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After the opening rounds throwing up a range of curveballs, round three saw a relative return to the status quo of expected results. Most of the favourites got the job done (Adelaide, Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong, Sydney, Port), but not after facing resistance in patches of their respective games. We’re still perhaps six weeks away from getting an adequate sample size of where teams are at, but it’s appearing that a nail biting mid-table slog for eight or nine teams is looming large.
Demolition derby
When the Dockers slammed on the opening 11 goals for the game, the result was merely a formality. The silenced Subiaco crowd sat with mouths agape as Ross Lyon’s mob punished a limp Eagles side, romping to their 15th derby win in the last 19 encounters.
What would be heartening for the Dockers is the performance of some the younger brigade, spreading the load for the ageing stars who are pushing for that final flag assault. Lachie Neale, Matt Taberner and Michael Walters played great games, especially in the first half when the win was set up. Cheap goals when the game was over only lessened the impact of the result, but perhaps the Dockers had an eye to Saturday night, the huge clash against the unbeaten Swans.
A bridge too far
North won’t lose many admirers for that performance against Port. But the result did bring up some old questions over Brad Scott’s ability as a tactician on game day. He’s a good club representative and renowned for his excellent man-management skills internally, but of what was in his control on Saturday night, he was found lacking.
Ken Hinkley deployed Matthew Broadbent as a loose man across half-back for large patches, enabling him able to rebound, control and create on behalf of the Power. Twenty of Broadbent’s touches were uncontested, seeing him roam around to go inside 50 five times and clear defensive 50 another three. He also finished with a goal and set up another to seal a great evening for Port.
There were also the the last five minutes, when Hinkley threw two players behind the ball to halt North’s momentum. It’s these little reoccurring instances of failing to react that hurt Scott, a coach who has come a long way since his horror learning curve of 2013.
North’s personnel threw everything at that contest, fringe players like Ben Jacobs and Mason Wood lifting to deliver beyond their means. Even Todd Goldstein and Sam Wright found a way whilst clearly hurt. But it wasn’t enough. The best find a way to win those games, and there’s still a gap left to close in order to reach that level of quality.
Eighteen going on 30
The term “manchild” has modern negative connotations, but in the context of Isaac Heeney, it’s used with nothing but praise. Coming in at 185cms and 82kgs, the 18-year-old in his third game of footy was clinical in his performance against the Giants. Kept out of Sydney’s star-studded midfield and played in the forward line, the Swans academy graduate is a serious threat at the feet of Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett. The four-goal and 16-touch effort should be commended not just for its efficiency, but for the manner in which the teenager from Newcastle backed up his rounds one and two cameo efforts.
It was almost fitting his afternoon ended in a manner of brutish proportions, subbed off and thankfully OK after cannoning into the goalpost whilst kicking his fourth goal. The moment crystallised a hunger, determination and focus – Heeney was so engrossed in getting his team over the line that he merely rode the hit from Tomas Bugg into the woodwork.
It’s the kind of miracle that coaches ask for in list management, drafting a player that not only gets on the park in his first year, but can also have a serious impact on proceedings. When it comes to the crunch, a team is only as good as the bottom eight players in their match day squad. If his fitness can be managed during the year, Heeney is a perfect candidate to surprise an opposition focussed on keeping the other Swans champions quiet.
Melbourne getting results but not the points
In purely on-field terms, Melbourne have been toxic for a long time. It started with ‘Baileyball’, (a term coined by Dees fans) a brand of highly attacking yet largely unaccountable footy. Mark Neeld came from under the wing of Mick Malthouse, trying to implement an ‘around the boundary’ style that his teacher had great success with at Collingwood. Unfortunately for Neeld, by the time he coached his first game the tactic had been dissected and worked out by opposition coaches. When Paul Roos arrived on the scene of the disaster last year, he made incremental improvements. Players were zoning, they were communicating off the ball and they were working harder.
Melbourne in all three games this year have been threatening. Saturday showed that whilst they still lack the polish, their desperation and effort has radically improved. The last gasp defending of Neville Jetta, Harry Lumumba and Tom McDonald was sublime under supreme pressure. Patrick Dangerfield spent the afternoon being battered by Angus Brayshaw and former team-mate Bernie Vince, portraying a physicality returning to a club that had spent an age wilting under pressure. Other bright moments included the Dees opening 10-minute blitz and Jeremy Howe’s outstanding hanger in defence. Wins may elude them most weeks, but it’s these little things Roos has to keep driving home. It’s slow and it’s painful, but they’re becoming a football team again.
