Cats surprise us, again; Contrasting nights for promising talls: Key takeouts from round seven

2 weeks ago 6

Geelong’s occurrence should not astonishment anyone astatine this point, but we placed them successful the aforesaid tardy aged handbasket arsenic Richmond successful astir pre-season predictions.

Fast-forward to the present, and the Cats are the AFL’s sole undefeated squad done 7 rounds, including back-to-back wins implicit Brisbane – a week aft the Lions rolled Melbourne astatine the MCG – and Carlton.

Jeremy Cameron’s 5 goals, including the 600th for his career, helped support Geelong’s unbeaten record.

That follows a 0-3 commencement past play and being forced to play catch-up, earlier doubly much losing 3 matches successful a enactment and yet missing finals arsenic the reigning premiers.

Three of this year’s victories person been by 13 points oregon fewer, but that is what Geelong does. They simply find a mode to win, and person done truthful for astir of Chris Scott’s 14 seasons and earlier that nether Mark Thompson.

The Blues did not assistance their origin with wasted chances successful beforehand of goal, and immoderate volition accidental the Cats benefited from immoderate contentious umpiring decisions, but they besides punished Carlton with ruthless efficiency.

Zach Tuohy’s extremity connected the tick of half-time gave Geelong a 10.3 scoreline from lone 19 inside-50s, which is utterly ridiculous and the crushed they were 19 points wide astatine the main interruption contempt trailing importantly successful clearances, contested possessions and inside-50s.

As Fox Footy’s David King enactment it mid-game: “They merchandise truthful rapidly guardant of the ball, Geelong – it’s immediate. It’s precise hard to find erstwhile you’re a Carlton defender oregon midfielder, successful clip to impact the play. They are truthful businesslike it’s frightening.”

And each this was achieved with Tom Hawkins’ goalless streak extending to 3 matches.

There was logic down the doomsday prognosticating. Injuries caught up with the Cats past year; they entered this play with 11 players connected the incorrect broadside of 30 (10 of them 31 oregon older); question marks, for assorted reasons, connected players specified arsenic Tyson Stengle, Cam Guthrie, Brandan Parfitt and Tanner Bruhn; and the imaginable distraction of Max Holmes’ declaration situation.

Ollie Dempsey (right) is enjoying a breakout season.

Isaac Smith retired and Esava Ratugolea departed for Port Adelaide, too, portion determination was a genuine statement connected whether the kids were bully capable to marque up for the earthy diminution of the veterans.

Scott, Andrew Mackie, Steve Hocking and Co. indispensable person chuckled arsenic everyone wrote them disconnected again.

The last crippled tallies from past play don’t look excessively bad, but Geelong kept having to woody with the lack of first-choice unit successful the archetypal fractional of the year. Jack Henry, Mitch Duncan, Holmes, Patrick Dangerfield, Jake Kolodjashnij, Guthrie, Jed Bews, Jack Bowes, Sam De Koning, Rhys Stanley, Stengle and Gary Rohan were each unavailable for aggregate matches successful that period, portion Tom Stewart, Brad Close, Tuohy and Ollie Henry besides missed a crippled each.

Guthrie made his long-awaited instrumentality successful Saturday’s triumph implicit the Blues, which they managed without Stewart (concussion) but with a mostly acceptable list, peculiarly counting cardinal players, arsenic has been the lawsuit successful 2024.

Ollie Dempsey, 20, has not missed a game, Jhye Clark, 19, has played six matches, and 21-year-olds Holmes, Bruhn and Ollie Henry are elder regulars.

The Cats person besides exposed Toby Conway, Shannon Neale and Mitch Knevitt – each 21 – and Connor O’Sullivan, 18, positive processing Irishman Oisin Mullin and mature-age enlistee Shaun Mannagh.

The much things change, the much they enactment the same.

Still combat successful the aged dogs

We are ever looking for the adjacent batch of superstars.

Marcus Bontempelli and Christian Petracca are good established at, oregon near, the apical of the pecking order, the likes of Nick Daicos and Zak Butters joined them past season, and it’s Isaac Heeney’s and Tom Green’s crook successful 2024 to enactment their hands up.

Isaac Heeney is this year’s Brownlow Medal favourite.

Don’t hide that unthinkable shot magnet retired west, Caleb Serong, either (he had different 37 disposals successful Fremantle’s captious triumph implicit Western Bulldogs connected Saturday night).

However, connected the aforesaid play Hawthorn and Sydney convinced the legendary – but famously spotlight shy – Lance Franklin to be the MCG clash betwixt his 2 aged clubs, 2 of his seasoned contemporaries turned backmost the clock.

Brownlow medallists Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe were, alongside Franklin and Richmond’s Dustin Martin, the AFL’s 4 champion players successful their prime. They are good into their 30s these days, nary longer capable to beryllium play difference-makers, and injuries are popping up much often, including Dangerfield suffering a 2nd hamstring setback this play connected Saturday.

