The Tackle: Hawthorn small forward Paul Puopolo among the lesser lights to shine in Week 1 Finals

THE TACKLE: NO-NAMES rise to occasion, Collingwood's culture problem and Robbo's hits and misses from every final. 

Didak and Maxwell

SEPTEMBER, it is said, is for the superstars.

It is their time. They get the big bucks and, in turn, they are expected to play the big games.

At the weekend, there were failures aplenty.

Travis Cloke, Ben Reid and Heath Shaw for Collingwood. Kurt Tippett, Dan Hannebery and Ryan O'Keefe for the Swans. Steve Johnson after quarter-time and, to some extent, James Kelly for Geelong.

At the MCG yesterday, it was all over the shop. Carlton's champs couldn't find the ball in the first half, and Richmond's were lost in the second.

RECAP ROBBO'S CHAT IN THE WINDOW BELOW:



And then there are blokes such as Tom Logan, Ryan Crowley, Paul Puopolo and Nick Duigan.

They are superstars in a novel way.

They are superstars at giving their all.

Logan personified Port Adelaide on Saturday night.

Port's mission statement for this season was "never give up". It is also Logan's philosophy.

What other way can you describe a footballer who has signed one-year deals in each of his past seven seasons?

He is the quintessential junkyard dog.

Against the Pies, Logan took Jamie Elliott and Jarryd Blair and Alan Didak late, and did not concede a goal.

He finished with 24 touches, 10 marks, three tackles and two clearances, and time and again he won one-on-one possessions and then powered downfield.

Port beat Collingwood for several reasons, not least its desire to take the game on at almost every occasion.

 Fortune favours the brave, and Logan was as brave as anyone.

Because of his contract status, he plays on edge every season, and thus every game, and he plays like it is his last - a mindset which endears him to everyone at the club.

Saturday night was his ninth game this year for a career tally of 113 over nine seasons.

Certainly, it was his best for the club.

Crowley and Puopolo are cut from the same cloth as Logan. Unlucky to miss All Australian selection - seriously, how did he miss? - Crowley started on Matty Stokes and moved to the most the influential player on the ground to that stage, Steve Johnson, just before the quarter-time break.

Johnson had 12 touches and two goals in the first quarter and finished with 20 and two goals.

Crowley is Ross Lyon on the field - unflinching and unyielding. As always, Crowley copped and gave it and when Lyon got prickly after the game, you had the feeling he was protecting his midfield beast.

Did they target the Cats? Of course they did. It's a final. They targeted 22 of them. And it worked.

The MCG yesterday supplied two wonderful narratives. The ultimate champ, Chris Judd, willed himself a la Luke Hodge on Friday night, while it was another player who lost his coach throughout the season who proved to be the difference.

Duigan kicked four goals, had 15 disposals and took seven marks, and came into the team largely to try to keep Brett Deledio in check across half-back.

Instead, the lion-hearted right-footer kept presenting himself and kept marking, and kept kicking goals when the Blues needed them the most.

It's cool to get on the end of them in the final quarter, it's critical to do it when the team is floundering.

Remember, too, this was just Duigan's fourth game of the season.

On Friday night, the Hawks had 22 willing players.

Puopolo might not have been in the best five players on the ground, but his attitude makes him a player of great influence.

From afar, he looks like an extra on Fat Pizza, but he is far from a standaround performer.

His 20 touches, five tackles, five clearances, and 50 chases underpinned Hawthorn's effort.

Next week might be about the superstars, but the weekend gone served us blue-collar performances.

It again begs the question: Who are the most critical players in a team - the bottom six or the top six?

You know what, it's a silly question. All of them are needed. Just ask the winning teams.

COLLINGWOOD'S season review should be a brutal affair.

Coach Nathan Buckley has already ear-marked it with an honest appraisal of where his club has been and is heading. Changes are looming.

"The club has got to ask itself questions," Buckley said. "You've got to ask if we're making the right decisions in regard to culture and in regards to environment, personnel, game-plan and coaching staff.

"If we have any person or anyone or any thoughts at all that we need to cling on to what we've had well then this is the last blow that lets that go.

"You need to keep getting better, you need to be hungry and hard on each other and be prepared to continually improve whether you finish first or you finish last."

