Murray MiddletonRound Twenty-Two
August 31st 2008 15:32
1. Saints Time Their Run
A series of uncanny results enabled St.Kilda - generally regarded as the worst club in football history - to sneak into fourth position on the ladder. In the process they gained the double chance and kept alive Robert Harvey's faint hopes of winning a premiership in his final year. Saints fans (whoever they are) will be delighted. The Saints will meet Geelong next Sunday. The two clubs have a fierce rivalry which stems from the 2004 pre-season grand final. Geelong currently looks unbeatable. If the Saints can get within eight goals of the Cats they will fancy a preliminary final birth.
The St.Kilda versus Essendon match was peculiar to say the least. Essendon fielded their worst team in over twenty years. It looked like men versus boys. The ease with which the Saints midfield were able to shrug tackles was ridiculous. The Bombers were simply unable to withold the Saints onslaught. Justin Koschitzke played his best game in over one month and is considered to be the Saints wildcard coming into the finals. Although Koschitzke played well, he was still unable to go forward and kick goals. For the Saints to succeed come September, he must chime in with two or three goals in every match.
Interestingly, several of the players who were drafted in the later years of Grant Thomas' reign are now starting to come good. Sam Gilbert, Brendan Goddard, Jason Gram and Sam Fisher are all tall and athletic players who are capable of providing great run. The Saints are generally thought to lack leg speed, however many of their taller players are actually quite quick. Add Nick RIewoldt and Jason Blake - who is in career best form - and the Saints have six quick tall players. This seems to be at the core of their recent success. Ross Lyon has justified his game plan by frequently stating that it will hold up to the rigours of finals football. Now the football world will be able to judge for itself.
2. 'Buddy' Cracks Ton
On Saturday night Lance Franklin became the first player in ten years to kick one hundred goals in the home and away season. It is a magnificent achievement. Most people forget that Franklin is only in his fourth season as a player. Most fourth year players are still struggling to cement their position in a league team. Last season Franklin showed his credentials as a finals footballer. He clearly does not feel the pressure. Where Nick Riewoldt's inaccuracy in front of goal may be attributed to the yips, Franklin's poor kicking owes more to a technical deficiency. He will have less opportunities in front of goal in the finals. Franklin kicked 4.5 against the Blues. He must convert this to 6.3 come finals time. He may well hold the key to the Hawks hopes of going all the way.
Saturday night's match was bizarre. Carlton showed no signs of being interested in winning the match. Their sole objective seemed to be to get Brendan Fevola to the magical ton. During the final quarter the game degenerated into somewhat of a farce. Carlton's midfielders became so 'Fev' conscious that the Hawks defenders could easily anticipate where the ball was going to be kicked. The umpires even got in on the joke, awarding Fevola a questionable free kick. The one man who didn't join the party was Alastair Clarkson. In the dying minutes he sent Jarrod Roughead to defence to play as a loose man. While some have suggested that Clarkson made the move to enable the focus to remain on Franklin, the question has to be asked: why would he want the focus to remain on 'Buddy?'
3. Will They or Won't They
The radio airwaves have been filled with debate about whether Collingwood will recall Alan Didak and Heath Shaw for the finals. One caller even suggested that he had overheard Eddie McGuire outline the Pies plan to recall the pair while sitting at a local cafe. Put simply, this will not happen. Four weeks ago Collingwood made their decision. Although they are terribly undermanned, they must stick with the players who have got them into the finals in recent weeks. Although some of the younger players are quite raw, there is no point in budging on their previous decision. It could, potentially, set the club back many years.
The Pies now seem certain to retain Didak for 2009. There is a perception that the club has been gradually softening their stance on Didak in recent weeks. Some supporters have even started up a partition to help him remain at the club. These same supporters would love to see the mercurial forward return to face the Crows next weekend. While it is quite easy to imagine Eddie McGuire changing the club's decision, he has repeatedly ruled out the possibility on SEN radio. The reason that the possibility of Didak and Shaw returning keeps being mentioned is that if any club would be prepared to make the call, it would be Collingwood.
It will be interesting to see how Collingwood goes against the Crows. The Kangaroos and the Magpies have been tthe two biggest losers out of round twenty-two. Both sides now have to travel interstate in do or die encounters. Can Collingwood continue to play above themselves? The chances of them having a similar run to last season's finals campaign are thin. North Melbourne's loss to Port Adelaide must go down as one of the worst performances of all time. It was a home match. It was Shannon Grant's 300th game. They are a milestone club. A top four birth was at stake. The opposition had already put half of their team on the surgery table. They had everything in the world to play for. The Kangaroos seem to play above themselves week after week, but every so often (as happened on the weekend) it seems to catch up with them.
