Odd Couple ‘Bone’ McDermott and ‘Rocch’ Rucci look at the big issues in the AFL

OUR Odd Couple Chris “Bone” McDermott and Michelangelo “Rooch” Rucci look at the big issues in the AFL, including whether the Crows can salvage their season, whether Port can bury their MCG bogey and whether the game needs red cards.

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OUR Odd Couple Chris “Bone” McDermott and Michelangelo “Rooch” Rucci look at the big issues in the AFL, including whether the Crows can salvage their season, whether Port can bury their MCG bogey and whether the game needs red cards.

1. CROWS have cleared the air — can they now salvage their season?

BONE: No, they haven’t cleared the air at all. They’ve just sprayed some air freshener to make it smell better. They surely cannot expect anyone to believe the issue with Collective Mind was just about players being blindfolded on a bus and listening to the Richmond club song. Didn’t someone famous once say “The truth will set you free”? We can handle the truth.

ROOCH: Nothing to see here Christopher. Move on.

Carlton captain Marc Murphy and former player Dylan Buckley celebrate their win against Port Adelaide at the MCG in 2015. Picture: Alex Coppel.

2. PORT Adelaide gets to play on the MCG where it has had some difficulties with Carlton recently. Surely not again?

BONE: That was the Port Adelaide of old, not the Port Adelaide of today. The Power has matured with time. Not every team can be an overnight success. Richmond appear to have made the case that sustained success takes years to develop — as was noted with Hawthorn. Mistakes are made along the way and, hopefully, lessons are learned to make Port Adelaide sounder as a consistent top-eight competitor. The Power has proven it is genuine and it will not lose games like this one against Carlton.

ROOCH: Funny this one. The “big” tests of Port Adelaide were when it was playing on the big stage of Friday or Thursday football at Adelaide Oval and against top-four sides such as Melbourne and AFL premier Richmond. But there is an equally revealing test of the Power’s strength of mind (oops, sorry about that one Christopher) in how Ken Hinkley’s players deal with the matter-of-fact clash with last-ranked Carlton on a ground that needs to be understood for bigger occasions later in the season.

3. DOES the AFL need red cards?

ROOCH: No idea is silly. But the consequences of handing the field umpires the task of sending players to a sin bin could become silly. Brisbane coach Chris Fagan makes a good point that his team suffered by losing defender Harris Andrews early in the match on Saturday. No doubt, this setback could have been eased by sending off GWS forward Jeremy Cameron. There is very little grey area in this report. Can it always be this clear cut with red cards that have been repeatedly used incorrectly in the world game?

BONE: Rooch, this is the difficulty between the game we once knew and the game we watch today. Brisbane defender Harris Andrews’ courage to go against the flight of the ball in a marking contest always has been admired. Only a chosen few can act that fearlessly. But it comes at a price. GWS forward Jeremy Cameron was correct to make Andrews pay a price but he didn’t go for the ball. For this mistake, he must pay a price. This debate is in the same area as contact below the knees. Who is the game trying to protect? Please, no red cards.

4. TOM Lynch has signed with Adelaide. What message comes from this commitment?

Tom Lynch has finally had his contract signed off by the Crows. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes

BONE: That he is an absolute ripper. I love a player who puts team before self. It is why he is loved at this club and why he is a leader of this team. He made a sacrifice “for love of his teammates not money”. And if that is not the new starting point for this club, I don’t know what is. I say to the players, “Pull on your jumper proudly, stand alongside your leaders and go into battle, for love not money.” The money will come, but it must never come first.

ROOCH: You sound ready to go back to the field Christopher. Every so often we find in this professional game of eroded loyalty and increased commercialism that there is still a player who would rather bank the memories with his mates than the money from his contract. But at the same time, AFL clubs should not play on these players to give them less money to build a war chest to sign the mercenaries.

5. IT is back to three umpires this week. Will we notice?

BONE: Hooray! Aren’t the best umpires the ones we don’t notice. Shouldn’t we be talking about the game and not the umpires? Hang on, haven’t we been saying that for decades? Perhaps longer.

ROOCH: Speak up Christopher. Can’t hear you for all the whistling, advice and directing the umpires are doing today.