Only Buckley knows what he was talking about when said ''clinging on'' to the past.

And culture?

Clearly, Carlton coach Mick Malthouse had a dig yesterday, and predicted the media would highlight he had a dig.

"I left the club in a winning culture, an enjoyable culture, where we were able to enjoy each other's company. In a winning mode,'' he said on 3AW pre-game.

"If that has to be changed, I'm not there to judge that. And if that's what they're referring to, I think that's sad."

There is little love between Malthouse and Buckley, and Malthouse and Eddie McGuire, and the fact Carlton will finish higher than Collingwood on the ladder would grate the Pies to the core.

That Malthouse was talking about the culture at Collingwood an hour before the elimination final should not be lost on anyone, and it won't be on the Magpies' hierarchy.

Still, what was Buckley referring to?

Seasoned football commentators such as Paul Roos and Dermott Brereton yesterday weren't quite sure.

Players and culture, suggested Roos.

Best guess is there are several issues, evident by the Pies' elimination on Saturday night to a team which, yes, was tougher and harder for longer.

Gone was the maniacal hunger that underpinned Collingwood's premiership year (2010), and when Buckley talks of evolution, unquestionably it is about replenishing the squad and its leaders.

So, who's in the gun?

Time has come for Nick Maxwell to relinquish the captaincy to usher in the evolution, to be led by Scott Pendlebury.

Darren Jolly was out of favour by the end of this campaign, so it's difficult to argue he will be part of the next.

Alan Didak will be 31 in February and ''evolution'' is not for veterans.

Didak and Maxwell

Quinten Lynch hasn't worked, Ben Reid is probably still more a defender than a forward, which means the Pies need a new tall forward.

And where is Dale Thomas' heart? Suggestions on the weekend that he wants out are unconfirmed, and if he does, then ship him for a first-round pick.

There has to be a want to be at Collingwood, a desperate desire to represent the black and white, and while negotiations are part of the business, Thomas' continual  referencing of free agency, is curious.

His exit interview this week would interesting listening.

Buckley several times this season has spoken about culture, on the back of introducing Leading Teams at the start of pre-season.

There has been references to the ''Rat Pack'', to a lack of hunger, to finding the next group to represent the club.

Sometimes it feels like a slap for the players who remain from MIck Malthouse's regime, but most times it feels like a coach addressing the critical issue of an ageing list and the need for new faces.

The bigger picture stuff wasn't really Collingwood's problem on Saturday.

The fact the players had a bachelor of butchery was the issue.

Fair dinkum, what a horrendous night to be a forward.

Pace was an issue, too. Maybe it stood out against the run and gun Port mids and back flankers, but stood out it did.

Newbies Josh Thomas and Sam Dwyer, who run and carry,  didn't have an influence, Swan was sent forward to try to inject life into the forward line, leaving Ball and Pendlebury and Sidebottom to pick their way through Port. Beams was outstanding.

True, the Pies won most of the important categories, but when you are ovverun in an elimination final, it is little solace. The fact is the Pies finished seventh of 18th, after a preliminary final in 2012.

They are sliding, but one would be foolish to suggest they won't be a finals side 2014.

It's just that old campaigners won't be there to see it.

Juddy

LIKES - RICHMOND v CARLTON

1. Chris Judd
Once again, the champ stands up and this time it was mightily heroic. Returning from a knee injury, he was proppy in the first half, and a giant-killer in the second. Had 11 touches in the third term to seize control from the Tigers and finished with 25, a game-high six inside 50s and goal in the final quarter, which produced a crowd reaction that's kept for the greats.  Likened his game to that of Luke Hodge's on Friday night.

2. Bryce Gibbs
This bloke this season has swapped between likes and dislikes more than any other player. Yesterday he was a love. He had career-high contested possessions (18) and clearances (12) and with Judd and Robinson turned the tide in the midfield. Went at only 48 per cent efficiency, and similar to Hawk Brad Sewell, won plenty of possessions in tight. It hasn't always been the case for Gibbs, but games like yesterday make careers.

3. Lachie Henderson
That mark. That wonderfully courageous mark in the final quarter running with the flight of the ball was also a career moment. To put it in context, it was rated beside the efforts of Jonathan Brown and Nick Riewoldt. Henderson and Jamison were stoic at the back, which allowed the Blues to leave Jarrad Waite forward, who had one of those days where you ask: Why can't we see more of the same? Maybe that's a debate for another day, and we'll take the four goals and six marks and move on.

