Another big round of AFL matches provided plenty of intrigue as the 2013 season begins to take shape.
Positives
Port Adelaide’s fightback
The Power, under Ken Hinkley, are the surprise packet of the season thus far with five wins from five outings, which would have gone at massive odds before the season.
The weekend’s five-point win over West Coast at AAMI Stadium suggested the Power are actually a quality side after previous wins over Gold Coast, Adelaide, GWS and Melbourne.
At one point in the second quarter, they trailed the Eagles by 41 but managed to work their way back into the contest through the influence of Kane Cornes, who has discovered a new gear under Hinkley, Chad Wingard, who continues to impress, the ever-impressive Ollie Wines, plus Hamish Hartlett, Brad Ebert and Travis Boak.
After a couple of years of mediocrity, there appears to be a new culture at Alberton Oval, stemming from Hinkley’s challenge to his players after taking over in the off-season.
Cornes said last week Hinkley had pushed him to become better and that mentality has swept through the Power playing group, contributing to their perfect start in 2013.
With North Melbourne in Hobart next week, followed by clashes with Richmond (at home), Carlton (away), Geelong (home) and Western Bulldogs (in Darwin), the Power can only dare to dream of what may lie ahead.
Essendon are a genuine premiership threat
ANZAC Day showed us James Hird’s Essendon side are good enough to challenge for the flag this year.
The Bombers saw off arch-rivals Collingwood, who were strong favourites, eventually winning by 46 points which could be considered a massacre in regard to winning margins in matches between the two on this historic day.
The Dons, continually knocked throughout pre-season and in the early rounds, sit on top of the AFL ladder with five wins from five and a healthy percentage of 176.
They average over 120 points per game – the only team to do so – and have conceded the least amount over the first five matches, suggesting that at this point they have both the forward and defensive 50s covered.
But the Bombers also reign supreme in terms of average kicks per game as well as marks, and are fourth in both tackles and hitouts, meaning there is an even spread of input over the entire park from players in black and red.
Another victory beckons in round six when they host the Giants before what promises to be a classic against Geelong in round seven. That match precedes a visit from Brisbane, a meeting with Richmond and a trip north to play reigning premiers Sydney (on June 1).
What looms as a massive May at Windy Hill could really set up their finals assault provided all players are intact come August…
Carlton have got things back on track
The Blues are outside the eight by a win after getting their season back on the rails following an initial three defeats on the trot.
Mick Malthouse appears to have his side playing the way he wants them, with a couple of decent scalps in West Coast and Adelaide indicating they have the ability to mix it with sides backed for finals action.
Carlton’s fleet-footed forward brigade was strengthened by the return of Eddie Betts and it again proved vital as Jeff Garlett (four), Chris Yarran (three) and Betts managed eight of 17 goals on Saturday night in the Blues’ 32-point conquest of the Crows.
Next they face Melbourne and then St Kilda, giving the Blues the opportunity to achieve a positive win-loss ratio, suggesting to outsiders perhaps things at Visy Park are not as bad as some initially thought.
Negatives
Serious injuries to star players
Adelaide, Collingwood and Hawthorn will all be hurting this week after stars from each club were sidelined long term.
The Crows lost spearhead Taylor Walker for the season with a ruptured ACL, a similar injury sees key Pies defender Alan Toovey also out for the year and a severe hamstring problem has banished Hawks livewire Cyril Rioli to the rehab room.
The season-ending knee injury suffered by Fremantle big man Kepler Bradley topped off a bad weekend.
The Crows will certainly feel the pinch, with Walker’s absence meaning they must find a new avenue to goal. The absence of Toovey probably won’t be noticed by many onlookers, but Pies fans definitely will be aware.
Rioli’s injury will really hurt the Hawks too as he provides so much creativity in the midfield and the forward 50.
Freo must now look elsewhere for a forward marking target after first seeing skipper Matthew Pavlich and now Bradley joining Aaron Sandilands as onlookers.
Elsewhere, Bryce Gibbs will miss the meeting with the Demons because of hamstring tightness, Bombers defender Jake Carlisle is in doubt for the Giants clash with an ankle, Geelong will miss Jared Rivers for the Richmond game due to a knee injury and Port big man Jackson Trengove requires surgery on a broken foot.
Collingwood’s leaky defence
Nathan Buckley has to sure things up in the back half at Collingwood before things really get away from the one-time flag fancies.
The Pies have conceded the fourth-highest amount of points (532) after five rounds, with only Brisbane (534), GWS (672) and Melbourne (719) worse off defensively.
Once an unenviable task, scoring against the Pies now appears to be easy, with Essendon, Hawthorn and Carlton all registering 100 or more points.
Magpie turnovers and clearances are providing opposition sides with plenty of scoring opportunities, suggesting Collingwood need Dayne Beams and Luke Ball back as soon as possible to strengthen the team’s work around the stoppages.
Recent premiership sides have been very difficult to score against but at this point in time Collingwood are way off that mark. They must find a way to stifle opposition attacks and reduce their errors.
This week they take on St Kilda, who have scored over 100 just once (against the Giants), giving Buckley a chance to get things back together from a defensive viewpoint.
He’d want to get it right quickly though as fixtures with Fremantle (away), Geelong and Sydney loom.
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