The Expansion Cup
There was plenty to be excited for in this game – at least potentially. The Suns have been well short of expectations that were laid at their feet at the start of the year, and the Giants, while wracked by injury, have also disappointed to this point. Both teams came into this Sunday evening clash with something to prove, and honestly, I don’t quite know that either did.
From the first centre bounce (or whatever you want to call it) the Suns looked much more up to the task, especially considering their absolute horror show performance from last week. It looked like the changes the Suns had made to their team worked out – they were quick and nimble through the middle of the ground and dynamic up forward without Jed Walter (who’s still stiff to not get a good run at things if you ask me) and Jarrod Witts was clearly in dire need of a break to reset, as he’s been well and truly down from his best this season. Speaking of ruckmen, Kieran Briggs would have had it in his mind that if he played well enough against the reasonably inexperienced Ned Moyle that he might have been able to cement his spot in the side, but alas, three disposals and 19 hitouts probably didn’t quite do the job.
Also, to talk about myself for a moment, I’ve got the flu at the moment and viewed this whole game in a fugue state. This could be my flu game, but more likely you’re about to read the fever fuelled ramblings of a man who desperately needs a Codral.
Bad Kicking Is Bad Footy, Or, Death By A Thousand Cuts
It doesn’t matter whether you’re kicking for goal or looking for a teammate, at this level you’ve got to be strong by foot. 11.17 and 8.15 for the Suns and Giants respectively just really doesn’t do the job most days, especially when you’re playing on a pleasantly balmy night on the Gold Coast. Luckily for the home team they went up against a Giants side that might have struggled to hit the side of a barn while they were inside the barn. That Toby Greene dribbler? Jesse Hogan from 35 out directly in front? The nicest way I can put it is “pretty not good actually”.
And the Suns only just get a pass mark here because of the grade scaling. 11.17 still doesn’t make for inspiring viewing, but given most of their misses came from players who either had already snagged one, or went on to kick a goal or more. But I’ve got my knives out for Bailey Humphrey and Sam Clohesy, who combined for a whopping zero goals and five behinds. So maybe nearly a goal?
As I have mentioned, goal kicking isn’t the only thing you need to manage by foot. The Giants’ field kicking tonight was incredibly lacklustre, it seemed like every time they tried to find a target by foot from a greater distance than 25 metres they were intercepted, spoiled or found the boundary. The Suns set up well behind the ball, it looked like personal accountability was the order of the day after last week’s performance to me.
Well, that was pretty negative. Too bad there’s more to come.
Giant’s Problems (And Also The Ones Who Did Well)
You don’t mind a few experienced hands having a tough day – what you don’t want is your reigning leading goal kicker and key target looking like he’d rather be anywhere other than on a football field, along with your captain and arguably the club’s greatest ever player, deciding to hide away in a corner for most of the game.
Jesse Hogan looked like an absolutely defeated man in this contest. His shoulders slumped, his eyes were cast down, and he didn’t look like attacking the ball at any stage. 1.3 is honestly fairly flattering to him in the end, given his singular goal came from an exceptionally well thought out assist from Jake Stringer and that he missed a goal that Shaquille O’Neal could have managed.
He did seem to be dealing with a hip complaint at points during the game, but honestly he looked like he was almost begging to be ruled out with it early on. He’s a far cry from his lethal best at the moment, and for me it’s hard to see where that can come from with Tom Green out for the season. Maybe it’s time to give Riccardi or Gruzewski another crack and let Jesse have a break to sort himself out, considering GWS line up against Essendon and West Coast for their next two fixtures it’s as good a time as any to try something a little different.
I want to open this next few paragraphs by admitting something: I love Toby Greene.
I love the rats of the game, I love the theatre they bring, I love watching people get angry about him online. I just love watching him go about his work.
Most days.
Tonight, much like his comrade Jesse Hogan, Toby Greene looked to severely lack confidence. Early in the game GWS struggled in the centre, sometimes managing to get a clearance but generally failing to capitalise on it with any venom. Toby Greene didn’t attend a single centre bounce (or throw) until the fourth quarter of the game. With this team lacking midfield strength through injury I honestly found this to be pretty poor from the captain. It doesn’t matter how much of a threat he may possibly be in forward 50 when the ball doesn’t make it in cleanly. I really hope he picks up next week, because Toby Greene at full capacity is one of the great sights in the competition.
