Michael Walters is the Dockers’ red time specialist
Thursday night’s intriguing Fremantle v Collingwood game was in the balance from the opening bounce to the final three minutes, when Jesse White sprayed a relatively straight forward set shot that would have pulled the Pies within a goal. It was tight, congested finals-like footy all night – not pretty, but compelling. You know that when even Nat Fyfe and Scott Pendelbury seem hurried at times, space is at a premium. In a low-scoring contest, a moment or two of magic can be all that separates two teams. The Dockers’ crafty small forward Michael Walters booted majors in the final 20 seconds of both the second and third quarters, each keeping his side afloat in an arm wrestle it would eventually win. Just before the stroke of half time, Walters sharked an Aaron Sandilands tap and somehow found room to weave out of a clutch of Magpie defenders and throw the ball onto his left boot. It wobbled through to make the margin two points at the main break. Half an hour later he drew the Dockers level by accepting a handball from Michael Barlow, then off one step drilling a low goal from about 35m, less than 10 seconds before the final change. Nathan Buckley would have been ropable, but neither goal was due to lax defending. With Matthew Pavlich and Chris Mayne off the boil and Hayden Ballantyne buzzing around for little impact (he’s kicked just nine goals in 10 games this season – but that’s another story), Walters loomed as the Docker most likely all night. He finished with four goals, but it was his two red time goals that gave his team momentum, and more importantly, on the scoreboard were all that separated his team from their opponent.
Richmond’s top-liners are as good as anyone’s
For all coaches and scribes bang on about how depth wins premierships, there’s no point having a great bottom six when your top six aren’t that great. In Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Dustin Martin, Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt, Richmond has a quintet of A-graders that is pound for pound as good as the top five players from any other club. It was evident on Friday night. The Tigers were in strife at half time, 32 points down at a venue they hadn’t won at since 2004. Enter Cotchin, Riewoldt and Rance. The skipper lifted like the best players do, clearly the most influential midfielder on the ground in the second half and finishing with 27 possessions and a goal. He’s been a good player for so long it’s easy to forget that he’s just 25, and is the perfect man to lead his team to a period of sustained finals appearances. Rance, fresh from inking a contract extension during the week, solidified his position as arguably the game’s best defender by doing a job on Buddy Franklin. Franklin had a head full of steam early but ended with just 2.2 from 10 possessions and to cap off a dirty night, seems set for time on the sidelines after a crude bump on Shane Edwards. But the three votes were reserved for Riewoldt. He’s kicked bigger bags than his six on Friday night, but the win over the Swans was perhaps the most complete game he’s ever played. With Ty Vickery and Ben Griffiths dangerous deep, Riewoldt has played further up the ground for long stretches this season. Friday night was a classic full forward’s game – six of Riewoldt’s nine marks were inside 50, he chased and harassed defenders all night and his goal kicking accuracy (6.1) was top shelf, keeping his side in it for three quarters and sinking the Swans in the dying minutes. As long as the Tigers’ big names keep performing, few challenges in football seem beyond them.
The return of the Rough
It’s no slight on a triple-premiership player to suggest that Jarryd Roughead had been well below his best in recent weeks, with the big Hawk held goalless in three of his past four games heading into the clash with the Bombers. So there were some ominous signs for rival teams with Roughead’s best-on-ground performance on Saturday afternoon. He’s always been a unique player, a 193cm All-Australian key forward with a midfielder’s tank and cat-like reflexes who would, you suspect, be equally as comfortable playing permanently down back or in the middle. He put that endurance on show in the six-goal win over the Bombers, gathering possessions all over the ground and sending his GPS results skyrocketing. Roughead’s stats were those of a midfielder and a forward rolled into one – 29 possessions (16 contested), 14 score involvements, eight marks, seven clearances (an equal game-high with teammate Liam Shiels) seven tackles and a scoreboard return of 1.3. What a great luxury for Alistair Clarkson to be able to let him loose like that, knowing that with Jack Gunston, Luke Breust et al up forward, there’s still enough firepower to trouble any backline. The last ten minutes alone typified what a versatile player Roughead is – booting his only goal for the game, taking contested marks in the middle, providing relief down back in the absence of the injured James Frawley and on the final siren, laying a lunging tackle on Jake Carlisle to prevent a last-gasp score. It’s that type of siren-to-siren commitment the Hawks provide themselves on, and the versatility of a player like Roughead that’s made them so good for so long.
The Crows are an enigma
More than halfway through the season, does anybody really know whether the Crows are a decent team? Their Saturday twilight clash against the lowly Lions was a carbon copy of at least two of their wins against bottom eight teams (Melbourne and Carlton) this season. Adelaide started slowly, conceding the first four goals of the game as Lions Dayne Zorko and Lewis Taylor showed them up for midfield speed. The Crows played with a similar malaise for three quarters and with all due respect to Brisbane, if they’d been playing a top team, the margin would have been far greater than a getable four goals at the final change. But then the final quarter rolled around and the Crows woke up – 6.3 to 0.2 on the scoreboard turned a potential loss into a 13-point win, Patrick Dangerfield stormed out the middle with authority, the backline was resolute and Tex Walker nailed a 55m captain’s goal after struggling in front of the big sticks all day. They’re the footy equivalent of the little girl with the little curl – when the Crows are good they’re great to watch, but when they’re poor they’re terrible. Their run home offers some prickly challenges, with two games against West Coast, Sydney (away), the resurgent Richmond and a trip to Geelong in the final round. In many ways, it’s a more preferable fixture than multiple match-ups against cellar dwellers. Consistency has eluded the Crows for a couple of years, and if they are to play finals, they need to start finding it.
St Kilda’s rebuild is on track
Having finished with more scoring shots, contested possessions and inside-50s than the Western Bulldogs, the Saints had every right to feel aggrieved that they couldn’t scrape over the line on Saturday night. But the most obvious take away from the six-point loss – their third loss by a less than 10 points this season – was that the Saints’ rebuild is on the right path. Pre-season, many tipped them for the spoon, some theorizing they’d struggle to win more than a couple of games. Twelve games in, they’ve exceeded expectations in virtually every facet. The Saints have lost by 10 goals just twice (Collingwood and Hawthorn), compared to five beltings including three consecutive 70+ point losses this time last year.
The team has clearly embraced coach Alan Richardson’s gameplan, and at times its defensive pressure has been as good as anyone’s. With David Armitage (27) and Jack Steven (25), their midfield has two A-graders with at least five years left, while Josh Bruce (32 goals, three on Saturday night) has been a revelation up forward, giving Saints fans newfound confidence that the world may not collapse when Roo hangs up the boots. Just as impressive are the unheralded youngsters. Few footy fans would recognize Seb Ross, Jimmy Webster or Jack Newnes in the street, but with two or three seasons of regular senior gametime under their belts they are becoming week-in, week-out contributors.
St Kilda was in the game to the death against the Dogs, and while its 4-8 win-loss record may not indicate it, the team has been competitive almost every week. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that St Kilda of 2016 will be the Western Bulldogs of 2015, rising from near-obscurity to a potential finals berth. Few who’ve watched them play with such spirit this year could begrudge it.
