One round of finals delivered truths. Firstly, and most importantly, one of the best seasons of football deserved and got one of the best first rounds of finals. Yes, we can be guilty of recency bias, but this was simply a superb round of finals.
Secondly Lachie Neale is in the absolute elite of midfielders and despite a Brownlow Medal has still been under-sold. Taylor Adams correctly tweeted during Thursday night’s game that Neale was not only among the elite of current midfielders, he is in the elite of midfielders for 15 years.
Brisbane’s Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale is still under-rated.Credit:AFL Photos
Thirdly, and this one’s a paradox, there was no truth in certainty. Over-ruling the goal umpire’s call on the Tom Lynch goal attempt with the technology we were privy to on the TV coverage seemed a stretch. If there was more technology that verified the call then show it. As it was the call was probably right but from the video we saw it looked hard to be so definitive as to over-rule the soft call of the goal umpire.
Fourth finals experience is nonsense if your name is Maurice Rioli – Tiger Maurice Rioli jnr is a superstar in the making – and for that matter if it is Jye Amiss for whom no experience, finals or otherwise, was necessary to be damaging in finals.
Fifth, finals records don’t always count. Brisbane batted their own history away, and Gary Rohan, whose finals record was worse even than Brisbane’s, was the surprise player of the round.
His critical pack mark given the pressure he was under was wonderful. Sure his influence in the game might have been viewed differently had his dropped chest mark in the last quarter not still led to the match-winning goal, but that is churlish and academic because it did lead to a goal and Rohan was terrific. But he still didn’t have the same profound influence as Jeremy Cameron.
And the last truth is that if Cameron is not the best player in the competition at the moment, he is circling the podium. He looks the most influential player to the outcome of these finals.
Jeremy Cameron celebrating a goal at the MCG.Credit:Getty Images
He had answers when Collingwood asked questions. Every time Collingwood looked ready to push ahead it was Cameron who knocked them back. He kicked Geelong’s first goal when the Cats could find no way to score and were being assailed at the other end.
Moments after Ash Johnson laconically curled in a banana goal from long range off a step, Cameron, on the wrong side for a left footer, ran to be the one to take the out-of-bounds free kick from Brayden Maynard’s soccer kick. He, naturally, curled it home in a whatever-you-can-do-I-can-do better sort of moment.
When Collingwood edged out in the third quarter and felt like they might have momentum, Cameron shut it down with an unerring shot from an iffy distance. He kept not only finding the answers but being the answer. It was like duelling banjos without the corn-pipes.
Jeremy Cameron will be a key figure in the outcome of these finals.Credit:AFL Photos
What makes Cameron especially good is that he has Tom Hawkins. No finals team looks to have quite the right blend of defenders to have a big player to stand Hawkins and a tall nimble defender to go with Cameron.
Collingwood didn’t. They needed Darcy Moore – who was in their best three players on the ground – to play on Hawkins. If he went to Hawkins, who plays on the new All-Australian captain? They had Jeremy Howe on Cameron and he played quite well, but Cameron was better.
Fremantle possibly has the right blend with Griffin Logue, Alex Pearce and Brennan Cox. Sydney have the McCartins; Paddy is a fit for Hawkins, Tom could go to Cameron, but it’s not a great match-up. They could look to Dane Rampe. He is bigger in heart than stature.
Brisbane would probably have to go with Harris Andrews, with Darcy Gardiner or Jack Payne taking Hawkins, which is a worry.
Melbourne would have Steven May for Hawkins but Harrison Petty and Jake Lever, as good as they are, don’t make for a comfortable fit on Cameron.
MAGPIE CHANGE
There was a curious subplot with Collingwood’s big men on Saturday. Ruckman Mason Cox played less than half of the game against Geelong, having just 46 per cent of game time. Darcy Cameron spent 83 per cent of the time on the ground.
Cox didn’t play badly, he just didn’t play that much. He normally averages around 60 per cent game time and blends his time rucking and forward.
Mason Cox of the Magpies marks ahead of Patrick Dangerfield.Credit:AFL Photos
That might be a one-off but what added an element of intrigue was that Nathan Kreuger had been brought back as the sub after a long injury lay-off with a shoulder and then so little game time in the VFL. It was clearly a measure of how highly Craig McRae rates his versatility and athleticism.
The Magpies might be loath to pull the trigger on making a change to the blend of players that have worked for them, but it raises the idea of whether Kreuger could come in for Cox, or even (more unlikely but possible) Brody Mihocek, who has struggled for form while playing injured.
Kreuger has played key forward and second ruck for Collingwood, but he was recruited from Geelong where he played key back, so he has the scope to play a number of roles. Adding him as a sub suggests the coaches are keen to find a way to find a place for him.
ABOUT LAST TIME
Melbourne hosting Brisbane in a semi-final sets up the immediate return bout of Dayne Zorko and Harrison Petty … and for that read all of the Melbourne players.
Zorko apologised sincerely after the loss at the Gabba for the line he crossed in his sledging of Petty, but then as the criticism of him persisted he spoke out to say that while he held with his apology he was also responding to provocation, and some Melbourne players were not innocent in the things they said.
What is said between the two teams and players in this match will probably be far less consequential than what is done. Last time Brisbane were humbled. Now they return to the MCG, where their record is terrible. But then their finals record before they edged out Richmond last Thursday night was almost as bad, and they rewrote that history.
THE BEST NON-STAT
There should be an award for the best non-stat effort of the year. Clubs always talk about celebrating one per-centers. And the AFL loves to find new things it can offer awards for – Rising Star, best team under 22, best left footers with a beard to play well on a damp Thursday in June.
Charlie Cameron’s slap back over his head to put the ball into the path of Eric Hipwood to run on to for a Brisbane goal against Richmond would be a contender, but the clear winner of the round of finals has to be Docker Michael Frederick’s run down of Bulldog Ed Richards to force a fluffed kick that went straight to Sonny Walters to goal in the last quarter. Game changer. Award winner.
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