It’s interesting to consider who the real winner was Friday night. By all means, Geelong was resounding. Inaccurate kicking kept Collingwood in it. The Cats look to have, at least initially, rectified the flaws that were so horribly exposed in the preliminary final last season.
All of a sudden where we were once pessimistic of the Cats, thinking that their inevitable decline would really kick in this year, they’ve now got sincere claims for a third flag in five years.
Enormous confidence can be taken out of a gameplan executed brilliantly. They aimed to take down the reigning premier and they did with aplomb.
Collingwood went home with a very rare loss but ultimately gained many invaluable things from the encounter.
Tags of an undefeated season, unnecessary pressure, gone. Talk of the Pies taking all before them, zero credence given to rivals mounting a charge on them come September, displaced by the increasing appraisal for the Cats.
With a few key players out to boot, the Maggies can now focus on going about their business of winning back to back flags without the puff of sensationalist expectations that could quite frankly only serve as a distraction down at the Westpac Centre.
Make no mistake, the black and white outfit is still the team to beat, but those adorning blue and white hoops are right with them, and at this stage no-one else looks threatening enough to prevent Friday night being a Grand Final replay.
The Hawks could, if fully fit, show enough to dent September in a big way but another couple of key injuries suffered on Sunday does nothing to aid that ambition.
The positive was the immense drive they showed to turn a dismal first term effort into a mammoth turnaround. At the final siren Hawthorn had won comprehensively.
But alas, as per usual, the injury list will unearth the club’s lack of depth in key areas and the football public will continue to wonder ‘what if’, especially when on occasions in 2011 we have seen a side capable of threatening, capable of replicating that 2008 fear that rivals felt..
Over in the west we saw sides definitely ‘capable’ in 2011, West Coast on the most fierce of rebounds, implementing the press in a way Collingwood would admire.
Fremantle are a good side despite some inconsistent results thus far, but their cross-town rivals had their measure all day, and now can lay claims to a final eight position if they keep it up.
Whilst the results John Worsfold has had so far with the Eagles have been utterly impressive, and the Dockers’ best 22 has the ability to win finals, neither team will win enough games in Melbourne. Inexperience and fitness issues alike, this will prevent them from attacking the top four.
An interstate team that might be able to have a sneaky chance at taking a September scalp is Sydney, who continues to do their thing in their secluded football market to little fanfare.
The Swans have impressive football in them and made sure they kept their early season momentum going with a solid win over a sore and sorry Port Adelaide.
The Power, alike with their Football Park co-tenants, are struggling big time, and it’s hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Port Adelaide fans yearn for even a glimpse of hope, but promising signs are too few and far between.
Adelaide did enough when hosting the Gold Coast on Saturday, but that first quarter showed equally how rusty the Crows can be, and how dominant the Suns will be one day. Exciting doesn’t come close to describing the football this young side displays.
There’s no doubting the supremacy the league’s 17th franchise will have in short time; the competition can see the Suns’ kids getting more and more comfortable with the grind and battle of senior AFL football with every passing week.
With every passing week, gulps can be heard from the other sixteen clubs. Premierships will be hard to take off them.
One team not in premiership mode is Melbourne. North Melbourne did nothing more Saturday afternoon than show we were fools to jump back on the Demons bandwagon.
We were quick to forgive the Dees’ poor efforts after that spirited win against the Crows, but we were reminded harshly that perhaps that game was an aberration as they turned a first quarter dominance into an embarrassing loss.
The only solace is that the only outfit going worse right now is St Kilda. Talk about turnarounds; the Saints had the game on a plate at quarter time and then proceeded to throw the toys out of the cot.
Dropped marks, poor teamwork, nowhere near enough energy for the contest – they were a rabble.
Any inkling to do anything other than turn 2011 into a rebuild would be an utter waste of time for the Saints hierarchy.
Something’s rotten in the state of St Kilda.