Murray MiddletonRound Seventeen
July 27th 2008 15:33
1. Collingwood blow it (again)
After almost beating Geelong in the preliminary final last season Collingwood was expected to have a serious tilt at a premiership in 2008. Last year Collingwood blooded several young players - Clarke, Goldsack, Toovey, Stanley, Cook, Dick, Cox - who were expected to help the club improve this time around. Despite a poor start to the season, the Pies beat Geelong by thirteen goals in round nine. It was a huge upset. But it should have signalled the beginning of Collingwood's climb up the ladder. This has not materialised. They have suffered some inexplicable defeats this season. A win against Essendon on Saturday would have put the Pies within two points of the top four. Now their premiership chances are in tatters.
The round nine match must now officially be ignored. Within the context of this season it does not make sense. Geelong have won their other sixteen matches and are the best team in the competition by a long way. At this point the only thing that can stop the Cats going back to back is injuries. Over the past two weeks the Cats have defeated their two main rivals while missing important players. It is time people stop judging Collingwood on their performance against Geelong. They rose to the occasion. But it counts for nothing if they can't beat Carlton or Essendon. Although the Bombers have been making steady improvement under Matthew Knights, it is inexplicable for Collingwood to lose to them. Behind closed doors Mick Malthouse will be making the same point - with a few more prophanities.
2. Saints succumb in the heat
The equation at the beginning of the round looked good for St. Kilda. They had won their previous four matches and had finally worked their way into the top eight. A win would have put them in outright fifth position, while maintaining their slim top four hopes. Their opposition - the once mighty West Coast Eagles - appeared to have thrown in the towel for the season. Saints fans could have been mistaken for thinking that the result would take care of itself. Unfortunately, this sentiment was probably shared by its players.
Last week there was a lot of hype about who would match up against Nick Riewoldt. In the end it didn't matter. Riewoldt tried hard and kicked five goals, but his side were too one-dimensional in their forward thrusts. It resembled Carlton when they become too Fevola-conscious. The Saints lost key defender Max Hudghton in the first quarter, which threw the balance of their side out. To make matters worse, their ageing ruckmen were slaughtered by Dean Cox. On the vast Subiaco Oval the Saints were exposed for their lack of leg speed. They often get away with this when playing at Telstra Dome. The young Eagles, buoyed by their home crowd, were too fast and committed for their more fancied rivals.
Worst of all for the Saints, they undid all of their good work from the previous week when they beat Hawthorn. They now sit outside the top eight. They have a favourable drawn, but are no guarantee to break back into the eight. Justin Koschitzke's return will help the structure of the team against Port Adelaide this week. The Saints lack the depth that teams such as Geelong, Hawthorn and the Bulldogs have. In the past two weeks the football world has seen the best and worst of the club. This week the Saints face another team who seems to have put the cue in the rack. Therefore it must be considered a danger game.
3. Tigers ready to pounce?
Richmond's last-gasp vistory over Brisbane brought them within two points of the top eight. While it remains unlikely that the Tigers can make the top eight, their coach will be pleased with their progress. For Terry Wallace to have his contract renewed, the Tigers must play finals football in 2009. At this rate, they will. The most pleasing aspect of their win over Brisbane was the fact that they were not too reliant on Matthew Richardson. In recent weeks the likes of Mitch Morton, Jack Riewoldt and Cleve Hughes have kicked goals. Add the skillful Nathan Brown to the equation and the Tigers suddenly seem to have found a potent forward line.
Terry Wallace is grooming Will Thursfield, Kelvin Moore and Luke McGuane as his three tall defenders. All three have considerable improvement to make. At this point Thursfield looks like he will play full back for the next ten years. He is tall, agile and has a great ability to spoil the ball. Moore is making slow, but steady progress. He has played on some quality opponents this season and is learning how to curb their influence. McGuane needs to develop his physical ability more. He has been unable to hold his position in the team at times this season and still has a long way to go. Jay Schulz has also been used as a key defender, although there is a good chance that he will be traded to Port Adelaide. The Tigers defence is still too fragile to play finals football.
Brett Deledio is making fantastic progress as a footballer. He is agile, fast and good in the air. He is a natural goal-kicker and may be the next captain of the club. Trent Cotchin is a superb talent. He is already one of the Tigers' best midfielders. His ability to side-step opponents is second to none at the club. Nathan Foley is a proven ball winner who provides grunt at the clearances. And Richard Tambling is finally starting to play good football. He will be eternally ridiculed for being drafted ahead of Lance Franklin. But, like Terry Wallace, Tambling is starting to come good in his fourth season.
4. 'Buddy' Sumich
It is time that Lance Franklin received further advice on his kicking action. On Friday night he kicked four goals. In a pressure game four goals is a good return. But he should have kicked seven. While commentating the match Dennis Cometti said that the main thing standing in the way of a Hawthorn premiership was Franklin's kicking. While this may not necessarily be true, it does carry some substance. Franklin's kicking action resembles the way that Peter Sumich used to kick. He veers out to the left before hooking the ball back across his body. Once the ball has travelled twenty to thirty metres it gets a bit of 'irish' on it before swinging left. There are too many variables in this action.
There was nothing wrong with Tony Lockett's kicking action. While every player is an individual, Franklin's kicking action is a little too individual. In the future he may cost Hawthorn valuable matches. He does not need any drastic changes to his technique. It is worth noting that Franklin is a good field kick. On radio Jason Dunstall claimed that there was nothing that could be done to stop Franklin's errant kicking. This is a copout. He must run in a straighter line when taking a set shot. Perhaps the Hawks might stick cardboard cut-outs of John Anthony's ugly face between the sticks to encourage him to kick straight? If only Franklin was as lethal in front of goal as he is with glass in hand...
