What are the key takeaways and observations relating to your club in Round 21?
We have dissected each of the matches and offered a number of talking points for all 18 clubs.
The following will not apply to each club every week but form the basis of our views.
The Key Takeaway
The Undroppables
The Overreaction
The Positive
The Negative
What no one is talking about
What they need to tweak for next week
The Key Takeaway: Finals still alive
There was one box to tick on Saturday for the Adelaide Crows and tick it they did. Just win.
Gold Coast wasn’t going to be an easy prospect but Matthew Nicks and his troops knew a win was the only thing to keep them in the top eight conversation.
A blistering first quarter set it up, while you could also see how much the Crows wanted the victory. 90 tackles tells the story of a desperate team not content to narrowly miss finals.
On percentage, Adelaide would be 6th in 2023. But four points out of the eight, three more wins are needed for a September berth.
What no one is talking about: Mitch Hinge’s form
Adelaide half-back Mitch Hinge is quietly stringing a very nice season together and has improved as the year’s gone on.
In terms of rebound 50s, Hinge has gathered 6, 6, 8, 1, 8 and 9 in his last six weeks and has only once dropped below 21 touches in that period.
He had best on ground claims in Round 22 and will be critical to what Adelaide can achieve in the rest of 2023.
Seb Mottram
The Key Takeaway: The Lions bank four important points on the road
Staring down the barrel of defeat after a sluggish first half, the Lions dug deep after half-time and left Optus Stadium with an important win.
Currently sitting third on the ladder, Chris Fagan’s side would be very pleased with where they sit on the ladder with three weeks to go in the home and away season.
Locking down a top two spot as an away team is crucial come September which means they just need to keep winning, which they did on Sunday.
The Positive: Neale shakes Young tag
It seems like opposition coaches are putting a tag on Neale each week.
We saw it last week with Touk Miller doing the job and we saw it on Sunday with Hayden Young keeping a close eye on the 2020 Brownlow medallist.
With the game on the line, Neale lifted in the final quarter, collecting nine disposals.
Young was still influential himself, but Brisbane's co-captain is slowly working out how to beat a tag.
What no one is talking about: Have we seen the last of Daniel Rich?
Last seen in Round 13, Rich has been absent from the senior side for fitness reasons.
But with the Lions playing some of their best footy and Rich out of the team, it seems we’ve seen the last of Rich.
Having played 275 games, Rich deserves a send off game, but you get the feeling that’s not going to be the case as the Lions prepare for a finals campaign.
Been a terrific player for the Lions.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
The Key Takeaway: Carlton dug deep without key personnel
Carlton beat St Kilda without Sam Walsh, Adam Cerra, Harry McKay, Jack Silvagni, Matt Kennedy, Mitch McGovern, Zac Williams and Jordan Boyd – and with Charlie Curnow restricted to just the one goal.
That may be more impressive than their wins over Collingwood and Port Adelaide. The win means Carlton now only need to win one of their last three to play finals and means they don’t have to necessarily rush anyone back from injury.
A huge tick for Michael Voss’ systems that they can win the clearances 44-26 without half of their on-ball unit.
The Undroppables: Zac Fisher
Zac Fisher returning to the side and being reinvented as a half back flanker was something not many would have seen coming, but was a stroke of genius.
Playing as the seventh defender and with the freedom to attack and get the footy, Fisher found 32 disposals, 551 metres gained and 21 pressure acts.
Even with Jordan Boyd set to return this week, Fisher should keep the spot in the side in a role that might save his career at Princes Park.
What no one is talking about: Matt Cottrell needs some love
Matt Cottrell ran 16.4km against St Kilda, a full kilometre more than the next highest player (Ollie Hollands who deserves credit himself).
He did it at the highest speed of any player on the field bar Brad Hill.
Starting at half forward and covering the ground, Cottrell has quietly been vital to Carlton’s form turnaround with his defensive running complimenting Hollands and Blake Acres.
Nic Negrepontis
The Key Takeaway: Outcoached, outplayed
As well as being outplayed by the Hawks, Collingwood were outcoached.
Craig McRae and his coaching staff had to have seen the Finn Maginness’ run-with role on Nick Daicos and James Sicily as a spare coming, but opted not to change anything to stop it.
While it’s probably understandable that the ladder-leaders back in their system, it would have disappointed Collingwood fans that they did nothing to stop Hawthorn’s obvious momentum once they got the jump early in the game.