DISLIKES

1. Jack the decoy
The commentary on Riewoldt is always awkward. He needs to be a team player so he goes out of his way to dish off and create. He needs to kick goals and when he doesn't, he is criticised. Yesterday, he played high half-forward, taking Jamison away from the square. For it to work, Vickery had to be dominant. Vickery started well and disappeared, and Riewoldt was in no-man's land. Still, he had to have more influence. And just quietly, Jamison is Riewoldt's bogey man.

2. The disappearing Tigers
In no particular order, but poor games from Morris, Grigg, Edwards, Newman, Martin and Houli killed the Tigers, Players such as Martin and Houli had good first halves and could not produce it in the second, especially Martin who needed to push back against the Carlton pressure in the final two quarters. Do yourself a favour, Dusty, sign the deal, keep getting fitter, and be a major finals player.

3. Mitch Robinson
For all his enthusiasm, he must learn the rules. The punch through for a point from the ball-up could've cost his team the game and would hate to think what Mick Malthouse would've said to him if they lost. That said, Robinson's response to his mistake was absolute. He kicked a goal, continued to attack the contest, and was one of the players who made the Tigers think, suddenly, this has got too hard.

LIKES - COLLINGWOOD v PORT ADELAIDE

1. Wingard and Wines
Could be the name of a trendy bar, for these two are trendy young footballers. While the Magpies slaughtered the ball, these two took their opportunities. Two long goals in the third quarter from both of them underlined their ability to deliver, and in the final quarter, Wines scrambled a goal from a stoppage, and Wingard was gifted another when his opponent Harry O'Brien left him alone to try to spoil the ball. Together they kicked five goals and Wines also had a team-high five clearances. What a powerhouse duo they will become.

2. Matthew Lobbe
Suddenly, the big fella making his way in the game has become a monster. It started at about Round 12. From then, his hit-out tally has been 34, 37, 23, 42, 25, 40, 21, 32, 59 (against Geelong), 42, 43, 21 and on Saturday night 29. At the same time, his clearance numbers have doubled and tackling numbers have rocketed. Was dominant against Brodie Grundy, and so important that Young off the subs bench, Cornes, Cassisi, Ebert and Schulz could not get their own "likes".

3. Brent Macaffer
Went to Port's inspirational skipper and kept him to 14, which in turn meant Port's win was even more meritorious. That aside, Macaffer has been a real find as a run-with player and it came after a year on the sidelines with a knee injury. As Nathan Buckley makes plans for the future, Macaffer should be the midfield player he turns to to curb the opposition's best mid. He's disciplined and he's hungry, two qualities Buckley seemed to be lamenting the lack of in his post-match press conference.
 
DISLIKES

1. Travis and Reid
Cloke is a monster player, a top-10 player in the competition in my opinion, and he and Reid couldn't sniff it. The butchery from the midfield didn't help Cloke and often he was doubled-team. Two goals and seven marks didn't quite cut it. Still, it was better than Reid. The star backman-turned-forward had eight touches and two marks. Credit to Carlile, Trengove and Jonas in defence, who often were under siege.

2.  Heath Shaw
Lost it in the second quarter when Monfries got under his skin and his reaction was unforgiveable. Double goals kill you, and Shaw was a silly man. He's a star Shaw, but unpredictable and elimination finals are not the place to be unpredictable.

3. Robbie Gray
Ok, that was a stinker and the message from Ken Hinkley this week is keep your bloody feet. Gray went to ground too easily, and I suspect his three frees against included at least two for grabbing the ball, being tackled and not getting rid of it. He needs a big one next week against the Cats.

LIKES - GEELONG v FREMANTLE

1. Fremantle
On the road against a team at their fortress, the Dockers recovered from a potential first-quarter wipe-out to win by 15 points and, pointedly, kept Geelong goalless in the final quarter. The Cats kept bombing it long and the Dockers kept mopping it up. This was a victory of resolve and fortitude, two words synonymous with Ross Lyon-coached teams, and possibly the upset of the season.

