Eleven quick takes from AFL Round 9

There may only have been eight games of footy this week but with more surprise results and some big moments, it didn’t feel any the less. Here’s my quick takes from the week.

A wildcard weekend might actually have been good this year
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a proponent of the wildcard weekend idea – I don’t think it would be the worst thing ever to happen to the game, but I don’t see any reason to make a change other than to get more dosh in the AFL’s coffers.

Still, as the race for finals gets tighter and tighter this year, I can’t help but think that there will be two very good, very unlucky teams in ninth and tenth who miss out on playing finals.

In fact all of the top twelve teams in the league right now have shown enough to suggest they would be a worthy finalist in my book, but four of them will have to miss out. The margin for error is razor thin.

We’ve already seen so many close finishes between good teams this year and those games may ultimately be what decides which teams make the cut and which don’t.

Take for example Richmond or North Melbourne who have both lost three games by under a goal this year. Turn those results around and the Tigers would be 8-1, North 6-3, and both well entrenched in the top eight.

On the other side of the coin, Fremantle have won three games by less than a goal. They’re fifth on the ladder, but the next nine teams below them all have a better percentage – reverse those results and they’d be slumming down at 14th.

For what it’s worth I reckon Richmond and North are better sides than the win-loss suggests, and that the Dockers will get a rude reality check against the Crows this week.

It is a skill to able to win the close ones, of course, and there’s little point in playing shoulda-woulda-coulda.

In the end, though, no matter who fits into the top eight there’s going to be at least four or five teams left thinking of this season as a big opportunity that got away.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Don’t laugh – Collingwood should back Bucks in with a few more years
Hold on a moment before you shut me down here – yes, I’m aware that Collingwood are only 3-6 in a year where the coach said he reckons he’ll lose his job if he doesn’t make finals.

Before the season got underway though, I made the argument that Collingwood’s list should not logically be in contention for a finals spot, despite it being the widespread expectation. I feel that’s proven fairly close to true.

Buckley’s strategy as a coach has been to change the face of Collingwood’s best 22, and at the moment the job is only 70, maybe 80 per cent done – and this could be a good team once they put on the finishing touches.

Yes, you can question the wisdom of Buckley going down the path he has, but it’s too late to turn back now. The only decision to be made is whether Collingwood should cut their losses and try something else, or see it through.

I read Mark Thompson’s autobiography earlier this year and he made a very strong case that senior coaches are too often the scapegoats and that many clubs ruin their chances of success by bowing to outside pressure and changing course too soon.

In my wiser, more thoughtful moments, I agree – the media is often too quick to start sharpening the knives, because we all love a big story, and I’m no better than anyone else in that regard.

However, results like the one on Saturday night for Collingwood show that there is something there in Buckley’s Magpies that might yet see them become one of the AFL’s better teams, when the list matures.

I told him here a few weeks ago that the forward line needed to be fixed and to some degree that has happened in recent weeks – they’ve been much more accurate, and he deserves a thumbs up for that.

Maybe the Buckley era will prove to be a waste of time, or maybe it won’t. All I can say for sure is that if the Magpies sack him now before he gets the chance to finish his design, it’s guaranteed to have been.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Essendon have found their best side
This week was the first time all year that Essendon didn’t make any changes to their side, after routinely moving four or five players around per week in search of their best 22.

Maybe there’s still a change or two to make but they look to have found something pretty close to a settled line-up, and the result was some excellent footy.

In the last two weeks they’ve knocked off two top-four teams in Geelong and West Coast, and while the talk out of those games has been to focus a lot on the flaws of those sides, the Bombers deserve plenty of credit.

They might only be tenth on the ladder but they’ve got a nice 5-4 record and are building some good momentum. I’m still confident on my pre-season prediction that they can and will play finals.

(AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

Another barrier broken
Of the many who make their AFL debut this year, which will be the most important? You might think it’s Andrew McGrath, or Hugh McCluggage, but all things considered, I’d say it’s Eleni Glouftsis.

The first female field umpire didn’t get every little thing right on Sunday, but everybody knows the umpires never do. Being reasonable, she did a fine job – and of course, she made history.

Not a lot more needs to be said really. Good on her. May she be in the game for a long time and inspire more girls to achieve their footy dreams, whatever they should be. It’s been a ripper year for women in footy.

The only other thing I’ll add is these quotes from her after the match, which I found really heartening:

“When I had a poor bounce a lot of the boys were like `just keep going, be confident’ which is really lovely.

“They’ve been really supportive, which was great.”

Well done Glouftsis on the debut, and well done to the players on getting around her. That puts a big smile on my face.

(AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

Melbourne need to fight smarter, not harder
If you’re going to play tough guy footy with your fists, you’ve got to back it up and play tough guy footy between your ears.

Don’t misunderstand me – I’m a big fan of playing physical, hard-to-play-against footy. It’s especially great to see in a young team. A beaten opponent is a beaten opponent whether you do it with force or finesse.

Melbourne were looking like they would achieve exactly that in a bruising second quarter against North on Sunday afternoon where they brought themselves back within a kick.

But to then waste opportunities in front of goal and fail to take advantage of a tired-looking North side in the final term suggested their heads still weren’t in the right place.

