Reputations Are Made and Broken in September
(This article is primarily focusing on big forwards.)
Cometh the moment, cometh the man.
Some players are made for the big time. It is the stage where they perform acts that just has us mere mortals catching our jaws as they drop to the ground. Jeremy Cameron and Issac Heeney both put on clinics over the weekend, which has again franked them as being players who perform on the big stage.
Cameron’s goal from the boundary line was sublime, and a thing of beauty to watch, while his dribble goal from the side of his boot was the work of a craftsman at his peak. What Cameron can do with the oval ball is freakish.
Heeney’s one-handed mark and running goal would have been enough for us mere mortals to say we’d had a good game, but then Heeney decided to fly with the Gods and pluck one of the all-time great marks.
Cameron won’t win goal of the year, nor will Heeney be awarded goal of the year for his majestic hanger, but in 20 years’ time Cameron’s goal will still be remembered, as will Heeney’s goal, yet I can’t even tell you who won goal or mark of the year last year.
Cometh the moment, cometh the man.
Finals can make or break the reputation of an individual player, a team, and even a coach or two.
Jai Newcombe, Braeden Campbell, Nick Watson, Miles Bergman, Calsher Dear, Shannon Neale, Shaun Mannagh, Lawson Humphries, Connor McDonald, Sam Darcy, Logan Morris, Kai Lohmann are just a few of the younger players who enhanced their reputations last weekend, and probably added a few shekels to their next contract negotiations.
With big forwards like Logan Morris, Calsher Dear, Sam Darcy and Shannon Neale all performing so well in their first finals match, the future of the game is in safe hands as these kids learn, and grow into their own bodies.
The rise to prominence of Shannon Neale will most likely be the death knell for the career of one of the all-time greats at Kardinia Park, Tom Hawkins. The baton has changed hands, and it is now time for Neale to take centre stage and for Hawkins to gracefully leave, stage left. Well played Tomahawk.
That is one end of the spectrum of performances over the weekend, now it is time to explore the vaudevillian end of the spectrum, the players who seemed to trip over their own shoelaces last weekend.
There is something about big gangly players over 196cms, being all arms and legs, that just stands out on a footy field, and every mistake they make is heightened. Think about the third quarter comical defensive stuff up between of Lewis Melican and Tom McCartin which was just a train wreck, and made even more amusing by another player who is all arms and legs, Aaron Cadman finding his feet again and snagging the goal between their twisted limbs.
While I could concentrate on Melican and McCartin Comedy of Errors (it was amusing) for the rest of this article, I have decided to concentrate on five big forwards who would like their last weekend.
Who Killed Bambi I?
I was watching Eric Hipwood last weekend and in my weird twisted and warped brain, he looked like Bambi on ice-skates. Hipwood is the type of player who is noticed when he is having a good game, and he is just as noticed when he is having Barry Crocker. Last Saturday night he had a real Barry.
If the ball bounced right last weekend, Eric would be running left, and try as he might to rectify the situation, he would end up stuck somewhere between a rock and a hard place. The rock being Chris Fagan, and the hard place would be the fans and his teammates.
Never would I suggest any AFL player is not trying, but with players like Hipwood, the more they try some nights, and the more they bust a gut to get into the game, the more they end up resembling a busted gut… or something like that.
Every club has an Eric Hipwood, and they are either loved or loathed by their own fans, and often both within the same match.
One bad final does not make a career, and being fair to Hipwood, other players has worse finals series last year, so while some may question his performance, in my eyes his reputation as a serviceable player in September is still intact.
For now.
Who Killed Bambi II?
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has the potential to be anything, but there will always be question mark next to his name until he tears a September apart, and Bulldog fans hope that is sooner rather than later.
Jamarra is a confidence player, which is typical of many forwards in the AFL, however, the only problem with confidence players is how they perform when their form is down or challenged.
I would love to play poker against Jamarra as he has many ‘tells’, with the most common ‘tell’ being a drop of the shoulders and a defeated look on his face. Therein lays one of the problems with Ugle-Hagan; his opponents know when he is chest-thumping on, and they are also aware of when he cuts a forlorn figure carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, totally out of the game.
Like the player I am going to mention next, Joel Amartey, there is no in between with Jamarra, as he is either cutting a team to pieces or he is totally out of the game. Like Joel Amartey, Jamarra needs to add team first to his game plan when he is down.
Who Killed Bambi III?
Joel Amartey is one of the three pillars holding up the Swans forward line post-Buddy Franklin, however, Horse Longmire figured out shortly after the bye round that two of the pillars, Logan McDonald and Hayden McLean needed to fill other multiple roles other than just standing around in the forward line hoping one day it all gels. The problem for Amartey is, he is the last of the pillars left to loiter around in the forward half, and if he is having a bad day then his benefit to the team is usually minimal.
Like Jamarra, Joel is capable of having the odd big day in the office, however, good days in the office are sparse. When the Swans, as a team, woke from their end-of-season form slump the majority of the team have flourished since, however Amartey is one of a handful of players whose has not been able to regain his form.
As Joel is a confidence player, Swans supporters will be hoping the late goal he kicked to put the Swans in front and win the game last weekend gives him a renewed sense of confidence he can carry into the rest of September.
Who Killed Bambi IV?
One day I would like to know the reasons why Damian Hardwick did not want Mabior Chol in any team he coached, but that is for another day.
The Happy Hawks play a game style that allows for flair and personal expression on the field, but, as Dirty Harry said, “A man has to know his limitations”, and Mabior has to start learning not getting his dreams mixed up with his ability.
Mabior, a specky looks great when it is pulled off to perfection -please refer to Issac Heeney – and unbelievably good goals should be left to the players who make a living out of doing the impossible, like Jeremy Cameron. As for you, Mabior, you are a good role player and when you play in your lane you are a valuable member of the energised Hawks, but when you move out of your lane and try to do the impossible, then you stand out as player who may not necessarily be doing the team-oriented things.
Mabior, you’re a valued member of the Hawks for just being Mabior and doing the things within your repertoire, and that’s what you should stick at. There may come day when the time is right to pull down an almighty hanger, or kick the miraculous goal, but you can’t force it.
Ps: Mabior, I have enjoyed the way you have gone about your business this year, all I am saying is play within your lane as that is entertaining enough.
Who Killed Thumper?
With all due respect to Charlie Dixon, he is more Thumper than Bambi. Big, mean, covered in tatts, a human wrecking ball when he attacks, but much in the same vein as Tony Soprano, underneath the tough exterior there is fragility. Before I get crucified, I am only pointing out that Charlie can, at times, not know how to work his way out of a form slump, especially within a game, and the more he tries, the worse it looks.
Like I said earlier, big forwards standout on a football field for all the good reasons, but they also stand out like a sore thumb when they are having a shocker. My point being, I know some midsize backs had bad games last weekend, yet not one of them sticks in mind, however, the sight of a defeated big man like Charlie is etched in my memory.
There was a point last Thursday night, I just wanted Ken Hinkley to pull big Charlie Dixon from the field just to put him out of his misery. If Charlie was a racehorse, you’d be giving him a short spell just to freshen him up. Alas, he is not a racehorse, and he will need to find form before Friday night, and just put last week’s game out of his mind.
I kinda like Kenny, and I kinda like Charlie, but both will be facing their own Waterloo this weekend as only victory gives them the chance of moving forward, and heaven forbid they lose, as then the future is very uncertain.
Post Note: I have chosen the above players as they can offer to more to their teams than what they did last weekend, and it is to be hoped Eric, Jamarra, Joel, Mabior and Charlie all have a good game or two left in them this year.
