Bryce Gibbs is chaired off after his final game by former teammates Kade Simpson and Marc Murphy. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Not everything old is new again. In fact, this unusual football season has already had more firsts than any other, with more in store as we progress towards an historic Gabba grand final under lights.
But the “new” premiership favourite is as “old” as it gets in the sense that it comes shrouded in all-too-familiar yellow-and-black hues.
For the fourth successive season, if you want to win the flag, you’ve got to go through Richmond.
The Tigers’ brutal mauling of Geelong was a stark warning a fortnight out from the finals that the Punt Road juggernaut isn’t ready to cede its power over the competition just yet.
Damien Hardwick’s side is one of five locked into a finals series that promises plenty of twists and turns, while three spots remain up for grabs going into the last home-and-away round.
But a key question remains unanswered. Who wants one of those spots more than their rivals and actually has the personnel, perseverance and plan in place to grab it with both hands?
Collingwood looks likely, pending Monday night’s meeting with Gold Coast, while the Western Bulldogs are mounting a case on the back of Sunday’s Marcus Bontempelli-inspired hammering of Hawthorn.
Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney both had a crack in an entertaining contest on Saturday night, won by the Demons after rising star Trent Rivers’ late snapshot floated through the big sticks.
St Kilda is clinging on despite snatching a 15-point defeat from the jaws of victory against West Coast, but you can rule a line through Carlton after its horror 16-point loss to lowly Adelaide.
Not for the first time, the Blues only have themselves to blame after falling to the last-placed Crows on an emotional afternoon where they bid farewell to two club champions.
Unusually, one of them was from the other side, but footage of Adelaide midfielder Bryce Gibbs being chaired off the ground by former teammates Kade Simpson and Marc Murphy was one of the season’s more heart-warming moments.
Injured ruckman Matthew Kreuzer – like Gibbs, a No.1 draft pick by Carlton many years ago – also said goodbye in the days before the Blues’ season went up in smoke.
PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.
A grand final combatant less than 12 months ago, Greater Western Sydney has fallen so far that it felt the need to drop captain Stephen Coniglio for the crunch clash with Melbourne.
Not since late last century, when West Coast coach Mick Malthouse dropped John Worsfold, had a club left out its skipper by choice.
The bombshell move didn’t work as the Demons rebounded from their recent catastrophe in Cairns with a five-point triumph that gave them a chance to salvage their season.
Essendon has no such opportunity. The Bombers have checked out of the finals race and coach Worsfold has seemingly checked out of the club. That’s if his language during his press conference after the 50-point smacking from Port Adelaide is any guide.
Worsfold’s ensuing public spat with Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd isn’t doing the club any favours at this stage, but Lloyd no doubt hopes his grievances will spark positive change over the off-season when Worsfold hands the coaching reins to Ben Rutten.
Worsfold’s aforementioned former club, meanwhile, is firmly in the premiership hunt. West Coast was missing most of its 2018 flag-winning midfield against St Kilda on Thursday night, lost Jeremy McGovern (hamstring) before half-time, and looked gone when the Saints kicked three quickfire goals to start the final term.
But then, to borrow a line from Adam Simpson, the Eagles “found a way”. Tim Kelly pulled on his Superman cape in a remarkable performance, kicking an important final-quarter goal and finishing with 30 disposals and nine clearances in his best display for the club.
We’ve said it many times this season and we’ll say it again: anyone writing off West Coast this year does so at their own peril. A likely finals grid starting position of fifth will make life difficult, but Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo and others should return at some stage to bolster a team that has been there and done that on the big stage not so long ago.
Few clubs beneath the Eagles look capable of challenging them in Perth in week one, if the draw falls that way. The Bulldogs might be best-placed if that’s how it works out, with Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore finding form at the right time in a comfortable 36-point win over also-ran Hawthorn.
Elsewhere, troubled forward Jesse Hogan’s four-goal haul was the highlight of Fremantle’s 64-point thumping of North Melbourne, while Brisbane locked in a top-two spot with a dour 32-point triumph over Sydney in rain-sodden Cairns.
West Coast defender McGovern and Richmond forward Tom Lynch both suffered hamstring injuries that will rule them out of round 18 and threaten their spots in week one of the finals.
Sadly, Tiger Ivan Soldo and Bulldog Toby McLean both suffered serious knee injuries that didn’t only end their respective seasons, but will likely keep them sidelined throughout 2021 as well.
