Heath Shaw, one of the AFL’s great characters, play his 300th game on Saturday night. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
1. Commentators can’t climb on the Richmond bandwagon fast enough right now – and this writer has been as guilty as anyone.
Jack Riewoldt is back and the Tigers are firing ahead of Friday night’s blockbuster clash with Collingwood at the MCG. It’s almost like last September all over again.
But Damien Hardwick’s men go in with one big query still hanging over their heads. They are yet to beat any of the current top four sides, having lost to Geelong (Round 12) and Collingwood (Round 2) earlier the season. And they have a sub-par 2-4 record in 2019 against current top-eight rivals.
It shouldn’t matter, should it? Richmond has won four straight since the bye and has been in great nick in wins over GWS and Port Adelaide at the MCG over the last fortnight. But the difficulty level is about to go up a notch or two. Make no mistake, this is crunch time for both clubs.
Only percentage splits the old rivals in fourth and fifth on the ladder. A win or a loss could potentially be the difference between sitting second or seventh by the end of the weekend.
The Tigers have been humbled in their last two matches against the Pies, and last season’s preliminary final humiliation would still be sitting in the backs of their minds.
Host broadcaster Channel Seven is building up Friday night as “the match of the season” already. It kicks off another bumper weekend of footy as the finals draw ever closer. Bring it on.
2. Few AFL trade period stories have dropped jaws like the infamous pick swap that went down between Carlton and Adelaide last year.
Adelaide was on the clock with pick 19 when the Blues made their move, trading up the 2018 draft order by sending their 2019 first-round pick to West Lakes in exchange for the Crows’ pick 19 and 2019 first-round pick.
It was a massive gamble, with the outcome resting on the two clubs’ 2019 ladder positions and playing out over an agonising 11-month period.
At stages this season, it looked as if Carlton might be on the verge of handing over this year’s No.1 pick as it floundered near the foot of the ladder. It would have been an unmitigated disaster.
But the situation has taken a dramatic turn in recent weeks. Brendon Bolton was sacked and David Teague has guided the Blues to four wins in six matches.
They sit third from bottom and are a very real chance to climb higher. The stuttering Crows are no certainties to hang onto a spot in the top eight.
As it stands, Carlton is marginally in front on the Draft Value Index of picks exchanged (2277 to 2234).
The Blues and Crows meet in an MCG showdown on Saturday with plenty on the line. No doubt list bosses Stephen Silvagni (Carlton) and Justin Reid (Adelaide) will be among the most interested onlookers.
Adelaide co-captain Taylor Walker and some of his high-profile teammates, including veteran goal sneak Eddie Betts, have points to prove after some patchy form in recent weeks.
Betts, who cashed in during the thumping of hapless Gold Coast, has gone goalless in three of his past four matches, and will be eager to bounce back against the club he left six years ago.
Unfortunately, Liam Stocker – the Blues’ prized selection with pick 19 in last year’s draft – is unlikely to line up against Adelaide. His performance would have been an intriguing subplot to the pick-swap storyline.
The rebounding defender played five successive senior games before succumbing to injury with bone stress issues in a foot last month, and had 15 disposals on return at VFL level last week.
3. Forget the ongoing squabble over where Geelong might be told to host a so-called “home” final in a few weeks’ time.
The Cats have far bigger fish to fry as they seek to hang on to a top-two spot, starting with Sunday’s meeting with Sydney at the SCG.
Despite boasting unrivalled availability – Geelong had 19 AFL squad members in its VFL side last week – the Cats are in their worst form of the season, having lost three of their last five matches. But help is on its way.
Sam Menegola shone in his first outing at VFL level on return from knee surgery in May, and Quinton Narkle produced a scintillating performance in his fourth game back from a hamstring injury.
Narkle, who hasn’t played an AFL match this season, could be recalled to add some sparkle in Sydney. Menegola looks ready to go and would provide another proven midfield option, while Tom Atkins and James Parsons could be the unlucky players to drop out.
Geelong has won three of its last four against Sydney, including a narrow win last year on its first trip back to the SCG since the infamous 110-point thrashing on a Thursday night in 2014.
The Swans have lost three straight games, including a heartbreaking one-point defeat to Fremantle last week, and won’t be able to call upon star forward Lance Franklin as he deals with an ongoing hamstring issue.
They’re ripe for the picking. If Geelong doesn’t click back into gear, doubts over its premiership credentials will snowball rapidly.
4. The Western Bulldogs needed some good news after their attempt to gate crash the top eight hit a St Kilda-shaped stumbling block last week.
Luke Beveridge has delivered it by recalling much-loved veteran Dale Morris and handing a debut to the offspring of another of the club’s favourite sons.
Rhylee West – whose father Scott West sits fourth on the club’s all-time games played list played with 324 – will take his AFL bow when the Dogs host Fremantle at Marvel Stadium. The 19-year-old joined the club in last year’s draft (pick 26) and has had to bide his time in the VFL with Footscray.
Morris, of course, will play his first senior game of the season after recovering from a second knee reconstruction. If his presence doesn’t provide the Bulldogs with a lift, nothing will.
Both clubs are fighting for their finals lives, and Fremantle will get a close-up look at two West Australian products that the port club overlooked at the draft table.
Ruckman Tim English and emerging forward Aaron Naughton are quickly developing into players capable of becoming stars of the competition for many years to come.
Both would have slotted in nicely to a Fremantle side that is still yet to find the right balance in its key positions, with a string of injuries to first-choice talls making life even more difficult for under-fire coach Ross Lyon.
Unfortunately for the Dockers, both English and Naughton signed contract extensions this year to remain at Whitten Oval long-term. English has committed to the end of 2022, and Naughton to the end of 2024. It’s a case of what might have been for the Dockers.
5. We’ve been warned. Look out for Heath Shaw’s next big spray.
Umpires, Port Adelaide players and even the heart-on-sleeve defender’s GWS teammates could all be in the firing line.
Shaw said as much this week, but in typical fashion, followed it up with a big grin that revealed the full story at a press conference called in his honour.
The 33-year-old, from one of football’s great families, is one of football’s great characters.
And after a rollercoaster career, which included a premiership at Collingwood before a rough exit, he will be duly celebrated when he runs out against the Power at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Shaw will be the 88th player in AFL-VFL history to reach the 300-game milestone, joining famous uncle Tony Shaw in the elite club.
Adelaide goal sneak Eddie Betts and Fremantle champion David Mundy were inducted earlier this season, while Sydney superstar Lance Franklin and Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury are poised to get there before the year is out.
Shaw has been a leader, teacher, flag winner, toiler, ratbag and verbal barrage deliverer – and many more things – all with a good sense of fun mixed in with a burning desire to succeed.
On several fronts, on-field and off, he has delivered more than what GWS ever thought it would get when he swapped black-and-white for orange-and-charcoal at the end of 2013.
His milestone comes in a big week for the family. Older brother Rhyce was formally interviewed for the North Melbourne coaching post and now heads to Perth to face the biggest challenge of his short career as caretaker so far.
The Kangaroos are all but done in the finals race and take on reigning premier West Coast at Optus Stadium.
