Well, as we said in our Round 10 predictions and best bets, the biggest margin of the round was the Eagles over the Suns. The Eagles cruised to a 77-point win at Domain Stadium. Josh Kennedy kicked five goals, just falling short of getting one more for most goals of the round. So close! In our multi-bet, Richmond didn’t quite get the 40+ over Essendon, missing by just two points. That said, even if the Tigers made the line, the massive upset of the round (and season) was Carlton winning over flag favourites, Geelong. We predicted Geelong to win comfortably. Didn’t everyone? So, what happened? I’m still shaking my head…
Oh Yes!
As predicted, Friday night at the SCG was the end of North Melbourne’s winning streak. Sydney jumped out of the blocks early and it looked like it was going to be a blow out. North did well to reign the margin back in, but they never really looked like winning. Many of their best players were having an off night, struggling to get their hands on the footy, and looking slow at times. It wasn’t a display worthy of a top-of-the-table team. That said, North were two games clear going into Round 10, so they’re still at the top, just with less breathing space than before. Is this the start of the tumble? There’s a tough few weeks ahead. Time will tell. Todd Goldstein spent several breaks of extended minutes on the bench and ended the game sitting out with his right knee iced. Not sure if this is need for concern, or maybe it’s just savvy player management in a game that was already lost? Robbie Tarrant did well down back, restricting Buddy Franklin to three goals, which is always a good night for a defender. Sydney’s, Tom Mitchell, was a ball magnet, finishing with a career high 41 disposals and 10 tackles, thus earning the inaugural, Goodes-O’Loughlin medal. With Sydney’s gun mid-field on fire, I think we can pretty much rule out a Sydney player winning the Brownlow this year. Mid-fielders, Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker and Josh Kennedy have all had very votable games, but with Tom Mitchell now in the mix, votes are being spread thin and there won’t be enough to get one player the win. It’ll hurt all their chances. In the end, it was a comfortable 26-point win to the Swans.
The clock wound back thirty years and Ross Lyon gave his Dockers a good, old-fashioned spray at quarter time. How good was that?! His team had laid just 9 tackles in the first quarter, twenty less than the opposition. Fremantle looked as though they were in for an absolute smashing. They were lucky to be down to the Saints by just 16 points at the first break. It was looking ugly early. Real ugly! The spray certainly worked, with the Dockers kicking seven goals to two in the second and third quarters. The Saints were shell-shocked! The Dockers looked fired up and were comfortable leaders for a time. Ross Lyon was even laughing in the coaches’ box. It didn’t last though. A solid final term saw the Saints win by 34-points, but the winless Dockers “almost” got their first win on the board on Saturday afternoon. No doubt, Saint’s coach, Alan Richardson, asked his team if they wanted to be the ones to give it to them. The Saints answered with an emphatic – NO!
Jordan Lewis turned it on for his 250th game against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon. The Lions were better than they’ve been in a while, but the Hawks put the foot down in the final quarter, winning by 48 points. Lewis celebrated his milestone game with 42 disposals, 18 contested possessions, six inside 50 entries, nine clearances and two goal assists. As expected, he was best afield.
He may have gone goalless last week, but on Saturday night, Eddie Betts kicked five, including, what has to be top of the list for Goal of the Year! As sure as the sun coming up tomorrow, if that Eddie Betts goal isn’t goal of the year, it’ll be one that he’s already kicked, or one that he’s yet to kick. Just give Eddie the car now!
“Dreamtime at the G” – Certainly not the most exciting Dreamtime game we’ve seen in recent years. Richmond chugged along against a spirited Essendon. The Dons kept coming, as they do each and every week. Despite a 38-point win, the Tigers didn’t blow the Bombers apart. And now, finals footy is still a very real possibility for Richmond. They just have to keep on winning. With a hat trick of wins, they play North Melbourne on Friday night. What a game that’ll be!
The further Port Adelaide travel, the better they play, which is darn good to know considering they’ll be playing in China next year! If only they could get Melbourne as their opposition, we can chalk up the win already!
