Gab Rossi is in a learning mood. He is also in a sharing mood. Thus, he is sharing what he learnt from Round Seven.
1 – MELBOURNE HAVE NOT WON A FINAL QUARTER ALL YEAR
We all know Melbourne has had a horror start to the year having lost its opening five matches. The last fortnight has seen them return to the winners’ list, but even within those much needed victories they were outscored in the last quarter. In fact, their final terms all year have been horrendous with an average score of just nine points while they’ve conceded an average of 26 points. This week’s victory against the Tigers did see the losing team finish strongly kicking the last four goals of the game to lose by 20 points, and it’s well and truly in line with all of Melbourne’s fourth quarters all year. They’ve only kicked more than one goal on one occasion, so if you’re playing the Dees and you’re down by a couple goals at three quarter time, you’d probably fancy your chances of reeling them in, just as the Giants did way back in Round One.
Now for some positives out at Melbourne. It’s no coincidence that Melbourne are back on the winners’ list and Gawn and Petracca have found form. The skipper was massive in this game finishing with 25 touches that included nine marks while Petracca had 28 and kicked two goals. Christian Salem’s work across half back was outstanding with 34 touches and 13 marks, while a player who has managed to fly under the radar all year and would probably be leading their best & fairest in Jack Bowey had 32 touches in yet another solid game. Melbourne heads over to Perth next week to take on West Coast. It could be three in a row for Melbourne, although the Eagles had a famous win against them at home last year, and they might be due.
The scoreline in this game is very flattering to the Tigers who were comprehensively beaten for three and a half quarters. Their late burst of four goals says more about the Demons inability to run out games than it does about the Tigers. Tom Lynch looks ready to burst back into his best form. He finished with 3.3 and it could’ve been anything. Thimson Dow topped the possession count with 28 touches while Short had 25.
All in all, if you’re a Tigers fan, you’re almost going to be happy with them so far. With a rebuild going on and the list being loaded with inexperience, many saw the Tigers not winning any games this year. With two on the board already, fans can actually go to games with some hope of leaving happy. I’m not sure if they’ll be happy after next week’s game against the Hawks, however.
2 – STEELE SIDEBOTTOM IS PLAYING LIKE THE THIRD DAICOS
It’s very easy to marvel at the work of Nick Daicos and think his older brother Josh isn’t quite the same player, but boy is Josh having some kind of season right now. However, if you have a look at Steele Sidebottom for this year, you’ll also see some Daicos-like numbers on the stats sheet alongside the 34 year old’s name. That’s the confounding part. He’s back playing some of his best footy in a year most thought might be his last. It will be anything but at this stage, and he’s doing just as much damage as Josh and Nick.
One thing that must be said is that I did not see Collingwood being the team to beat this year, but right now they’re the benchmark as far as I’m concerned. At this early stage of the year, they rightly are flag favourites. Craig McRae has them playing like it’s 2023. Josh Daicos topped the possession count with 36 and his honorary brother Steele had 35. Younger brother Nick had 31 touches, and if Sidebottom isn’t ageless, then how’s Pendlebury going at 37 finishing with a lazy 31 touches. Another bloke on the wrong side of 30 and still at his best is Jamie Elliott. He booted five goals and enjoyed Anzac Day immensely. It’s all happening for the Magpies. Saturday night at the MCG against Geelong will be a cracker!
Conversely, nothing new is happening at Windy Hill. Fans have resigned themselves to another quiet September. Their three wins include two against struggling teams. This game further demonstrates the gap between the best teams and where they’re at. They battled grimly for three quarters, but the class of the Magpies in the last quarter put the game well out of reach. One positive for the Dons was Nate Caddy who was busy with 19 touches and 2.3. If the kicking was straighter it would’ve been that breakout game we’ve been waiting for. It’s coming.
Archie Roberts and Merrett topped the disposals count with 25 each, but they’re the only two Essendon players that had more than 20 in what was a miserable day. That misery may get a reprieve when they take on the Kangaroos next round. However, the Roos took it right up to the Power this week and might be ready to fire.
3 – THE DOCKERS ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH… AT HOME
It must be tough knowing your team will probably lose every second week, but that certainly seems to be where the Dockers are at. The loss to Melbourne was ordinary, while this win against the Crows was a power show only made a little less by a late flurry from the visiting side. The win was set up with a six-goal first term and the margin remained around that four-goal quarter time margin for a lot of the game. Josh Treacy could’ve had a big day but could only manage 2.3.
It’s kind of boring writing every week how Brayshaw and Serong got plenty of the ball. Maybe each week I’ll treat it as a contest between the two for the most disposals. This week Brayshaw took the honours with 37 to 32. So we know the Dockers can win at home, but can they win away next week against St Kilda? The Saints aren’t flying right now. A loss there would be disappointing.
