Gather Round started with a blockbuster clash and ended with the same. Here’s the key takeouts from the round in South Australia.
Dynamic duo – and don’t forget this purring Cat
Thursday night, Adelaide Oval
Geelong defeated Adelaide by 19 points
That’s where the goals are: Patrick Dangerfield was at his damaging best against the Crows.Credit: Getty Images
Much has been made of the match-winning exploits of Patrick Dangerfield, Bailey Smith (can someone please pass him a cheat sheet for the Cats’ theme song) and Jeremy Cameron against the Crows, but Tom Atkins deserves as much praise heading into the Easter Monday blockbuster against Hawthorn.
Atkins has become one of the league’s premier run-with players, and had the job on the mercurial Izak Rankine. While Rankine’s stat line looked good – 25 touches and two goals – the star Crow, who was only passed fit in the hours before game time because of a leg issue, was unable to exert game-defining influence when it mattered the most.
It was Atkins who was influential in the contest late in the second term when the Cats began to rally, having fallen behind by five goals. Atkins finished with 25 disposals and a team-high nine clearances. Not bad for a man who was shadowing an opponent.
Atkins’ robust work allowed Smith and fellow midfielder Max Holmes to combine for 67 disposals and 1448 metres gained, prompting the question: are Smith and Holmes now the best one-two midfield punch in the competition?
Smith, who Dangerfield described as a “ruthless competitor”, had 35 disposals, nine score involvements, six clearances, six inside-50s and kicked a goal in what could be his second maximum polling outing, while Holmes had 32 touches, including seven inside-50s, having initially thought he was going to start at half-back.
When they thrive, it allows Dangerfield (four goals, six score involvements) to predominantly play as a forward, and heap pressure on opposing coaches to play their best defender on him.
Having turned 35 last week, the 2016 Brownlow medallist could be forgiven for attacking the ball with a touch less ferocity than he did in his prime. But the manner in which he physically intimated the Crows’ back line with his angry charge on the ball was stunning, reinforcing why he is arguably the greatest contest player of the modern generation.
“The body is feeling great … the last couple of years I haven’t been able to get through those first couple of weeks [because of injury]. Once you get through that first couple, first month, you start to be a bit more bulletproof. I have started to get to that stage,” Dangerfield told Fox Footy.
Coach Chris Scott and his coaching panel also deserve a shoutout.
Where the Cats had looked to stretch the Crows for much of the first half with longer kicks, inadvertently allowing the Crows to use their speed, after half-time the Cats pushed upfield better and gave themselves options closer to the ball, meaning they could control the ball more in their front half, denying the Crows the run they had enjoyed while scoring 32 of their 33 points in the final term from turnovers.
The Cats have had their wobbles this season, but they are a legitimate premiership threat. Monday’s clash against the Hawks has all the hallmarks of the epic battles these teams waged from 2008 through the “Kennett curse” era.
Pie night: Good things comes in threes
Friday night, Adelaide Oval
Collingwood defeated Sydney by 31 points
Much was made of the overall age of Collingwood’s “Dad’s Army” list through the pre-season, and concerns about a perceived lack of depth.
After five games, those issues have been put to bed.
While Ned Long’s emergence in the midfield as a replacement for Jordan De Goey on Friday night won particular praise, Long having been delisted by the Hawks at the end of 2023, the Magpies’ hierarchy should also be delighted by their other moves.
Will Hoskin-Elliott replaced injured small forward Lachie Schultz – best on ground against Carlton last week – in the front half, and had 13 disposals, including a goal.
In a reshuffling of the decks because of Dan Houston’s suspension, Lachie Sullivan was drafted in to effectively replace Harry Perryman in defence, the latter then tasked to be the rebounding half-back that Houston typically is. With Long thriving as a ball hunter in the mould of the injured De Goey, the Magpies proved that all good things do come in threes.
This was a defensive masterclass by the Magpies, for they denied the Swans their key offensive plank – attacking through the corridor. The Swans like to possess the ball but, too often, turned it over when forced down the line. Aside from the opening round loss to Greater Western Sydney, their only defeat so far this season when they conceded 104 points, the Magpies have not coughed up more than 78 points in a game. The troubles of 2024 are now all but a memory.
Fixture boon for AFL
Sunday night, Adelaide Oval
Port Adelaide defeated Hawthorn by 30 points
The hype and exposure this game attracted should have the AFL seriously considering running it back next season.
