The Hawks rediscover the need for speed
One of the many ways West Coast showed up Hawthorn in the qualifying final was in exposing the Hawks’ lack of speed. With Isaac Smith hobbled by a leg injury and Brad Hill down on form, too much of Hawthorn’s run and carry was left to Cyril Rioli – and we all know those fragile hamstrings mean No33’s best work is done inside forward 50.
What a difference a week makes. The Hawks looked like they were running on top of the ground as they made light work of the Crows on Friday night. In part, it was due to their trademark slick ball movement and willingness to play on at all opportunities, but in part it was the form of their two speedsters when the game was there to be won. Smith looked a different player to the one who was so severely limited against the Eagles, providing valuable run and spread and burning off David Mackay to drill a long goal in the first quarter. He finished with 21 possessions, eight marks and two goals – a far cry from his hampered effort in the west.
Hill, too, had been down of form of late. At his best, the dual premiership player uses his blistering speed and creativity in equal measures. There were signs in the first quarter – gut running to make space, showing poise with the ball - that he was returning to his best. Throw in the welcome return to form of Luke Breust, who was goalless in three consecutive games heading in but booted six to leave Adelaide’s backline all at sea, and there are three significant weapons Ross Lyon has to factor for this week. The Hawks threw down the gauntlet on Friday night, and it’s up to the Dockers to respond. What a tantalising contest it will be.
Adelaide make a grave error in the coaching box
A few eyebrows were raised during the week when Adelaide interim coach Scott Camporeale said he’d back in his side to continue their attacking ways against the reigning premiers. “Sometimes you can worry more about the opposition than what you want to achieve,” he mused. “We will have plans, but we will also back our systems in.”
Beating the young Bulldogs in a hugely entertaining elimination final – in which the 109-102 scoreline resembled a basketball match more than an AFL final – was one thing, but it was always unlikely the same run-and-run ideology was going to work against a team like Hawthorn.
If anything, West Coast and before them Port Adelaide and Richmond provided the blueprint to beat the Hawks. Top of the list: pressure the ball carrier (the Eagles did this to such great effect in the second quarter of the qualifying final that the Hawks went at just 49% kicking efficiency) and restrict Hawthorn’s uncontested marks around the ground. Fail to do these things, and the Hawks will simply cut you up time and time again.
The semi-final was already over by the time Jordan Lewis slotted his side’s eighth goal after the quarter-time siren – but sirens should have been sounding in the Crows’ coaching box at the fact Hawthorn had a staggering 37 more uncontested marks in the first stanza alone.
It’s not that Adelaide doesn’t boast firepower of their own, but only Patrick Dangerfield and Sam Jacobs were anywhere near their best. Ultimately, to beat Hawthorn, you need some brilliance on the field and some brilliance in the box. Adelaide’s gallant season came to an end with a little bit of the former and not enough of the latter.
Should he stay or should he go?
With Adelaide’s season done and dusted, all eyes now turn to star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield, still yet to reveal his playing intentions for 2016 and beyond. The best player to remain unsigned this late in a season since Lance Franklin in 2013, Dangerfield has been linked to a return to the Victorian coastal town of Moggs Creek and a hefty contract with the Cats for at least a year, and an increasing amount of Geelong insiders seem confident they will land their man.
Body language experts had a field day trying to analyse Dangerfield on Friday night. Was a pre-match pep talk by Rory Sloane a “so long, thanks for the memories” or simply talking tactics? Was the comforting arm around the shoulder by Scott Thompson just two team-mates sharing the pain of a loss or was the veteran saying goodbye? Was Dangerfield’s obvious emotion after the final siren simply the shellshock of a finals belting or something more?
Given Dangerfield is one of the favourites at Monday week’s Brownlow count, and the free agency window doesn’t open until 9 October, it’s highly likely the speculation will drag on for another fortnight.
Unlike Lachie Henderson, Adam Treloar and Jake Carlisle, all of whom have already requested trades, free agents who’ve changed clubs have tended to keep their cards close to their chest until the free agency window officially opens. Until then, all Adelaide and Geelong supporters can do is keep their fingers crossed he chooses them.
Sydney’s paper-thin forward line fails
If Lance Franklin’s withdrawal from the finals series had Sydney’s premiership hopes hanging by a thread, the sight of Sam Reid clutching at his torn hamstring early in the qualifying final was the final nail in the coffin. The key forwards joined midfield guns Kieren Jack and Luke Parker on the sideline, and it was simply too much for the Swans to handle.
At times on Saturday night, Sydney’s forward line consisted of second-gamer James Rose, rookie Isaac Heeney and 17-gamer Dean Towers. It was as threadbare as threadbare gets. Adam Goodes, who quietly announced his retirement after the loss, floated around but aside from kicking the game’s first goal had little impact. As for Lewis Jetta, he may have well have already booked his plane ticket back to Western Australia by the time he was subbed out after a lacklustre seven-possession effort.
No matter how much “Bloods spirit” you can instil in a side, no team could kick a winning score in a final with that much inexperience up forward. What would John Longmire have given for a second Kurt Tippett? The maligned big man was ended the season in superb form, equally as effective as the Swans’ starting ruckman as he was up forward. He kicked two goals on Saturday, both from strong marks, but was forced to spend the bulk of the game trying to nullify Todd Goldstein in the ruck. The dramatic decline of Mike Pyke this season has the Swans scrambling to recruit a ready-made ruckman for 2016, but Tippett’s career-best form has shown that he’s adept in either role. He was one bright spot in what was otherwise a below-par year for Sydney.
The North Melbourne conundrum
North Melbourne made history on Saturday night, becoming the first eighth-placed team to make it to the preliminary final under the current finals system. Their two finals performances – a come-from-behind win against Richmond and a commanding win over the depleted Swans – have been near faultless. Yet for the second year running the Kangaroos find themselves heading interstate to face a white-hot opponent in the penultimate round, with few even willing to give them a chance of an upset.
North Melbourne are the anti-Richmond. While the Tigers have looked a million dollars during the home and away season only to fall short three Septembers in a row, the Kangaroos switch it on when it matters but don’t win enough games during the season to give themselves a genuine opportunity to challenge.
During the season, they were smashed by Gold Coast and let a seven-goal lead slip against Collingwood. If they’d won both of those games they could have realistically found themselves challenging for top four in the final round. Last year, they beat the Dockers and Swans away, as well as the Hawks but inexplicably fell short against the Lions and Blues.
This is not to knock a superb performance on Saturday night – far from it. Any team with the midfield grunt of Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington, the outside class of Brent Harvey and Shaun Higgins, the twin towers of Drew Petrie and Jarrad Waite up forward and the game’s best ruckman is clearly more than capable of doing plenty of damage. Pleasingly, the Kangaroos were switched on for four quarters, and were able to withstand some fierce Swans pressure in the third.
But the problem with North Melbourne isn’t what they do in September, it’s what they do in the 22 weeks preceding it. Perennial finalists like Fremantle, Hawthorn and Sydney know how crucial it is to bank enough wins to finish in the top four. If the Kangaroos develop the ruthless streak required to do the same, they may stop finding themselves faced with such enormous challenges to make the big dance. Because as the past two finals campaigns have shown, their best is all but good enough.