The Crows have now lost three games from their last four, and a promising start to the year now looks shaky. The Dockers held sway by 42 points at the final break and could only manage 5 behinds in the last quarter while Tex decided to show up with his only 2 goals coming in that final term. Thilthorpe performed well kicking three, while Laird (27) and Dawson (21) tried hard all night. But with just two players with more than 20 touches compared to Freo’s six top ball winners, it’s easy to see why they were able to take the game away from Adelaide who now have a tough encounter against the resurgent Blues next week. Adelaide’s recent record against Carlton, particularly at home, might be enough to see them take the points.
4 – BRISBANE FINALLY SHOW UP FROM THE FIRST BOUNCE
Brisbane have had a tendency to start slowly this season. For a team boasting a 6-1 record, they’ve only won three first quarters and have only lead at half time twice and that was against the struggling Tigers and out of form Saints. The loss against Collingwood might have had a positive effect, because they came out firing from the start with ten shots on goal to just two in the opening quarter. Their wayward kicking only gave them an 18 point advantage, but in the end the Lions were just far too good and eventually ran out 45 point winners after a stronger first half.
Will Ashcroft led the way with 35 touches while the ageless Zorko continues to defy father time with 34. Lachie Neale not only managed 31 touches, but his three goals might give him another possible three votes. Eric Hipwood has been able to fill the void left behind by Joe Daniher with another four goals while Zac Bailey managed three.
We all hate the phrase “a loss we had to have”, but something tells me that the poor game against the rampaging Magpies may well have not been in vain. They meant business this week, and they made very light work of the Saints. Next week is the Q-clash which promises to be the best yet. Both sides are in the Top 4 and have only lost one game each.
The Saints started the season brightly, but it’s a scenario we’ve seen a few times under Ross Lyon. They won four of their first five games in 2022 & 2023. They missed finals in 2022 and made the finals in 2023 finishing sixth but were eliminated in week one. Last year saw them with 11 wins for the year in 12th position. St Kilda had a dream start winning three of their first four, and surprising us all, but after three losses in a row including the past fortnight of sizeable losses, they’re now 3-4 and it’s a familiar foreboding tale that’s unfolding. Higgins finds himself near the top of the Coleman leaderboard with 20 for the year after another thre against the Lions. Wanganeen-Millera continues to be one of St Kilda’s best with another 30+ possession game. Sinclair is another consistent performer. But it falls away pretty quickly from there and it could be another long year for the fans. Fremantle at Marvel awaits next week. A loss to either team could spell disaster.
5 – NORTH FINALLY SHOW SOME TICKER
All fans want from their club is to see a genuine effort week in week out. Over the last month, the Kangaroos have basically rolled over and let the opposition have their way with them. With Port Adelaide finding some form, it was expected that they would enjoy a comfortable win. At quarter time it looked as though it was headed that way after getting out to a 29 point lead. North wouldn’t go away and fought their way back into the game and ended up only going down by nine points.
Harry Sheezel starred again with 30 touches, while Davies-Uniacke had 25 and kicked a goal. Paul Curtis was the most dangerous forward again finishing with three majors. Next week North face the Bombers and based on their effort against the Power, the Bombers may have to work harder than they thought.
Port Adelaide escaped with the win and continue to be hard to read. Their start to the season was poor, but now, after three wins in a row including a convincing win over flag fancy Hawthorn, they find themselves outside the eight only on percentage. The trio of Butters, Rozee and Horne-Francis all had 26 possessions each. Byrne-Jones scored three goals while Lord, Georgiadis and Richards finished with two each. It will be a tough assignment taking on the Bulldogs in Melbourne. Both clubs must win to stay in touch with the leading pack.
6 – DOGGIES FINALLY PLAY WELL TWO WEEKS IN A ROW!
Consistency, or the lack thereof, has been the bugbear of the Bulldogs who have been all over the place since being runners-up in 2022. For the first time this year they’ve won two in a row and have done so in spectacular style destroying the Saints by 12 goals then travelling up to Canberra to impressively defeat the Giants by 32 points in a valuable interstate win. Libba is in top form at 32 years of age and is looking as fit as ever. He had 28 possessions and Richards and Freijah had 27. Harmes booted four goals in an excellent display and West kicked three. The Bulldogs were far enough ahead to have the luxury of resting Bontompelli during the last quarter. It’s another crunch match coming their way against Port Adelaide at Marvel next round. If they can make it three in a row they’ll be well placed for a tilt at finals action.