Much to think about: Sam Mitchell and his Hawks should expect a return clash against the Power at the Adelaide Oval next year.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Gather Round may have its own unique quirks, including tight dressing rooms at the suburban venues, but, ultimately, the AFL is all about maximising exposure, whether that be attendances or broadcast ratings. And this one was a winner in the relatively unexplored Sunday night prime-time slot.
The weekend got off to a great start when the Crows hosted their former star Patrick Dangerfield and his Cats at the Adelaide Oval, and was capped by Sunday night’s grudge match.
While the contest didn’t quite live it up to the billing – sly old fox Ken Hinkley did a number on the man of the moment, Sam Mitchell – the heightened emotions of the crowd, and the chirp among players, meant this was a must-watch occasion.
The AFL, and all sports for that matter, are under pressure from broadcasters to deliver “events” – contests that transcend the norm and can attract the average fan, and those with a mild interest in the game, to tune in.
The Hawks and Power, care of their tight results last season, and the post-siren drama of the semi-final, ensured there were several characters fans could gravitate to. Or simply pick a side.
This rivalry is real.
“I know I definitely used it,” Power star Jason Horne-Francis told Seven after the match.
“I think rivalries are so good to have, and I think the one that we’re building here, it’s such a good rivalry … so, I know I definitely used it. I know some of the boys used it.”
There will be a rematch in round 19 in Launceston, but an Adelaide Oval fixture should already be pencilled in for next year.
Hinkley, of course, won’t be there next season, as the coaching handover to Josh Carr will be completed by then. But the Power’s five-goal win was a coaching masterclass, the inspired move of skipper Connor Rozee to half-back leaving the Hawks flummoxed.
In a week when they lost their best player Will Day to long-term injury, this was a brutal reality check for the previously unbeaten Hawks. Their run from half-back dried up, a point Geelong have undoubtedly taken note of ahead of their Easter Monday clash.
Fans hope for blue skies ahead
Saturday afternoon, Adelaide Oval
Carlton defeated West Coast by 71 points
Carlton supporters won’t take too much from the win over the Eagles at Adelaide Oval. Yes, it was a relief to see their team finally get off the mark, but this is a woeful Eagles line-up that coach Andrew McQualter needs to strip right back.
However, for the Blues, there were at least signs of a revival. And even signs AFL great Jimmy Bartel’s suggested non-negotiables, published in this masthead, had, dare we say it, been embraced.
Bartel called for the Blues’ defenders to use their opponent as the starting point and win the contest from there. Jacob Weitering and Jack Silvagni had been doing that; Mitch McGovern, in one of his best games, punctuated by a late long goal, and line-breaker Adam Saad, appeared to heed the message.
Bartel wanted the midfielders to “spread, spread, spread”, a point Sam Walsh essentially made last Monday when he felt too many Blues were stuck in the contest. Walsh, with only one goal before Saturday, took his own advice, and booted three amid a 37-disposal masterpiece.
The Geelong great also wanted the Blues’ forwards to aim for two tackles each per quarter. While the Blues were beaten 46-35 in overall tackles, they won the inside-50 count, 12-5.
What will frustrate the Blues is that they managed only 17 goals from a whopping 73 inside-50 entries. That must improve against North Melbourne on Good Friday.
For the Eagles, some of the errors they made, particularly when attempting to clear the ball from defence, had to be seen to be believed. It is still baffling that arguably the club with the most financial muscle of any in the competition can have been so bad for so long.
And a quick word about …
Saturday afternoon, Norwood Oval
Brisbane Lions defeated Western Bulldogs by 21 points
The unbeaten Lions boast what all great premiership teams have – an insatiable belief that they can get the job done from any position. In this case, it was a 39-point deficit, rebounding with a 14-goal second half to torpedo the Western Bulldogs. The Lions spoke about a greater emphasis on winning the contest in the second half, but you can forget structure and game plans – this emanated from the confidence, even aura, that comes from claiming a flag, and appearing in back-to-back grand finals. Just ask Greater Western Sydney about losing a big lead and capitulating to the Lions. As for the Bulldogs, it’s now a matter of how psychologically destabilising this defeat is. Marcus Bontempelli could not have timed his expected return against St Kilda on Sunday night any better.
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