Tag: AFL

Can Richmond actually make an impact in this year’s finals series?

The Tigers have been spoken about as a team who might just be able to do some damage if they happen to make the top eight.

Damien Hardwick’s side managed to return to eighth spot with an impressive 38-point win over Port Adelaide in Adelaide on Saturday night.

The result came after the 10th-placed Western Bulldogs had been beaten by Fremantle and on the same night St Kilda, who were holding eighth, fell to Geelong.

With the Tigers now the keepers of their own destiny with two home and away fixtures remaining, the question was asked – Can they win the flag? (Provided they make the finals, of course).

Nathan Buckley and Garry Lyon discussed the Tigers on SEN Breakfast and what they may or may not be capable of.

Buckley believes the 2017, 2019 and 2020 premieres will make the eight given they play Hawthorn and Essendon in Round 22 and 23.

“I think of the balance of it now, they will get there,” Buckley said.

“Can they do any damage at all?”

While Lyon acknowledges how good the Tigers have been, he says injuries to Dylan Grimes and Nick Vlastuin, as well as the ongoing absence of Dustin Martin, will make it difficult for them to seriously contend.

He says while there are good signs through the form of Shai Bolton and Tom Lynch, overall it will be an extremely tricky task for Richmond to make a serious dent in the finals.

“I think they’ve been one of the teams of the last half-century, but I think it’s going to be a challenge for them,” Lyon said.

“You lose Grimes from that group and if Vlastuin doesn’t play, Martin’s out of the side, of course it’s going to test you.

“It’s tested to the fact that they can keep coming up and Bolton is stepping into Dustin’s shoes. Whenever they need a lift he’s able to give them something.

“Tom Lynch the last few weeks reminds you of how good a player he is.

“Of course they’re a dangerous, dangerous floater, but can they win it? I think that the injuries might just take a toll.”

Buckley likes what he sees of the regeneration on the run which is occurring under Hardwick, citing the impact of lesser known players such as Ben Miller, Tyler Sonsie, Jack Ross and Noah Cumberland, among others.

“What about some of these names – Miller, Sonsie, Ross, who has been a fringe player for a while, Cumberland, who has come in of late,” Buckley added.

“They’ve got a lot of young players who are coming in and playing roles nearly above and beyond their time.”

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Lyon said: “It’s going to hold them in great stead beyond this year.”

Buckley continued, highlighting the absence of Kane Lambert, who along with superstar Martin, have helped take Richmond to the next level across the last handful of seasons.

“I love what Richmond has been able to do this year. They rewired early,” he said further.

“Lambert and Martin, that one-two punch, was as important as any one-two punch over the last five years. To win their flags, those guys were as pivotal as any.

“They’ve done really well to be in this position. I still think their best footy actually really challenges.

“It’s just whether they can do it for four quarters consistently enough against the best opposition.”

Lyon added: “I think that’s absolutely fair but can they win four finals and take them to a premiership?”

Buckley: “I think that’s a stretch but can they win a final or two?”

Lyon: “Yeah of course they could, given their pedigree and the players that they will have available.

“It’s what makes the anticipation of this final series so real.”

The Tigers next meet the Hawks at the MCG this Sunday.

The Buck Stops Here.

Nathan Buckley has gone through his five biggest takeaways from the weekend of footy.

Buckley has touched on Patrick Cripps, Lance Franklin, Zac Bailey and Brayden Maynard.

Winning form is the best form

“Clearly, winning form is the best form.

“We’ve got two teams in Geelong and Collingwood that have been 11-0 in their last 11 games and are clearly out in front when it comes to sides with winning form at the moment.

“We’re talking about winning form and what context we’re putting it. We’re putting it in teams that over the next six or seven weeks are going to have the capacity to challenge and ultimately win the comp.

Geelong and Collingwood are right up there.

“The next team in the last 10 weeks that are really in the green is Sydney who have won eight of their last 10. They’re slowly building their form and some of their numbers are stacking up.

“Melbourne, on the flip side, despite Melbourne and Collingwood being so close on the weekend, they’ve only won four of their last 10 games as has Carlton.”

Cripps made a stand after Blues’ poor start

“Vossy’s (Michael Voss) attitude is that this is a competitive, physical game and we need to be competitive, physical players.

“You get the captain of a side who needs to win, who has been dominated in the early stages of that game, and Vossy would’ve been in this situation himself a lot, you need to make a stand, you need to change the flow of a contest.