It’s obviously hard to do much from the coaches’ box when you lose centre clearances 18-3, but it was frustrating to see that the Hawks were able to execute exactly what they went into the game hoping to do.
It’s certainly a big blip on the radar, but the Magpies have enough credits in the back to win us all back if they perform well in the next fortnight.
The Negative: Nick Daicos’ injury
Adding salt to the wound of Saturday’s loss was the news that superstar Nick Daicos would miss up to six weeks with a knee injury.
The 20-year-old’s Brownlow hopes could be up in smoke but more importantly he could miss Collingwood’s first final if the recovery takes up the entire rehabilitation period.
Daicos has been Collingwood’s fire starter wherever he’s played in 2023 and has clearly been the club’s best player.
If they fail to replace him, there’s no way they’ll be near the team that was flying as clear flag favourites just a fortnight ago.
Luckily, their buffer of two games clear on top with three games left will allow them to experiment with things.
Collingwood will hope that they can find something without their young superstar before dropping him back into a team that doesn’t rely on his brilliance as much come September.
The Overreaction: Almost everything. Take a deep breath
Just as there were overreactions that Collingwood were near certainties to win the flag last month, there have been overreactions that it’s all over after Saturday.
Daicos’ injury obviously doesn’t help, but if Collingwood are good enough, they will find away.
Plenty of recent premiership teams have had key players missing in key moments and the Magpies will need to show that they’re up to it without their crown jewel.
It’s been a down two weeks for the Magpies, but if you asked anyone in the pre-season if they’d take where they are after Round 21, absolutely no one would have turned it down.
If their poor form continues for another couple of weeks, it’s fair if the panic button is pushed.
But Collingwood fans and the media should take a deep breath. Given their position, we probably won’t know where this side truly sits until the first weekend of September.
Lachlan Geleit
The Key Takeaway: Surviving the late Eagles scare
It wasn’t a match to remember for Bomber fans on Saturday afternoon as their side survived a scare from the 18th-placed West Coast side, winning by one point at Marvel Stadium.
A slow start for the Bombers, where they faced a two-point deficit at quarter-time was alarming, however, Brad Scott’s side was able to get back in control kicking six goals to two in the second term.
There would have been a rollercoaster of emotions as the Eagles clawed back to hit the lead late in the final term, but it was Kyle Langford who was the hero kicking the winning goal.
Darcy Parish was the standout in midfield finishing the game with 33 disposals, nine clearances and a goal and match-winner Langford continued his fantastic form with another bag of five goals.
The Positive: Kyle Langford
Kyle Langford is having a career-best season averaging over two goals a game and once again was the game-changer for the Bombers.
Langford finished the game with 13 disposals, seven marks and five goals and this is the type of performance we now expect to see from the forward.
He’s currently on 45 goals, which is already 30 more than his previous highest goal-scoring season in 2019, showing the immense improvement and consistency he’s shown in 2023.
He’s definitely one of Essendon’s most influential players and is deserving to be in the All-Australian 40-man squad.
The Undroppables: Tsatas the debutant
Essendon’s fifth pick Elijah Tsatas made his long-awaited debut and he showed why Bomber fans were so excited to draft him.
He would have had a debut earlier in the season but a torn meniscus in pre-season stood in his way. In his VFL games, he put together dominant performances and it resulted in Brad Scott granting the young gun his debut.
Tsatas played up forward against the Eagles and had a solid performance. He had 14 disposals, six marks and two tackles and it will be very likely he’ll remain in the side for the Bombers late finals push in the remaining three games.
Ethan Daffey
The Key Takeaway: Frustratingly close loss
Following their upset victory over the Cats in Round 20, the clash against the Lions on Sunday was definitely one to watch and it didn’t disappoint.
Despite Freo leading at the main break, the Lions proved too good in crunch time and won the game by three points.
Extremely disappointing for Justin Longmuir’s side who put together a solid four-quarters of footy. However, it has been a similar story in their season where they are unable to put enough scoreboard pressure on.
Fremantle’s overall tackle numbers were similar to Brisbane’s (-4), but the Dockers only had six of their 65 tackles inside 50 and this didn’t help with the lack of scoring issues they continue to face.
Caleb Serong led the way once again in midfield, finishing the game with 35 disposals, nine clearances and seven tackles and it’s looking increasingly likely he will win the Doig Medal at season’s end.
The Positive: Luke Jackson
A massive positive for the Dockers on Sunday and since Sean Darcy's season-ending ankle injury, Luke Jackson has been phenomenal in the number-one ruck role.
