are crumbling to the cellar dwellers and teams tipped to lose all but a few games are taking it up to the elite. Only three wins separate the first and eleventh ranked sides.
Mediocrity can indeed cause many upsets.
I use that word “mediocrity”. Many people use that word as a tool to unfairly judge a perceived “middle of the road” team. Mediocrity should be judged on a game to game basis, not on the perceptions that popular culture dictates.
As an example, on the weekend Carlton got absolutely demolished by Port Adelaide. People will say things like “Chris Judd was down”, “They had injuries”, or whatever. The reason Chris Judd was down was because Kane Cornes shut him down superbly and as for the injuries, every team has them. Top sides will push through those adversities, while others will use them as an excuse for sub-par performances.
The fact of the matter is that Port Adelaide wanted it more. They were ruthless, far superior around the stoppages and had more run through the corridor.
In that game, Port Adelaide were superb and Carlton were mediocre at best. Neither are wholly mediocre.
Form leads to labels, but people need to be mindful of individual performances rather than the overall perception of a club.
One can say that Melbourne have been poor all year, but that turned around on the weekend. Even if they win their next couple of games; that tag of mediocrity will stick with them, such is the landscape of AFL Football.
See, the majority of expectations are based on reputation.
We see a bloke named Matthew Broadbent get 30 odd touches two weeks in a row and star in consecutive Port Adelaide wins, yet no one outside of South Australia would have even heard of him.
Ivan Maric heads over to Tiger Land, plays a few good games and is now being touted as a potential All-Australian Ruckman.
So you see players in a similar vein of form, yet their reputations will be much different.
And the media plays a substantial role in those misconceptions.
Nationally, Victorian clubs get a majority of the media coverage, while the interstate clubs (with the exception of the expansion clubs and the West Coast Eagles) don’t feature much at all.
National programs like Channel Nine’s The Footy Show and Fox Footy’s On the Couch and AFL 360 programs should be showing a similar amount of interest across the 18 clubs, but this isn’t always the case.
A case in point is Mike Sheehan’s Top 50. It always creates debate, and even though Mike is a top line sports journo and is entitled to his opinion, I believe he’s fallen way off the mark.
No player from South Australia features, not even Scott Thompson who averages more than 30 possessions per game at 82 per cent efficiency. I know the list was created at the start of the season and this season’s rising stars such as Callan Ward from GWS or Patrick Dangerfield from the Crows haven’t dominated like they are now in the years past. But players like Thommo and Travis Boak from Port should have been included.
In total, 12 out of 50 players chosen were from interstate clubs.
At times the media has a haphazard approach to valuing teams and players. It’s not overtly intentional; however it is negligent and somewhat ignorant.
A good journalist will cover issues in equality, not based on the perception that one club or player is more important than the other. Matthew Broadbent personifies that exact dictum.
A simple point is that irrespective of what sports journalists and commentators say, they aren’t solely the arbiters of which teams are the best and worst.
More and more in current day AFL football, the clubs themselves will dispel any notion of differentiating opinion on superiority by proving on the football field that they, like any other team can win on their given day.
The first ten rounds stand as proof that no one is safe or assured a finals berth as of yet. Hawthorn are the favourites for the flag after they belted North Melbourne on the weekend, yet they lost to Richmond by 10 goals only a week prior.
Who knows what will happen between the Hawks and Port at Football Park next week? Maybe Gold Coast will beat the Saints at Metricon or Melbourne will take it up to the Pies?
The competition is fierce, the teams are bracing themselves for a gruelling next few months and there are no real certainties in AFL Football.
One thing is for certain though: the rest of the season promises to be an absolute belter!
Norm
Guest
Port Adelaide's come back against Nth Melb 2 weeks ago was very exciting. A portent of things to come, as we have seen amazing upsets & finishes since then.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Bulldogs legend Charlie Sutton has sadly passed away, age 88. Captain-Coach of their one and only 1954 premiership team.
Redb
Roar Guru
AR, I dont seek credibility. I have guru status already. Lighten up.
