In April 2010 John Hartigan, then CEO of News Ltd, shared with the Victorian Supreme Court something football fans had long presumed about the media. “It’s certainly the industry view that Collingwood Football Club, when you put them on the front page, you sell a lot of extra copies,” Hartigan proffered during an unfair dismissal case against a former Herald Sun editor. Hartigan’s opinion is a Victorian truism, and not without some basis in fact. The first edition of the Herald Sun, published two days after Collingwood’s 1990 grand final triumph, remains by some margin the biggest seller in the tabloid’s history.
Allegations of large numbers of AFL contracted players engaging in recreational drug taking caused a stir in the days leading up to the opening bounce of 2016 but it was the alleged direct links to Collingwood that made headlines. The stories added another dimension to the old newspaper riddle – what’s black and white and red all over?
There was red all over the black and whites on Saturday night at the SCG to guarantee Collingwood’s prolonged residency on the back pages. It is hard to conceive of Saturday’s 80-point annihilation by Sydney going much worse for Nathan Buckley. His young side only has one player on its list either older than 29 or with more than 250 games experience. That player, Dane Swan, broke his fibula and fractured his foot early in the first quarter. Travis Cloke, second behind Swan in age and games played, failed to record a first-half disposal. Steele Sidebottom, the club’s sixth-most experienced player, is likely to miss upcoming fixtures after he was reported for a high bump on Daniel Hannebery in the third quarter. Perhaps the only piece of good fortune was the lack of significant damage to Alex Fasolo who crashed headfirst into the turf following a marking contest.
As with all first round defeats only time will tell how representative this result will prove. The worry for Collingwood is this was far from a full strength Swans outfit. The home side named five debutants, six players 21 or under and used Kurt Tippett as their primary ruckman.
The industry and application of John Longmire’s colts suggests a bright future for the Swans. If Lance Franklin can maintain his round one form the present will be worth paying close attention to also. The forward’s 2015 season ended under a cloud with questions inevitably asked about the ability of a 29-year old to recapture the form that made him such an expensive recruit. It took just 10 seconds for Franklin to state his case, marking the opening clearance of the match and then swinging his left leg truly for the game’s first major. Thereafter he roamed like a tattooed velociraptor, slotting three further goals, including a couple from the 50-metre arc towards the left forward pocket. These trademark carefree swings of the boot were ominous signs for the rest of the competition.
Even accounting for the one-way traffic, the lack of congestion at the often bunged-up SCG was testament to the immediate success of preseason rule tweaks. The 10-metre protected area around the mark and the stricter interpretation of deliberate out-of-bounds contributed to a breathless and buccaneering opening round.
A clear example of the change in mindset came in North Melbourne’s narrow victory over Adelaide when Sam Jacobs resisted his instinct to allow Robbie Tarrant’s scrag to carry him over the boundary line for fear of conceding possession. There were just two points separating the sides deep into the third-quarter and the expected few minutes of time-eroding big-man wrestling failed to eventuate.
Elsewhere during a superb long weekend of action there were stylistic cues to the 2016 season. Topping this list is the ballistic approach of almost every team on display. The Western Bulldogs harnessed this manic play-on at all costs style to vault from the pack into an elimination final in 2015. The Bulldogs seem ready to take another step forward in 2016, beginning the year with a breathtaking display of power and pace against an out of sorts Fremantle. St Kilda’s rapid counterattacking saw them get in behind Port Adelaide’s defence so often they could have been forgiven for thinking one of the rule changes included borrowing the A-League’s offside trap.
Encouragingly, the formerly dour Melbourne and Carlton have both been swept along in this tidal wave of relentless ball movement. Against GWS the Demons’ transition from inside to out was delivered with a conjurer’s sleight of hand. The ball then travelled at sprinter’s pace from the moment of transition from defence into attack. Such decisive play offers fresh hope not only to supporters of lower-ranked clubs but also fans of other teams hoping to watch a full round of entertaining footy each weekend. Cheaper hot chips makes for fan-friendly soundbites but the promise of nine matches of competitive full-throttle action will satisfy appetites more than any marketing gimmick.
Such a high-speed approach increases the degree of difficulty with ball in hand and Melbourne illustrated the challenge faced by recent converts, butchering the Sherrin inside-50 for three quarters, handing GWS control at the final break. One burst of efficient ball use early in the fourth quarter decided the four points.
That passage also drew attention to another point of early season focus, the two-way battle between the lone key forward and the rebounding centre half-back. Phil Davis had claims to being the most decisive figure on Saturday afternoon at the MCG. For three quarters he outplayed Jesse Hogan, not only nullifying his opponent but making the interceptions that signalled the release of the attacking slingshot. Then for a brief period – the result of the 90-cap interchange perhaps – Hogan was able to find space and change the game for his side. Tom McDonald performed a similar role for the Dees in a move earmarked during the NAB Challenge as a foundation of the next stage of Melbourne’s revitalisation.
The Demons featured in one of four matches to remain in the balance until the closing stages. Of the processions, the hidings to the Pies and Dockers will do the season no harm. Only the uncompetitive Bombers would be giving AFL HQ headaches but even that negative storyline was balanced by the return to action of the exceptional Gary Ablett.
A promising start then to a campaign where the tempo on-field looks set to be as high as some players are proving to be off it. And the highlight may still be to come with the Dangerfield-inspired Cats hosting the hat-trick Hawks on Monday afternoon.