The Dees have played great footy in patches this year but they still haven’t found the maturity and balance to do it across full games often enough.

With a 4-5 record and plenty of competitive teams in the league, that may ultimately cost them the chance to play finals this year. But they’ll be good, very good, when they work out the right balance.

Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t talk the chance up North a little – after losing from this situation, it was great to see a young team show great maturity and close out the game well. Sixteen in a row, baby. It feels good.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Giants’ great escapes only papering over cracks
GWS fans, having only recently gotten used to winning, must surely be taking some enjoyment in snagging two last-minute thrillers in the past fortnight.

There’s not many better feelings than stealing a game you shouldn’t win with a miracle goal at the death. You’re lucky to see one all year let alone two in a week. Soak it up.

Having already touched on close games though, I’ll add this: there’s often a disproportionate response in how the respective teams are viewed given how narrow the difference was.

Richmond, and Collingwood last week, cop it from fans and pundits, but in truth both played well in those matches and the Giants should be worried that two middle-of-the-ladder sides pushed them so close.

Stevie J would have to be emblematic of the whole situation – his winner last week had us all talking, but that aside his impact on games has faded this year.

If the Giants can keep putting on wins even when being crippled by injuries, more power to them – but last-minute luck won’t hold out forever, and someone is going to pinch one on them soon.

(AAP Image/David Moir)

Cats pass the tackling test with flying colours
I said last week that, following Geelong’s awful defensive performance against Essendon, we were set to find out a lot about Chris Scott and his ability to motivate his players.

Two big thumbs up for whatever he did during the week – while he made the point of saying it wasn’t all about effort, going from 40 tackles to 134 in the space of a round is nothing to sneeze at.

It was great to see a few blokes whose names aren’t Dangerfield or Selwood step up as well – Zac Smith, Mitch Duncan, and well, I guess Scott Selwood is named Selwood too, but you know what I mean.

The Harry Taylor forward experiment finally showed some real dividends too, with five goals proving that the can be more than just Tom Hawkins’ decoy.

We now know that this is the level Geelong can play at – and that being the case, it is the level they now must play at every week.

It’s all well and good to come out breathing fire after a week under the pump in the media, but you’re not going to be top team if you pick and choose when to put the effort in.

Find that effort every week – or at least in weeks out of ten – and there’s still plenty for Geelong to get out of this year.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Tom Mitchell is a workhorse, not a superstar
It’s a silly turn of phrase but Tom Mitchell might well have played the worst ever 50+ disposal game in VFL/AFL history on Saturday night.

It’s always funny when a player has a big game like this in a losing side and we’re forced to ask whether or not, despite the trully ridiculous numbers, they were actually any good.

The short answer is usually this: yes, of course they were. You don’t get the ball 50 times if you’re not playing well.

Still, it’s no insult to Mitchell to say that 50 touches from him doesn’t have the same impact that you’d get in 50 touches from say Scott Pendlebury or Stephen Hill.

He had 14 more disposals than any other player on the ground but was 11th for metres gained (309 for the night – a little over six per disposal). By way of comparison, Pendlebury more than doubled him there.

Simply put, he is a workhorse player – a reliable, durable, tough SUV, not a superstar Rolls Royce like Pendlebury. But really, we already knew that.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Sydney are on the (long) road to September
After wins against Brisbane and North Melbourne, there were those who doubted whether Sydney were really back in action, or just looking good against poor sides – and I was one of them.

However a comprehensive defeat of St Kilda on Saturday made the reality pretty clear, the Swans are up and firing.

Their injury list is pretty short now, their superstar players are all in excellent form, and there’s no reason to believe they can’t make a real fist of this season.

At 3-6, a top four spot is almost certainly beyond their reach, but with so many teams struggling to play consistent footy I’d say if they can from here on out, they’re more likely than not to still make finals, even if they’re doing it the hard way.

(AAP Image/David Moir)

Big Bulldog changes fail to bounce form
The Bulldogs made some notable changes at the selection table last week, bringing back a host of veteran talent but also dropping a premiership star and cult figure in Tom Liberatore.

They were changes you could argue needed to be made, but it’s disappointing for them that they didn’t help their fortunes on the field.

The Dogs have lost three of their last four, and their win was one by less than a goal. I said back when they were 4-1 that it would be a mistake to think they were doing well, and I’m feeling fairly vindicated on that.

At the moment they’re eighth, and only ahead of St Kilda on percentage – and that’s by a margin of only 0.6 per cent.

What’s the fix? They could really do with some forward line continuity, and they are not getting it at the moment.

They might not have the talent there that some other clubs do – but the players they do have, need to get on the same page.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

How will the bye hit the Power and Suns?
Just a little one to think on as I close off, but having noticed how hard it is for some teams to perform well coming off the bye, I’m curious how Port Adelaide and Gold Coast will handle it this week.

Gold Coast are off to play Melbourne in the NT – not a match they’d be expected to win in the first place, but it’d be a shame if they’re sluggish and it turns into a real belting.

More important in the context of the season, Port Adelaide have a massive game against Geelong on Friday night.

It’s a chance for them to take a real scalp, but they have to travel to Kardinia to get it done – that’s going to be a real test, and they may wind up regretting the interruption to their normal routine.