Rodney Penny
Roar Pro
The High Shot, I'm also aware that same side has an average player age of 21, the majority of their players are in their first season of top flight football and that same side wandered down to Geelong to play the reigning premiers which is considered one of the toughest tasks in AFL Football and were level at half time. They also beat the Gold Coast by 27 points, a side who has a year's head start in the national competition and who has one of the greatest players in the history of the game running around on the paddock. For all intents and purposes, they are a side who have been playing admirably.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Top 10, Rd 10. 10. Sheeds moves out of the way of a mad pies supporter - he wasn't going to mess around with her! 9. The much maligned Sylvia extracts the footy out of the congestion and running away from goal screws it through to keep the dees in it at an important point in the game. 8. Paul Stewart takes advantage of a Carlton defensive error to dribble it through from the angle, and he's so pleased with himself, he runs head first into the behind post. 7. Goddard gives Jake King a nice knee into his back with this regulation chest mark. 6. this Jetta goal is almost identical to the Hartlett goal above. 5. Jumping Jack again - gives Simpkin the slip. 4. Stevie J - regulation boomerang from outside the boundary. 3. Mark Neeld pre-maturely celebrates his first win, waits for the siren, and a second later celebrates with renewed gusto. 2. Polkinghorne's 65m torp to win it for the lions against the ladder leaders 1. Some Buddy specials, including his trademark left foot drop punt hard against the boundary, not sure how he manages to squeeze those ones through.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Marks 1. Jumping Jack - regulation one grabber. Simpkin looks round for him, oops, Jack slips out the back door, gets front possie, still has Blake coming in from the side contesting, doesn't get anywhere near it, solid grab for Jack. 2. Goddard - another regulation take, Jake King cops a nice knee into the middle of his back - couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke! (sorry tiges fans, but now that you're up and about, you become legit targets) 3. Schultz comes 3 deep, but is a bit out of position, so has to lunge sideways to get both hands to the footy, and then proceeds to fall smack bang on top of his team mate, Westhoff - think of the greater good son! Goals 1. Desperation stakes on the part of Lions, down by 4 pts late in the game, against ladder leaders, hard ball get in the middle, good piercing handball keeps ball moving directly towards goal, Polkinghorne finds himself in a bit of space, ignores the lead of Brown, goes for the torp from 65m - and brings the grandstand down! Interesting thing about the torp, it stayed relatively low, amazing that it made the journey. 2. Hamish Hartlett, hard against the boundary, outside 50, splits the sticks. If I'm not mistaken, he kicked another one that was quite similar. I must admit, I don't know this player at all - but he can kick a goal! 3. Jetta collects the footy at HBF, goes on a gut bursting run, three bounces, Easton Wood can't keep up from him, Jetta finishes from 45 m on bit of an angle, heaping more misery on a lousy dogs day.
Sam
Guest
Blog needs more Cotchin.
Australian Rules
Guest
Red, you lose credibility with comments like that. This article has nothing to do with the NRL. People accuse NRL fans of potting Australian Football for no reason..well, that's what you're doing.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
The Top 10 from round 10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGSFJbmrCQ&feature=g-all-u
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Rd 10 Mark and Goal of the year, including the Lions' 65m torp to win it against the Eagles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgDZn3eH64&feature=g-all-u
Redb
Roar Guru
No need to apologise James P. A win is a win - enjoy. I did say to a Demons mate of mine who was having a crack at Jetta for staging that Melbourne appear to have been staging for Rounds 1-9 :)
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
High Shot, Yep. They had nine goals kicked on them in the first quarter, ending the contest. Oops, that was the Doggies. Nope, twenty seven goals against them total, with thirteen (!) to Buddy Franklin. Nope, that was the Kangas. Ah, found it. Against the reigning premiers at their home ground, a fortress where travelling teams have travelling teams have won twice in forty games. Seven goals three each at half time. Heres some tape of our high priced recruit being ecstatic about our losing performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OctErJBTYU
Michael/Brisbane
Guest
In the Courier Mail last Friday - yes, I know it's the Courier Mail - there was an article about how poor the standard of AFL had been so far this year, encouraging people to watch if they needed to be put to sleep. Fast forward one round, and I do hope Mike Coleman is eating his words.
JamesP
Guest
As a long suffering Melbourne supporter (sorry Redb) nothing filled my heart with more joy than watching the boys win on Saturday night. Here's hoping we get a big crowd (70k+) for our home match against the Pies on Monday. We matched up really well against them in 2010 (lost a game by a point, and drew the other one), but got obliterated last year :(
Redb
Roar Guru
Yeah it was. Carlton- Geelong will be a more physical game. Will lack Jack at Full Forward though :)
Nathan of Perth
Guest
That Richmond-St Kilda game was pretty much everything we look for in the footy - lightning fast, open, man-on-man.
Redb
Roar Guru
Incredibly funny stuff. Havent stopped laughing. Gee your good.
Redb
Roar Guru
Great game Friday night between Richmond and St Kilda lived up to the hype. I reckon Geelong v Carlton this Friday night might surpass though.
The High Shot
Roar Pro
Glad you're enjoying your footy. By the way which new side came in this year and has played 'admirably'. I'm aware of a new side that gets the crap kicked out of it just about every week...
The Cattery
Roar Guru
NO doubt about it - the most even season in years - the ladder doesn't lie.