Round 6 Talking Points: St Kilda falters, Hawthorn's primetime fixtures, big MRO decisions and more
Round 6 was historic, becoming the first AFL/VFL round where every side played away from their home state.
But there was plenty to get excited about, as Fremantle pulled off a big upset, a star of the future made his debut and Collingwood got back on track.
Here’s some of the biggest talking points from the round:
Can we take St Kilda seriously?
It’s hard not to look at St Kilda’s collapse against Fremantle as anything other than a significant setback as they look to prove themselves as a genuine finals contender in 2020.
Brett Ratten’s side were excused somewhat in Round 1 when they let a big margin slip to go down by two points but there was nowhere to hide against the Dockers at Metricon Stadium on Saturday as they let a 37-point lead slip to lose by six points.
When the Saints have been up and running this year, they have played breathtaking footy but they’ve now lost two games from positions which a genuine premiership threat wouldn’t have let slip.
It’s still early in the season but St Kilda have plenty of work to do to prove themselves this year.
Don’t sleep on the Bombers in 2020
Saturday night’s win over North Melbourne was anything but the slick and sharp style we’ve become accustomed to seeing Essendon play in previous years, but it was another gritty win that cements them in the top four after round six.
The Bombers have quietly gone about their business this season and their new game plan led by Ben Rutten and assistant Blake Caracella is more about substance than the slingshot style associated with Essendon sides.
With a game in hand and a crucial Friday night clash against the Western Bulldogs on the horizon, Essendon will get another chance to prove themselves as a credible finals side.
Time to sideline Hawks from primetime
We’ve seen enough – Hawthorn are playing some of the most lacklustre football of any side right now and shouldn’t be scheduled in prime time in the next block of fixtures, which is scheduled to be released early next week.
Alastair Clarkson’s side have now had two Friday night clashes in six rounds and have been soundly beaten in both and while there’s credible reasons for their downturn in form, the nature of the fluid fixture this year see the competition’s in-form sides play primetime football.
Rankine runs wild in one of the great debuts
It’s been a disappointing fortnight for the Suns after losing Matt Rowell for the rest of the season through injury and then narrowly losing to Melbourne on Saturday night, but it’s clear they’ve unearthed another star of the future in Izak Rankine, who was simply breathtaking in his first game at AFL level.
We’ve been made to wait over a year to see him debut after his first year at the Suns was ruined by injury, but it was well worth it as Rankine kicked three stunning goals and could’ve had even more.
When Gold Coast’s litany of stars are up and running in the coming years, watch out.
And one more thing
Round 6 will be known as the round of the high bump and the AFL's crackdown on head-high contact will be tested by a pair of high-profile incidents in the coming days.
Match Review Officer Michael Christian opted to send Ben Long hit on Fremantle big man Sean Darcy straight to tribunal, deeming it to be seven impact and high contact.
Meanwhile, Dylan Shiel was offered a two-week ban after his bump on Curtis Taylor was judged to be high impact and high contact.
Long faces at least three weeks on the sidelines but it will be interesting to see whether Essendon opt to contest Shiel's sanction.
If Taylor's MRI scan comes back clear on Monday, there's a credible argument to be made the hit was medium impact rather than high.