The Lowdown: Simeon Thomas-Wilson and Matt Turner runs the rule over SA footy in round 4
The loss of young forward Riley Thilthorpe was always going to hit the Crows. Now, it’s become obvious just how hard. See all the SA footy likes and dislikes.
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The AFL world descended on Adelaide this weekend, bringing with the drama, trials and tribulations that come with footy at the highest level.
Simeon Thomas-Wilson and Matt Turner run through their likes and dislikes from Gather Round.
DISLIKES
1. Jeremy Finlayson and David Koch’s reaction
With Sam Powell-Pepper to return from suspension this week, and possibly Ollie Wines to join him, Port Adelaide faced a bit of a selection squeeze. Finlayson has made this a lot easier.
Even if he doesn’t get a game suspension for the homophobic slur he used on Friday night against Essendon he could have no complaints if the Power decide he doesn’t play against Fremantle on Saturday night, so unacceptable is this in the game and in society.
Yes he made the club aware of what he said at the final break on Friday night and apologised to the victim after the game, but let’s remember it was recorded on an umpire’s microphone and Essendon players also called it out and informed the umpires.
He couldn’t hide or deny saying it.
Power president David Koch’s comments on Offsiders on Sunday were frankly not good enough and he would surely have regrets around the language he used.
To use the phrase “heat of the battle” on multiple occasions and then Alastair Clarkson as a comparison and “benchmark”, intentional or not, came across as the Port Adelaide president trying to downplay the severity of Finlayson’s slur.
How do gay Port Adelaide fans feel about what their president said on Sunday?
2. Adelaide’s Marking Prowess
Last year, Riley Thilthorpe ranked 13th in the league for contested marks, Adelaide was second and the Crows were also fourth for marks inside 50.
With Thilthorpe injured this year, the Crows have slumped to second-bottom for contested marks and are dead-last for marks inside 50.
Their contested marks have dropped from 11.7 per game in 2023 to just 6.3 in 2024.
And marks inside 50 have nosedived from 13.2 to 6.5 – almost three per game fewer than the next-worst side.
No doubt playing in poor conditions on the Gold Coast in round 1 skews the numbers a little.
But Adelaide took just three marks inside 50 from its first 29 entries against the Demons.
Taylor Walker had four of the Crows’ eight for the night – it would have been five if not for Rachele jumping in front of his lead to try to mark himself late in the game.
Chris Burgess did not take any and was subbed off after a very quiet performance, while Darcy Fogarty took two to go with two goals.
Although it is worth bearing in mind Melbourne’s defence is among the best in the league, Thilthorpe’s absence is hurting Adelaide more than most probably expected.
That said, some of the kicking inside 50 was terrible yet again.
The fact the Crows rank eight for inside 50s per game (53.4) but second-last for shots (20.5) and goals (7.8) tells you plenty about the team’s skills and forward 50 connection.
3. A Showdown in Gather Round?
What is the worst idea, three Gather Rounds a year or having the Crows and Power play each other in a Showdown?
Both take away from just what has made the first two Gather Rounds wildly successful.
Like night follows day Victorian clubs were always going to complain about the Crows and Power getting an extra game at Adelaide Oval this year.
That brings it to 13 games the two SA clubs will have at Adelaide Oval this year, including the two Showdowns.
Even with this supposedly amazing added advantage the Crows and Power are still way behind Melbourne clubs.
Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon play 17 of their 23 home and away matches this season in Melbourne, while Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda play 15 games in the Victorian capital.
The Tigers and Saints also play a match each an hour out of Melbourne in Geelong.
Yeah the fixture is unequal, and it's the Melbourne-based teams who benefit.
Adelaide and Port Adelaide must have stand-alone games either on the Thursday and Friday night in Gather Round, or even a Sunday afternoon one to end the festival of footy.
To have a Showdown in Gather Round is an insult to arguably the best rivalry in the game.
And those who believe this should be the case just don’t get it.
LIKES
1. Gather Round in the Barossa Valley
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has finally received his wish.
It was always going to be a hard act to follow but the second Gather Round was better than the inaugural one.
The lessons were learnt with the double header on Saturday, it shouldn’t ever contain Adelaide or Port Adelaide, the Sunday twilight game was a big success as well, while Mount Barker was better than 2023.
And then there was the masterstroke decision to revive the Norwood Food and Wine Festival to go along with the Richmond v St Kilda game at Norwood Oval on Sunday.
But you can’t rest on your laurels and now SA has the best way to build on the success of this year’s Gather Round going into 2025.
A game in the Barossa was always what Malinauskas wanted with Gather Round coming to SA.
He now gets his wish in 2025 with at least one game to be played in Lyndoch.
It is the perfect way to add something new to the third edition and keep strengthening South Australia’s hold over Gather Round.
Tanunda might have made more sense from a tourism and logistics view, but Lyndoch provide the Barossa Valley backdrop Malinauskas desperately wants to be beamed into TV’s around the country.
With games now about the moment of being there for so many, it is what Gather Round needs next year.
2. Jake Soligo
Plenty of pre-season talk at West Lakes was about how Josh Rachele would get additional midfield time but so far his fellow 2021 draftee Soligo had received far more opportunities.
Over the past two weeks, Rachele has not attended a centre bounce and Soligo has been at a total of 22.
Soligo proved why on Thursday night against Melbourne when he was Adelaide’s best player.
His toughness, agility and workrate is rare in the Crows’ side.
He provides something different, working hard both ways and almost always having clean hands.
The 21-year-old had a game-high eight tackles in an industrious performance on Thursday night that also included 27 disposals and a team-best seven inside 50s and six clearances.
On a night when Adelaide’s skills were poor, Soligo went at 82 per cent disposal efficiency.
He is far more unheralded than Rachele but is having greater influence.
While there has plenty of criticism – often justified – for the Crows’ drafting in recent years, Soligo at pick 36 looks a steal.
3. Darcy Byrne-Jones the goalkicker
Flung forward in Round 4 last year, Byrne-Jones ended up with 18 goals for 2023.
He already has nine after four games in 2024.
We know exactly why Ken Hinkley threw the All-Australian defender into the forward line, to apply pressure.
But the uptick in goalkicking is something that should have Power forwards coach Chad Cornes extremely excited.
Byrne-Jones has already kicked a career-high three goals on two occasions this season.
The tackles are yet to be some of the big numbers were saw last year at times, but the pressure has been there.
Along with Jed McEntee it is an important role Byrne-Jones plays in the forward line.
The increase in goals is a big bonus.
AND THE LOWDOWN ON …
In 2021 when the AFL was looking to hit Taylor Walker with a six week ban for using a racial slur, the AFL Players Association tried to get this reduced. The AFLPA must not do the same with Finlayson’s upcoming sanction for his homophobic slur. Not a single male player, past or present in the AFL has ever publicly come out as gay or bisexual. There are gay players in the AFL in 2024 but don’t feel comfortable in coming out and revealing who they are. How will they feel if their association looks to try and lessen the punishment Finlayson will receive for his unacceptable slur? The AFLPA has been all too ready to call out fans when they vilify players either at games or online, and rightly so. But the last time it had its big test of one of its own, it was embarrassing in its actions. How will it handle this test?
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