Mick Malthouse says Essendon, Adelaide and St Kilda among biggest disappointments of 2018
THEY finished the season with a head of steam but Mick Malthouse says the Bombers have missed a chance, and are among the clubs with some soul searching to do in coming weeks.
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WHEN you are expected to make the eight, and you don’t, it is a bitter pill to swallow.
But there is always something to learn from it.
It is no real surprise that Melbourne, Hawthorn and Collingwood are competing this September.
But it is perhaps a surprise that Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Essendon have missed out.
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In the coming weeks there will be a lot of soul searching conducted by these clubs.
Essendon promised so much last year.
Its recruiting was outstanding with the inclusion of Devon Smith, Adam Saad, and Jake Stringer. But poor early form — two wins from eight round — killed off an easy ride into the finals.
Losing Joe Daniher to injury was a crucial blow to its season, as were injuries to Orazio Fantasia and David Zaharakis, two players with pace.
The Bombers’ best this year was very good.
Good enough to beat the top teams with the use of pace, spread and quick ball movement.
But their worst was very poor and losing to Fremantle and Carlton was deadly.
There is very little wriggle room for inconsistency in today’s football.
But I expect them to bounce back next year.
The board’s faith in John Worsfold with a contract extension is excellent, and there is no doubt they have the player quality required to challenge for a top eight, or even top four finish.
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North Melbourne has been thereabouts all year, but it was found short of class against the top teams, particularly through the midfield.
Ben Brown was magnificent all season, and when Jarrad Waite was fit, they were as good a forward combination as any in the league.
But Waite has been vulnerable to soft tissue injuries and again missed too many games, leading to this week’s retirement announcement.
Captain Jack Ziebell was superb, but North’s dilemma was needing him in and around the ball as well as up forward as a dynamic, hard-hitting target.
Sadly, he can’t play two positions at once.
Brad Scott has done a fantastic job. The players respond to him and seem comfortable with the game structure.
They generally have a crack and rarely get blown away.
Most pundits, including myself, had North finishing in the bottom four.
They built on their six wins from last year to finish with 11 and one more game today. It is an outstanding result.
The club has made no secret where it believes it is lacking class by chasing Giant Josh Kelly and Tiger Dustin Martin last year.
Another top-quality midfielder would certainly boost North’s chances of going further next year.
CROWS FLOP THE BIGGEST SURPRISE
Adelaide dropping away so terribly from last season has perhaps been the biggest surprise.
The side that dominated most teams last season was just a shadow of its former self this year.
The loss of Jake Lever did not hurt the club as much as it would have without the improvement of Tom Doedee, who played a similar role.
But the Crows could not produce a player to replace Charlie Cameron.
This had a dual effect. Firstly, by missing his speed and goalscoring power, and secondly by placing the leftover heat on to Eddie Betts which — along with injury — stifled his influence.
Captain Tex Walker was hot and cold and while injuries didn’t help, it made Adelaide very predictable in how it played.
The big three in the forward line — Walker, Tom Lynch and Josh Jenkins — were rarely in synch.
And the Crows’ midfielders were good ball-getters but lack genuine pace and, therefore, make the team too one-dimensional.
Even its home ground lost its advantage.
The hurt of last year’s Grand Final loss should have been a catalyst to go harder this year, but that hunger was barely witnessed.
Losing four games straight from Rounds 10 to 13, including one to Fremantle, showed them up for a lack of passion and urgency and ultimately cost Adelaide a spot in the eight.
Don Pyke is an excellent coach and I just hope the Crows’ faithful don’t turn on him because he isn’t South Australian or a former club great.
If there is a way forward for the club, I have no doubt Pyke will find it.
PORT HAS ‘SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY MISSING’
Port Adelaide couldn’t beat a side in the top eight last year.
This year it was able to knock over the reigning premiers in Round 12, but then lost to Fremantle. Port is an enigma.
It has quality players, but they seem to choose on the day how they will play, and the side has paid a massive price by losing six of its past seven games when it has been in a winning position in a few of them.
There is something fundamentally missing from the Port Adelaide make-up.
Whether it’s in the club’s DNA or part of the modus operandi, they lose the ball too often in a turnover by overusing it, and it always happens in a critical part of the ground or at a crucial time of the game.
They would do very well to closely study Richmond’s current game style.
In 2016 the Tigers averaged around 400 disposals a match.
In its premiership year that number dropped to around 330 with the Tigers eliminating the overuse syndrome and using the ball more effectively.
It has continued the same trend this year.
If Port did the same, it could be a genuine threat to the top eight.
SAINTS HAVE BEEN THE WORST
Of the rest of the bottom 10, without a doubt the Saints have been the most horrible.
After winning its first game St Kilda didn’t win again until Round 13.
In fact its four wins and a draw this year is less than half the number of victories of last year.
The Saints are one of the worst sides in the competition for turnovers and their goalkicking accuracy has deserted them.
They were belted too many times for a team touted to make the eight before the start of the season.
Alan Richardson rarely shows emotion in the coach’s box but he dropped his guard when he viewed turnover after turnover against Hawthorn last week.
It was ugly and poor and he could not hide his disappointment.
St Kilda cannot afford to mess up this draft and trade period in its hurry to make the eight.
It must show patience and pick and trade correctly if it wants to turn around the club’s future.
TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR ...
Brisbane, Gold Coast, Carlton, Fremantle and, to a lesser extent, the Western Bulldogs were all expected to win more games, but the gap between the better and the lesser teams has been highlighted this year.
In saying that, there should be no favours for lower sides to get priority picks.
Next week, every club I’ve mentioned will ask itself several questions: Did we improve? Were there games we should have won? Did we meet our own expectations? Who let us down? Do we need to go to the trade table or look at free agents? Are we on the right track or do we need to change tack?
The questions can be confronting but answering them truthful can be the only way to improve and move forward.
Once they’ve analysed what went wrong they must act.
If it’s game structure, change it. If its personnel, try to change it. Analyse and act.
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