How simple is this? Five winners from the weekend’s footy, and five losers.
It’s The Mongrel’s Winners and Losers from Round Six, and who better to line them up and knock them down, than the site’s resident loser, HB Meyers.
THE WINNERS
HARLEY REID
The anointed one.
It’d be hard carrying the hopes of a passionate supporter base on your shoulders as an 18-year-old. Hell, I only had the expectations of my father on mine, and that was heavy enough! So, to see a player rise to the occasion in his first ever Western Derby… what a way to announce yourself to the league.
Yes, Reid won the Rising Star nod in Round Five, but this was his statement game, and to do it in a game that saw West Coast humiliate their cross-town rivals… it likely couldn’t have been scripted better.
He was classy, he was skillful, he took big marks, exploded from contests, and when push came to shove, it was all about Harley Reid. Hell, he even took push and shove literally, shoving Nat Fyfe right on his arse!
If you had any doubts about this kid – even the slightest – they’re gone now. He is the real deal.
PATRICK CRIPPS
Earlier this year, I openly wondered whether Tom Green would be the number one contested ball winner in the game by the end of this season.
And in doing so, I discredited the work of Patrick Cripps. Not intentionally or directly, mind you, but by speaking so highly of Green, I did Cripps a disservice.
And Cripps gave me, Green, and everyone else a reminder of just what he can do, as his Blues fought out a tough win over the Giants. The Carlton skipper finished with 39 disposals, 24 contested touches, and 13 clearances in a masterful performance, as he continually stood in tackles and dared the Giants to come at him.
I was barracking for him to get one more touch to add the third 40-20-10 game of his career to his CV. Alas, it was not to be, but that does not tarnish his work in the slightest – he was incredible.
AARON NAUGHTON
While Jamarra was away, Naughton did play… and he played bloody well.
Naughton snagged three of his six goals int he first quarter, combining with Cody Weightman to give the Dogs the jump they needed against the Saints. And with St Kilda on the back foot, the Dogs never looked back.
Naughton attacked the contest hard, and part of me (my brain, for those playing along at home) wonders just how much of his game he has sacrificed to accommodate Jamarra over the last couple of years. Without the young star in the side, Naughton looked dominant, and even though the ideal scenario is that Ugle-Hagan re-signs at The Kennel, if he doesn’t, having Naughton there to fill the void would have Dogs supporters sleeping a little better.
Especially if he can back this form up.
WILL HOSKIN-ELLIOTT
Our old mate, Jimmy Ayres, believes that Will Hoskin-Elliott is the one player who looks equally like your mate, and your mate’s mum.
Once you have a good look at him, it’s difficult to unsee.
When the Pies needed a spark against the Power, it was WHE who provided it, taking big marks and providing the team with plenty of drive from half-forward. I have been a bit critical of Hoskin-Elliott over the journey, at times seeming as though he was a bit of a passenger, but he elevated his game in this one, put the Pies on his back and led the way to a powerful win.
So, shut up, HB… you couldn’t carry Hoskin-Elliott’s jockstrap!
It’s true… and I don’t want to, either. Even if he does look like my mate’s mum.
SAM DRAPER
What a troll Draper is.
Not only did he flop around on the footy like Joe Ganino in the bedroom (I’ve seen it… it’s hilarious), but after he got away with the holding the ball decision to ice the game, he went and laid on his stomach in front of the Adelaide crowd to mock them.
I don’t know about you guys, but I love when a player shows a bit of his personality… even if that demonstration leads you to think that he might just be a bit of a dick.
It went over about as well as you’d expect, with pearl-clutchers claiming he shouldn’t have done that, and blah, blah, blah…
Me, I don’t care if he is a dick, or not. Be you, Sam. Don’t change.
THE LOSERS
JOSH RACHELE
Defend him any way you like. Tell me he lost the footy in the lights. Tell me he has every right to protect himself in a marking contest (from what?). Or tell me he is just a kid.
Tell me all that stuff, and it doesn’t matter one bit.
What I saw was an AFL player shirk the issue not once, but twice in a tight last quarter.
Both of those opportunities could have given the win to the Crows, who desperately needed it. Hell, even one of them could have.
But none of them did.
One of them even led to the Bombers rebounding to the other end and scoring. It was the biggest example we’ve seen of a player hearing footsteps in quite a while, and the onus will be on Rachele to redeem himself in the eyes of his teammates the next time his number is called and he has to go.
JUSTIN LONGMUIR
Heading home after two close losses, the Dockers needed to put West Coast to the sword, and the best way to do that was with a slow, conservative, and risk-free brand of football, right?
Nah, of course it’s not right – it couldn’t have been any wronger (thanks Kanye).
Freo, whether this was the instruction or not, played an insipid brand of football, and were completely smashed by the Eagles. A 37-point margin flatters them to an extreme degree.
And what changes did Longmuir swing to change the momentum?
Maybe he changed the colour of the lolly snakes he was eating? It worked so well for Stuart Dew! Perhaps he went from Pepsi Max to Coke Zero? Adjusted the height his seat?
Leaving Luke Ryan on Jake Waterman was a huge error, with the Dockers losing Ryan’s rebound and intercepting. Instead, Freo relied on Ethan Hughes to chop out Alex Pearce.
Yeah, it went about as well as you’d expect.
WILLIE RIOLI
At one end, you had Bobby Hill being so unselfish that his teammates were almost pleading with him to kick a goal, himself.
Hill was creative and brilliant, finishing with four direct goal assists.
At the other end, Willie Rioli had the chance to finish with one, but opted to completely burn his wide-open teammate, Darcy Byrne-Jones and attempt a dribble kick right past him.
He missed, pretty much describing Willie’s day in one horrible moment.
He was brought to Port to provide creativity and class. This was neither – it was selfish, and in truth, I was glad he missed.
THE GABBATOIR
This joint was a fortress last year – a home ground advantage like no other, with the Lions going 13-0 in their home games.
And now, they’re 0-3 after three tries in 2024.
I feel bad having the ground as the loser when it is clearly the team that’s the issue, but it works to make the point, The Lions have flat out sucked at home to the point Charlie Cameron may start petitioning John Denver’s estate to change the lyrics of his song to “… take me anywhere but home.”
Yeah, that ground is a massive loser!
KANE CORNES
Just because, really.
Nah, I don’t do that. What I will do is go back to 2023, when Cornes went after the West Coast Eagles for rejecting trade offers for the number one pick.
“Are they crazy, or do they know something we don’t?”
Hmmm, yes, Kane. It’s become apparent that many people know things you don’t.
“I suspect it will be (traded eventually). I’ve been adamant that West Coast will trade that, and they’d be crazy not to.”
Those crazy Eagles…. what’ll they get up to next?
At least he had good company, right? Sam McClure also said the Eagles would definitely not pick him.
Jackass…
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