But with Carlton destroying the Cats successful the clearances, it was “Danger” who rolled up his sleeves and played a immense relation successful keeping the Blues astatine bay.

The 34-year-old’s numbers successful hardly a fractional of shot told overmuch of the communicative earlier helium walked disconnected sombrely: 16 disposals, 11 contested possessions, 7 inside-50s, 5 people involvements, 2 centre clearances and a agelong set-shot goal.

But it was however explosive, diversion and sprightly that Dangerfield looked that indispensable excite manager Chris Scott, adjacent with the hamstring going again. Scott hailed him afterwards arsenic “one of the astir influential players connected the ground”.

As for Fyfe, helium amassed an equal-game-high 37 disposals – an unthinkable 15 by quarter-time – 18 contested possessions, 10 people involvements, 7 clearances and 7 inside-50s arsenic helium continues to thrive successful his instrumentality to the midfield.

The champion Docker, fit-again aft a bid of injuries, did overmuch of his harm with originative handball and often had aggregate touches successful the aforesaid transition from his famed precocious work-rate.

“I deliberation we’ve seen snippets of [what Fyfe is inactive susceptible of] and quarters of it, but we astir apt haven’t seen a sustained crippled similar that from him since helium got back,” manager Justin Longmuir said. “But his assemblage of enactment since time 1 of pre-season has been phenomenal.”

No autumn successful this Waterman

Jake Waterman astir walked retired of West Coast successful September past year.

Dissatisfied with the Eagles’ latest declaration connection aft months of negotiations, Waterman – lad of dual West Coast premiership defender Chris – was acceptable to commencement exploring his options astatine different clubs, including successful Victoria.

Jake Waterman is successful career-best signifier for West Coast aft astir walking retired connected the nine past year.

There was, of course, besides the questioning of however West Coast handled Waterman’s superior and abrupt aesculapian condition, which was diagnosed past twelvemonth arsenic ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

Just arsenic it seemed a caller cardinal guardant was connected the market, the Eagles returned with a amended fiscal connection – inactive astatine a beauteous humble level – and tacked connected a games-based trigger for 2026, but helium projects arsenic a escaped cause astatine the extremity of adjacent season.

Somewhat mislaid successful “Harley fever” is Waterman’s emergence arsenic West Coast’s champion cardinal forward, aft being picked arsenic lone an exigency successful circular one.

The 25-year-old has typically played 3rd fiddle, astatine best, to the likes of Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and much precocious Oscar Allen, which explains wherefore helium ne'er kicked much than 18 goals successful a play earlier now.

Kennedy has his feet up successful retirement, Darling is simply a rapidly fading force, and Allen has not played since circular 1 due to the fact that of a genu injury, which has unleashed Waterman arsenic the Eagles’ No.1 people wrong 50.

Waterman has kicked aggregate goals successful 5 of his 7 matches this year, including a combined 11 crossed West Coast’s back-to-back upset wins implicit Richmond and Fremantle, past 4 much against Gold Coast connected Sunday.

He is up to 100 for his vocation and a personal-best 21 for the season, bully for third-most successful the competition. Key forward-needy clubs volition surely beryllium monitoring the situation.

Sam Darcy is 1 of the astir promising players successful the AFL.

Contrasting nights for promising talls

There are fewer much breathtaking key-position talents successful the crippled than Bulldog Sam Darcy and Giant Aaron Cadman, who committedness to make into stars successful the years to come.

Cadman was the No.1 prime successful the 2022 draft, portion the Dogs matched Greater Western Sydney’s bid connected Darcy astatine No.2 the twelvemonth earlier that.

Luke Beveridge has tread cautiously with Darcy aft injuries and increasing pains crossed his archetypal 2 seasons, but helium is emerging successful menacing manner since breaking backmost into the elder side.

With his begetter Luke commentating, Darcy snatched 2 contested marks and booted 3 goals – a drawback connected the tally and 2 sets shots – to assistance the Bulldogs screen for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan successful a competitory nonaccomplishment to Fremantle.

It was the 2nd clip the diversion 208-centimetre elephantine has kicked 3 majors this season, connected apical of 2 against Gold Coast successful his elder instrumentality successful circular three, portion spelling Tim English successful the ruck.

Beveridge has truthful acold resisted switching Aaron Naughton into defence contempt having Darcy, Ugle-Hagan and Rory Lobb, who was dropped to the VFL for a period aft circular 2 until Ugle-Hagan’s lack for idiosyncratic reasons.

As for Cadman, helium is enjoying a breakout 2nd play arsenic Jesse Hogan’s sidekick, kicking 10 goals successful his archetypal six games, but helium struggled mightily connected Thursday nighttime with prima Lion Harris Andrews patrolling the area.

The 20-year-old finished with 5 disposals and 1 goal, portion failing to instrumentality a people wrong 50 for the archetypal clip this play arsenic Andrews snaffled 3 of his 4 intercept marks opposed to a frustrated Cadman.

It’s each portion of the key-forward apprenticeship.