Disco’s Weekly
Round 4
(At the end of this article The Mongrel Punt has a new award for the most deserving of players.)
I Dip Me Lid to North Melbourne, Melbourne and Hawthorn
I don’t think there would be much argument that Hawthorn’s last-minute win over Geelong is the best home and away game of year to date – as is their Easter Monday tradition. The AFL can fabricate all the so-called grudge matches they want, but the mantle of the true modern day ‘traditional rivals’ is the Hawks against the Cats.
Chapeau to both clubs for putting on another classic.
It would be easy to dismiss the rest of the round given the Easter Monday classic, but that would be to ignore the performances of North Melbourne and Melbourne.
If Alastair Clarkson or Steven King were offered three wins and one loss at the end of Round Four, they would have viewed it as a success way beyond expectations, yet here we are with both teams ignoring the preseason doomsayers making a flying start to the season.
Let’s start with angry-dad Alastair Clarkson and his three-quarter time address to his team. In classic Clarkson style, one player was singled out to bear the brunt of a Clarkson wrath with the rest of the team looking on. While the victim of angry-dad’s rant, Colby McKercher, had a quiet last quarter, the rest of his teammates took notice and played out of their skins as they clawed back a 22-point deficit in the probably the most important Shinboner win since the mid 2010’s.
Welcome back to relevancy North Melbourne.
On Sunday afternoon most pundits thought the Suns would secure a win over the Demons at the MCG, but it was not to be.
AFL pensioners Jack Steele, Max Gawn, Jake Lever, Christian Salem, Brody Mihocek, Tom McDonald, and Jake Melksham, ably assisted by Kysaiah Pickett, used all their skill and guile to lead their unsung chargers to a character-building win over the Suns on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the MCG.
On the other side of the Dees victory is the Suns, who squandered a rare opportunity to chalk up a win at the home of football. For a team that is highly fancied to play deep into September, Dimma’s ‘nepo babies’ coughed up a valuable opportunity to get much needed experience and confidence on the hollowed turf of the G.
Fast paced golf clap Dees.
Jack Gunston’s Point
Barry Breen (1966 Grand Final) and Tony Lockett’s (1995 Preliminary Final) careers are both fondly remembered for kicking a winning behind to secure memorable wins, and now Jack Gunston is another name that will be remembered in years to come whenever the Hawks and the Cats meet in the future.
A home and away game does not carry as much weight as a final, but it is a special moment in time that will live on in Hawthorn’s folklore.
Did the Bulldogs Actually Win?
History will show the Western Bulldogs had a relatively easy win over the Bombers, but the victory was not what everybody expected (including Brad Scott).
In pregame betting, the Dogs were off the chart to win by in excess of 100-points, however, the smart money was lost as the Bombers doubled down at the main break winning the second half and registering a respectable 34-point loss.
In the process, the Dogs lost Tim English, Ed Richards (prior to the game), and Arthur Jones (very cool name) to injury and all are out for the foreseeable future.
It will never be known if the Dogs took their foot of the throttle at halftime after a hectic winning start to the season, or whether Brad Scott revved his young and inexperienced side to win the second half, but for the first time this season the Doggies showed some vulnerability.
In the coming month, the boys from kennel face a testing run of games against the Hawks, Cats, Swans and Dockers. With English and Richards missing the very heart of the Dogs depth will be tested.
For the record, for the first time under Luke Beveridge the Dogs are well on their way to finishing in the top four at season’s end.
West Coast Eaglets and Harley Reid
The famous Monty Python line, ‘…He’s not the messiah. He is a very naughty boy. Now go away..’, best sums up Harley Reid’s career at the Eagles.
For three seasons now, Harley has had the weight of expectation that he will lead the second coming of the modern-day Eagles, but within that pressure he is still a boy at heart, and he will get up to mischief from time to time.
For those with a long enough memory, he reminds me of ‘Bam Bam’ from The Flintstones.
Reid still had 17-possessions on a night when he was carved up by James Jordon while his team were obliterated by a Swans side coached by former Eagles legend, Dean Cox. As bad as the night was for Harley, he looked like he was having fun, he never gave up and he flew the flag when it was necessary (and sometimes when it wasn’t).
As for the Eagles, an improving young team is always liable to get the odd thrashing or three, and as much as they have improved this season (they have already doubled their win tally from last year) they lack the maturity to put the stops on a top tier team when they are switched on. The young Eaglets cause what not helped with their onfield leader, Elliot Yeo missing.
Let Harley be, the AFL needs some villains.
Further, if the young Eaglets win six to eight games this year, they are on track to start the climb back to the business end of the competition.