“You can do it with an act of brilliance and skill, but the main way is to go harder and lower often than your opponent and win a hard ball.

“He was a captain trying to make a stand and for 10 minutes after that the Carlton side popped up and we saw some real fight, but we didn’t see it for long enough in that game against a good opposition until the last quarter.

“I reckon Patty Cripps’ actions were around leadership and trying to drive his group with a solid contest at the footy.”

Swans’ mature handling of Franklin contract

“I reckon this has been handled in a really mature manner.

“This player has contributed so much to this team that he’s earned the right to play it out and to have the decision in his own grasp to what he wants to do at the end of the year.

“I loved the way that John Longmire handled that. I love the way that Buddy played.”

Garry Lyon: “Damian Barrett called it a provocative statement. Kane Cornes said it was, ‘me, me, me’, it was a selfish and really strange decision to release that statement.”

Buckley: “That frustrates the hell out of me.

“Are we mature enough as an organization to get to the point where players say, ‘I’m actually going to be heading over here’?

“Say (Daniel) McStay is definitely going to Collingwood and Daniel McStay says, ‘Look, I’ve had a great time here at Brisbane and I’m going to Collingwood at the end of this season’ and Chris Fagan goes, ‘We ‘re aware of that, but Daniel McStay is in our best side now and he gives us the best chance of playing in a premiership this year’ and then we just move on.

“The people who are least mature to handle that situation is actually us in the media.

“The timing of the statement is in answer to the questions that have been posed through scuttlebutt over the last two or three weeks.”

Bailey’s importance to Lions’ flag hopes

“I just think its importance to the Lions cannot be understated.

“In amongst some great players, he had a fantastic game with four goals, 20 touches on the weekend.

“This kid could be, and he’s still a kid, their most important player.

“We talk about ground level top-end speed and pace, work rate, he’s got class to finish off.

“When he went off against Richmond the game totally turned.”

Magpies defend Maynard built for September

“I needed to address this.

“Brayden Maynard’s tackling and physical presence is something that every team needs going into September and the big games in finals.

“I definitely produced on Friday night against Melbourne.

“The first tackle on (Ed) Langdon off the ‘all duck, no dinner’ comments. Brayden Maynard is a physical player, he loves making a stand, he plays the game hard and tough.

“The tackle against Langdon set it up and the tackle on (Alex) Neal-Bullen late was the bookend.

“Wear his heart on his sleeve, great kid and built for September action.”

Garry Lyon believes Carlton “failed the test” against Brisbane on Sunday.

The Blues needed to win at the Gabba after dropping their Round 20 fixture to the Crows in Adelaide which saw them fall towards the bottom end of the eight.

Michael Voss’ side was up against a Lions outfit that had given up a 42-point lead to lose to Richmond last weekend and had shown indifferent form in recent weeks.

Lyon admits he did have doubts about Brisbane’s form, but was pleasantly surprised with the way they “smothered” the Blues.

“I’ve had a few doubts about Brisbane,” he said on SEN Breakfast.

“I’ve looked at it and said I’m not sure about their forward line.

“Watching that game yesterday with so much on the line, the first half or three quarters… if they bring the heat and pressure like they did in that first half, then they can do something pretty memorable.

“I’m not saying they can win it, but they smothered Carlton in a way that they (the Blues) just never got into space. It was all on the back of (being) just at them, at them, at them.”

Lyon feels it was a missed opportunity for the Blues who conceded eight goals to the Lions in the first half before saving some face with a sugar-coated eight-goal final term.

He says the result provides this Saturday night’s clash against third-placed Melbourne with so much extra significance.

“That looked to me finals-like (from Brisbane),” he said.

“If you’re a Carlton fan, that was as close to final intensity that they could expect, if they ever got there, and they failed. They just failed the test.

“The eight goals in the last quarter is just like Essendon’s year.

“To use the analogy, it’s like a horse that gets back and then flashes home and you go, ‘wow’, but it doesn’t mean anything unless you actually win one and they didn’t.

“A lot of pressure on Carlton, they play Melbourne this weekend and a lot at stake on Saturday night.

“They’ll find out one way or the other.”

The Blues are hanging onto their position in the eight for dear life after a third loss in four weeks.

Eighth-placed Richmond is breathing down their necks just two points behind and with matches against Hawthorn (13th) and Essendon (14th) to come.