Kieran Briggs. The man had a chance to lock himself back into this side with a strong performance against a theoretically rusty Ned Moyle. He could have worked around the ground and used his bulk to outmark his direct opponent. He could have laid some tackles around the contest. He could have tried to run forward hard and create some mismatches. But he didn’t. Or if he did, it didn’t matter. Leek Aleer can solo ruck if Madden isn’t good to go next week.
Of course, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the visitors. There was some hard work being done, and some great run through the middle in the passages of play they managed to win. I thought Leek Aleer played well for little reward, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing his career continue to develop.
Toby Bedford worked hard without reward also, though I thought his attitude when he missed out on some handball received was… interesting. When he passed the ball inside 50 to Himmelberg on a worse angle, I felt that spoke to a lack of confidence, but I forgive that – his role is to set teammates up and dispose of the ball cleanly, which he more or less did.
Jake Stringer had a real almost-game, for me. He looked the most likely forward for the Giants other than Cadman, but just couldn’t quite manage to finish off. It’s his attitude and the way he went about the game that separates him from Hogan in this author’s mind. I’ve really enjoyed his work since arriving at GWS and it looks like he has too.
Speaking of Cadman, he had a brilliant first half today. 2.1 in a side that struggled to hit the scoreboard is no mean feat, and his work in the air didn’t hurt his reputation at all. Strong hands, a good kick and a decent tank. With these attributes he seems like he’s starting to come into his own as a key forward now, which is about right for a 22 year old. Give this kid a couple more years and he’ll be a consistent threat.
I know I said the midfield lacked strength earlier, but that strength wasn’t to do with the proper gut work. Clayton Oliver, much like Stringer, has looked like a new man at his new club and continued that trend today with 32 touches and nine clearances. He looks fitter, stronger and faster than he has in a long time and could be a real difference maker for this side if he carries on with this to next year with Tom Green running alongside him.
Finn Callaghan was also immense through the middle, with 28 disposals and a handy 10 score involvements. It was really interesting to see Lachie Ash get a run in the middle during the game – I generally subscribe to the theory that you don’t mess with your defensive structure if you can help it. If it works, it works though. Keep an eye on it in the future.
Summing Up The Suns
It may not have been the prettiest, it may not have been as decisive as they might have wanted, but the Suns are undoubtedly back on the winners list. Their defensive work was great, they moved quickly through all parts of the ground, and all in all it seemed like they had managed to play with a proper identity today. Their pressure early was certainly felt and Christian Petracca did his best Giallo impression to become an Italian killer today. It feels like the Suns have weapons everywhere on the ground, and those weapons have enough flexibility to play elsewhere if needed, a la Touk Miller, the aforementioned Petracca and the undeniable Mac Andrew.
I mean, this Petracca guy really can play football. At times today he wound the clock back to his Norm Smith winning performance in 2021, bursting through the middle, snapping one goal and absolutely roosting another from outside 50 in an veritable onslaught of an opening two minutes from Gold Coast. He’s proved himself well worth the two first round picks they gave for him in a mutually beneficial trade with the Dees. He’s pairing so nicely with the dangerous Noah Anderson in the middle of the ground so far, and hopefully this can only grow.
On that opening onslaught, Wil Powell had himself a nice little game too, opening up with an ankle breaking goal on the run outside 50 for the Suns first. He’s someone that can run really under the radar for this Suns outfit, especially on days where he runs through the middle with studs like Anderson, Rowell, Miller and Petracca. I’ve liked his shift into defence a lot, he looks to be very damaging by foot.
Bodhi Uwland had a very solid game in defence too, running at a casual 96% disposal efficiency from his 26 touches. The kid can play! He’s versatile, able to play on most forwards with the possible exception of your Charlie Cameron/Kozzy Pickett/Toby Greene 5 years ago types. But most directly impactful for the Suns in the backline was John Noble. The former Pie managed to find himself a snag in between racking up 35 disposals off half back and rebounding strongly. He may not be the world’s most accountable smaller defender, but on a day like today when he can run and carry alongside the machine Dan Rioli, this Suns side looks a great deal better.