He had one of the biggest games in his career to date, filling the stat sheet with 24 disposals, 44 hit-outs, five marks, six tackles and a goal.
The trade Fremantle made for Luke Jackson from the Demons in the last trade period is still a huge talking point due to the Dockers' current ladder position, but acquiring Jackson is looking more and more crucial as the weeks go on.
With the form that Jackson is currently showing as the main ruck, it will be an interesting watch to see what the Dockers will do with Sean Darcy in the off-season.
Ethan Daffey
The Key Takeaway: Finals are now more likely than not
We said last week that ruling the Cats out of the finals race after Round 20 was premature. Fast forward to Monday after Round 21 and Chris Scott’s side has displaced Port Adelaide from the top two.
They remain in the same situation as several teams in needing to keep winning.
It wasn’t just the win, but the way it came about. The Power hit the front in the fourth term and were ready to shut the door on Geelong’s season.
But the fact Geelong kicked the next four goals to cement the win says plenty. They also won contested footy – an area of the ground they’ve been whacked in the last two weeks – against a midfield featuring the likes of Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis is a big plus.
They go into Friday night against Collingwood not far off a coin flip chance.
The Undroppable: The state of affairs surrounding Esava Ratugolea
Coming back in to replace Tom Hawkins and with a re-jig of the magnets, Esava Ratugolea resumed normal service in defence and was seriously good.
Granted, he played on young Ollie Lord. But six intercept possessions, four contested marks, four kicks and Lord going goalless is a big feather in Ratugolea’s cap.
The 25-year-old arguably looked better than Jack Henry in defence, who finished the game with a foot injury.
Chris Scott reaffirmed his view of Ratugolea’s elite talent post-game and the Cats have a huge decision on what to do with him, Hawkins and Henry if he is battling to be fit.
Ratugolea would be incredibly stiff to miss out, but regardless he’s certainly upped his contract value if he heads for the door at GMHBA Stadium.
Seb Mottram
The Negative: The same old story
Gold Coast in good form. Everything on the line. Plenty of eyes on the game and a flop from the Suns. Who has heard this story before?
It’s the same narrative we’ve seen on dozens of occasions. Coming off a win over Brisbane there were genuine hopes Steven King and his side could pull off another upset.
But a five-goal to zero first quarter greeted that optimism with a brick wall. From the first break the Suns were always going to find it incredibly difficult and battle as they did, Gold Coast fell 28 points short.
Admittedly, it was a brilliant opening quarter from Adelaide. But there are two sides to every coin and there should be plenty of questions asked at the Suns as to why inconsistency continues to haunt the side.
The Positive: Wil Powell’s ankle injury won’t hurt his 2024 season
It’s a slim positive, but a boost for Suns fans nonetheless.
When Powell went down in the fourth quarter against Adelaide, the game was already gone. But there were fears of another looming disaster in the form of Powell missing much of 2024 with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
Thankfully for the Suns, the injury is ligament damage that will see him miss 12 weeks. It’s a lengthy stint to be sidelined, but Gold Coast is confident the 23-year-old will be fit for the first day of pre-season later this year.
Powell has jumped out of the ground in 2023 to have his name raised in discussions for the All-Australian squad and the Suns will need him in 2024 for any success on the horizon.
Seb Mottram
The overreaction: A much needed loss
The Giants turned their season around from a rebuilding year to genuine finals threat after seven straight wins which was a club record.
Saturday night’s derby loss has resulted in the Giants regressing to eighth spot on the ladder and GWS now face Port Adelaide, Essendon and a red-hot Carlton outfit in their last three weeks.
GWS will need to be at their best in the final three games and it will be the perfect audition to see if the Giants are ready for finals footy.
The Negative: Suspensions to key players
The Giants only just welcomed back talisman Brent Daniels to their line up and will be without him for their important clash against Port Adelaide due to rough conduct.
Daniels collected Swans defender Jake Lloyd with a raised forearm in the fourth quarter and the club accepted the suspension.
Meanwhile, the Giants have confirmed they will challenge Toby Bedford’s one-match suspension for rough conduct in which he pinned the arms of Ollie Florent and failed to prevent Florent’s head from slamming into the turf.
Daniels has been sensational since coming back into the side in Round 18 whilst Bedford has arguably been one of the recruits of the year.
If he was to be snubbed out too, it will be a massive loss for GWS who face a must-win against Port Adelaide.