2. Michael Barlow
Utter professionalism from one of the most underrated players in the league. Finished with 32, five clearances and three goals, in what was the midfield performance of the weekend. No pace, not great overhead, but a furious hunger for the ball means Barlow is ideally suited to the frenetic levels of finals football.

3. Aaron Sandilands
Cometh the hour, cometh the big man. Set the scene in the middle after half-time and although he only had nine possessions, he imposed himself on the game, especially in the final quarter. Footy is said to be complicated, but simple philosophies remain: In last quarters, when players are tiring, kick it high to the ruckman. Sandilands was a primary target coming out of defence and his three marks for the afternoon were all contested.
 
DISLIKES

1. Chappy as the sub
In his 250th game, would've thought Chapman started and, say, Christensen don the red vest. Always wiser in hindsight, but Chapman is a big-game player and as it turned out, Christensen didn't have his best outing. Chapman came on at half-time for Enright, whose season is likely over, and had 11 touches and five tackles. They were reasonable numbers, but he wasn't dangerous around the goals. The question asked this week will be: Does Chappy keep his spot? Answer is yes.

2.  Ross Lyon bashing
OK, he could've been more polite with his answers in the post-match, but he had every right to defend his team and his players. Asking journos for their name can be condescending, but have always believed the post-match press conference is not for the feint-hearted. Journos give it, so they have to take it.

3. Josh Walker
Late replacement for Tom Hawkins, Walker had a day he would hope to erase forever. The problem is, it was there for all to see. Fumbled the ball, misjudged marks and could not impact the contest. Six possessions, two marks and four clangers was a finals disaster. Hopefully for Walker, he gets another crack at it against Port Adelaide. He is far better player than what he showed, and maybe, after just 10 games, the intensity of finals got to him.
 
LIKES - HAWTHORN v SYDNEY

1. Brad Sewell
Dropped through the year and tipped by some to lose his spot as the Hawks search for speed, the grunt midfielder warned at the time that finals would be different. How true. Back in the middle, he dominated in the first half, paving the way for his team's dominant second half. He finished with 30 touches, 11 of them contested, four tackles and three clearances. He went at only 63 per cent efficiency, but most times, it was about getting the ball going forward.

2. David Hale
My failure to recognise the big man in Saturday's Herald Sun, but that did not mean to dismiss his contribution. Took on Mumford and Pyke, and was clearly the most influential of those three. Took six marks against Mumford and Pyke's four combined, booted two goals including one in the dominant post half-time four-goal run in 13 minutes, and his 18 possessions eclipsed Mumford's paltry three handballs. His four tackles also beat the Mumford/Pyke total of one. A review of my best players would read: Hodge, Gibson, Mitchell, Sewell, Hale, etc etc.

3. Jack/Kennedy
Couldn't ask for more from the Swans mids, returning a combined 61 touches, 20 tackles and 19 clearances. Says plenty about their lack of support that despite those numbers, the Swans could only muster 38 inside 50s. Kennedy spent 40 minutes with Sewell as opponent in what was a terrific match-up, while Jack had an array of mid opponents, led by Lewis and Burgoyne who played 22 minutes on him. Which one will Ed Curnow go to? I'd say Jack.

DISLIKES

1. White on Hodge
Not for the first time, an opponent has tried to expose Luke Hodge with height and not for the first time, it hasn't worked. The Swans went tall -too tall in the end - using Tippett (Lake), Pyke (Gibson) and White (Hodge), and the latter two Hawks dominated their opposition. Hodge is too smart a footballer to be harnessed by a role on a key forward, and time and again he won the ball and set up from half-back. Whoever has the Hawks better have a plan for the Hawks skipper.

2. Gary Rohan
One of the stories of the year became one of the flops of the first weekend of finals. Rohan, who had returned from a broken leg after missing a season and half, was selected in Round 21 and expectation was high he could be a hit-up forward and perhaps play wing. He played forward against the Hawks, mainly on Ben Stratton and returned just three touches and four tackles. He was poor but the Swans continually bombing it long to Tippett, et al, didn't help him. He often presented but was overlooked by his teammates.

