1. Injuries are starting to hurt the depleted Crows
After making last year’s Grand Final, there was so much expectation on the Crows. Their season has gone from bad to worse due to injuries to key players, and it now gets worse with stand in skipper Tom Lynch straining his side against the Giants on Sunday.
They were absolutely thrashed by Melbourne last week and had a surprising loss to the Giants on Sunday at their normal fortress, the Adelaide Oval. With a difficult run home as well as dropping out of the top eight, the boys from West Lakes better be hoping they get some of their stars back sooner rather than later.
2. The Demons are the real deal
The Dees have now won six in a row after a 49-point win against the Dogs on Saturday, coming after a demolition the week before against the Crows. Demons supporters must be getting excited and have real optimism that they can make their first grand final since their disappointing loss to the Bombers back in 2000.
Nine goals between Jesse Hogan and swingman Tom McDonald certainly helped the cause on Saturday. Max Gawn could well be this year’s All-Australian ruckman after another great performance on the weekend.
3. Bad kicking and lack of discipline cost Port the game
Port fans can complain about the umpires as much as they want but the only ones that Port has to blame are themselves. After a promising first quarter where they kicked 5.2 to Hawthorn’s 1.2, they ended up only kicking four goals for the rest of the game, going down by three points.
Two of their leaders and A-grade midfielders, Ollie Wines and Brad Ebert both had shockers. Wines’ kicking efficiency was 50% and Ebert’s was 30%. Not good enough by two quality players.
The umpires may have been hot on the whistle giving away 50 metre penalties, but senior players like Charlie Dixon should know better, with it coming back to hurt the Power on Saturday.
4. The Blues have a bright future
Blues fans haven’t had much to be excited about in recent years, however with a number of young stars in the side the future is bright. The Blues kept right up to the Swans, and despite losing by 30 points, in the end the scoreline flattered the Swans as the Blues were right in the contest until early in the last term.
Charlie Curnow, Lachie O’Brien, Jack Silvagni and Zac Fisher are ones to watch and we already know how good Patrick Cripps is. The problem is keeping them all at the club!
5. Don’t write off the Giants
One week sure is a long time in football. Last week there were alarm bells ringing for the Giants and some were calling for Leon Cameron to be replaced at the end of the year, after losing four games in a row, including a shock loss to the Bombers.
Fast forward to a week later and the Giants produced one of their best wins in their club’s history. An amazing 16-point win against the Crows at the Adelaide Oval, their first ever win against the Crows at this venue.
With some quality players still to come back into the side, their season is well and truly alive!
