Predicting the grand finalists, putting Charlie Dixon in the square and who will be more moody - Pyke or Goodwin
OUR Odd Couple - Chris “Bone” McDermott and Michelangelo “Rooch” Rucci - look at footy’s big issues ahead of Round 19 including predicting the grand finalists, Charlie Dixon’s best position, the segregation of fans and Pyke v Goodwin staredown.
Michelangelo Rucci
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OUR Odd Couple - Chris “Bone” McDermott and Michelangelo “Rooch” Rucci - look at football’s big issues ahead of Round 19 in the AFL including
1. WHO will be left staring at his players this time - Don Pyke at Adelaide or Simon Goodwin at Melbourne - at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night?
BONE: Staring in disbelief I’d suggest. Both are having seasons they might like to forget in six weeks’ time - and both are on track to miss September’s finals. Who would have thought? Some had them as potential grand finalists at the start of the season. How wrong we were.
ROOCH: Staring at players? What next? Putting them in buses with blindfolds listening to opposition club songs? Has the art of coaching been lost? But back to the game - and the players who will decide a classic match-up of teams on the edge. While some will under-value the power of ruckmen, this is a grand test for Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs who needs to respond to how he was played by Melbourne master craftsman Max Gawn at Alice Springs in that game decided by 91 points when Pyke was left speechless at three quarter-time.
2. MORE fights on the terraces, this time at Kardinia Park - is the moment of AFL games having segregated crowds getting closer?
BONE: Say it isn’t so. I went to an international soccer friendly in Brazil several years ago and watched in disbelief as hundreds of heavily armed guards escorted the “away” fans in - and also out - of the stadium while holding the rest of us in our seats until the venue was cleared. It was eerie, uncomfortable and a little bit unsettling, especially for my wife. It will be a sad day in this country if that ever happened to our great game. Hang our heads in shame if it does.
ROOCH: You were unsettled at the Maracana, Christopher? Wait until you go to Milwall, Newcastle, San Siro in Milan, a Juventus-Fiorentina clash in Florence, Stade Armand Cesari for an SC Bastia game ... or Alberton Oval when Mum thinks it will rain and carries her umbrella (the one you dented with your hard scone in 1984). Yes, Christopher ... it is a very sad day when Melbourne fans (who have avoided the ski fields in late July) are being roughed up on the terraces. Makes an Adelaide United-Melbourne Victory game seem tame.
3. POSITION VACANT: Skills coach at Port Adelaide Football Club. Who should apply?
BONE: Someone who can kick. In fact, anyone who can kick. Get me Ben Perkins. The name should ring a bell to many at Alberton. Even Graham Cornes used him. And didn’t rugby union great “Big John” Eales use him in his day. If Ben can’t fix you, nobody can.
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ROOCH: Sounds good Christopher ... let’s get Graham Cornes at Alberton. Cornes coaching big Charlie Dixon one-on-one sounds as good as any reality show on Australian television today. The thought of Cornesy pushing Dixon to the limit ... and Dixon giving as good as he gets would be sensational. Bring it on.
4. IS Charlie Dixon a ruckman or a key forward for Port Adelaide?
ROOCH: He is both, but Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley cannot win no matter where he puts Dixon today. In ruck, he competes - but then there is no-one to finish the work in attack (where Jack Watts should be delivering as a key forward). In attack, he could suffer from limited supply as the opposition commands the midfield with a winning ruckman.
BONE: A forward. A forward and nothing but a forward. The beauty of “Big Charlie” is his predictability - and that’s all you can ask of a man playing in that role in attack. Mark it or bring it forward to the small men. Charlie does that better than most and it’s one of the great mysteries at Alberton why no-one sees this. Dixon should be a strength, but he is currently worked into a weakness.
5. DARE we imagine the Victorian derby between Collingwood and Richmond is the grand final preview?
BONE: Forget imagining it, it’s a reality. They are the two best teams in the league and no-one has been in better form across the past five rounds than the Magpies and Tigers. A top-four berth is certain. A top-two spot is likely - and if that happens a grand final clash is a given. When does the cricket season start?
ROOCH: Excuse me Christopher. Have all those knocks you took from John Worsfold in the 1990s finally cleared away so that you have forgotten the West Coast empire in Perth. The Eagles will claim second spot and be at home for two finals - and go direct to the grand final. Are you bowling or batting?
Rucci: Time for clubs to put old rivalries aside
Australian football faces dramatic changes to overcome the damage presented by the COVID19 crisis. It can only survive with unprecedented unity.
There should be no asterisk against 2020 premiership
The team that wins this year’s AFL premiership should be lauded for adapting in the most trying of circumstances. There must be no doubts over the legitimacy of the season, writes Michelangelo Rucci.