Even the 10th-placed Western Bulldogs (eight points in arrears of the Blues) remain in the mix with fixtures against GWS (16th) and the Hawks come, while ninth-placed St Kilda have to play Brisbane (5th) and Sydney (4th) .

The Blues have to navigate the Demons before meeting a barnstorming Collingwood side in Round 23 and they might just have to do so without Captain Patrick Cripps who could land himself in hot water for a head-high hit on Callum Ah Chee.

“IT’S ALL OR NOTHING”: HOW CARLTON WILL ATTEMPT TO FIGHT INEVITABLE CRIPPS MRO CITING

Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy says Collingwood would be “crazy” to let Jordan De Goey go on the back of strong recent form.

Coming back from injury, De Goey has averaged 24 disposals and two marks in the last fortnight and was one of his side’s best players in Friday night’s win over Melbourne.

The 26-year-old free agent has constantly been linked to the likes of Geelong and St Kilda, but Healy urged the Pies to re-sign De Goey ahead of what’s expected to busy a busy trade and free agency period across the competition.

“It would be a big call to get rid of (Jordan) De Goey,” he said on sports day.

“He looks happy and is playing fantastically well, it would be a big call for him to go even for extra money as he knows his surroundings. If you go to a new club, it’s a challenge.

“I think Collingwood would be crazy letting him go.

“His form has been pretty fair and he was excellent on the weekend, Collingwood is in premiership contention and they’ll be in it next year unless something goes wrong.”

De Goey was given eight coaches votes for his effort last Friday night and looms as a key player for the Pies as they look to lock in a top four birth in the coming weeks.

Collingwood will take on Sydney at the SCG on Sunday in one of the biggest matches left in the home and away season.

David King and Gerard Whateley have named their top four seeds after Round 21 of the 2022 AFL season.

King and Whateley have ranked the four teams they have the most confidence in, coupled with what they have shown so far.

The seedings will be updated on a weekly basis on SEN’s Whateley throughout the year.

See their seeds below:

KING:

1.Geelong

“There’s a bit of a gap now.”

2.Melbourne

“I thought Melbourne’s first half was still enough to say, ‘Hey, don’t forget us’.”

3.Sydney

“All that will happen is those two (Collingwood) will reverse depending on which way the result goes.

“I think Sydney have got strike power to cause some damage.”

4. Collingwood

“Nothing to do with numbers, just all on heart and effort and a preparedness to support teammates.

“It’s infectious, I love the story, and I want them to be there.”

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WHATELEY:

1.Geelong

“Geelong stays one.”

2. Collingwood

“I’ve put Collingwood back to two.”

3.Melbourne

“I’ve got Melbourne at three because they lost to Collingwood, so I’ve got to flip them around.”

4.Sydney

“If they do beat Collingwood, then they can climb.”

Is it time for Port Adelaide to go in a new direction?

Power coach Ken Hinkley is contracted for 2023, but David King wonders if it’s time the playing group heard a different voice.

Hinkley has been at the helm for 10 seasons, guiding the club to three Preliminary Finals in 2014, 2020 and 2021.

It’s been a topsy-turvy 2022 for the Power, losing their opening five games before rallying to put themselves back in the finals mix.

Four consecutive losses in the backend of the year have ended their final hopes.

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“I’ve said this before, but If I’m Ken, I’m looking at other options saying, ‘Is there another opportunity at the Giants? Is there an opportunity at the Kangaroos? Is there an opportunity somewhere else to go and reset and be another six to eight to 10-year coach at another club?’ Because I think he’s good enough to do that,” King told SEN’s Whateley.

“I think he provides a great environment, he’s a really positive guy, he can clearly coach, he’s had teams at the pointy end even though they’ve haven’t won it or made a Grand Final, and I understand the negativity around that .

“But maybe it’s time for a change, maybe it’s time for Port Adelaide to hear a different voice and look at a different method.

“I think they’ve had the three-to-four-year window – I think that’s gone. How do they reset quickly to get back to there, and is that with Ken, are the biggest questions they’ve got to answer.”

Power president David Koch says every role at the club will be under review at season’s end.

“It’s not just about one individual person. It’s the whole program. Turn it around or watch out,” Koch told FIVEaa.

“Because every single person’s role will be assessed at the end of the year, as we do each year, but this year is more important than ever, and we are not afraid to make change. We have made plenty of changes.

“We have got to win games and we know that is what we exist to do.

“We will be making those hard decisions at the end of the year across the entire program to make us better next year.”

The Power will look to snap a run of four-straight defeats against Essendon at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.