The Magpies miss the memo
The meteorologists predicted it and the weather radar confirmed it: rain was on the way to Adelaide Oval on Thursday night and when it arrived, it would arrive in the bucket load. Inconceivably, Collingwood missed the memo. Ignorance about the looming conditions was the only excuse for the Magpies’ late change – rebounding small defender Marley Williams out, ruckman Brodie Grundy in. To lose Williams, the man in career-best form who would have likely stood Chad Wingard, hurt but to replace him with an additional big man given the forecast and the fact that Jarrod Witts had held his own in the middle in recent weeks was ludicrous.
Wet weather games are typically dominated by tough, midsize players who crack in – just ask noted mudlarks Jimmy Bartel or Sam Mitchell. With Grundy (203cm), Witts (209cm), Jesse White (196cm), Travis Cloke (196cm) and second-game swingman Darcy Moore (199cm) on the field together, Collingwood was far too top heavy in a game where the ball resembled a piece of soap for most of the night. At the same time, Port Adelaide lost two defenders during the week and loaded up on run, and the big bodies of Ollie Wines and Travis Boak were influential for four quarters. Combined with Collingwood’s inability to curb Port’s loose man Matthew Broadbent, who resolutely repelled their frantic thrusts forward in search of a winning goal late, Port had the edge on the field, at the selection table and in the coaching box. Despite a scare late, they thoroughly deserved the four points.
The umpiring howler of the year
If Nick Vlaustin had any sense, he would have bought a lotto ticket on his way home from the MCG on Friday night, such was his luck in the third quarter. The Richmond defender was paid a mark that was clearly taken by Carlton’s Matthew Kreuzer in what was comfortably the most mind-boggling umpiring decision of the season to date. The ‘man in front’ rule exists for situations where two players have equal claim to a mark. This was all Kreuzer, as the Blues ruckman soared above Vlaustin and team-mate Tom Bell to pluck it cleanly. Vlaustin put his arms up to try to impact the contest, and ended up wrestling the ball from Kreuzer’s arms by the time they landed.
Seemingly, the umpire only saw the last part of the equation, hence the entirely incorrect decision. The mark-that-wasn’t was less than five minutes before three-quarter-time, with the Blues 22 points down. Kreuzer should have had a shot from 35m to breathe some excitement back into the contest. The offending umpire would have been relieved that the Tigers ran away for a comfortable win in the end, but the result shouldn’t detract from what was a truly inconceivable mistake.
Playing kids and losing aren’t mutually exclusive
Two weeks ago, James Hird made a bizarre statement. “I think history will tell you that if you play seven players or more under 50 games then your chances of winning are very low,” said the Bombers coach after his team’s mauling at the hands of West Coast, publicly musing the need for his team to redevelop itself. Perhaps Hird’s statement rings true over time, but he only needed to look at the unexpected success of the youth-stacked Western Bulldogs and Collingwood this season to see the exuberance and energy new faces can bring to a side.
Essendon made five changes this week, losing almost 650 games of experience via Jobe Watson, Adam Cooney, Courtney Dempsey and Jake Melksham and replacing them with a collective total of less than 60, including debutant Jayden Laverde. It meant the Bombers team that defeated the more fancied Melbourne had no less than 12 players under 50 games. Five-goal hero Joe Daniher was close to best on ground, his nerves of steel delivering the sealer from 50m, and the Bombers also got contributions from speedy Shaun Edwards, Nick O’Brien and Zach Merrett. If some senior Bombers are mentally fatigued by the dramas of the past three years, as Hird has implied, the coach needs to see if some of these kids can play. They may have just hung on by the skin of their teeth, but more than half a team of teenagers and four premiership points is a successful Saturday afternoon in anyone’s language.
The Crows take the first step
It was impossible to predict how the Crows would play on Saturday night, given no team has ever had to live through the week and a half Adelaide has. And in the end, their performance had a bit of everything. The Eagles jumped them early but the Crows courageously fought back, led brilliantly by Patrick Dangerfield and with livewire forward Charlie Cameron influential. Players kissed their black armbands in honour of Phil Walsh, thumped their hearts and pointed skywards. The mantra appeared clear: tonight, we’re playing for Phil.
After half time, an impressive Eagles outfit that is shaping up as a genuine top four contender overran Adelaide. But the emotional post-match scenes put the result into context, as Crows and Eagles players linked arms and stood in the middle of Domain Stadium for a minute’s silence. The likes of Dangerfield, Sam Jacobs and Daniel Talia were inconsolable. The visiting team then shuffled to thank its travelling supporters with heads bowed and eyes puffy. It was truly moving vision, made all the more poignant by West Coast players remaining on the field and the enormous respect shown by the pro-Eagles crowd. The Crows are dealing with an unprecedented situation, and there will be plenty of tears flowing at Adelaide Oval on Sunday when Adelaide and Port meet in the Showdown. The game is crucial to both team’s finals aspirations, but right now, talk of September footy seems so trivial.
Fremantle hits the wall
The wheels have been wobbling at Fremantle for the past month, but they fell off in emphatic fashion on Sunday afternoon when the Dockers were belted by Hawthorn to the tune of 72 points. That Fremantle lost wasn’t a surprise, particularly at Hawthorn’s Arctic fortress in Launceston, but the lack of fight was more than a bit concerning. Like in the 2013 grand final, the Dockers could manage just a solitary goal in the first half while the Hawks scored with ease and from all angles. Ross Lyon teams have always been criticised for not getting the job done on the scoreboard when it matters, and this capitulation merely summed up the Dockers’ past month. Since that unexpected loss to Richmond in round 10, Fremantle’s highest score has been 84 and that was courtesy of a seven-goal final quarter against Brisbane. In the first nine rounds, the Dockers scored 100-plus five times but haven’t looked like doing it since.
Virtually all of their forwards are underperforming – Matthew Pavlich has been goalless in three of his past five games, Chris Mayne kicked his first major in five weeks against the Hawks and Hayden Ballantyne (just 11 goals for the season) is perilously close to a stint in the WAFL. The teams that have troubled the Hawks this season have done so with run-and-gun corridor footy; pretty much the antithesis of the slow, stagnant movement the Dockers specialise in right now. Mid-season slumps are nothing new and Fremantle is still in the box seat for a top two finish and valuable home finals. But if Lyon has had a few headaches in the last month, he woke up with a migraine today.