3. Dan Hannebery on Isaac Smith
Hannebery went from elite mid collecting six 30-plus possession games through the season to run-with player. Smith is a good player, but does not need Hannebery as a tail. Hannebery was badly needed in the midfield to support Kennedy and Jack. His 13 touches was the equal lowest tally this season, the other time coming against Port Adelaide in Round 13. No tags for him against the Blues, please.

BEST TWEETS

@Snashy19: Like: Barlow BOG one for all the +21's with AFL dreams. Dislike: Stevie J after the siren. I'm a eagle fan so no bias

‏@Ratatski : Like Great Coaches Lyon, Hinkley Malthouse inspiring upset victories Dislike Nothing Brillant weekend of tough hard footy.

‏@perricoota: Bulldogs supporter saw blues beat AFL beat Inept umpires and beat tigers

@evosthirtyone: likes: McLean honesty before the game, Duigans 4 goals!!  Dislikes: umpiring decisions that reward flopping

@jayareo23: Liked: Hawthorn's recruits stepping up when needed... Gibson, Lake, Guerra, Burgoyne, Hale, Gunston and Anderson

@JaseDyde: Gotta like L.Henderson's two "Leo Barry" style marks. Courageous :))

@Bickys: Likes - Eddie gets his wish and doesn’t have to worry about a 6 day break between games

@bedrockaus: Like; port proves structures are overrated and back your ability.  Dislike; end of era at Pies, loved ones to leave

@harryhoward10: like that Malthouse and Carlton are going deeper into finals then Buckley and Collingwood, after just 1 year at the helm

@Kelzdab: in a likely abundance of finals related tweets, like the passing of the torch & Jack Steven winning Saints B&F

@cradleofkristy: Have to like Richmond finally making the 8 and being eliminated by 9th. #poortiges

@ACM1984: Like: Port's forward line. Well drilled and complimentary.  Dislike: Collingwood's forward line. Inconsistent and over paid

@zivrod:  The confidence and cockiness of Eddie to right off Port and complain abt a game in Perth, both wrong!

@SamuelMcCrossen: Like Port Adelaides composure Dislike Dustin Martin goal celebration. Way low.

@lukegriffo: Michael Jamison OWNING Jack Riewoldt AGAIN! Goalless on Jamo three times this season!

@SAVAG33: After copping critics all year, Sewell stands up most when it matters

@MsMorelle: likes - upsets, old heroes- judd and new- Wingard. Dislike- Ross Lyon attacking journo, Eddie thinking a week ahead

@DKeltie: dislike The Buckley game plan, absolute no plan B when plan A not working, not impressed with the Coach

@shane9manning:  likes-importance of the lesser likes(guthrie muzungo shiels bell duigan) dislikes-underdogs being underestimated

@kmahdavian: Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell, Sam Mitchell...the AFL's REAL three amigos!!!!!!!!!!! hard tough finals specialists!!

@tibba_02:  Like - C Judd & L Hodge. Enough said #champions. Dislike - Collingwood supporters leaving early. #stickitout!

@PeterFarmilo: Rory Sloanes B&F speech on Fri night. This is how young interstate recruits should think. What a champion person.

@drewgebbie:  seeing Pav and Sandi go to each other after the game, knowing this could finally be the year

@c_kennedy23: like the young power players standing up in their first final, Wines, Wingard, Young, O'Shea, Jonas, Lobbe.

Tigers leave the field

‏@mcgrath_scott: Richmonds forwards were nowhere to be found when it counted. The cream always rises to the top.

@AdamAdammarrett:  like-Wingard and Wines standing up under finals pressure dislike-Sunday hangovers after celebrating to hard.

@matt_pocock:  L: the roar at the end of the National Anthem at Richmond v Carlton. Spine tingling. D: Heath Shaw being a petulant fool.

@srahul_35:  Like: Ross Lyon. The mastermind did the unimaginable. Toppling the Cats was pure coaching genius. Anytime, Anywhere!

@Zatsaris:  Richmond to sue essendon for letting Carlton into finals

@ELfergmeistro: probably the 3 best games of the year thus far yesterday and today, finals footy really producing! #goneupanotch

@Stephen_Tighe: LIKE Matt Spangher DISLIKE 23 don't go into 22!!

@carlamareejudd:  Like; Duigan, Judd, Buckley's honesty in presser. Dislike: free kicks today, Zac Dawson, Ross Lyon's attitude in presser.