A series of uncanny results enabled St.Kilda - generally regarded as the worst club in football history - to sneak into fourth position on the ladder. In the process they gained the double chance and kept alive Robert Harvey's faint hopes of winning a premiership in his final year. Saints fans (whoever they are) will be delighted. The Saints will meet Geelong next Sunday. The two clubs have a fierce rivalry which stems from the 2004 pre-season grand final. Geelong currently looks unbeatable. If the Saints can get within eight goals of the Cats they will fancy a preliminary final birth.
The St.Kilda versus Essendon match was peculiar to say the least. Essendon fielded their worst team in over twenty years. It looked like men versus boys. The ease with which the Saints midfield were able to shrug tackles was ridiculous. The Bombers were simply unable to withold the Saints onslaught. Justin Koschitzke played his best game in over one month and is considered to be the Saints wildcard coming into the finals. Although Koschitzke played well, he was still unable to go forward and kick goals. For the Saints to succeed come September, he must chime in with two or three goals in every match.
Interestingly, several of the players who were drafted in the later years of Grant Thomas' reign are now starting to come good. Sam Gilbert, Brendan Goddard, Jason Gram and Sam Fisher are all tall and athletic players who are capable of providing great run. The Saints are generally thought to lack leg speed, however many of their taller players are actually quite quick. Add Nick RIewoldt and Jason Blake - who is in career best form - and the Saints have six quick tall players. This seems to be at the core of their recent success. Ross Lyon has justified his game plan by frequently stating that it will hold up to the rigours of finals football. Now the football world will be able to judge for itself.
2. 'Buddy' Cracks Ton
On Saturday night Lance Franklin became the first player in ten years to kick one hundred goals in the home and away season. It is a magnificent achievement. Most people forget that Franklin is only in his fourth season as a player. Most fourth year players are still struggling to cement their position in a league team. Last season Franklin showed his credentials as a finals footballer. He clearly does not feel the pressure. Where Nick Riewoldt's inaccuracy in front of goal may be attributed to the yips, Franklin's poor kicking owes more to a technical deficiency. He will have less opportunities in front of goal in the finals. Franklin kicked 4.5 against the Blues. He must convert this to 6.3 come finals time. He may well hold the key to the Hawks hopes of going all the way.
Saturday night's match was bizarre. Carlton showed no signs of being interested in winning the match. Their sole objective seemed to be to get Brendan Fevola to the magical ton. During the final quarter the game degenerated into somewhat of a farce. Carlton's midfielders became so 'Fev' conscious that the Hawks defenders could easily anticipate where the ball was going to be kicked. The umpires even got in on the joke, awarding Fevola a questionable free kick. The one man who didn't join the party was Alastair Clarkson. In the dying minutes he sent Jarrod Roughead to defence to play as a loose man. While some have suggested that Clarkson made the move to enable the focus to remain on Franklin, the question has to be asked: why would he want the focus to remain on 'Buddy?'
3. Will They or Won't They
The radio airwaves have been filled with debate about whether Collingwood will recall Alan Didak and Heath Shaw for the finals. One caller even suggested that he had overheard Eddie McGuire outline the Pies plan to recall the pair while sitting at a local cafe. Put simply, this will not happen. Four weeks ago Collingwood made their decision. Although they are terribly undermanned, they must stick with the players who have got them into the finals in recent weeks. Although some of the younger players are quite raw, there is no point in budging on their previous decision. It could, potentially, set the club back many years.
The Pies now seem certain to retain Didak for 2009. There is a perception that the club has been gradually softening their stance on Didak in recent weeks. Some supporters have even started up a partition to help him remain at the club. These same supporters would love to see the mercurial forward return to face the Crows next weekend. While it is quite easy to imagine Eddie McGuire changing the club's decision, he has repeatedly ruled out the possibility on SEN radio. The reason that the possibility of Didak and Shaw returning keeps being mentioned is that if any club would be prepared to make the call, it would be Collingwood.
It will be interesting to see how Collingwood goes against the Crows. The Kangaroos and the Magpies have been tthe two biggest losers out of round twenty-two. Both sides now have to travel interstate in do or die encounters. Can Collingwood continue to play above themselves? The chances of them having a similar run to last season's finals campaign are thin. North Melbourne's loss to Port Adelaide must go down as one of the worst performances of all time. It was a home match. It was Shannon Grant's 300th game. They are a milestone club. A top four birth was at stake. The opposition had already put half of their team on the surgery table. They had everything in the world to play for. The Kangaroos seem to play above themselves week after week, but every so often (as happened on the weekend) it seems to catch up with them.
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Comment by Anonymous
If North were (quite rightfully) paid the 4 points against Sydney earlier this year when Sydney fielded 19 men would mean that North would get a home final.