ANZAC Round has been and gone and it was touching as ever. The AFL is to be commended for the poise and respect that they present this round with each and every year. Nick has been to the ANZAC Day clash for the last two years and the only way he describes it to me is pure ‘Goosebumps’. Essendon almost pulled off a tremendous upset to prove they are the real deal this year, but they sat down when they need to stand. Nick Daicos is a freak! 40 touches and a couple of goals to win the ANZAC Medal by the length of the Flemington straight. He will be a generational talent, Judd, Ablett Jr, Goodes, Daicos.
Another young man who looks in for what is hopefully a long, fruitful career is the young ROOOOOOO! Jacob Van Rooyen that is. The Demons have a good one here. 9 goals in his first 4 games and a career-best performance against the Tigers that got the Dees over the line. His contested marking ability is already fully developed and he looks as though he has played the game at the top level for years. It makes me feel good that I labelled him the Demons’ breakout player of the year as he looks as though he will be. But, to be fair, Kade Chandler is going to have a lot to say about that.
The final honourable mention – Fremantle. That period of time where they let the Bulldogs walk in a goal while they were too concerned with Rory Lobb was eerily similar to last year’s Elimination Final when the Dogs did the exact same thing and allowed Freo to walk in a goal at a critical point in the game, as they were too concerned with a sideline scuffle. I think that speaks volumes about how differently the teams operate just 6 months later. Freo are now 2-4 and are likely to fall to 2-5 next week, which is serious panic stations time.
The Good
Knock Knock! The Saints Defence Exposes Carlton
St Kilda has figured out the winning formula this year and all it took was an old-school, back-to-basics defence model from new coach Ross Lyon. Those who grew up playing FIFA will know it well – PARK. THE. BUS.
All year, so far, the Saints have flooded their backline, shutting down every possible attacking avenue and plating the strongest zone defence the competition has seen in years. It is Lyon’s trademark and it is working perfectly for the red, black and white this year. Carlton had nowhere to go on Sunday and quite frankly they had their pants pulled down. The Blues has almost 100 more disposals than the Saints, yet fewer inside 50’s and a heat map that shows a clear line halfway through the ground. Look at it. It speaks volumes. Carlton rarely got the ball past their defensive half of the ground, because all they could do was play kick-to-kick with their stars without venturing forward.
This was almost the ‘ugly’ for this week for Carlton’s poor performance, but I think our other article covers just how bad their situation is. You can read that here.
But, I feel like this is more reflective of St Kilda’s incredible performances this year. They have only 6 games to play against teams that are currently in the top 8 for the rest of the year. Of course, I am not saying they are already a lock for finals, they could choke. It happened last year, it can happen again. But the pieces are clearly there and at this rate, they aren’t slowing down any time soon.
The Bad
Commentators Return To The Remote Way Of Doing Things
They’re at it again. After rolling the full team out and having every single game of Gather Round called live from the grounds in South Australia, as they should have, Fox Footy reverted straight back to remote commentary. Every interstate game was called from the Melbourne studio. Apart from the boundary rider, not a single person was in Canberra, Perth, Tasmania, Adelaide or Gold Coast. Please correct me if I am wrong, but that is what the reports suggest.
It is ridiculous. Is it that hard to call the game from the ground? Clearly not, they literally did it last week. Remote commentary lacks the authenticity and atmosphere that comes with being live at the game. The excitement and energy of the crowd and the way it finds its way into the commentary booth is sometimes the most exciting part. You don’t get that from a studio, which can make the commentary feel disconnected from the actual game. Furthermore, commentators who are not physically present at the game may miss certain nuances and details that would be apparent to someone who is at the ground, leading to inaccurate or incomplete commentary. The product is significantly superior when the commentators can actually see every little thing that is happening instead of having them mistake players due to having to squint at the screen. All of these factors combined result in a cheapened product that fails to do justice to the sport and its passionate supporters.
I will try not to talk about it every week because it is the norm now and it is terrible that that’s the case. But, put simply, it’s terrible and it needs to stop.
The Ugly
Swans Fail Second Test Miserably
The stage was set. Geelong returning to GMHBA for the first time in a while, the flag being unveiled, Grand Final rematch scheduled, a back-and-forth contest anticipated. However, the Swans played like they just rolled out of bed and the whole thing went down like a wet fart, for Swans fans at least. For Cats fans, it was the greatest night ever, because it confirmed the league’s worst fear, the Cats are back baby!
The Swans can’t be blamed entirely, they did have zero backline. No Paddy McCartin, Tom McCartin or Dane Rampe. Really, the writing was on the wall before the game even started and once you saw Callum Mills of all people go to Tom Hawkins for a tag instead of playing through the midfield you just knew the Swans weren’t winning. But being beaten by almost 100 points? Nobody thought they would dish that up.
I spoke about how the Swans failed their first big test of the year when they got smashed by the Demons earlier in the year. This was their second test and the one that was way more important as they needed to pass with flying colours to prove a point that they can hang with the big boys. They failed. They failed miserably.
Chad Warner usually loves playing against the Cats, as such, Geelong prepared for that and made sure he had someone put body on him at every contest, ensuring every single one of his touches was earned and he didn’t take off on his trademark explosive running clearances. With Mills in the backline and Warner neutralised, the Bloods were left with little option to move the ball and at times looked lost as they just chased the Cats’ tails. There was a period where they allowed about 4 straight set shots at goal within a minute because the kick outs were put straight onto the chest of Geelong players. This was part skill error, but the repetitive nature of it highlighted just how clueless the Swans were. They didn’t know where to kick and many timed during the game the boys in Red and White look panicked and constantly second-guessing themselves. They just didn’t have the answers to Geelong’s electric ball movement, Blicav’s downright bullying presence in the ruck and Dangerfield’s most youthful performance in years.
If the Swans are serious about bucking the trend of teams dropping off the cliff when they are smashed in the Grand Final then these performances need to stop.
What did you think of the week of footy that was? Was I too harsh? Or am I bang? Comment below with your thoughts! I would love to discuss it.