The Prophet’s Perceptions
The final day of the 2024 home and away season. Two teams who genuinely dislike each other. The stage is set, drama is sure to ensue, and we head to Ballarat – and what a vibe it was. The Giants have already secured a top-four finish, but a win gives them a look at a home final; can they capitalise? For the Dogs, the ladder logjam means they need to win to guarantee a finals appearance, while a loss, given their percentage, still means they likely make it. So, there’s plenty on the line for both teams. Who gets the job done? Here’s what transpired. I’m the Prophet, and these are my Perceptions.
Playing the Conditions
The nature of playing a winter sport is that sometimes, there are winter-associated weather conditions. In Ballarat, a rural stadium with limited wind protection, these conditions can be felt in their fullness. So it was today. A raging wind to one end, giving some extra carry, while to the other, the ball could hoop as much as a Shane Warne leg break.
There needs to be a level of preparation for these conditions. The forecast always teased rain and definitely suggested strong winds. It can be a challenge for players to acclimatise at the moment, even with heavy planning. The Dogs seemed to take a little longer than the Giants to acclimatise early, however, beyond the first quarter, the Dogs ran rampant and were dominant. Their quick ball movement when they had the wind, with forwards starting behind their opponents for the extra carry, while also then pushing up in defence, forcing some longer kicks from the Giants when kicking into the wind
Disrupted Team Synergy
While conditions play a part, the synergy with a team does as well. We are used to seeing the occasional late change, but to change three players an hour before the game … that’s certainly disruptive. Now, these decisions may well have been made much earlier than the public found out, but they still have an impact. Especially a player like Brent Daniels who is a significant part of the Giants ball movement and their offensive threat.
This is by no means an excuse for the Giants, but it does challenge some team’s mantra of “next man in” and everyone playing their role. I feel as if the Giants lacked some synergy, while also struggled to navigate some of the conditions.
Free Liam Jones!
The AFL have been clamping down on dangerous tackles and big hits. However, there seems to be more emphasis placed on the outcome over the action, leaving perpetual unrest with the fanbase.
In regard to Liam Jones’ early tackle on Aaron Cadman, while the action doesn’t look great, I would like to see him avoid suspension. On replay, it looks like Cadman’s head makes minimal contact with the ground. He has an arm free, and initial contact is with the arm. Cadman also jumps straight up and plays out the game.
Now, I’m like most and want consistency in the adjudication. However, after going to the Melbourne Storm game on Saturday and some of the tackles and challenges in that game, I think the AFL has swung too far for a contact sport. For a situation like this, there is the scope for the MRO to reverse the norm and actually look to sending a message protecting footy actions going forward.
Pressure is Rising
Given the standing of both sides and their form coming in, we knew that this would be a finals-esque match in terms of pressure and intensity. While the Giants had their moments in terms of game control and putting the pressure on the Dogs, the Sons of the West were fantastic all game.
They harassed the Giants players and made life difficult for the Giants to get their orange tsunami moving. It was perceived pressure, bodies in the way, and forcing the Giants to move away from their natural game at times. The Giants, to their credit, hung in for two and a half quarters, but eventually, the Dogs wore them down and blew the margin out.
It was a great game of finals-like footy, one that the Bulldogs appeared to have the Giants measure for much of the contest.
Other Things
Sam Darcy continues to grow and add to his trick bag. In the second quarter, he took a F50 throw in, took the ball clean, and snapped a goal. It’s not a skill all key forwards possess, but if he can add this to his game, he’s going to become an even bigger threat.
Toby Greene did some Toby Greene things in this game. While he ebbed in and out of the contest, he had some moments in the third quarter. While he couldn’t kick accurately after a great down tackle, he did kick truly after the three-quarter-time siren giving the Giants a sniff.
While it’s not officially official, short of someone from Port or Fremantle breaking all sorts of goal-kicking records, congratulations to Jesse Hogan on winning the Coleman Medal. A much-maligned player, he has grown into a complete forward and has had an incredible 2024.
There’s no doubt Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will become a bonafide star of the competition. An interesting stat coming into today’s game saw him having the same number of shots at goal as Jesse Hogan, but starting 24 goals behind the Giant. The next stage of his evolution is accuracy on a consistent basis.
Lachie Whitfield continues to show the value of the elite runner who uses the ball well off half-back. Another 42 disposals today, and was vital to the Giants stay engaged in the contest. This game probably secures his AA selection this year.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Giants had numerous looks going forward but were repelled by the Dogs intercept marks. Joel Freijah, Liam Jones, Sam Darcy, and Tim English all took clutch contested defensive 50 marks to prevent the ball from hitting the ground and the Giants from getting scoring opportunities.
Should the AFL look into an English Premier League setup of all final-round matches being played on the same day at the same time? Logistically it’d be a nightmare, but having teams not know other results and have to give everything (not saying that they don’t/wouldn’t otherwise), but the drama would be incredible.
Arthur Jones hadn’t played a game at AFL level this year until today. And while he didn’t have much of it when he had his moment he took it. It’ll be interesting to see if he keeps his spot in the side, but it was a clutch goal from him in the final term when the game could still go either way.
Also, shout out to Kieran Briggs. Doesn’t get the plaudits of some other rucks in the competition, but he’s hard to shift off the ball and does a great job in giving his midfielders the first look at stoppages.
What Did We Learn?
Dogs – simply that you wouldn’t wanna play the Dogs in September. They have many strings to their bow and can beat you through manic pressure, through stoppage dominance, and can do a great job in taking away your strengths. They aren’t overly reliant on one or two players but can have individuals turn it on and do some serious damage.
Giants – getting a home state final after a loss isn’t too bad. The Giants remain a major threat in September. Composure will be one thing they need to work on, and finding ways to win when their strengths are taken away.
A cracking game in Ballarat that secures the Dogs place in September. We are yet to know the exact specifics of the ladder and the different machinations, but the Giants likely face their NSW counterparts and the Dogs likely face the rampaging Hawks.
Subscribe to the Mongrel Punt for all the analysis from those and all future matches.
If I were handing out votes for this one, they’d look like this.
5 – Ed Richards 4 – Marcus Bontempelli 3 – Bailey Dale 2 – Lachie Whitfield 1 – Tom Liberatore
You can buy Jimmy a coffee for his efforts if you like? He puts in the hard yards to bring you these free articles… and he does like a coffee.
Hit the link below and give Jimmy his caffeine fix.
Or, you could join The Mongrel as a member and leave the mainstream echo chamber behind