The Giants haven’t had the greatest fortnight. Last week’s bizarre low scoring affair in Adelaide was followed up with a forgettable quarter and a half after the long break that they won’t want to watch again. After trailing by just 5 points at the main break, they conceded eight out of the next nine goals scored and the game was well and truly beyond them. A few late goals papered over the cracks a little, but now their season is on a knife’s edge after being considered one of the main contenders coming into the year. But when you go goalless for 50 minutes, you won’t win too many.
Ash (31) and Whitfield (30) were busy as always. Riccardi booted three goals while Toby Greene, Bedford and Hogan on return all booted two each. Next week sees the Giants playing in the poorly named “Battle of the Bridge” against the Swans. They need a win there to get their season back on track, while Sydney will be desperate to atone for an even worse second half than the Giants had.
7 – YOU CAN PUT A FORK IN THE SWANS
This could very easily prove to come back and bite me on the arse, but there’s isn’t much you can do to gloss over how poorly the Swans are going. They’re a true shell of the team that lead the way for most of last year, and this game in particular saw them go from a 29 point lead midway through the second term to a 38 point loss. Included in that were 12 unanswered goals by the Suns from the 25 minute mark of the second term to the 14th minute of the last quarter. The Swans went without scoring a goal for a whopping 59 minutes. They finally scored three late goals all through Nick Blakey strangely enough.
The Suns looked fairly ordinary early on, and after losing to the Tigers last week, you might be forgiven for thinking that we were starting to see that typical season unravelling they’ve been famous for after starting with promise, but they put on a clinic at the expense of Sydney, and sent a message to all the clubs. Ben King consolidated his spot on top of the Coleman ladder with a bag of five, while Bailey Humphrey had his best game for the season with four.
John Noble is loving life at his new club with another 30 possession game, while Miller had 24. The Suns have never kicked 12 unanswered goals in their short history but would’ve been on the receiving end of something similar enough times. With five wins from six games, they’re still in a nice place to be which sets up a very interesting Quensland Derby next round.
Sydney’s bizarre capitulation is almost too hard to explain. There are definitely players who are nowhere near their previous year’s form. Chad Warner seemed unstoppable with ball in hand last year but has only shown glimpses this season. Heeney is still very good, but not in the same matchwinning way. It’s possibly down to scarring from that horrible Grand Final loss, or could it be the new coach just isn’t working for this group. Either way their season is all but shot and every game they play in seems a tough ask now, including next week versus the Giants.
8 – BIG HARRY IS BACK, AND SO ARE THR BLUES
We all know about the challenges Harry McKay has been facing this season, so it was pleasing to see him have the impact that he did in Carlton’s huge win against the Cats. He had 19 touches with 12 marks and kicked five goals straight. Curnow also kicked three and, hopefully for Blues fans, the twin towers can start working well together again. Sam Walsh had 30 touches while Hewett starred yet again with 29 touches and he kicked the sealer as well. Cripps was back to somewhere near his best with 29 touches.
The much maligned Nick Haynes had his best game for the Blues with 20 touches and a staggering eight interceptions marks. The Blues might’ve shaken off their poor second halves despite losing the last quarter. The game against the Crows in Adelaide looms large. Recent history will show that Carlton have not had much luck playing Adelaide away from home, but there is some signs of life that could buck that trend.
Geelong may have been disadvantaged by the fact that the Blues had two extra days of rest since their last game, and the Blues did run the game out well in the end after the Cats came hard. The Blues had the ascendancy all game so the result was the right one, but Jeremy Cameron was a definite thorn in their side. He booted four goals and was always a danger to the Carlton defence. Bailey Smith also had a big day finishing with 30 touches and a last quarter goal that cut the margin back to just ten points before the Blues settled. The Cats have a big game coming up against Collingwood who are simply on fire right now. They’ll have to be at their very best to win that, and a loss will put them at 4-4 and not in the best shape for a serious challenge.
9 – THERES NOTHING LIKE PLAYING THE EAGLES TO END A LOSING STREAK
Well, the Blues snapped a 4-game losing streak by beating West Coast, and now the Hawks had a much needed win after two losses in a row. The game didn’t throw up any real surprises. Jack Gunston has made good on the decision both he and the club came to regarding playing on. He finished with four goals and looks to be as good as he was in his younger days. Mabior Chol seems to play better when he’s out there as well. He kicked three and had 17 possessions. The Hawks should be on the winners list again next week against the Tigers.
Liam Ryan top scored for the Eagles with three goals while Harley Reid and Waterman both finished with two. Maric had 25 touches and is playing good footy after being picked up in the mid-season draft of 2023. Liam Baker was also busy with 24. The Eagles may spend some time this week watching a recording of last year’s victory against the Demons. They’ll go into that game with some belief and will try to record their first win of the year. They’ll Dees might have other ideas though.
