Port’s night to savour made more special by Robbie Gray photograph, other big talking points out of round 23
One more win than last year is probably not the improvement Adelaide was expecting. But Essendon and North Melbourne are crying out for what the Crows have.
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Robbie Gray went out triumphant on a special Showdown night for Port Adelaide.
The Power’s joy compounded the Adelaide Crows’ pain.
Disastrous Essendon has been the talk of the footy world, with Ben Rutten now sacked and a litany of on and off-field issues.
But Dayne Zorko has also been in the firing line after he left a Demon in tears. Mark Robinson reveals what Zorko said to provoke the emotional response from Harrison Petty.
Plus, the incredible final-round battles that decided the finals makeup and the in-form Tiger who just mate take his team to the flag.
Read all Robbo’s likes and dislikes from the final round of the 2022 season below.
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DISLIKES
1. Smashed in the showdown
Simply, Adelaide needed more wins. They finished 8-14 after being 7-15 in 2021, so one more win probably is not the improvement they were expecting. It’s disappointing because the Crows do so much right. They are hard to play against, they give tremendous effort in almost every game and are ranked No.3 for pressure. That is the foundation that coaches want in their formative years: Defence. Pressure. Effort. And teams like Essendon and North Melbourne would be crying out for a profile like that. The Crows next year should be a finals contender.
2. The empire is crumbling
Essendon chairman David Barham would dispute that, he’d say the rebuild is starting. Ben Rutten was sacked on Sunday and that wasn’t a surprise to anyone. The search for a replacement will begin on Monday and James Hird is almost certain to put himself through the coaching process. It’s been an incredible week at Essendon, and it’s a bit rich of the players to throw a tanty about the treatment of Rutten and say they were 100 per cent behind Rutten. They certainly didn’t play like they were. After all, it was the players who had demanded change to the game style in the second half of the season and which the coach took on board. Rutten’s departure is sad, but it had to happen. Others will follow. The relationship between Barham and chief executive Xavier Campbell seems to be OK, but Tim Watson must know more because he said last week: “I can’t see club CEO Xavier Campbell continuing.’’ That alignment might not survive. Absolutely, Essendon is splintered by factions. The board is divided, people are nervous, key personnel aren’t as together as they should be, and everyone at the club thinks everyone else is leaking to the media. Barham had a bad first week, but clearly has begun his second week with a lot more conviction. Essendon legends aren’t taking sides, but they are offering strong opinions. Tim Watson thinks Campbell is gone, Jobe Watson thinks Hird should not come back and Matthew Lloyd has thrown his lot in with Barham. And all the while, board member Kevin Sheedy has been criticised for being wacky. One thing is certain, the AFL would be furious. The Bombers hijacked last week and then hijacked Sunday by sacking Rutten.
3. Zorko the grate
The sledge by Dayne Zorko to Harrison Petty was something like this: I hope your mother dies. It’s far from ideal and the response from the teary Petty naturally sent Melbourne and the AFL into immediate investigative mode and the Lions into immediate apology mode, first on the ground on Friday night and again on Saturday morning via a press release. Zorko is a classic case of white line fever. It is said he is a decent bloke off the field, but on it, and as we’ve all seen, he becomes crazily competitive. Still, hoping someone’s mother dies prompts several questions. 1. Who thinks about saying that to anyone, in any environment? 2. Just because Petty wanted the issue to go no further, why didn’t the AFL punish the Lions captain for conduct unbecoming? 3. Why hasn’t the AFLPA condemned Zorko for his comments? Because if a fan said that to a player via social media, the PA would have kittens. It was appalling from Zorko and there’s no chance he will be captain of the club next year. As for the AFL, they will have their reasons for not punishing him, but they can’t let it go. How can this possibly go unpunished?
4. More bloody racism
The dickhead who abused Marlion Pickett and Maurice Rioli should be found and banned from football for life. What is wrong with people? What kind of sick individual posts stuff like that? Of course, the AFLPA condemned it which raises a question again: Why would it respond to racism but not to one of their members telling another of their members that he hoped their mum would die. And the AFL? They will also have a press release saying there is no tolerance to any racism. Yet, Mums seemingly are not off limits. It’s a strange world, isn’t it?
5. The Blues blew it
That two weeks running Carlton had the game in their grasp and they dropped it. The pain will linger for some time. Last week it was against Melbourne, and this week against Collingwood. At the fifth minute of the final quarter they led by 25 points, and then Charlie Curnow had two shots at goal and missed, and Corey Durdin snapped another shot at goal and missed from 30 metres. Curnow has the Coleman Medal but he’d trade it away just to have those two shots again. Carlton fumbled too many almost moments, like, Durdin’s attempted pass to Harry McKay which sailed over McKay’s head. Curnow and Durdin weren’t to blame for the loss, because there were moments in every quarter which swung the result. It’s just that Carlton had too many of them. They would be gutted, absolutely gutted.
6, The Hawks’ midfield
Not for the first time this season, the Hawks midfield group was badly beaten. Coach Sam Mitchell knows he has issues. And we know there is final-game lethargy. But on Sunday, they gave up 71 inside 50s and they lost the clearances by 27. Footy is a game of territory and the Hawks were slaughtered in that regard. Across the season, they are 18th for clearances and 15th for inside 50 differential. Clearly, they have to move on from O’Meara and Mitchell or at least take more midfield minutes off them. The problem is, who do they give those minutes to? Ward and Newcombe are the newbies but they need more personnel than those two. It’s $1.01 they will take the best available midfielder with their first pick in the national draft, and their second pick will also be a midfielder. The next issue is what do they do with Tom Mitchell?
