The season is done. The rollercoaster is over. Buckle up your seatbelts because the fun is just about to begin.
As seasons end and post-mortems begin, for eight teams, the road to glory starts now. As always, a big week of questions. Why is timing everything? Who is the coach of the year? Who is the latest Rising Star contender?
What is the first priority for some of the clubs that miss the eight? And what is the most important part of being alive in September?
1. Who are there no excuses for next year?
They missed out on finals by one game, yet they will end the season as one of the most dangerous sides in the competition leading into the new season.
This means of course there are no excuses for Essendon next year. They must make the finals but they should fully expect to win at least one or two considering the depth of talent they have.
Their recruits are key cogs in their line-up, with Devon Smith widely tipped to be best and fairest in his first season at the club and their young up and coming talent is starting to find their groove and place at AFL level.
Watch out for the likes of Kyle Langford and Aaron Francis, just a couple that look to take the competition by storm next season. As they plan for another aggressive offseason recruiting spree, there are not many excuses left for the Bombers if they don’t make it.
Devon Smith of the Bombers (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
2. Why is timing everything?
About six weeks or so ago, the best player of last year was just about out of the reckoning for a number of the awards and titles he held last year. Six weeks later and Dustin Martin has put himself right back into All Australian lock territory as well as a big chance to finish very high up in the Brownlow medal count.
This is particularly after Saturday’s barnstorming display against the Western Bulldogs. Martin began prolifically, amassing ten disposals, three clearances and three inside 50s in the first term alone.
Compared to his extraordinary Brownlow medal-winning 2017 season, Martin has dropped off in average disposals, goals and tackles. However the Tigers onballer is still producing elite numbers: Score involvements (ranked first in the League), inside 50s (first) and clearances (second).
Martin was one of the Tigers’ best with a team-high 33 disposals and nine clearances to inspire the thrilling three-point victory.
3. Are you in or out?
Like nine other clubs, the end of season post-mortem begins for the Gold Coast Suns. It starts with their leadership in the front office and continues all the way down to the last rookie player on the list.
They have already had one captain in Tom Lynch walk out and exercise his right as a free agent. The biggest question this club will ask is to their other captain Steven May. A simple question too, are you in or out?
The answer has a lot riding on it and the fortunes of this football club. Can you imagine an AFL club losing three captains in two years?
4. Who is the coach of the year?
Plenty of options to choose from this year with pretty compelling cases too. There is Damien Hardwick who has taken Richmond to another level. There are the likes of Adam Simpson and Brad Scott who with their respective teams have defied expectations and taken their clubs from predicted bottom six finish to in the hunt for finals and a chance to go deep respectively.
John Longmire and Chris Scott are also constantly in the conversation due to the nature of the way their clubs operate and by them not missing finals for a long time.
There is also the master coach who is doing wonders with this new Hawthorn outfit. But my pick of the lot would have to be Nathan Buckley.
This time last year he was out the door. Given the circumstances that he has found himself having to deal with when it comes to player availability and off-field dramas, this Collingwood team have stood up and played some brilliant football and have had new habits coached into them, most of which were non-existent over the past three years.
There is a vibrancy around Collingwood that make you want to turn on and watch them – they are now an exceptionally coached, well-drilled team.
Collingwood Magpies coach Nathan Buckley (AAP Image/Alex Murray)
5. The first priority for Carlton is?
We might have mentioned it a couple of times on the way through, but now that the season is finally over for Carlton and its supporters, it is time to start getting busy.
It’s easy to make calls who should stay and who should go from the grandstand, and even easier to speculate about who might be available, who might come and what will it cost. But before any of that, this club needs to make sure it has all its ducks in a row.
Do they have the right people running the club? Do they have the right people at the executive level making smart decisions that will benefit the whole of club (including the fans)?
Do they have the right coaching group? Do they have the right strength and conditioning team? Do they have the right development coaches?
Before you even look at the playing list, all of this needs to be seen as a priority. On field – the ingredients are seemingly there but they are still taking time to bind together.
By getting the perfect mix and balance off field can only lead to better cohesion on the field.
6. Who is the freshest contender for the Rising Star?
If it has been a three-horse race up until this point in the season, there might just be another fast finishing contender coming up the outside.
We have seen the next generation of young Hawks come through this year and one who is leading is Harry Morrison.
Their first selection (pick 74) in the draft they effectively took themselves out of to land Jaeger O’Meara. His poise and football nous is why he is fast becoming one of Hawthorn’s best young talents and had a big say on the outcome of the thrilling game up in Sydney on the weekend. Just another big tick to the Hawks.
Jaeger O’Meara (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
7. Which dynamic duo are set to light up finals footy?
Such a key element to what the West Coast Eagles have been able to do this year have come from their latest dynamic duo up front.
Willie Rioli has certainly lived up to his family name and will continue to delight us for years to come, but their mature age recruit in Liam Ryan is the other piece to this forward pressure puzzle.
The WAFL freak and Rioli have combined for an average ten score involvements per game. Meaning that they weave their own magic and they allow their talent and flare to set up opportunities for their teammates and already potent forward line.
The Eagles will be hoping they stay fit as well as regain the likes of Josh Kennedy.
8. What ultimately determines how far the Giants go?
The Melbourne train keeps on rolling and who knows what fruits that will bear come the end of it. But the Giants are right up in the conversation as well.
Much like the last number of seasons, it is going to come down to how healthy the list is and who can they get back and quickly.
We saw in 2016 the Dogs brought five in for an Elimination Final and played all the way while the Tigers are still having their dream run with injury from about the middle last season. The Giants have the ability and the talent, but it will all hinge on who can come back and what level of fitness they have in them.
9. The byplay of the season goes too?
This was spectacular throughout the weekend. All week there was the conversation about who was going to rake out the Coleman Medal and as the weekend wore on, the calculators came out and challenges were set from one spearhead forward to another.
It’s always fun when there is something like this lingering on In the background. While the winning number will be significantly smaller than in recent years, it became an intriguing battle between some of the premier big men in the competition to see who would take the medal home.
Ben Brown, in the end, would be the most unlucky to not come away with the Medal, but you wouldn’t be able to say that Jack Riewoldt is an undeserving winner at all.
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