What they need to tweak on: Must find other avenues to victory outside of Toby Greene
It was the Giants skipper who broke Swans hearts in the first Sydney Derby in 2023 and the Swans knew he would likely do it again in the second iteration.
Despite kicking three goals, Swans defender Robbie Fox made him work for every touch and Greene’s teammates struggled to be the matchwinner their captain normally is.
The Giants can’t always rely on Greene to get them out of jail and will need Jesse Hogan, Callum Brown and other forwards to make an impact.
Charles Goodsir
The Key Takeaway: The Young Hawks are building
They won’t play finals in 2024, but the Hawks will be there in 2025 with an eye on challenging for the flag in 2026 and beyond.
The Hawks have drafted incredibly well over the past three years with a key focus on rebuilding their midfield. The midfield unit they have built with the likes of Will Day, Jai Newcombe, Josh Ward, Cam Mackenzie, Conor Nash and James Worpel has the potential to be one of the best in the AFL in a few years.
That on-ball unit dominated Collingwood, particularly in the centre bounce category which they remarkably won 18-3 to help set up the 32-point win over the premiership favourites.
Their key focus must now be the acquisition of a key position forward to partner Mitch Lewis.
The Undroppable: Jacob Koschitzke
‘Kozi’ is a much maligned player amongst Hawks supporters.
He returned to the side on the weekend and played his role perfectly, finishing with nine disposals, five marks, three tackles, 10 hit-outs and a goal as a relief ruck for Ned Reeves.
He will need to perform at the same level again this week against the Bulldogs if the Hawks are a chance to cause another upset
The Positive: Team effort
Every single player played their role against the Magpies. There wasn’t a weak link.
The coaching department also deserve a lot of credit. A lot of Hawks supporters were bemused on Thursday night with team selection, when the likes of Reeves, Harry Morrison and Koschitzke were named, but all three played well and contributed to the win.
What needs to change for next week: Amon returns
Karl Amon should be ready to return which is a very positive sign.
Seamus Mitchell has been subbed out the past two games and would most likely be the unlucky one to be omitted.
The Hawks could be capable of pulling off another upset against the Dogs in Tassie, but will need to start as well as they did against the Pies.
Brad Klibansky
The Key Takeaway: Dees are finding consistency when their rivals aren’t
Melbourne did what they had to on Sunday in Hobart, taking care of North Melbourne by 32 points.
While it wasn’t their best performance, the Demons banked another much-needed win and as a result sit inside the top two.
With the likes of Collingwood, Port Adelaide and even Brisbane all slipping up around them, the Demons are quietly climbing up the ladder five-straight wins under their belts.
With just three weeks remaining in the home and away season, Melbourne are beginning to trust that their game plan can churn out wins.
They’ve got Carlton, Hawthorn and Sydney at the SCG on the run home and if they’re good enough a top-two finish is at their beckoning.
Secure that, and every chance they head into September as the standout premiership favourites.
The Negative: Harrison Petty’s injury
Defender turned forward Harrison Petty could be a huge out for the Demons as they begin their charge to finals.
After booting six goals last week against Richmond, Petty had two goals to his name before gong down with a foot injury in the third quarter against the Roos.
Coach Simon Goodwin described the injury as a mid-foot concern, similar to the one he suffered earlier in the year which ruled him out for six weeks.
A recovery period of the same time will rule the tall out until the second week of finals and the Demons will have to get innovative in his absence.
It doesn’t look like Brodie Grundy is the man to replace him up forward, so perhaps Joel Smith gets shifted back up front with both Petty and Bayley Fritsch out.
There’s enough x-factor still there for the Demons to kick winning scores without Petty, but they’ll be worse off for his absence.
What they need to tweak for next week: Missed the jump
While Melbourne were always going to be good enough to roll over the top of North, they would have been concerned early on.
North’s lead got all of the way out to 33 points early in the second term and while Melbourne played well following that stretch, they wouldn’t want to miss that sort of jump against Carlton.
Simply put, a better team would have put Melbourne away if they were able to get off to such a flyer.
Simon Goodwin will know this though, and you’d expect him to have his troops ready to go from the bounce next Saturday night.
Lachlan Geleit
The Positive: Eddie Ford’s role on Jake Lever
Eddie Ford proved he is capable of playing a defensive role on key opposition defenders, making Jake Lever accountable on Sunday.
He booted three goals and impressed, particularly in the first half.
Naturally, most aspects of the Roos’ game dropped away in the second half.