The Giants should be acknowledged for their explosive style of footy. Prime time games are a must to get their supporter base pumping. They’re genuine finals contenders this year, yet they can only pull under 10,000 people to home games.
If an AFL exhibition match were to be played right now, the Giants would be my first choice to slot in as definite starters. They take the game on. They’re fast, high scoring, and gutsy. They play with the spirit and grit that make our game great. They deserve to be elevated to the big stage. Friday night-lights is the next step.
The Indigenous round jumpers were a sight to behold. The Adelaide Crows design was an absolute stand out for mine. Designed by renowned Aboriginal artist, Susie Betts, the paternal aunt of Eddie, it was artwork in motion at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. Inspiring stuff.
After last week’s post-match tantrum, Nick Riewoldt redeemed himself, smiled nicely and took selfies with fans after the game. Look, some of them might be wearing adult one-sies and smell like beer, but no matter what, the fans come first – always.
The West Coast Eagles are a well-oiled machine at home. As predicted, it was a big win with an emphatic 77-point win over the Gold Coast Suns.
The dreaded shot clock…has it been killed off? I didn’t see the 30-second countdown all weekend.
Oh No!
Players ducking – it’s been going on for years. The head-driven duck isn’t being paid as much now, because we have to protect the head. Rewarding head driven tackles is a paralysed player waiting to happen. This new, drop, slide and fling-back-the-head move is becoming an epidemic. A tackler can’t tackle waist high if the player he’s tackling stops, props and drops. This is the go-to-move for these players. The tackler’s initial intent is to go waist high, but his arms are pushed up and over the shoulder by the “ducker,” and a high tackle is paid. It’s not fair play. It’s not what our game’s about. I hate it! The umpires are in the moment and a split-second decision is made. I get that. However, a post-match review of the culprits, by the AFL and the umpires, is something that must be done to stamp this crap out. Don’t reward it and the players will stop doing it. In fact, maybe a free kick should go to the tackler instead. Stage to get a free kick and you’re penalized. Let’s see how long it continues then. Again, this would become an umpire’s interpretation of a rule, which brings me to my next gripe.
The “interpretation” of the rules as determined by individual umpires. It’s a very real problem, and not everyone is on the same page. The rules should just be the rules, right? Clearly defined. Or, are they so fluid and so “grey,” that we’re now seeing the fallout of too many rule changes, too quickly? None of us, including the players, coaches and umpires, can keep up.
Melbourne still can’t win in Alice Springs, despite it being a “home game.”
Geelong lose to Carlton! Geelong’s horrendous first quarter against Carlton at Etihad on Sunday afternoon was the start of the upset story of the season. Silly, undisciplined free kicks against. Sloppy (aka lazy) ball use. Inaccuracy in front of goal, namely two points early by Tom Hawkins. Strangely, it was Corey Enright, a defender, who kicked Geelong’s first goal at the 11-minute mark, and Joel Selwood, arguably the best mid-fielder in the competition, started the game in the forward line. Selwood still hadn’t touched the ball at the 17-minute mark of the first quarter. Joel Selwood, a ball magnet, no touches! What’s going on, Geelong? This is just bizarre! Flag favourites? Sorry, I don’t see it. Carlton were down on two rotations for three quarters and Geelong still couldn’t over run them. Brendon Bolton will most certainly be 2016’s Coach of the Year….the King of Moomba, and possibly even our next Prime Minister. I’d vote for him!
Bad luck cost Collingwood a very winnable game against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. Leading at every change, bar the last, which is obviously the most important one, the Collingwood army had four soldiers down, which meant no one was on the bench going into the last quarter. Injuries to Moore (collarbone), Fasolo (shoulder), Toovey (concussion) and Adams (hamstring) stopped the rotations, which helped the Dogs’ to a 21-point victory. No doubt, an injury plagued Pies outfit now makes way for out-of-favour Travis Cloke’s much-anticipated return to the senior team next week.
There’s been a lot of talk about the top eight already being set. Oh no…not quite yet. It’s just starting to get interesting.
See you at the end of the week with our Round 11 predictions and best bets!
