Geelong’s Brandon Parfitt sweats on Fremantle’s David Mundy as the rain belts down in Perth. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
We sounded the alarm exactly three weeks ago, and not everyone heeded the warning. But sirens are going off in the west, accompanied by flashing lights of blue and gold hues.
While rebuilding Fremantle has struggled since the West Australian clubs returned to Perth, West Coast Eagles has relished the home comforts like only it knows how.
Few clubs have made statements of intent in 2020 quite like the one Adam Simpson’s men laid out in a 66-point thrashing of Collingwood at Optus Stadium.
Nathan Buckley’s post-match assessment was telling as he mused that his side had played the Washington Generals role against Simpson’s “West Coast Globetrotters”.
If you heard a click during the third quarter, it was the West Coast midfield machine finding the right gear. Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff and Tim Kelly all had impacts and Nic Naitanui again underlined his importance in the ruck, as if he needed to.
Josh Kennedy kicked seven goals – something entire teams have failed to do on 34 occasions this season. The spearhead has kicked 11 goals in his last two matches after managing multiple goals just once in the previous six.
The previously stingy Collingwood defence that we lauded for holding up without injured star Jeremy Howe was sliced apart as a midfield minus late withdrawal Scott Pendlebury got slaughtered, and West Coast piled on the biggest score of a bizarre season – 18.3 (111) to 6.9 (45).
Our warning on July 7 was this: “Anyone who rules out West Coast as a genuine contender at this stage does so at their own peril”. Right HERE, if you missed it. If for some reason you’re still not on board, there’s no saving your footy tips this year.
For better or worse, Toby Greene often has weeks where he’s the centre of attention. In round eight, it was the former. The antagonistic gun produced a five-goal, five-star performance as GWS toppled last year’s grand final foe Richmond in a match that raised more questions than it answered.
A footy buzzword reared its head as the Giants again failed to win the inside-50 count, but got away with the result because of their superior efficiency in attack. It is clear that method is not sustainable, and the Giants know it. But they’ll take the win and move onto attempting to rectify the issue.
There was at least one different trend in round eight that would have passed unnoticed by many. I’m in two footy tipping comps, involving a total of about 40 people. This week, only one of those tipsters went against Carlton.
To paraphrase their theme song, the old, dark, navy Blues were the team that didn’t let us down. David Teague’s men rode the bumps in a Gabba slugfest in wet and slippery – not “greasy”, despite what some commentators would have you believe – conditions.
It was another close game, too. Carlton’s social media team declared “it may not be one for the classic matches collection”. But the Blues now have a 3-2 record in five of seven matches since the restart that have been decided by single-figure margins.
The win came despite Patrick Cripps being scragged by North Melbourne opponents to the extent his club again felt the need to contact the AFL umpiring department about the treatment being dished out to its star ball-winner in 2020.
Teague’s doing something right. Carlton has won four of its last six games and has been competitive in every match since round one. Does a finals charge beckon after six years in September mothballs?
Like West Coast, St Kilda was incredibly accurate in front of goal as it produced a thrilling 12.1 (73) to 6.8 (44) upset of ladder leader Port Adelaide.
But the joy of the win was somewhat offset by news Dan Hannebery is likely to miss the rest of the season after another hamstring setback. The veteran former Sydney midfielder has played just 11 matches since joining the Saints at the end of 2018.
Hannebery wasn’t the only big name to go down. Collingwood skipper Pendlebury was a late withdrawal with a quad strain and will miss at least two matches, while Carlton’s Mitch McGovern and Adelaide’s Matt Crouch hurt hamstrings.
Umpires and the Match Review Officer were in the gun again as the ever-fluctuating interpretation of holding-the-ball caused further confusion for players, coaches and fans alike.
Michael Christian had some tough calls to make, with Brisbane’s Daniel McStay (two matches) and Essendon’s Kyle Langford (one match) offered suspensions for forceful front-on contact bumps on opponents.
Shaun Burgoyne escaped with a fine for his dangerous tackle on James Rowbottom just weeks after rules were changed to effectively ensure suspensions for tackles like the one the Hawthorn veteran laid on Patrick Dangerfield.
But the biggest controversy out of Sydney’s win over the Hawks revolved around Alastair Clarkson’s assessment of Tom Papley, who earned a free kick to boot back-to-back goals in a narrow seven-point victory.
“He milks a free kick as good as anyone in the competition and he did so again. You just wish they were consistently paid to everyone who is knocked off the ball like that,” Clarkson said.
It prompted a stinging response from Swans chairman Andrew Pridham, who fired off: “Impertinent drive-bys like that only serve to diminish his standing as a coach.”
Carlton’s Marc Murphy was also accused of diving after a tumble against North Melbourne. Here’s hoping the practice doesn’t become too prevalent.
In a tight and tense round spread over five days, there were six matches decided by two goals or less, including three by less than a kick. Essendon squeezed past Adelaide and extended the Crows’ record losing streak to 11 matches, Brisbane survived a string of late Melbourne misses and the Western Bulldogs fought off an increasingly competitive Gold Coast outfit.
Geelong climbed into third with a win over Fremantle in the now-familiar Monday night slot. Small forward Brad Close lived out a dream when his first kick in the AFL sailed through the big sticks in the opening minute and the Cats were never headed amid a torrential Perth downpour.
The drenched Dockers managed just 2.4 (16) in the second-lowest score of the club’s 26-year history, with Caleb Serong’s late shot from deep in the pocket ensuring they scraped past the 1.7 (13) kicked away to Adelaide in 2009.
