There was crashing, bashing, and plenty of blood spilled…the first four AFL finals games did not disappoint. Let’s break ’em down!
Oh Yes!
Thursday night, the second Elimination Final, and the West Coast Eagles were red-hot favourites on their home deck. Sportsbet had taken over $200,000 on the home side to get the win. The battered and bruised Bulldogs had some valuable inclusions, but no one expected them to win, let alone win by 47 points! The mid-field mosquitos’, namely Caleb Daniel, Luke Dahlhaus and Liam Picken were the difference in the middle. Lin Jong was inconsolable after he left the ground following a heavy tackle by Eagle defender, Jeremy McGovern. What appeared to be a right shoulder, ended up being a season-ending broken collarbone. With rumours swirling about Jong leaving the kennel for a possible new home at Collingwood or the Gold Coast Suns, the tears were more than likely a mixture of pain, disappointment and the realization that playing another game with his Bulldogs’ teammates was over. The Bulldogs pulled off a massive upset. The underdogs won – literally!
It’s official! GWS are Sydney’s Kryptonite. It was another dominant display, and an emphatic win in their first ever final. The stage was set. The crowd was massive. Would the Giants choke or would they rise to the occasion? Jeremy Cameron kicked four goals and the new kids on the block swiped a 36-point win from the Sydney, who were the firm bookies favourites to get the win. The Giants have proved they’re contenders all season, and no more so than with Saturday’s win. There’s not a lot more they can do to prove that they can take the premiership now. They get a well-earned rest this week, and Sydney now face Adelaide at the SCG. The loser is out!
Adelaide is back, baby! With the help of Eddie Betts (six goals), Tom Lynch (four goals) and Taylor Walker (two goals), the Crows kicked 141 points! Adelaide’s strength is their ability to milk goals from multiple players. Adelaide play Sydney at the SCG next week, and unless Buddy can fire, it’s hard to see how the usual home ground advantage will get the Swans over the line.
Oh No!
Despite 16 wins for the season, the Eagles’ weren’t flat-track-bullies on Thursday night. They were just flat! Nic Nat’s ruck absence has proven where the Eagles’ sit without him. They’re a weakened unit and the shock loss to the Bulldogs’ proves how important he is to their winning formula. It feels like a wasted year for West Coast. Eliminated in week one is a bitter pill to swallow.
The epic battle that we thought it would be between Hawthorn and Geelong didn’t disappoint, except if you were on the Hawks and it was up to Isaac Smith to kick a goal after the siren to get the reigning premiers home…and he kicked a point instead! Yep, that happened! The Hawks are now destined to play the hungry Doggies in next week’s semi-final. The loser is out. The Hawthorn four-peat has just gotten that little bit harder. Geelong are rewarded with a week off. It’ll be their second bye in three weeks. Hmm, will it help or hinder the Cats?
Stevie J was fired up. Blood was spilled and men went down like bowling pins! He will definitely get suspended for a knock that threatened to take Sydney’s Josh Kennedy out of the game. Kennedy was groggy, but he was cleared of concussion, and played out the game (30 disposals/7 clearances). The big question is…if Stevie J is suspended, how long will it be for? If the Giants go all the way, a two week suspension means he misses playing in the Grand Final! That would be too cruel! Teammate, Shane Mumford could also be in trouble for a sling tackle on Kurt Tippett. Two separate head clashes, the earlier one also involving Mumford (and Callan Ward) meant Tippet’s impact was minimal. The post-match concern is his jaw. In the rooms after his concussion test, he was barely able to open his mouth wide enough to re-insert his mouthguard. Scans on Monday may confirm the worst…structural damage to his jaw.
The man most likely to be labelled Mr. September, Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin was kept goalless! Everyone expected Franklin to make his mark in the finals. The Giants kept him well held. Makes me wonder if that hip injury is more serious than first thought.
September tears…the tears and frustration showed in week one of the finals. Starting with Ling Jong’s shoulder/collarbone injury, the emotions overflowed into the Sydney/GWS game when Rising Star Winner, Callum Mills tweaked his left hamstring. He left the ground early and took no further part in the game. As he lay on the sidelines, he slammed his fist into the ground. No doubt, Sydney has gotten this far because of Mills. For him to possibly miss the Grand Final because of injury, well, it’s the cruellest of blows. Not even a Rising Star award can make up for that. News on Sunday morning is that it’s a “grade one” hamstring injury. Should the Swans reach the Grand Final, Mills may play.
When Harvey, Firrito, Dal Santo and Petrie left the Adelaide Oval, the emotions of the past several, turbulent weeks welled to the surface. The Adelaide players, and the capacity crowd showed nothing but class for the four departing Roo veterans. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Dal Santo or Harvey. Ironically, both of them were the top two disposal getters for the Roos’, finishing on 29 and 25 disposals, respectively. Maybe this is why coach, Brad Scott, and departing president, James Brayshaw, were wiping their own tears away? Big boys DO cry!
North Melbourne was lucky to be within spitting distance of Adelaide at half time. Though the scoreboard didn’t reflect it at the main break, the inevitable big margin was brewing and the final score (141-79) was the mauling that everyone predicted it to be. The Roos’ being out of the finals is a relief to everyone. It’s been a long, slow, painful death for the latter half of the season. They were lucky to cling on to eighth spot and the club’s self-sabotage by announcing the retirement of four favourite sons was the final nail in the coffin, weeks before Saturday night’s loss. With those four veteran players departing, and more players (Daniel Wells is one) to exit in the post-season, the Roos’ look a long way off being future finals contenders now. No doubt, that ugly, cringe-worthy word…a “rebuild” will be used next year…and the year after…and the year after that! Will Brad Scott be there to make those excuses, or will he end up coaching his old side, Brisbane? Time will tell…
We’ll be back towards the end of the week to take a look at finals, week two. A couple of big games are looming. Namely, Friday night’s game between Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, and Saturday night’s game between Sydney and Adelaide. Do or die! They’ll be brutal contests!