LIKES
1. Tears for the champ
Robbie Gray departs football after 271 games and with the moniker of being Port Adelaide’s greatest player in the AFL era. Players in that conversation are Warren Tredrea, Gavin Wanganeen and Travis Boak, but Gray gets the nod. Port people described Saturday night as “special’’ and an “amazing night’’ and the tears in the rooms outnumbered the tears on the ground. Beers and stories and thousands of photos were taken, and it wasn’t until 1am when Gray finally departed the rooms in his full Port Adelaide kit, like a young tacker leaving his under-10s game. It was great work from club photographer Matthew Sampson to hang around until the early hours to snap this photo of Gray as he jumped in the car. What a night to savour: Gray retires, Port wins and Adelaide Oval was rocking with 50,000 in attendance.
2. Rozee comes up roses – again
Connor Rozee will finish in the top five in the coveted AFL Coaches Association player of the year award. By extension, the popular opinion is he might find a spot on the interchange bench in the All Australian team, when in fact Rozee, as a mid-forward, should be named in the starting 18. You suspect Neale, Oliver and Miller are midfield starters, meaning Rozee finds a spot at half-forward. He had a slow start to the season. He didn’t get a vote in the coaches award in the first four rounds, and then earned two votes in Round 5 when he was shifted into the midfield after halftime. Then he got rolling. He received 10 votes in Round 6, two in Round 8, eight in Round 9, eight in Round 11, nine in Round 14, 10 in Round 15, three in Round 16, 10 in Round 17, six in Round 18 and seven in Round 20. Round 22 is in camera but he had 28 and kicked a goal. And in Round 23 on Saturday night, he had 34, kicked a goal and won the Showdown Medal. If he went into the midfield earlier, he’d be one of the favourites for the Brownlow Medal.
3. Gee, footy’s a blast
Can’t remember a team so captivating and so plucky as Collingwood. They are the Terminators, in that they can’t be killed. Not in the home and away season they can’t. On Sunday, they once again willed their way to victory and into a top four finish. It is astounding as it is exciting. Down by 25 points early in the final quarter, the Magpies dug in led by skipper Scott Pendlebury. He was the highest ranked player on the ground in the final 20 minutes because once again he was clutch with his possessions. Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps was the best player on the ground but, in the final quarter, the Magpies had the best moments on the ground. That’s the key to Collingwood. They are even in contribution. It’s uncanny how many times they lose control of the game for long periods and then are able to completely overwhelm the opposition and claim victory. What is it? How do they do it? It’s too simple to say they have belief. Their system of play, which is aggressive and attacking, allows them to keep coming at the opposition. When they are behind, they don’t try to stave off defeat, they try to win the game. It’s a mindset. One thing we have learned is that you don’t kill Collingwood when you have the opportunity, be prepared for the comeback.
4. Isaac on fire
The time has come for Heeney to pour his considerable talents on this year’s September. He’s kicked 46 goals this season, which is the highest tally in a season in his career and he enters the final series at the top of his game. “The body is feeling good, it’s the best it’s felt for my whole career,’’ he told Fox Footy on Sunday night. Heeney is a genuine forward who has the tank to play high up the ground and quickly get back inside 50. He is one of the more difficult match-ups in all of the competition because of his ability to mark and his ability to win the ball beneath his knees. As we speak, there’s not an area of his game which needs improvement. He is Sydney’s X factor, even ahead of Lance Franklin in that regard. Against Melbourne last time they played, Jayden Hunt was his opponent and Heeney had 19 and kicked a goal. This time, Steven May plays so the Heeney match-up likely will be different, maybe Michael Hibberd?
5. Can Tommy take Tigers to the flag?
Tom Lynch has averaged the most goals this year (3.3) and from Rounds 21-23, has kicked four, four, eight and five goals. The opposition defences and pressure applied up field will be better and sharper than what Essendon and Hawthorn produced in the past rounds, but still, he’s in ripping nick. He has been the whipping boy at times in The Tackle because for too long, he would camp himself deep, put an arm for a lead and try to out body his opponent from behind when the ball arrived. It was as though he was wearing concrete boots. Now, he’s attacking the aerial contests, he’s running at the ball and the ball carrier and probably has the best hands in the game. He’s taken 19 contested marks in this four-week stretch, which is clearly No.1 in the competition. We all talk about the exciting Shai Bolton, the productive Dion Prestia, the return of Trent Cotchin and potential return of Dustin Martin and what he could do, yet you could easily make the argument Lynch is Richmond’s most valuable player. That’s why they need him to overcome his groin injury. A month ago, the Tigers needed to win eight from eight and now they need to win four from four. Hold on to your hats, Tigers fans.
6. The kid’s a phenom
Sam Darcy started as a key back for the Bulldogs, was moved to the forward line in the second quarter and took two contested marks and kicked two big goals and in turn changed the flow of the game. They needed them. Hawthorn were three goals in front before Darcy was moved and this 19-year-old stamped himself on the game. How many 19-year-olds can do that? In their third game? He is reminiscent of a young Paul Salmon, who announced himself to the game for Essendon in 1983. The Bulldogs have a phenom on their hands. We hate saying that about young players, because they are yet to earn their stripes, but this kid has the footy world at his feet. He’s 205cm and moves like he’s 193-195cm. The dilemma for coach Luke Beveridge is where to play this young man: Forward or back? Or maybe Darcy is going to be Mr Versatile, both a firestarter and stopper. Whatever happens, it’s going to be exciting to watch it unfold.
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