It’s only Round 5, but it would be wrong of me to not part take in all of the early season hysteria and predictions that we see swirling around the media.
This series will look at one early positive and one early negative of each AFL club so far.
The first edition will look at Collingwood, Melbourne and Richmond.
Melbourne
A positive I didn’t see coming – Bernie Vince the tagger?
2015 has seemingly rejuvenated Bernie Vince, as he has taken on a new role as a tagger for Melbourne.
It started with his performance shutting down Patrick Dangerfield at the Adelaide Oval in Round 3. Despite some initial debate about his tagging tactics on Dangerfield during the game, all seemed forgiven when the two were pictured smiling after the game.
However, it seems his role on Dangerfield won’t be a one-hit wonder. Vince went to Cotchin early last week against the Tigers and is being prepped to take on goliath (Nat Fyfe) when Melbourne face Fremantle on Sunday.
The tagging role suits Vince. He plays with aggression, with passion, he’s cheeky and knows how to get under players skin.
Melbourne need a tagger and Vince’s career needed a spark. Match made in heaven.
A negative I didn’t see coming – Jack Grimes in the VFL.
I am a fan of Jack Grimes, but let’s not sugarcoat this one. Grimes – the former co-captain of the Melbourne Football Club – is playing his first game of the season in Round 5 due to his form. I definitely didn’t see the coming.
It’s a positive for Melbourne that they have options, and it’s a positive for Grimes that he’s forced his way back into the side with good form in the VFL.
But the fact that he was overlooked and sent to the twos for a month if not something Melbourne fans would be overly happy with – right?
He gets his chance this week to impress and never has it seemed so hard to get into Melbourne’s team. Their defence is as solid as it has ever been, however, they are playing an inspiring Fremantle side.
Safe to say, Grimes’ work will not be cut out for him.
Collingwood
A positive I didn’t see coming – Jack Crisp’s emergence.
Collingwood has seemingly gone unaffected by the Dayne Beams deal that rocked their offseason in 2014. Despite praise from the club for his preseason work ethic, Crisp didn’t have exactly the start he wanted when he was involved with a betting probe in preseason.
However, since that was all sorted, Crisp has done everything possible to impress his new teammates and supporters. He’s played all five games this season, but his last three in particular have been quite note worthy for the low-profile footballer that Crisp is.
He had 23 touches against the Saints a few weeks back, 21 and a major tagging role on Jobe Watson against the Bombers on Anzac Day, and he capped off a great start to the season with 26 disposals and a goal against Carlton on Friday night.
With Greenwood, Macaffer and Sidebottom still to come back into the Pies line-up, Crisp is making sure Nathan Buckley knows he is way more than just a supplementary player in the Beams’ deal.
A negative I didn’t see coming – Josh Thomas and Lachlan Keefe.
Originally I wrote down Travis Cloke’s kicking for this section, but in staying true to the topic, I can’t say that after all these years, I’m not surprised. So, my next best (or worst in this case) is the predicament Josh Thomas and Lachlan Keefe find themselves in.
You would’ve had to be a psychic to have seen this bombshell coming. But, despite everyone saying Keefe can’t kick and Thomas was a second-tier midfielder, these two players are still unfortunate losses for Collingwood and Buckley, who have been dealt their fair share of injuries in the past few seasons.
Josh Thomas and Taylor Adams were battling for the same role last year. Thomas played 13 games, 1 more than Adams. Thomas was one more game away from really making his case as a starting midfielder for the Pies. He’s a talented, contested midfielder who attacks the contest.
But, in his absence, Taylor Adams has thrived in the same role in the first five games of the year.
Keefe is an interesting one. He’s an awkward type of a defender who does the good and the bad in one passage of a play. He’s perhaps a defensive liability, but with Ben Reid still on the sidelines, Buckley liked playing Keefe in defence to allow Tyson Goldsack to play a defensive role up forward.
Goldsack is doing a great job in defence to cover Keefe’s absence, but he is better suited to his pressure role in the forward line where he can be so dangerous.
Despite Collingwood’s start to the season, Thomas and Keefe are big negatives I didn’t see coming.
Richmond
A positive I didn’t see coming – Shane Edwards shines.
Before this season started, Shane Edwards had notched his 150th game since debuting in 2007. His career has seen him move back and forth from the small forward role to the midfield.
In what can only be described as a disappointing opening five games for the Tigers, Shane Edwards has been the shining light. Never has he been mentioned consistently along side Martin, Cotchin and Riewoldt until now.
Edwards has played in four of the five games this year, and has collected more than 20 disposals in each of those games.
He was excellent against Brisbane with 26 touches in round 3, but was the Tigers best on ground last week in the shocking loss to Melbourne. He had 24 disposals (16 contested), 7 clearances, 5 tackles and 2 goals in a performance, which further displayed his emergence in this side.
He’s fast, he’s creative and he’s skillful. He’s an underrated player who has starred for Richmond and shown his importance to this line-up.
A negative I didn’t see coming – 2-3.
Richmond’s fixture was described as being kind to Damien Hardwick and his Tigers in 2015.
Richmond fans would’ve ticked off the first four games as definite wins, and would of hoped to sail along to the ‘G yesterday, sitting at 4-0 and see a competitive performance against Geelong.
After yesterday’s loss to Geelong, they are 2-3 and will feature in the bottom half of the bottom eight once the round concludes.
After a stunning finish to their 2014 campaign (besides the elimination final of course) where they rolled out nine wins on the trot to book an unlikely finals spot, Richmond are looking like a shadow of themselves to start off 2015.
Carlton – W
Western Bulldogs – L
Brisbane – W
Melbourne – L
Geelong – L
They should be sitting at 4-1, or 3-2 at least. But Richmond is the ultimate tease in the AFL, and I can honestly say I didn’t see a 2-3 record to start 2015 coming.
Tiarne Swersky
Roar Guru
Well said.
Sneaky Russian
Guest
A lot of Melbourne supporters would argue Grimes playing in VFL is a positive. His form hasn't always warranted his place in the side, but lack of depth meant he was never dropped. Now he has to earn his spot which can only be positive. He's effort could never be questioned, if he can tidy up his disposal he'll keep his spot. If not, straight back to VFL when Jetta returns.
Swampy
Guest
Worst decision in the AFL in the last 20 years might be something to do with Essendon. Just saying... I look at the Tiger's list and really they severely lack depth and just don't have a 22 that compares with the top 4 teams (Hawks, Freo, Port & Swans). There are a number of 'over-achievers' at the Tigers. Basically guys that if they play an average game they are probably below AFL standard. Clearly the Tigers are far too reliant on their core best players and whenever 1 or 2 of these guys are out (see Delidio) the replacements are a massive negative. No doubt the Tigers will go on a good run at some point and patch over the glaring holes. If you look at where the Dogs are right now in comparison with recruiting through the draft and player development who would you rather be a supporter of? -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Handles
Roar Guru
The really telling thing about Richmond's form line is that they have been consistently awful. The two teams they have beaten - Brisbane and Carlton - will probably fight out the wooden spoon. They have lost to Melbourne and Geelong, neither of whom will make the eight. This isn't a bad game or two for the Tigers, this is the level that they are at. I see them finishing no higher than 12th, and with a new coach either during or immediately after the season. As for Melbourne, the appointment of Grimes and Trengrove as co-captains of Melbourne must surely now go down as the worst single decision in the AFL for twenty years. It as good as ruined both young men, damaged the club both on field and off, and robbed Nathan Jones and others who should have been in the leadership group of valuable time in charge.