Friday night football
The most striking feature of tonight’s round-opening clash between Hawthorn and Port Adelaide is that neither side features a player who has committed football treason and asked for a trade in the immediate lead-up. If you were a Hawthorn player, why would you? An allergy to silverware? Fresh from a six-goal win over Geelong last weekend the Hawks bring in Ryan Schoenmakers but still can’t find space to squeeze in Taylor Duryea, who’d be a selection lock at most other clubs.
Things aren’t going quite so well for Ken Hinkley’s Port Adelaide, the glamour side turned spinster in 2015. They actually won the corresponding fixture in round four but that was back when their middling form still seemed like a minor road block, not some lasting malady. They call back star forward Jay Schulz but lose Jackson Trengove to a shoulder reconstruction, compounding the previous loss of Ollie Wines for the remainder of the year. Beyond that and discounting their mathematical possibility of playing finals as a complete absurdity, it’s time to seriously assess what changes are required to make another surge next year.
The Tigers should have too much class for Collingwood
Games between the Tigers and Pies are genuinely great fun to attend as a neutral, like a shady laneway dog fight in which both combatants are as likely to turn on themselves as each other. The not-quite-there Pies have produced dismal results for a few months now but carry into this game the key incentive of making Richmond’s September path harder. Coach Nathan Buckley rightly admitted that the year has been a failure for his side, who’d sat fair at 8-3 early in the season. The problem since is that there’s no points awarded for honourable losses.
More familiar with that theory than most is Tigers stalwart Chris Newman, who went 232 games without playing in a final but after this week announcing his plans to retire at season’s end, at least has one more September campaign ahead of him. His teammates scraped over the line by 5 points when these teams met in round seven but the Pies have proved a real obstacle in other recent meetings, a trend that might have finally turned. Best of all is that they also welcome back quiet-achieving Shane Edwards, who was in magnificent touch before a leg fracture sidelined him five weeks ago. Again he’s timed his run to perfection.
Fremantle should beat North but what does the next six weeks hold?
Here’s an entirely unfair but at least half-truthful theory: if Fremantle beat North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday it will merely mean that the world continues to spin on its axis. But if they lose to 7th placed North Melbourne – and let’s be honest they probably won’t – you’d be forgiven for holding a few doubts about the path their next six weeks will take. The ladder-leading, 16-3, Fyfe-led Dockers not quite the genuine article? It even feels bad typing it, but then you imagine them filing out onto the MCG against Hawthorn or even copping a hometown assault like their derby loss to West Coast last round and the doubts resurface. At least they’ve got a Men’s Health cover star.
North did what they needed to last week against St Kilda, struggling a little early but extending their winning streak to five with a blazing third quarter. They’ll need to maintain a far more consistent effort against the top sides like Fremantle and this one won’t be easy without nuggety but oft-suspended Jack Ziebell, who’s been pinged again. Returning in his place, Ryan Bastinac might be playing to keep his spot on the Roos list. Battling on are lion-hearted forward Drew Petrie and marathon man Brent Harvey, who both penned one-year deals to play on in 2016. Harvey will be too old for Super Rules by the time he finally retires.
Your match of the round
Do you believe in miracles? That’s what the Bulldogs might need to topple West Coast in Perth on Sunday but there’s been no better-spirited side in the competition this season than Luke Beveridge’s men, so you can’t rule them out entirely. The hard part of placing the Bulldogs’ stellar run towards the finals in context is that they just haven’t played many decent sides in the past six weeks. Sitting in fourth place now, they’ll struggle to maintain that spot with this tricky fixture followed by a tough home game against North and a final-round banana skin in the form of a trip to Brisbane. It’ll be fascinating to see how they wear that pressure.
Looking to back up their win in last week’s feisty western derby, the Eagles welcome back a host of useful contributors in Mark LeCras, Nic Naitanui, Tom Barrass, and by the look of their provisional team line-up, everyone else on their senior list too. Without those players and Jeremy McGovern the Eagles triumphed in the derby, yet another sign that they’re likely Preliminary finalists at a minimum. What a turnaround it’s been from both of these sides in 2015.
Bonus: this game will be coming to you live via the Guardian goal-by-goal live blog.
The best and worst of the rest
There’s a few interesting match-ups elsewhere this weekend and none with greater finals intrigue than the Battle for the Bridge between Sydney and the GWS. They don’t actually win control of the bridge, as far as I’m aware. If I’ve learned anything from Danish crime drama, that’s probably for the best anyway. But the Swans can still squeeze back into the top four and the Giants need a win to keep their finals spot alive.
With coach James Hird now gone and key position pillar Jake Carlisle seemingly grabbing his coat too, there’s not much for Bombers fans to smile about at the moment and an away loss to Gold Coast at the sexy new time of 4:35pm on Saturday might have them reaching for the sick bag. Carlisle will line up nonetheless, and hopes remain high he’ll also kick the ball in the right direction.
Geelong’s Saturday night meeting with St Kilda is a danger game for a side on the finals fringe, even if they did wallop the Saints in the same match-up a few months back. Adelaide host a Brisbane side so rudderless and shambolic that they make Dare’s Bears look like Lombardi’s Packers. Rounding out the torture porn section of the schedule, Carlton’s Sunday afternoon meeting with Melbourne only has ramifications if you’re trying to create an accurate mock draft. The Blues this week said goodbye and good luck to swingman Lachie Henderson, whose quest for footballing happiness led him to an epiphany; there’s nothing in football more fun than playing against Carlton.
