At the Trough Rd 6
Sliding at the contest is still a hot topic around the grounds with Greg Broughton nearly ending David Swallow’s season. The Bombers continue to impress and Karmichael Hunt is making plenty of critics eat their words. Collingwood are still in the winners circle but there must be some concern at the Westpac centre about the form of the pre season fancies. With the Eagles the only undefeated team after six rounds the ladder is starting to take some shape. Also…We wouldn’t mind a cover every now then! Let’s take a look at the highlights and lowlights of the round that was.
Top Dollar!
5. Adelaide are here to stay: The Crows are a bloody good football side. Granted they are short a quality defender but given that Bock and Davis sold out the club that stands to reason. Their midfield is full of guns particularly now that Dangerfield is finally playing consistently. Between him and Scotty Thompson they have two of the top four contested ball winners in the competition to date. Slone provides run and create and Tex Walker and Tippett are twin towers. Porplyzia adds a touch of class. Knocking off the undefeated Sydney on the road gives them some much needed credibility.
4. Buddy and Cyril: The Hawks have been disappointing this year even if you make some allowances for the difficulty of their draw so far. Once again it appears they’ve been over hyped and struggle with that tag. They may make the four and they may not but one thing that is for sure, when Buddy and Cyril fire together they are just about unstoppable. 11.7 from 23 score involvements just shows how potent they can be. If they could add some consistency to their game then Roughead might be able to play CHB and solve their defensive woes.
3. Good old Cox: In a sharp kick to the knackers of around 50,000 Dream Team coaches, Nic Nat was a late withdrawal from the Eagles matchup with the Kangaroos meaning that Big Dean would be required to shoulder the ruck load against an in-form McIntosh. The great man gave Hamish an absolute bath. Showing why he is considered the best ruckman of the AFL era Cox had 21 touches and 8 marks to go with his 6 clearances. He racked up 32 hitouts, not massive numbers but with 17 to advantage it’s clear to see why the Eagles could generate 35 scoring shots. Capped off a best afield performance with a Dave Grohl.
2. Brett Stanton: Maligned by many, including his own supporters, Stanton has gone up another cog this year. An elite runner, suited to the modern game and a great foil for Watson who does the majority of the inside work. Was quite against the Pies on ANZAC day after a shut down job from Marty Clarke but bounced back with 39 touches against the Lions and amassed a record 193 Dream Team points. Should have cracked 200 but missed a couple of shots on goal. He finds space as shown by his 17 uncontested marks but what will make Hirdy even happier is his defensive work rate laying 8 tackles. It’s no wonder the Bombers are flying.
1. No Ablett, no worries: Whilst they still haven’t cracked it for a win the Suns are turning plenty of heads and this time it's for the right reasons. Given the way Ablett started the year, averaging 40 plus one could be forgiven for thinking the Suns were proper fucked without him. What his absence has shown us all is that there is plenty of talent in that side. We all know how much skill and presence Swallow has but Sam Day is making massive strides as is Charlie Dixon. Karmichael Hunt has silenced plenty of knockers and gained a lot of fans with his manic approach at the contest and his poise with the nut in hand. Harley Bennell has been the brightest light for the Suns though with his skill and intensity. His 37 possession 3 goal game almost got them across the line against the Dockers and for a kid whom many suspected would struggle to adapt given his dramas last year, Bluey is doing cartwheels now Bennell has signed for another two years.
Shithouse!
1. Bagging Taggers: We all love watching the best players get plenty of the ball. It’s only natural, they have the biggest impact on the games because they have the most ability. You want Judd and Ablett and these types to get 30 touches a game because you know you’ll see fireworks. The last thing an opposing coach wants is for the Judd’s of the world to get 30 touches because they know this will very likely fuck up their day. Hence the tag. “Hey Lewis, I don’t give two shits if you don’t get a kick today but I’m going to give you a uppercut for every stat on Dal Santo’s sheet” is what I’d imagine Clarko would have said pre game. Scrag, tag, wrestle, niggle whatever it takes. The bleeding hearts want taggers called to account for their negating tactics. We’ve even reached the point where players from other clubs are tweeting during games that the tags are too hard. Toughen up princess and get your mates to give you a block.
2. Keep your feet: Sliding into the contest has become the biggest bug bear in the league. The inconsistencies in the Match Review Panel decisions haven’t helped the situation with no one really knowing where they stand. It seems now that unless you go in studs up then it’s all sweet but that doesn’t help Gary Rohan. We all winced when David Swallow’s shin bowed like a banana after Greg Broughton came sliding in but that too has been deemed to be a legal contest. We are all taught from a young age to keep your feet at the contest and that’s as it should be. How many more legs need to be broken before the AFL make a ruling that you must be on your feet to challenge for the ball.
3. Who’s on him? Melbourne have their fair share of woes as Mark Neeld tries to find his feet. I can cop the fact that he started both his captains on the bench. I believe it was more of a carrot for them than anything else but what can’t be denied is their lack of any real attempt to shut down Steve Johnson. Now Stevie J is a gun footballer but his last three games against the Dees beggar belief. He’s averaged 32 touches, 8 marks, 6 tackles, 4 goals, 5 goal assists and although we won’t know for sure for a few months, it’s fair to assume, 3 Brownlow votes. The last two weren’t Neeld’s fault and you could make the argument that they don’t have the cattle to shut down all the Geelong guns but when a bloke is directly involved in 9 goals a game against you, you need to put a bell on him.
4. Cloke and Dagger: Will he stay or will he go? My money is on go for the pure and simple fact that his old man is trying to cash in on his one good son. Luckily enough for Cloke Snr, Travis is a dumb as a post and by all reports is content silently drawing in the corner while his pet Horse watches cartoons in the lounge room. They say he is designing his next tattoo but I find it hard to believe that he is not wearing out his Purple Crayola doing his best to capture the beauty of the Docker home strip. He’s a bloody good footballer and wherever he lands he’ll make them a stronger side but it serves everyone well to get it out of the way as Eddie won’t cope well with the innuendo. #theyarealljustsmokeandmirrorsintheshadows
5. Cue in the rack: As someone who doesn’t mind a flutter on the footy from time to time, I find it infuriating that the coaches seem to take every opportunity to put the cue in the rack rather than put the foot on the throat. Every week a perfectly good bet or two falls foul due to sides not making the most of their ascendency. Given the size of the lines in the majority of games thus far it’s a fair play to be considering plenty of dogs for the next few weeks. If you need three goals to cover with five minutes on the clock you might as well tear up your ticket lads because Bucks isn’t interested. Whilst I appreciate that a win is a win and covering a seven goal line is not really a priority, I would certainly appreciate a little more effort in this area. King Regards,