After almost beating Geelong in the preliminary final last season Collingwood was expected to have a serious tilt at a premiership in 2008. Last year Collingwood blooded several young players - Clarke, Goldsack, Toovey, Stanley, Cook, Dick, Cox - who were expected to help the club improve this time around. Despite a poor start to the season, the Pies beat Geelong by thirteen goals in round nine. It was a huge upset. But it should have signalled the beginning of Collingwood's climb up the ladder. This has not materialised. They have suffered some inexplicable defeats this season. A win against Essendon on Saturday would have put the Pies within two points of the top four. Now their premiership chances are in tatters.
The round nine match must now officially be ignored. Within the context of this season it does not make sense. Geelong have won their other sixteen matches and are the best team in the competition by a long way. At this point the only thing that can stop the Cats going back to back is injuries. Over the past two weeks the Cats have defeated their two main rivals while missing important players. It is time people stop judging Collingwood on their performance against Geelong. They rose to the occasion. But it counts for nothing if they can't beat Carlton or Essendon. Although the Bombers have been making steady improvement under Matthew Knights, it is inexplicable for Collingwood to lose to them. Behind closed doors Mick Malthouse will be making the same point - with a few more prophanities.
2. Saints succumb in the heat
The equation at the beginning of the round looked good for St. Kilda. They had won their previous four matches and had finally worked their way into the top eight. A win would have put them in outright fifth position, while maintaining their slim top four hopes. Their opposition - the once mighty West Coast Eagles - appeared to have thrown in the towel for the season. Saints fans could have been mistaken for thinking that the result would take care of itself. Unfortunately, this sentiment was probably shared by its players.
Last week there was a lot of hype about who would match up against Nick Riewoldt. In the end it didn't matter. Riewoldt tried hard and kicked five goals, but his side were too one-dimensional in their forward thrusts. It resembled Carlton when they become too Fevola-conscious. The Saints lost key defender Max Hudghton in the first quarter, which threw the balance of their side out. To make matters worse, their ageing ruckmen were slaughtered by Dean Cox. On the vast Subiaco Oval the Saints were exposed for their lack of leg speed. They often get away with this when playing at Telstra Dome. The young Eagles, buoyed by their home crowd, were too fast and committed for their more fancied rivals.
Worst of all for the Saints, they undid all of their good work from the previous week when they beat Hawthorn. They now sit outside the top eight. They have a favourable drawn, but are no guarantee to break back into the eight. Justin Koschitzke's return will help the structure of the team against Port Adelaide this week. The Saints lack the depth that teams such as Geelong, Hawthorn and the Bulldogs have. In the past two weeks the football world has seen the best and worst of the club. This week the Saints face another team who seems to have put the cue in the rack. Therefore it must be considered a danger game.
3. Tigers ready to pounce?
Richmond's last-gasp vistory over Brisbane brought them within two points of the top eight. While it remains unlikely that the Tigers can make the top eight, their coach will be pleased with their progress. For Terry Wallace to have his contract renewed, the Tigers must play finals football in 2009. At this rate, they will. The most pleasing aspect of their win over Brisbane was the fact that they were not too reliant on Matthew Richardson. In recent weeks the likes of Mitch Morton, Jack Riewoldt and Cleve Hughes have kicked goals. Add the skillful Nathan Brown to the equation and the Tigers suddenly seem to have found a potent forward line.
Terry Wallace is grooming Will Thursfield, Kelvin Moore and Luke McGuane as his three tall defenders. All three have considerable improvement to make. At this point Thursfield looks like he will play full back for the next ten years. He is tall, agile and has a great ability to spoil the ball. Moore is making slow, but steady progress. He has played on some quality opponents this season and is learning how to curb their influence. McGuane needs to develop his physical ability more. He has been unable to hold his position in the team at times this season and still has a long way to go. Jay Schulz has also been used as a key defender, although there is a good chance that he will be traded to Port Adelaide. The Tigers defence is still too fragile to play finals football.
Brett Deledio is making fantastic progress as a footballer. He is agile, fast and good in the air. He is a natural goal-kicker and may be the next captain of the club. Trent Cotchin is a superb talent. He is already one of the Tigers' best midfielders. His ability to side-step opponents is second to none at the club. Nathan Foley is a proven ball winner who provides grunt at the clearances. And Richard Tambling is finally starting to play good football. He will be eternally ridiculed for being drafted ahead of Lance Franklin. But, like Terry Wallace, Tambling is starting to come good in his fourth season.
4. 'Buddy' Sumich
It is time that Lance Franklin received further advice on his kicking action. On Friday night he kicked four goals. In a pressure game four goals is a good return. But he should have kicked seven. While commentating the match Dennis Cometti said that the main thing standing in the way of a Hawthorn premiership was Franklin's kicking. While this may not necessarily be true, it does carry some substance. Franklin's kicking action resembles the way that Peter Sumich used to kick. He veers out to the left before hooking the ball back across his body. Once the ball has travelled twenty to thirty metres it gets a bit of 'irish' on it before swinging left. There are too many variables in this action.
There was nothing wrong with Tony Lockett's kicking action. While every player is an individual, Franklin's kicking action is a little too individual. In the future he may cost Hawthorn valuable matches. He does not need any drastic changes to his technique. It is worth noting that Franklin is a good field kick. On radio Jason Dunstall claimed that there was nothing that could be done to stop Franklin's errant kicking. This is a copout. He must run in a straighter line when taking a set shot. Perhaps the Hawks might stick cardboard cut-outs of John Anthony's ugly face between the sticks to encourage him to kick straight? If only Franklin was as lethal in front of goal as he is with glass in hand...
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