Round 11 hosted some cracking games of footy with several huge results drastically changing the potential finals landscape come September.
'Flagmantle' ran rampant on the reigning premiers with their holistic approach to team defence essentially shutting out the Demons in the second half, whereas Voss' Blues were upset by rivals Collingwood during a contest in which the young Magpies defied the odds to beat Carlton at their own game.
Without further adieu, here are 20 thoughts and opinions from Round 11...
1 - Un-Buddy believable. While the Tigers managed to put a sizeable lead on the board they were never quite able to completely put the Swans away. The clearest example of this was Buddy's goal on the eve of half-time as his score closed the margin to a getable 25 points. Cue a further four goals in the second half, including a three-goal fourth quarter, and the living legend's continued form of excellence proved the difference.
2 - Common sense vs the rulebook. Dion Prestia was taken high, undisputed fact, but the umpire was a fraction late blowing the whistle and by the time the call was made the siren had started to echo throughout the SCG. By the letter of the law, Chad Warner's punting of the ball is an act punishable by a 50m penalty. However, given the context of the situation paying that penalty would've been criminal in a game that was already over umpired (61 free kicks). Richmond realistically shouldn't have even been in a position for such a call to matter, nonetheless, go back and watch the replay and listen to how the whistle gets drowned out by the siren almost instantaneously. Glad to see the umps use their heads here.
3 - The difference a coach can make. Giants interim coach Mark McVeigh has seemingly revamped a lacklustre side overnight, as the lingering impact of a worn relationship between former coach Leon Cameron and the club becomes increasingly evident with each passing week. GWS was up for the challenge against premiership contenders Brisbane and despite a disappointing loss, showed a sense of grit and relentlessness unseen since their 2016 season. Highlighting this radical shift at the club is the re-emergence of co-skipper Stephen Coniglio, who looked finished at AFL level a year ago.
4 - Brownlow race tightens. Patrick Cripps has been the outright favourite to claim 'Charlie' over the opening months of the season but former Brownlow winner Lachie Neal has begun to make his case known to the league. He's been consistently performing to a high standard this season after back issues plagued his 2021 campaign, but after a 'wow' game that included 39 touches, nine clearances, six tackles and two goals, how can anyone make a case against him as he's already been there before?
5 - Bad kicking kills Crows again. For consecutive weeks now the Adelaide Crows have let themselves down with abysmal efforts in front of goal. They started 0.6 against the Cats despite making general play an arm wrestle early, but failed to kick their first major until halfway through the second quarter. Despite their efforts to claw back to within striking distance, too much effort was wasted with the required intensity to make the Cats crack at home being too much to overcome. If the Crows had put the scoreboard pressure on Geelong early they could've made a better go of things down the stretch.
6 - Standard win at the Cattery. Conversely, Geelong did exactly what they needed to in order to secure the victory. They absorbed Adelaide's best shots and countered when the opportunity presented, eventually scoring at will during the latter stages of the second half en route to a classy veteran-esque win. Nothing too crazy coming out of this one for Geelong, they got another win on the board to keep their place in the eight.
7 - Swans are sitting geese. This by no means is a knock on Sydney's ability...it's just that Melbourne will no doubt be responding to their first loss of the season in a big way. Simon Goodwin has had his side travelling nicely and instilled a degree of discipline that will no doubt have the Demons poised to go on another deep September run, yet their first loss will sting nonetheless.
8 - Michael Frederick's 'Hand of God'. Aside from an eight-goal third quarter and a defensive masterclass that held the reigning premiers to 12 points in the second half, let's talk about Michael Frederick. His backhanded tap to fellow Dockers small forward Lachie Schultz created a routine snap goal and was the ultimate team act in addition to an elite display of footy smarts. That brief instant highlights everything that makes this Fremantle outfit so dangerous.
9 - Dogs' open training televised. It was certainly a unique experience;
a) Having a training session televised on a Saturday night.
b) Having the witch's hats wear West Coast guernseys.Â
c) Watching the scoreboard tick over like a slot machine paying the jackpot.
The Footscray-based side has definitely vindicated their slow start to 2022 as they now find themselves in the eight.
10 - 101 reasons to not be nonchalant. For a coach who, as legendary wrestling commentator Jim Ross would put it, had his team absolutely "whipped like a government mule!", Adam Simpson showed no emotion after the fact. His words were of a coach who's defeated and at a loss for what his next move will be. The only encouraging sign was when he alluded to these harsh lessons speeding up the development of the Eagles' younger players, but c'mon mate at least act like you're mad about it.
