Who’s got the hottest takes in town?
Well, probably not me, but I might have some that have had some actual thought put into them.
Let’s go.
HUGH MCCLUGGAGE IS MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO LEAVE HIM OUT OF THE ALL-AUSTRALIAN TEAM.
I don’t care how many other players average more touches per week than this bloke. Very few do more with the footy.
Over the past three years, McCluggage’s move into the midfield has likely robbed him of at least one All-Australian blazer. Before the selectors starting rewarding genuine wingmen again (Josh Daicos/Errol Gulden), McCluggage was consistently the most damaging wing in the game. Just when he started to transition to the midfield, they changed their minds, and players like Clug, who would be just the sort they’d slot into a wing role as a midfielder, were bumped in favour of genuine wingers.
Talk about bad timing!
However, now we’re looking at a season that may just reward McCluggage, who is close to the best player in the game without an All-Australian selection (yes, I know Libba plays footy).
One moment of his game on the weekend rammed home his value. He sees what others don’t, and was able to pick Cal Ah Chee out with a fifty metre dart that opened up the corridor and led to a goal. It’s those types of disposals that put other mids to shame. Just one of those disposals is worth so much more than some of the backwards and sideways stat-padding touches you see from accumulators.
Right now, McCluggage looks to be a lock for the AA midfield, at least to those who respect meaningful ball use.
Now, we just have to wait and see whether the selectors have the brains to select quality over quantity.
THE DANGERS OF HAVING JUST ONE RUCK BECOME APPARENT
Whilst Isaac Heeney took the bulk of the headlines, with his massive 34 disposal/five-goal game, the work of Brodie Grundy has managed to fly under the radar.
With Tristan Xerri on the sidelines after being suspended for three weeks, the Roos trotted out Callum Coleman-Jones, who lasted 20 minutes before he was done for the day. Some may put Grundy’s dominance down to CCJ’s absence, but that was not the case.
The first quarter saw Grundy record 19 hit outs to Coleman-Jones’ two. With him injured, North threw Brynn Teakle, who has a name sounds like he should be in the social pages, who was good aroundthe ground, but couldn’t get near it in terms of the ruck taps.
Grundy finished with 62 ruck taps for the game, which is in the top 20 all-time for taps in a single game.
And so, we come to my point – how important is it to have a designated second-ruck on your list?
Depending on which team you’re up against, things may vary. Against a top-tier ruck like Grundy or Gawn, allowing them first hands on the footy is a recipe for disaster, but against one of the lesser big men, could you get away with it?
Do you take the gamble?
North did, and they copped it, and there have been times over the last couple of seasons where other teams have found themselves up a certain creek without a paddle due to a lack of big man stocks.
Whilst North still have a lot of holes to fill in their list, a cheap but effective backup ruck might be a wise investment. Earlier this season, the name of Brayden Crossley was bandied around, but his fitness was an issue. I am sure there are others around that can hold the fort for a few games in the case of a suspension, and most teams, not just North, should be actively exploring the investment of having one on their list, going forward.
THE AFL HAS BECOME REALLY POOR AT PROMOTING ITSELF.
This past weekend, the AFL had the chance to hype up two big head-to-head matches featuring players that would be of interest to most who have more than a passing interest in the game.
The first was a rematch between the Dogs and the Lions, and in the game within the game, there was the looming Sam Darcy versus Harris Andrews clash. The last time they met, Darcy turned heads, taking the man who is likely regarded as the best big defender in the game, and taking contested grabs over him. Had Andrews and the Lions done their homework on this clash? Would they be able to stop the praying-mantis-like Darcy if he got on a roll? Did Harris Andrews have the capacity to beat him?
These were questions I was asking myself before the game, and for the majority of the week.
And from the league and its broadcast partners?
Crickets.
Fast forward to Sunday twilight, and we have the Crows hosting the Suns. This one actually got some traction in the pre-game, which was nice to see, but in terms of promoting the game, the pending Mac Andrew versus Riley Thilthorpe clash hardly featured as the league prepared for the round of footy.
Who is doing their marketing?
When you look at the golden age of footy, you think the big forwards against the big defenders. Carey versus Jakovich, Lockett versus Silvagni… the league could promote itself on the strength of the players that put arses on seats.
Think about the way other sports have used their superstars to promote the game. Magic v Bird, Magic v Michael are two that leap off the page from a time when I loved basketball
These games within games and potential rivalries were nurtured by the NBA, and people ate it up. The AFL is about 50 years behind with this type of stuff. Hopeless!
