American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne once penned a dynamite line. “Families are always rising and falling in America.”
It’s concise, and it’s a brilliant way to summarise the nature of dynastic change in the United States. The unique phenomenon, how an individual or families fortunes can skyrocket or plummet in a single generation.
It’s a concept which overlaps well within the Australian Football League and makes the game something worth tuning into each and every year.
In the AFL great teams are always rising and falling and each year within these squads we see players of varying calibres defy expectations, while at the same time former stars fall shocking short of the expected road ahead.
With seven rounds now completed the 2018 season has been no different and it’s worth taking the time to reflect on the players who have put unexpected smiles on fans faces, and the others who are along way from the level of success expected from them heading into the season.
Adelaide Crows – Tom Doedee
In a precarious start to the season for Adelaide defender Tom Doedee has been a supreme delight.
After overcoming a knee injury in 2017 and producing plenty of quality football in the SANFL, Doedee has shown no signs of struggling with the increased pace of the elite level and has been a rock down back for the Crows.
With Jake Lever departing the Crows for Melbourne between seasons the rise of Doedee has been a much needed relief.
To date Doedee has played in all seven of Adelaide’s matches, averaging 18.6 disposals – and while pure numbers are essentially worthless when examining defenders, it’s worth noting that he has no problems finding the footy.
Doedee’s excellent start to the season was rewarded in Round 2 with the Rising Star Nomination in his team’s win against reigning premiers Richmond at Adelaide Oval.
Adelaide’s Tom Doedee in action. (AAP Image/Sam Wundke)
Richmond Tigers – Reece Conca
Western Australian turned Tigers midfielder and rebounding defender Reece Conca is enjoying what may prove to be the most important season of his career to date in a stunning return to the top level.
Heading into the season with 86 games under his belt, Conca’s career at Richmond seemed all but over in 2017 – missing out on a spot in the premiership 22 week in and week out and constantly hampered by injury.
With Conca’s main attraction in previous seasons being his speed around the contest, injury allowed him to play in just 15 of a possible 70 games from the start of 2015 and the impact the sustained absence had on his ability to navigate the ground appeared to be a sign of the end of the line.
Determination pays off however, and after completing a sturdy pre-season, Conca is yet to miss a game with the Tigers in the new year – averaging 18.9 disposals along with 5.6 tackles along the way.
In a squad with nothing but depth, Conca has managed to firmly hold his place and is showing no signs of dropping out of the best 22 in a so-far dominant run for the ladder leaders.
Shane Edwards and Reece Conca (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
While it’s important to reflect on the good, it’s equally as important to focus on the bad – and the ugly.
Essendon Bombers – Joe Daniher
Port Adelaide – Charlie Dixon
Joe Daniher and Charlie Dixon are both juggernauts in their own right, capable of crushing packs and crucifying sides with on-target long and mid-range attacks on the big sticks.
So far this season neither key forward has been able to do just that on a consistent basis.
With seven games competed Essendon’s Daniher has just seven goals and nine behinds to his name – a devastatingly low return from the offensive centre of a team that was aiming to finals football this season and is now languishing in 15th place on the ladder.
To make matters worse Daniher is now expected to miss the next month of football due to injury.
This means that if the once threatening forward, who placed third in last year’s Coleman Medal, is able to return to some sort of good form – half the season will have already slipped by.
Joe Daniher of the Bombers (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Daniher’s recently revealed injury only raises more questions looking back – was the underprepared Daniher forced to play due to his importance in the side? If so, what does that say about Essendon’s stocks?
Is Daniher’s injury just a cover for dropping the out of form forward? A sinister suggestion for sure, but it wouldn’t be the first time a professional team removed a key player in such a fashion to avoid extended scrutiny.
Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon has flown under the radar due to the attention paid to his team’s abundance of new recruits but is enjoying an equally subpar season.
Dixon has just five goals from seven matches to go with 11 behinds – with the criticism also likely going missing due to the Power’s modest position on the ladder – 11th spot but not far from the top eight.
So far this season it looks like the top level has never been more tightly contested and Port Adelaide can’t afford to carry an ineffective key forward in its home-and-away campaign.
St Kilda – Jack Newnes and Jack Billings
It does feel unfair to sink the boot into St Kilda but it’s a side that does deserve it.
Heading into the side they were touted as a likely top eight finisher and with the raw talent of its midfield and forward line occasionally shining through some faithful even dreamed of the top four.
Instead the Saints have lagged to 16th on the ladder and Jack Newnes and Jack Billings have been spotted in the centre of the mess.
The Saints’ Jack Billings (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Mr Reliable for the Saints in recent seasons, playing every game for four consecutive seasons, Jack Newnes made headlines this week when the fact that he has laid just four tackles in seven matches burst into the public sphere.
I’m not sure why Newnes was singled out.
He’s not the lowest tackler in the AFL, Melbourne’s Oscar McDonald, and the West Coast duo of Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass have both been less than inspired too – but the fact is people want answers and a figure like that stands out.
Newnes managed 25 disposals against Melbourne on the weekend, a big improvement over his average of 18.9 for the season – but he had eight turnovers to go with the 25 touches so what were they really worth?
Jack Billings has likewise been lacklustre, averaging 20.6 disposals from seven matches played – a surprising return on a player tipped by some to push for a Brownlow Medal after an excellent 2017.
Billings is a player loved for his ability to produce offensive damage – ranking sixth in the competition for goal assists (22) while also booting 23 goals of his own in 2017.
Spectators love midfielders capable of that sort of scoreboard-orientated play, it’s the reason why we see the likes of Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield plastered on billboards.
Billings has slipped a long way from this type of form however, averaging fewer disposals, goals per game, goal assists per game, tackles per game and inside 50s per game in the start to this season.
With all of this said – it’s worth noting that this is just a handful of examples from the first seven rounds of the season.
Dixon may boot 11 majors this weekend against the Crows at Adelaide Oval, and put himself within reach of the goal kicking leaderboard.
Newnes may come out and record a dozen tackles, Billings may kick six on the run from long range against Fremantle.
There’s certainly going to be more improved footballers that deserve the nod ahead of Doedee and Conca, and lagging players worse than Dixon, Daniher, Newnes and Billings. But it’s all worth reflecting on.
It’s a long season and anything can happen – quality players are always rising and falling in the AFL, anyone can cement a legend status in any season, and that’s one of the things that makes the game so great to follow.
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