11 - Kids no more. Gold Coast continues to impress as they've now won three of their last four contests to sit a game outside of the eight. They downed an impressive Hawks outfit who were coming off a huge victory against the Lions in Tassie by being the aggressors on a humid night in Darwin. The Suns were relentless in their pursuit of the footy and outworked Hawthorn all game in what was a comprehensive 67-point victory. 'Dewy' really does have his men looking the best they have since the club's inception.
12 - Mitchell back to the drawing board. As good as the Hawks have been able to play this season, there's no way that their array of youngsters were even close to adept at playing footy in those harsh Darwin conditions. Then to proceed with your current high energy transition-based brand and expect things to be business as usual is quite foolish, especially considering that Gold Coast literally lives and breathes in this atmosphere. However, in saying this don't expect Mitchell to make the same mistake twice.
13 - No Steele, no worries. St Kilda managed to chug along against North and pull out a casual 53-point win in a contest that didn't seem to phase the Saints from the opening bounce. They made sure to kill any hopes of a comeback in the second half as they began to pile the goals on a rebuilding North outfit. Max King managed to boot three majors to keep in touch for the Coleman medal which was nice...
14 - Horne-Francis can do whatever he wants. The Kangaroos have been dragged through the proverbial mud this past week with their recruitment team essentially disbanding in addition to the club's prized draft pick hitting the town back home in South Australia. If Jaidyn Stephenson can't get a game for (insert generic club spin tactic) then how can North Melbourne not so much as discipline their new face of the club? If talent isn't enough to get games at the second-worst team in the league then how in the heck did they allow Horne-Francis to suit up on Sunday?
15 - Pies are the league's danger team. After wins against the Dockers and Blues in consecutive weeks, Collingwood sits outside the eight on percentage and is quickly proving to be a tough outfit for anyone facing them. Earlier in the season, they managed to down the Saints and despite losing to Geelong and Brisbane, were able to dominate periods of play with inexperience ultimately proving costly. Craig McRae has truly reinvented his side and always seems to have them up to the task no matter the opponent, not that the Pies needed any extra motivation to get up for a clash with the Blues.
16 - The tackle on Walsh is irrelevant. Quite frankly Collingwood dominated general play for large portions of this contest and if it wasn't for lacklustre kicking at goal this game could've well and truly been put out of reach long before the Blues rallied late in the fourth. If Carlton had managed to overcome the Pies' pressure and held this game in good stead earlier then such a ticky tacky free-kick wouldn't be up for debate. However, given the Blues have an extra round to prepare after this disappointing loss, the already soft as butter Bombers are in for a beating as there's no way Michael Voss will allow his side to get out-hustled again.
17 - Power off after half-time. After securing a 31-point lead at the half Port seemingly chucked it in cruise control as they only managed to score a further 14 points in the second half. While the rain bucketed down there's no excuse for this underwhelming performance, especially since they're fighting for a spot in the eight and could've certainly benefited from a percentage boost against the woeful Dons. A lot of work to be done for Ken and his men.
18 - Can't win if you can't score. The Bombers had scored eight behinds before finally nailing their first goal of the contest, which came halfway through the second quarter. Their performance mimicked that of Adelaide against Geelong with the only exception being that Geelong never settled whereas Port Adelaide did. Maybe with some better goalkicking, this game could've been exciting. Maybe.
19 - Prayers are with Bobby Hill. The exciting Giants forward has been diagnosed with testicular cancer and is set for an indefinite leave of absence from the game. On behalf of everyone at the Zero Hanger team and the greater footballing world, get better soon mate.
20 - Some consistency on umpire dissent would be nice. How is it that in one game the simple motioning of your hands can warrant a 50-metre penalty and in another, you can spit the dummy with no repercussions? This rule is beyond warranted in the game as umpire wellbeing is a clear priority and no one deserves to be placed in an unsafe work environment let alone be subject to abuse on the job. However, there isn't an ounce of consistency regarding the implementation of the call during games. How can a player biting their lip and quickly withdrawing themselves from carrying on still be punished, isn't the point of this penalty to instil a greater display of discipline/restraint in the league's players? Brad Scott and the AFL need to come out ASAP and give a clear-cut guide into what constitutes 'umpire dissent' because this call has the potential to ruin games come September.