They had an opportunity to do something like that, here, with Darcy v Andrews, and Andrew v Thilthorpe. This is the shit that generates interest. Use it, for Christ’s sake. Or get the inept marketing department out of the way and hire some people who know what they’re doing.
THE BOMBERS COULD HAVE USED SOMEONE LIKE… PAT VOSS.
Believe it or not, there is a world that exists where Patrick Voss is kicking six goals for the Bombers.
Delisted after the 2023 season by Essendon, Voss has now established himself as the clear number two forward alongside Josh Treacy, with Jye Amiss relegated to third banana in the forward line. His attack on the ball and the man has added a dynamic to the Dockers that was missing even as late as 2024, as they relied on Amiss late in the season, and things fell apart.
However, with Voss in the team, Freo look far more balanced, and their ability to spread the offence makes them a far more potent force.
And even though it’s not fair, looking across the country at an Essendon line up ravaged by injury, you have to wonder how handy he’d be inside fifty right about now.
Granted, Voss did not display too much of what he is now when he was at the Bombers. He was unable to crack their senior team, and may have been lacking the maturity necessary to succeed at that point.
That kind of happens when you’re 20.
Voss at Freo is a lesson in patience, and one that Essendon could learn from. We often hear that big blokes take longer and are worth persisting with. Hell, the Bombers took a chance on Sam Weideman, who was still on the list after Voss was waved goodbye. And he had already proven that he was going to struggle at the highest level
It’s likely a decision the Bombers would like over again, and one Freo would not like to give them the chance at.
Voss was wonderful on the weekend, putting Darcy Moore to the sword early in the game to the point the Magpies had to move their captain off him. Meanwhile, managed seven goals as a team.
Patience is a virtue. Players mature at different rates. And sometimes, someone is worth persisting with.
THERE ARE A FEW OF US THAT MAY HAVE BEEN WRONG ABOUT JAKE STRINGER
Yeah, look… I know it’s fun to whack Jake Stringer. He’s made it easy over the years, hasn’t he?
And the way he started this season… man, it was whacking day!
After missing weeks to open the season, he managed just three goals from his first five games. Stringer looked out of sorts. He couldn’t hit the ocean from the beach with his shots at goal, and then… then, he went and pulled a hammy.
Oh yes… whack, whack, whack… it was a real old-fashioned whack off!
However, since returning to the Giants in Round 15, he has started to demonstrate exactly why the Giants threw him a lifeline. He has ten goals in his last four games, is looking threatening both in the air and at ground level, and is playing solid, unselfish football.
There is a fair bit of water to go under the bridge as we head toward September, but what was looking like a poor decision early, is starting to look like a high-quality, late-season contributor. If he continues this form, he might just be the key to the Giants finally getting over the line in 2025. With Toby Greene, Aron Cadman, and Jesse Hogan all around him, Jake Stringer doesn’t have to dominate. All he has to do is contribute, and he has been doing that, and then some, for weeks on end.
Maybe he’ll end up whacking a few of us if he is the one that takes the Giants to the Promised Land
DARCY MOORE IS A LUCKY MAN
Is it luck?
Is it luck that you can drop your knees into the back of an opponent after he’s taken a mark and you have no case to answer?
I would call it extremely lucky, particularly after Steven May was sent directly to the tribunal for his collision with Francis Evans in the same week. Is it because one action connected with the head and the other was “only” a couple of knees to the back? Not as serious, right?
Ask Christian Petracca about how serious a Darcy Moore knee to the back is.
The umpire obviously thought the action was poor, paying a 50-metre penalty against Moore, but I am sitting here, writing this, and thus far… nothing from the Match Review Officer.
For the record, I hate suspensions handed out for what appears to be incidental contact. When players are contesting the footy and there is contact made, I see it as part of the game, but I remember a bloke named Corey McKernan missing a Brownlow Medal once because he dropped the knees into an opponent. Here we are, all these years later, and the punishment is somehow less severe than it was back then?
I reckon May might be being punished due to his reputation, here. And I reckon Moore by be being saved by his.
And something about the whole situation stinks to high heaven.
Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was inadvertant. I could argue the same for May. Sadly, I don’t think anyone would buy it.
Nor am I buying that Moore’s effort was completely accidental. Maybe not as bad as it could have been, but still a pretty ordinary act on the footy field.
Play on, says former Magpie, Michael Christian.
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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