As we lay our heads on the pillow tonight one of the AFL’s biggest clubs, Carlton or Collingwood, will be winless after three games and we can put a thick, red line through their season.
Whilst it would be a shattering loss for Carlton tonight, considering they started their campaign so promisingly with a five-goal burst against the reigning premiers, it’d be catastrophic for Nathan Buckley and signal the end of his coaching career.
The Magpies travel to Adelaide next week where the Crows have won 27 of their past 33 at home before taking on the Bombers on Anzac Day, followed by a difficult clash with Richmond in Round 6.
If the Pies lose tonight, it’s a fair assumption that they’ll be 0-6 to start this season. No coach who has missed the finals for the last four years and starts the season with six straight losses can survive that record.
Of course, Buckley and his players won’t be thinking that far ahead and will have their minds firmly focused on kicking a winning score tonight in the absence of their three best forwards Alex Fasolo, Jamie Elliott and Darcy Moore.
So, how will Bucks structure the forward six? Is there a surprise in store?
As a neutral footy observer the fall out from tonight’s game at the MCG is colossal.
As we speak, players from both clubs are waking up and getting themselves ready for the 7.50 bounce, and I just hope they realise the magnitude of the occasion.
Who will provide the spark? Can under-fire Pies skipper Scott Pendlebury turn back the clock and produce a trademark performance? I’d love to see Buckley split his time between midfield and deep forward the same way Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin does his best work.
Will Adam Treloar respond to his critics over his disposal and get his side over the line with a game breaking display?
Or will it be the young Blues, led by Patrick Cripps and the games most exciting youngster Charlie Curnow, hammering the first nail into Buckley’s coaching coffin?
The stage is set, who is going to rise to the occasion and who will crumble under the pressure?
And what’s the fall-out for the loser?