Sounds like an easy job – listing five winners and five losers from the latest round of footy for the year, right?
I mean, there were plenty fitting each category. But who were the biggest winners? And who were the biggest losers?
Well, let’s leave that up to my terrible judgement to assess.
THE WINNERS
NICK VLASTUIN
If he is not leading the Jack Dyer Medal at this point, I’ll eat my shorts. He’ll, I’d get a tubby bloke to go for a run, sit around all day in his own faith, and I’ll eat his shorts – that’s how confident I am in Vlastuin’s start to the year.
I’ve written a couple of times about players painfully unlucky not to have a B&F award, or an All-Australian blazer, and Vlastuin’s name always comes up. Maybe this is the year things fall into place.
MAX GAWN
Cometh he moment…
I thought the way Ivan Soldo played against the Melbourne champion was quite good, but as the third quarter came to an end, Big Max was the one who stood up.
His long range goal on the siren was preceded by a fantastic goal line shepherd that won’t show up on any stats sheet.
It was a captain standing up and telling his team to follow him, and when it happened, I tweeted that it could have been the two minutes that won the Dees the game.
Upon reflection, I reckon it was.
JORDAN CLARK
Probably having one of the more unsung starts to a season of all the high-profile half-backs in the game, with his power running and classy ball.use one of the driving forces behind Freo’s fast start to 2024.
Clark, who is often left out of the conversation when people discuss the elite running defenders in the game, is averaging 26 disposals per contest, and running at over 88% efficiency…
… not that the stats means much, as you’ll read below.
What does mean alot, however, is the eye-test, and Clark is passing with flying colours. He is not picking off the easy kicks sideways or backwards like some young half-backs that get a lot of love
No, he is taking the game on and making things happen for Freo, and it is brilliant to watch a bloke starting to hit his peak.
LACHIE BRAMBLE
Discarded by the Hawks, Lachie Bramble is making the most of the chance the Dogs have offered him.
Combining with Jason Johannisen and Bailey Dale to give the Dogs plenty of pave from defence, he is looking like a player who’s found a home in the back half for the Dogs.
At 23 disposals per game, and running at over 87% efficiency by foot, Bramble is on course to have the Hawks ruling his departure.
As a Hawks man, myself, it’s great to see him make the most of this second chance.
TOM HAWKINS
Saving the best for last?
Four goals in game number 350, playing for the team he loves… he is a great story in the AFL.
Sure, one of them was a complete gift from Jeremy Cameron, but his gorgeous set shot in the first quarter was a gift he gave to the club. The beautifully-weighted, left to ride fade… a thing of beauty.
I am not sure where Hawkins sits on the all-time great list, but his longevity and ability to continue to produce at a high level are testament to the type of player he is.
THE LOSERS
THE NORTH MELBOURNE DEFENCE
I’d been wary of this game for a while. It was looming on the horizon like a storm, and when it got here, it rained down on the makeshift Kangaroos defence.
North have Toby Pink and Kallan Dawson as they key defenders.
Carlton had Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay as their key forwards.
You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out what happened next.
North have battlers in the backline. They were throwing rocks at guys carrying machine guns.
MATTHEW NICKS
I gave him an out last week as Luke Pedlar made the list you dont want to make after being obliterated by Tom Stewart. However, at 0-3 and in charge of a team that has looked completely inept in all but short bursts through the start of the season, the focus has narrowed on the Crows’ coach.
Remember this team from last year? High-powered offence. Up-tempo game plan. Big scores. Ring a bell?
They look like the Wish version of that team at the moment. Averaging 54 points per game, the Crows have lost the plot and need to find it in a hurry, or the senior coach could be in trouble.
SCORE REVIEW
What a clusterfu… you know how the rest of that goes.
Not only has this cock-up of a system made goal umpires second-guess every decision they make, it’s also cocking up the thing it’s in place to do.
Brody Mihocek was awarded a mark BY THE SCORE REVIEW that clearly wasn’t a mark, as the ball dropped from his chest, between his arms, to his legs, and then to the turf before ehe had control of it on Thursday night.
At that point, the Lions were one kick behind the Pies. That decision made it two.
Get it right, or get rid of it.
THE BIG SAV’S JUDGEMENT
Oh Sav… Geelong supporters giggled behind their hands as their team.played hard-ball with the Power during trade period. They knew what their team had, and had seen the best and worst of him.
And they knew their list management were taking the piss when they started asking for a high price for Ratugolea.
When Sav decided to take a chest mark on the goal line against the Dees, he made one of the glaring types of errors that were common knowledge for Cats supporters.
Not only did he drop the mark, but he also backed over the goal line to do so, allowing Kade Chandler’s shallow kick at goal that through.
To his credit, Ratugolea was pretty damn solid for the remainder of the game, but that was six points the Power really could have used in a tight game.
CHAMPION DATA
I’m.leaving this one to you guys to work out. It’ll just be some.simple maths… let me know how you go.
Riley Bonner had 32 disposals on the weekend.
17 of them were turnovers – a record, I believe.
Yet, Champion Data tells us that he ran at 65% disposal efficiency.
Now, my little mathemagicians… tell me what you see here. Whatever system theyre using… it’s broken, isn’t it?
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