As some of you may have noticed, the wonderful Gab Rossi has been a little absent for a few weeks, as he gets some technical issues under control.
I told him to hit his computer, and to turn it off and on again, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge of computers and so on…
His too, apparently.
So, while we lament the lack of his “Nine Things…” articles for the last two weeks, I have decided to step in and offer an alternative for a week. Maybe two, unless you absolutely hate it.
Let’s see how HB’s Hot Takes goes.
And for the record, Gab will be back with his Nine things later this evening.
THE AFL HAS NO CLUE ABOUT SUSPENSIONS
Four weeks for Jack Graham for saying a nasty word. Zero weeks for Harley Reid for tripping/kicking, a fine for Marcus Windhager for pushing Nick Daicos in the chest, nothing for Sam Darcy for doing exactly the same thing to Jordon Butts… the penalties, or lack thereof, are all over the place, and I’m pretty sick of it.
In light of Sam Darcy not even being looked at, I reckon Marcus Windhager has a case to be reimbursed for the fine he copped a few weeks back. There was no damage done to Nick Daicos, and yet he was a couple of grand lighter in the pocket, as a result of his push?
I can’t believe I’m writing about suspensions for “pushing”, by the way.
The AFL cannot have things both ways. You’re either against something, or you’re okay to let it slide. You either fine both Windhager and Darcy, or you don’t fine either. You don’t choose one over the other.
Years ago, they were big on tripping. Remember that? It cost Corey McKernan the Rising Star Award, only for the AFL to flip-flop on their ‘crackdown’ with players were no longer suspended for the action the very next season.
Screwing up is no new thing to the AFL and the way it handles penalties, but all fans ever want is consistency, and the league seemingly has no idea how to deliver it.
But they don’t mind the occasional death threat… they’re okay.
THE CROWS ‘BIG THREE’ LOOK OMINOUS BUT THE FORM OF MARK KEANE DESERVES RESPECT
It would have been easy to narrow my gaze on the continued emergence of Riley Thilthorpe and the way the Crows’ forward line is playing, but I wanted to take time to give some credit to a defender who is playing out of his skin in the Crows’ defence.
Now, if I hadn’t added his name to the title, the thing is, you may not even know which Crow I’m talking about. Josh Worrell has been excellent. Wayne Milera has now become the player the Crows were waiting for him to be for so long.
But the defence of Mark Keane has really been a standout this season, particularly when those around him have been using a revolving door in and out of the side. Nick Murray and Jordon Butts have been his main counterparts, but injury has seen both spend time on the sidelines, so in many ways, it is Keane who is anchoring this back six.
This past weekend, he had the unenviable task of taking on Sam Darcy, after Butts went down with a deflated lung that definitely wasn’t caused by a shove from Darcy… otherwise the league would have fined him, right?
Oh, I covered that, already?
Aaaanyway, Keane’s ability to use body spoils to upset Darcy in the air was bloody underrated. For someone who basically thrown into the role as the second option, he was brilliant in ensuring Darcy looked like a bit of a butter-fingers in marking contests. Remember, this is the same Sam Darcy who is averaging over three contested grabs per game.
How many times did the ball just seem to drop out of his grasp in this game?
Watch Keane – always there, pressed up against him like a horny old man on the 3.30 train.
Keane will continue to fly under the radar, as will most of the Adelaide defence, but what we’re seeing in 2025 is the work to cover those positions in 2023/24, as players went down with multiple injuries, come back to help the Crows. They now have depth, and they now have the confidence to step in play important roles.
And Keane is chief amongst them.
CADMAN SIGNING UNTIL 2030 IS BIGGER NEWS THAN YOU THINK
A lot of what happens in Western Sydney doesn’t make headlines… unless we’re talking about Tobacco stores burning down.
However, the re-signing of Aaron Cadman is huge news, and should be treated as such. You have to remember, the “go-home” factor for clubs like the Giants is something they consistently have to wrestle with. So, they took the gamble, moved up the draft, and snared Cadman with the number one pick back in 2022.