The most exciting thing about this Suns outfit for me is its versatility. I love tuning in and knowing that there’s a malleability about their outfit that you don’t see too often. Touk Miller could attend anywhere from 50 to 100% of centre bounces (OR THROWS), Petracca could end up anywhere, and Mac Andrew is as likely to take a game saving mark in D50, tap to advantage in the middle to set up a goal or kick a game winner. He is one of the most electric players in the league right now, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re not paying close attention when he plays.
Up forward, the current Coleman leader Ben King did his Ben Thing, taking a couple of marks and even laying a pretty impressive run down tackle. Other than the tackling thing, it was a pretty standard day at the office for him, and he’ll be wanting to get a decent haul over the next two weeks at fortress Darwin to put him ahead of other contenders for leading goalkicker.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. I think it would be dishonest for anybody to say that he’s not a great footballer to watch when he’s on, but I’ll put my hand up and admit that I wasn’t expecting him to have much impact this year. Now, it’s still possible that he’ll drop off but his three goal return today is a great sign for a player who’s experienced some real personal challenges over the last couple of years.
To touch on some other decent performers for the Suns before I move on to… the less decent, I suppose.
Alex Davies did his job after some strong performances in the VFL over the season. He’ll come out for Rowell, but didn’t embarrass himself by any means. Leo Lombard was in and amongst it but didn’t end up looking as deadly as he would have liked. Sam Collins did his thing, he was steadfast and solid in defense. Ned Moyle, much like his counterpart in Kieran Briggs, would have really liked to put on a good showing tonight to really make selection difficult for the coming weeks, but he did come out on top in the ruck today with 34 hitouts to his name.
Now there were some passengers out there today for the Suns. Clohesy barely played 90 minutes of game time, managing nine disposals, two behinds, 56% disposal efficiency and two turnovers in that span. Considering he was presumably an inclusion for Jake Rogers, he would have wanted to perform but just couldn’t quite manage it.
The more disappointing performance tonight would have been Bailey Humphrey. Eight disposals, 25% efficiency, three straight behinds and two frees against. I think he should probably look for a change of scenery in the off season, he’s not being used in the most effective way at the Suns at the moment and would probably benefit from a fresh start. He’s still young at just 21, so some inconsistency is to be expected but I really don’t think he’s a natural forward who runs through the midfield for five centre bounce (you know what I mean) attendances, but a midfielder who can damage the scoreboard.
Some Miscellaneous Thoughts
Jed Walter didn’t play today. So maybe this shouldn’t go in my wrap up. But I’ve already started this paragraph so I’m going to continue. Jed Walter has a great deal of potential. I like him a lot. I also think that, along with Bailey Humphrey, he needs to look to make a move at the end of this season. I think Melbourne or Collingwood could be a good fit both in terms of list requirements and age profile for the young key forward. Just a thought, though.
I know I spent a lot of time dumping on GWS but they did improve in the third, and at stages they played some really good aggressive footy, they just couldn’t capitalise. They’ve got a decent run for the next few weeks so hopefully they can find some form, because if this side can string together four quarters of their best footy in a row, they can have a really respectable last two thirds of the season.
Tom Green really is so sorely missed by the Giants, but I loved seeing him right next to Kingsley in the coaches box. As far as footballers go he seems like a pretty intelligent guy and he’ll be one to keep your eye on post playing career I reckon.
Ben Long was pretty stupid, slapping Clayton Oliver around for no real reason. I expect him to get at least a week for that and he should absolutely cop a belting for that from his coach and leadership group.
In Conclusion
Not my favourite game of the year as the dew set in, but these are both very watchable sides at their best. To me it never really felt like the Giants had any chance of winning this one, and that’s okay. It’s a pretty honest reflection on where they’re at and they’ll know that they need to look for some depth in the off season. The Suns probably aren’t the team they were hyped up to be at the start of the season, but they’re a strong side with very good players everywhere around the ground.
Everyone just needs to kick straight.