In years to come the Eagles have some hefty receipts to cash in against the Swans.
While we are out west – Will Schofield is Top Class
Channel Seven and Fox boundary riders and special comments commentators often make inflamed kneejerk comments as they over analyse ever play of the game to within an inch of respectability.
I am paying particular attention to David King and his cohorts who rarely disagree with him, so it was refreshing to hear Will Schofield not tow the company line on Saturday night.
A few times Kingy made some emotionally-charged, over the top comments to which he looked to Will Schofield to agree, but on more than one occasion Will’s comments were juxtaposed to his master’s voice. Schofield is calm and measured and he is not prone to allowing emotions interfere with his analysis, especially when talking about young players.
Unless, of course, it comes to pre-season predictions about his former team.
During the call, Will rarely makes grandiose clickbait comments, which is very refreshing.
Ps: don’t change Kingy, amongst your hyperbole you often notice nuanced situations that are often overlooked.
To Voss or not to Voss?
Yeah, yeah, Carlton collapsed again for the fourth straight week, but it is not the end of the world and nor should it be the end of Voss.
All clubs on the rise face a fork in the road as they attempt a rebuild and Carlton are no different. Voss and his band of merry players are suffering from the yips, with the main issue being they are not playing well enough for long enough within games to win. The positive being, at their best they have given themselves the chance to win every game they have played this year.
Is it fitness? Is it between the ears? Is it team structure?
I am sure the brains trust at Princess Park are having many sleepless nights trying to figure out why fourth quarters are the Blues kryptonite this season.
In 2006, the Cats board backed in their man Bomber Thompson and in 2016 the Tigers board backed in their man Dimma, in years both clubs would prefer to forget. History proved that both clubs had success standing by their structures and processes.
Carlton’s tradition of sacking coaches willy-nilly has not worked out well for them in the first quarter of the new millennium and maybe it is time they shut out all outside noises and back in their structures and processes.
What Else?
Fremantle has turned the corner, winning matches they would have dropped in seasons past. Freo’s win over the Crows was a really gutsy, on-the-road, galvanising win.
Fremantle’s joy is Adelaide’s pain. The table topping Crows of last season have had a sloppy start to this season, and they now face a must win game about a Carlton team who will playing to win to exorcise their own demons.
A lot more will be known about the Crows about 10:00pm on Thursday night.
While we are in the City of Churches, the Power take on St Kilda next Sunday night in a very tasty and interesting encounter. The Saints are on the ropes already this season, while the Power’s form has fluctuated this from good to shocking one week to the next thus far.
Both the Power and the Saints would be aiming for a Wildcard game at seasons end, so matches like this are must win.
If there is an upset in The Gather Round, I would suggest North Melbourne would fancy their chances against the Lions in the Winos Cup, especially given the VERY early start time of this game at Barossa Park on Saturday. There may be more than one hangover in attendance.
Will Hayward would not have endeared himself to his new teammates getting suspended for one match for a punch to the gut, and he will be sweating on the decision being overturned.
Who would have thought Chris Scott and Nathan Buckley would bang heads in the same coaching box?
Disco’s Over 30’s Casey’s Nightclub Award
In the 1990’s near the exit ramp of Glenferrie Station there was an infamous nightclub which specifically catered for those aged over thirty. Casey’s Nightclub on any Wednesday or Saturday night was normally full to the brim of those over 30 (technically it was over 28) who still wanted to party.
In keeping with the theme of life after 30, with there being many rejuvenated players in the AFL thirty years of age or older, The Mongrel Punt introduces an award aimed at these elderly citizens of the competition who will be playing for The Mirror Ball Keyring.
Similar to the Coaches Votes, the voting system for this cherished award is the top ten elderly citizens of each round who will be ranked with ten being the maximum and one being the minimum.
Votes for Round Four
10 Jack Steele (Melb)
9 Luke Parker (NM)
8 Jack Gunston (Haw)
7 Max Gawn (Melb)
6 Alex Pearce (Freo)
5 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
4 Jake Melksham (Melb)
3 Lachie Neale (Bris)
2 Brodie Grundy (Syd)
1 Zach Merrett (Ess) and Jack Darling (NM)
Note, we have decided to not backdate this award through earlier rounds – so there is no running tally.
Fin
Toil toil boil and bubble, toil toil boil and trouble, what becomes a touch of Adelaide as we gather around to stir the pot of what’s to come?
This weekly post is specifically designed to be a bit loose, and we encourage a bit of banter in the comments.
Thanks for reading, and as this is a new weekly we are very open to suggestions (I may have opened a tin of worms).
May your team win in the City of Churches (and surrounds).