He is from Bacchus Marsh (Gab Rossi territory!) and I am sure plenty of Victorian-based teams would have liked to add him to their lists over the next couple of years. But the Giants know what they’re doing.
They did their homework, and went after the kid who didn’t hail from the city, believing the pull of “home” would not be as strong for the country boy.
And Cadman has rewarded their gamble with his loyalty, signing a four-year extension last week.
So often, when a player signs a big deal, it’s as though the weight of expectation gets to them. Not Cadman. Over the past four games, he has slotted 16 goals, and is now in career-best form.
With Jake Stringer finding form (kicking four on the weekend), and proven performers alongside him in Toby Greene, and Jesse Hogan, the Giants’ forward line is looking very dangerous heading into the last six weeks of the season.
THE MOST TAG-ABLE PLAYERS IN THE AFL ARE…
Okay, if I were an opposition coch, these are the players I would sit someone on.
1 – NOAH ANDERSON
He’s an assassin, and you only need to have a look at the last quarter of the Suns-Pies game to see why he is so important. Does’t do the dunky little sideways stuff – just goes hard at the contest, hard forward, and creates. Rowell win win the footy, but Anderson is the one that hurts most. Play goal side of him, and make him go sideways and backwards.
This weekend it’s the Crows v the Suns – I think James Peatling may have his hands full.
2 – LACHIE WHITFIELD
A running machine, and sometimes get the bump from kick in/play on positions. Rarely makes an error with the footy, and is as reliable as they come. What separated him is that he is running as hard in the last quarter as he is in the first. Ideally, someone like Ed Langdon would be the bloke you sit on him. However, the Giants aren’t silly – they also have Lachie Ash that can create havoc off half-back. If the left one don’t get ya…
This week, he is up against the Bombers, and they’re basically down to playing the work experience kids as their best 23. Expect him to have 30+ again.
3 – CALEB SERONG
I was stunned the Hawks did deploy Finn Maginness onto him. Far out… what more evidence did you need that he is the barometer of this team.
When he is has been under 20 touches in 2025, the Dockers are 1-3. When he is above 30 disposals, they are 6-0.
This week, Freo face the Pies. Whilst McRae does like to back his own structure in the midfield, I would not be surprised to see Steele Sidebottom reprise the role that brought him back into the guts toward the end of 2024, and plant himself next to Serong. You cannot let him run around unattended.
4 – NASIAH WANGANEEN-MILERA
He’ll kill you with run. Last weekend, the Swans made him work. They put James Jordon on him, and here’s where the confusion started.
Nasiah was beating him. He got his numbers. He ran hard into space and was all over the ground. When the Swans dropped the tag in the third quarter, Big Wang’s numbers fell away. Why?
Because he was STUFFED!
He expended a heap of energy to break the tag. So much so, that when they released him, he had little left. He had three touches in the third quarter without Jordon sticking to him like glue. That was bloody smart by Dean Cox.
This week, his Saints take on the Cats. Oisin Mulln… time to earn your pay, mate. Make him work for every touch he gets.
5 – BAILEY DALE
There are a lot of half-backs with good numbers that don’t hurt with their touches. But there are some that do, and I would count Bailey Dale amongst those that do.
Two weeks back, Luke Beveridge saw his boy getting tagged by North’s Jacob Konstanty and immediately moved him forward, where he snagged two important goals. It was a great counter-move by the Dogs, and one that left Konstanty without a role that genuinely suited his skill set. But allowing Dale to run unencumbered is a mistake, and North’s decision to tag him would have been a great one had Bevo not been so willing to pull the trigger.
