Mick McGuane answers six burning questions entering AFL Round 7
What would a loss to Carlton mean for the Kangaroos and Brad Scott? How can Essendon topple Geelong? Is Melbourne cooked, or do the Demons have one last chance? MICK McGUANE answers the six biggest questions surrounding Round 7.
Must-win games are rare in Round 7 but this could be the last chance for some teams to change the direction of their season.
Collingwood premiership player and expert analyst Mick McGuane answers this week’s biggest burning questions.
Is this Port Adelaide’s chance to prove itself as a genuine contender?
To be taken seriously in the September conversation the Power have to win on the road against a good team that will be part of finals action. The win against West Coast was good, but you’ve got to bank that and move on to another contender.
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I love their style at the moment, they’re aggressive in the contest, they’re really aggressive with their ball movement. That will challenge Collingwood’s defensive structure but this is their great opportunity on the road again that they can be taken seriously within the competition.
Is Melbourne cooked, or do the Demons have one last life against Hawthorn?
The Demons have been disappointing. They look slow on the outside, they don’t have the balance between inside and outside the contest right at the moment and their forward structure is lacking a bit of potency.
To be 1-5, it is a long way back. They’re going to get to Round 12 before they can possibly square the ledger so that makes it really difficult. I think their finals aspirations are dead and buried.
How can the Bulldogs beat Richmond in Luke Beveridge’s 100th game as coach?
They’ve got to out-hunt and out-pressure Richmond. That’s when they play their best. They’ve also got to find a way to manufacture 100 points which is Bevo’s biggest challenge. We know Richmond are more than capable of kicking 100 points on the back of their pressure and their avenues to goal.
The Bulldogs need to find some structure in front of their ball and their midfield group have to take responsibility as well. Marcus Bontempelli has kicked two goals from 15 shots on goal this year and Tom Liberatore has two goals from 10 shots on goal. The challenge is there for those players to step up and take their chances.
Will it be doomsday for North Melbourne and coach Brad Scott if the Kangaroos lose to Carlton?
There’s no doubt this is a massive game for North Melbourne and no one would have thought this would have been a doomsday scenario at the start of the year. A lot of people would have had North Melbourne hovering around the top-eight right now but they’ve been very disappointing.
The Kangaroos can’t make the eight in the form they’re in. I’m certainly not one for sacking coaches this early in the year and Brad Scott is contracted until the end of next year. But the question is, would they pay him out if things continue to go south?
I think the void left by Jarred Waite has been undersold. Ben Brown has been their go-to forward and we saw Nick Larkey kick three goals last week in a real positive. But they clearly have to find another avenue to goal. Mason Wood isn’t that answer just yet, to be the second pea in the pod.
Has Essendon shown enough to suggest it can claim its first genuine scalp?
The Bombers’ speed of ball movement could be a factor to challenge a very well organised defensive structure. Geelong is clearly the form team of the competition right now in a lot of aspects of how it plays — contest, pressure, ball movement and team defence. The Cats have got those four areas right and that’s why they’re taking big scalps.
For Essendon to master the Cats they have to get their ball movement right and keep hold of the ball. Ball security is critical against Geelong, otherwise they’ll force a turnover and get you on counter-attack.
Is Adelaide back on track after consecutive wins, or have the Crows still got some issues?
You’ve got to be realistic. They’ve beaten a Gold Coast side they’ve always monstered and as good as St Kilda have been, most people didn’t have the Saints in their top eight.
The Crows did show last week that when they play a pressure game and play the game they want in terms of fast ball movement, having some dare and taking risks, they can score as quickly as anybody.
Fremantle is one of the best teams defensively so this will be a test and then comes the Showdown against Port Adelaide next week. The Crows’ fixture does open up a little bit, so if they can win these next two that will be four on the trot and their belief will go through the roof.
Originally published as Mick McGuane answers six burning questions entering AFL Round 7
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