The Negative: The 10-goal turnaround
Halfway through the second quarter, the Roos were 27 points up having played their best 40 minutes of the season.
From there, North Melbourne was outscored by nearly 60 points as the Demons took full control of the game.
They took the fight to the premiership fancy, but could not sustain it and that drought breaking win remains elusive.
Nic Negrepontis
The Key Takeaway: The magic has worn off
Remember when it was essentially impossible for Port Adelaide to lose for the bulk of the season?
That was fun. It’s also very different now.
All the little things that were going the Power’s way earlier in the year are no longer helping, and as a result Port cannot buy a win.
They’ve dropped four on the trot, and while they hold a firm grasp on their top-four position, the fact that it’s possible for them to drop further down the ladder should be a real concern.
Port competed hard against Geelong on Saturday night, but without the magic they had earlier in the year, they couldn’t get the job done.
Something has to change soon, otherwise their incredible streak will have been for nothing.
The Positive: Three-headed monster
The Power midfield is in good hands.
Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis were all in good form against the Cats, dealing damage in their own individual ways.
With these three all under 24 years of age and not going anywhere, Port has the foundation of a dominant midfield for the foreseeable future.
The Negative: Port’s percentage
The Power may be sitting in the top four, but their percentage doesn’t reflect that.
After Round 21, their percentage of 108.5 is ranked ninth in the competition and has them the only member of the top four without a number above 120.
It’s a simple stat, but it’s a key indicator of the concerns about Port Adelaide, placing them as a middling team rather than the flag contender they see themselves as.
Jack Makeham
The Key Takeaway: Waved the white flag
Did Richmond just surrender its season?
If the season was actually on the line, somebody forget to tell the players.
The Tigers were battered by the Bulldogs from the outset. When Caleb Daniel, at 171cm, took a contested mark for the first goal of the game, you just knew it was not going to be their night.
The entire first quarter certainly didn’t feel like finals were on the line. And the club certainly didn’t act like there was everything to play for by managing Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin at the same time, then pulling co-captain Dylan Grimes out late.
Perhaps the club isn’t keen on pushing for finals, which is fine because they probably wouldn’t do any damage, but at least show a bit more care because that was a pathetic performance.
The Positive: Kids getting experience
Getting games into kids is a plus.
Tylar Young, Sam Banks, Matt Coulthard and Jacob Bauer are all getting some valuable minutes.
The Tigers need to be able to fall back on some youth in the coming years so having some younger players pushing through is a bonus.
The Negative: Lack of respect shown
As mentioned earlier, it was just a poor effort from the Tigers. Yes, the five-day break didn’t help, but what they dished up wasn’t good enough.
They showed zero respect to Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar while Tom Liberatore bullied the Richmond midfield.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan did as he pleased in the first quarter when kicking four goals from seven disposals. He touched the ball just three times in the second and third terms combined after the Tigers did put some work into him.
But the damage had been done and the game was quickly taken away from the Tigers.
What they need to tweak for next week: Become harder to score against
Richmond has conceded 54 goals and 27 behinds (351 points) from 192 inside 50s across the last three games.
That suggests the opposition is being particularly accurate, and/or the Tigers are allowing shots on goal from very kickable positions.
They certainly are getting enough chances regardless.
In that same three-game stretch, the Tigers have returned 39.31.(265) from just 142 inside 50s for differentials of -86 for total points and -50 for inside 50s. It is something that Andrew McQualter will need to change, to be more rigid around the ball, in order to protect the defence a bit better.
That starts this Sunday against a St Kilda team that Round 20 aside (when scoring 122 against Hawthorn), have tallied scores of just 58, 51, 69 and 54 since Round 17.
Andrew Slevison
The Positive: Cal Wilkie’s job on Charlie Curnow
Charlie Curnow was the in-form player in the competition coming into Sunday’s clash and he was completely shut out of the game by Wilkie.
Albeit with some help from Josh Battle, Wilkie’s multiple defensive efforts ensured the Saints had a chance of winning this game.
With the Blues completely dominating in the second half, Curnow managed just the one major in one of his quieter performance of the year.
The Negative: Final quarter output from Jack Steele and Brad Crouch
With arguably St Kilda’s season on the line, their leaders went missing when it mattered most.
Steele finished the game with just the 11 touches, one score involvement and 181 metres gained. That’s a really poor game from their captain.
He didn’t touch the ball in the fourth term.
We know he’s been battling injury this year, but if he’s picked and deemed fit, he needs to deliver more.