This week, the Dogs get the Lions, and this presents a problem. The Lions will back themselves, however, with Zac Bailey out of the side (for what looked like a good bump, to me), whether they choose to play Cal Ah Chee on Dale will be an interesting one. Ah Chee has a knack of separating at the exact right time to make an offensive half-back pay, and if he does that once or twice, it brings the Dogs undone. If not… then Dale will be able to run away from defence
THE HAWKS ROAD RECORD IS A WORRY
They’re 1-3 away from Melbourne and Tassie, and with just one interstate trip left to come, the way they perform against the Lions in Round 24, will give us a strong indication as to whether they are going to have a shot this season, or are just making up the numbers.
As sad as it makes me, I think the latter is more likely.
Given their current ladder position, the Hawks will likely have to travel at some point in the finals (assuming they make it). As it stands, they have not been able to eke out a win on the road other than their opening round victory over the Swans.
I know this is not the be-all and end all of the way you assess teams, but winning away from home is definitely one of the ways to judge a good team.
Last year, both Grand Finalists combined for nine road wins in the home-and away season.
In 2023, the Lions and Pies combined for ten.
The Hawks are falling over on the road, but not a lot is being made of it. Not like was made of the Crows last year, or the Suns for that matter. Gold Coast ended with two wins, actually. That’s the type of trajectory the Hawks are on for this year.
Whilst they may well qualify for finals and are capable of a level I am not sure we’ve seen too much of this season, if they front up for the first week of finals with a road trip on the agenda, I would not be too confident. All eyes on that Round 24 game.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE THURSDAY NIGHT FIXTURES?
I can’t remember when they scheduled the second half of the season’s fixture… I’m getting old, but I do know they had time to sit down and assess how teams were going, and allocate standalone games based on form throughout the start of the year.
For argument’s sake, let’s just say that they started the second half of the floating fixture from Round 15, okay?
That gave us Freo v Essendon
Round 16 – Port v Carlton
Round 17 – North v Dogs
And Round 18 – Carlton v Brisbane
But wait, there’s more… more Essendon and more Carlton.
Round 19 – Essendon v GWS
Round 20 – Hawthorn v Carlton
Round 21 – Dogs v GWS
Round 22 – Hawks v Pies
Round 23 – Essendon v St Kilda
And we don’t know what’s happening yet, in Round 24, but looking at the above, it is safe to say it’ll probably involve Essendon!
There are 18 teams in the league (good maths there, HB) and four of the final ten Thursday night games have involved a Bombers team that has done nothing to deserve standalone games. I don’t think even staunch Essendon fans would pretend they deserve this type of treatment, as they also have two Friday night games in the mix over the next six weeks, as well.
The floating fixture was brought in to make sure these bigger, standalone games get the eyes on them according to who is playing well. Giving the Bombers, who were struggling when the second half of the fixture was released, six marquee time slots in ten weeks is idiotic.
And sadly, it’s par for the course.
THE LEGENDS GAME
I’ve missed this.
Even when it lost a little of its lustre, the concept of having former greats out there, with a bit of a mix of celebrities or personalities (or in some cases celebrities with no personalities) has always been a winner.
Russell Gilbert switching sides, Billy Brownless and Brian Taylor struggling to get around as they played on each other, Hutchy with the balk and the goal… and the staged close finishes, they were always fun.
And that’s what it was meant to be.
I think we have lost a little bit of that in footy – the dream of many young kids is just to play footy – initially, at least, for fun. If they’re good enough, that fun makes way for serious stuff, but the Legends Game has always reverted to the fun aspect of footy. The blokes out there are just playing footy with nothing else on the line. A kick in the park with their mates, with just a bit of competition. I’m all for it.
And after a break of several years, it’s back in 2025 and it is looking like essential viewing.
Announced today as the “number one draft picks” were Cyril Rioli and Gary Ablett Junior.
Star power, right off the bat.
Squads have not been announced as yet, but with Luke Hodge and Nick Reiwoldt both involved, hopefully some big names roll out to support research for prostate cancer, which took the life of Ted Whitten years ago, now.
You love to see it.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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