Who does it say more about?
The results of Round 7 can say plenty, whether it be about the winners or the losers.
SEN Breakfast’s Kane Cornes and Nathan Buckley went through each of the completed games and discussed which team the result said more about.
St Kilda (76) - (83) Port Adelaide
Cornes: “I think it says more about St Kilda and is there now a blueprint on how you can break them down?
“Clearly the tactic from Port Adelaide was to match them around the ball, but when you get your opportunity in offence to go quickly. It doesn’t have be pretty but just go fast and get the ball to those one on one situations inside 50.
“Also, there was a thought not to get into a basketball game with them. Don’t make it up and back. If you feel like the game is going too frenetically, just slow it down and be prepared to possess the ball.
“I thought tactically Port Adelaide did it pretty well. We’ll see if the other teams can do the same against St Kilda.”
Brisbane (115) - (67) Fremantle
Buckley: “I’m going with Fremantle on this.
“We knew that they are not in sync and not at one with their game plan.
“They had 194 handballs and 187 kicks so the intent was to try and flick the ball around to create time and space to then run the lines. They were unable to do that.
“They only got inside 50 42 times compared to 62 so Brisbane were dominant from a field position perspective and the Dockers were just left with a lot of questions on how they are going to find their best mix.
“They’re not the defensive unit they were at the beginning of last year, they’re struggling to move the ball and there’s a few considerations there for them to fix.”
Sydney (106) - (107) GWS
Cornes: “Sydney, because their once-heralded mantra of being really difficult to play and score against is evaporating, as is the season.
“The season is quickly disappearing for the Swans.
“They haven’t beaten anyone of quality - Gold Coast, Hawthorn, Richmond - they’re all teams that are down the bottom. Smashed last week by Geelong.
“On any metric they dominated this game of footy and still lost at home. Too predictable with their ball movement going inside 50 and still too Buddy Franklin centric.
“Their season must get on track and quickly otherwise they’ll miss finals which will be a big story.”
Western Bulldogs (94) - (65) Hawthorn
Buckley: “I’m going to say the Dogs.
“I think they’ve really been able to nail down the way they play. I thought Hawthorn were a handful early with Mitch Lewis in front of the ball and the energy and intent they’d taken off their Adelaide performance into this game.
“They dominated Western Bulldogs in the areas they’re normally strong, contested ball and clearance. They had nearly 30 more contested possessions at half-time but the Bulldogs had done enough to keep themselves in the mix and then they imposed that style as they went on.
“It says a lot for what the Bulldogs are building in terms of their confidence in the way they’re playing.
“More efficient in offence and defence and they didn’t need their two standout players in Tim English and Marcus Bontempelli to have cracking days for them to be able to win.”
Melbourne (139) - (49) North Melbourne
Cornes: “It says more about North Melbourne, but I feel like I’d have my say enough over the weekend on the pitiful performance, particularly in the first five minutes.
“But I’ll say Melbourne for their hunger.
“This looks to me like a really hungry group and that result was done in five minutes. Their contest work, their run, their fitness, their hardness and their desire to be great is shining through.
“Geelong are the best team in the competition, Melbourne might be second, Collingwood might be third and Brisbane, and then it’s a little bit of daylight after those four.
“Melbourne are in a really good position to win the premiership this year.”
West Coast (44) - (152) Carlton
Buckley: “I’m going to keep this short and sharp - it says more about West Coast and their issues both personnel and execution.
“They’re a long way off being a competitive AFL side and they’ve been there for a large part of the last 18 months, unfortunately.
“We didn’t learn anything about Carlton because the competition and pressure wasn’t there.”
Essendon (104) - (132) Geelong
Cornes: “The Cats are the best team in the competition and that was the case yesterday.
“There’s only so much that can be said about that. I think there would be a few shudders going through the competition over what they’ve done in the last fortnight.
“They’re building nicely into the season.”
Richmond (48) - (72) Gold Coast
Buckley: “I’m going to say Gold Coast.
“They’ve been able to come down and have had a couple of solid performances at Marvel now. Both of these teams going in had their backs against the wall, probably more so Gold Coast.
“You can’t afford to lose it because you know that it heaps pressure on you. They were without Touk Miller who is their hardest runner and spiritual leader.
“They won a game they had to win, got the job done and in the end it is the result that speaks volumes for what they were able to do. They did control the game for the most part.”
Adelaide (58) - (59) Collingwood
Cornes: “Adelaide for me and I wonder whether at the end of the year they’re going to look at a season of wasted opportunities.
“They’ve lost three games where they’ve kicked 12.18, 10.16 and 7.16. That’s three games where their expected scores suggested they should have won.
“If you look at their draw they play Geelong, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and Brisbane in their next month and they’ve lost three games through inaccuracy already.
“I just wonder whether at the end of the year Adelaide will have missed the eight and look back and go, ‘goal kicking’.
“They are a top six team in this competition but they’ve lost three on inaccuracy.”