As for Crouch, he was the best player on the ground at half time with 22 disposals and a goal but when it mattered most, he went to water.
Carlton’s midfield controlled this game from the first bounce. They won the clearance count 46-22 and the stoppage clearance count 37-15, a complete bashing.
Ross Lyon would be really disappointed with both Crouch and Steele failing to touch the pill in the last quarter.
What they need to tweak for next week: Midfield game plan against the Tigers.
Looking ahead, the Saints will play host to Richmond on Sunday afternoon in a massive season defining clash.
They met in Round 14 and it was the Tigers who took the chocolates courtesy of a vintage Richmond performance.
Their veterans really stood up with Dustin Martin (35 touches), Trent Cotchin (29) and Dion Prestia (25) all having a significant influence on the result.
The Saints will be doing their homework on the Tigers as they can’t afford to cop another midfield mauling like they did in Round 14 and against the Blues.
This Sunday is a massive game for Rowan Marshall, Jack Steele and Brad Crouch.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
The Key takeaway: The future Swans forward line has arrived
In the first game following Buddy Franklin’s retirement, Swans was treated to a glimpse of the future and they would’ve loved what they saw.
Against one of the best backlines in the competition, Hayden McLean was outstanding with four goals, three contested marks and eight score involvements whilst Joel Amartey chimed in with two goals, three score involvements and a contested mark.
The Positive: Efficiency inside forward-50
The Swans had less inside-50s (68-54) and less scoring shots (25-21) but made the most of their limited chances in front of goal and it proved the difference.
11 straight goals in the first half set up a commanding 18-point buffer at the main break despite the Giants throwing everything they had at Sydney.
Charles Goodsir
The Key Takeaway: A perfect loss
For the Eagles, this is exactly what you want to see from them for the rest of the season.
They were competitive, the youngsters showed some good signs, and most importantly, they didn’t jeopardise their odds of the first overall draft pick.
There’s some potential that this may have been intentional, with West Coast choosing not to put any extra bodies behind the ball once they took the lead, but that doesn’t take away from the strong effort they put in.
Since being dealt that infamous thumping by Sydney back in Round 15, the Eagles have showed some fight every week.
In this horrible of a season, that’s all you can ask for.
The Positive: Jeremy McGovern
He’s only played six games this season, so some may have forgotten how impactful McGovern can be when he’s running things down back.
The veteran didn’t exactly stuff the stat sheeting, collecting just 12 touches, yet he was masterful as the orchestrator of the West Coast’s defence, ensuring the younger Eagles were exactly where they needed to be.
His body mightn’t be able to keep up anymore, but McGovern still has the ability to completely control a contest.
Jack Makeham
The Key Takeaway: That’s more like it!
The Bulldogs have had trouble holding on to leads this season, having experienced some of the most frustrating losses of the year.
On Friday night they found a simple solution: get ahead by so much that it’s nearly impossible to lose.
A nine-goal opening term tends to result in that kind of match, with the Dogs only needing to kick 10 more goals for the rest of the clash to secure a massive victory.
It was the kind of win that seemed cathartic for Luke Beveridge’s men, pummelling a typically competitive Tigers outfit in what was a strong response to last week’s heartbreak.
With their next two games against teams down the bottom of the ladder, the Dogs’ runway looks smooth and ready to launch from.
The Overreaction: Jamarra will win a Coleman sooner rather than later
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has been putting things together in a big way this season, and it’s starting to look scary for the competition.
The forward kicked five goals on Friday night, with four of them coming in the opening term.
It was the blueprint as to just how devastating he can be when he is at the peak of his powers, and exactly what Dogs fans should be hoping to see from him next season.
If he takes another jump, he can be one of the most dominant players in the game.
What no one is talking about: Stifling momentum
The biggest issue the Dogs have had this season has been shutting down the other team once they get rolling.
It’s exactly why they’ve given up so many leads this year, and one of the main reasons why they’ve been inconsistent from game to game.
Yet they stifled the Tigers’ momentum masterfully on Friday night, making sure there was never a chance of a miraculous comeback.
Richmond showed signs of life after the barrage that was the first quarter, taking back some control in the second term and chipping away at the huge margin.
In previous weeks, we might have seen the Tigers continue to pull closer, giving the Bulldogs faithful some unnecessary stress.
But this game, the Dogs put their foot down, strangling Richmond in the third quarter and ensuring the game was out of reach.
It was exactly what Luke Beveridge wanted to see, and exactly what he expects from his squad going forward.
Jack Makeham