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Four Points

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Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell has been offered a three-game ban by the AFL’s match review officer for rough conduct after he shoved his Saints opponent Liam O’Connell into a marking contest.

Rhyan Mansell and Richmond should cop his three-match ban

Also in Four Points this week: much of what’s gone wrong at Carlton has been out of Michael Voss’ control. But the Blues have won just two of their past 10 games, and face a huge match against Collingwood this week.

  • Michael Gleeson

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The Bombers’ defensive efforts against the Crows were poor.

Get defensive: The glass-half-empty view of the Bombers

Essendon gave up 25 goals to the Crows, lost by 10 goals and were defensively weak. Again. The same old problems re-emerged. Is there a glass-half-full way of looking at it?

  • Michael Gleeson
Michael Voss is not under immediate pressure to keep his job, but Thursday night’s loss to Richmond was worrying.

Blues must respond or pressure will mount; The recruits who dazzled in round 1

The Blues’ loss was the worst of the Michael Voss era, and as bad anything they’ve served up in recent memory. Their restless fans will be expecting an emphatic response this week, but the challenge awaiting them is significant.

  • Michael Gleeson
Carlton’s Nic Newman after the Blues’ loss to Collingwood.

If Carlton can fix these two problems, they can still win the flag

Carlton slumped from fourth to eighth in a bad weekend for the navy blue faithful, but they are still closer to success than Mitch McGovern’s kick was to scoring.

  • Peter Ryan
Zach Merrett was well held against the Demons, with drastic results for Essendon,

The worries for Essendon heading to September

In Four Points this week: the loss to Melbourne highlighted areas of concern for the Bombers, who flattered to deceive against the Pies. Plus, Collingwood’s draft gamble looks like coming unstuck and Carlton must move to a one-ruck system.

  • Michael Gleeson
Isaac Heeney is in trouble for this incident with Jimmy Webster.

Heeney didn’t mean to hit Saint high. It should still be graded intentional

In Four Points this week: when to worry after a shock defeat, and when to stay calm; a Brownlow favourite should be out of contention; Jack Lukosius embodies the Suns’ road woes; and the Tigers become the frontrunners for the top pick in the draft.

  • Michael Gleeson
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Twin brothers Ben and Max King find their teams heading in different directions approaching the halfway point of the 2024 season.

Footy’s great science experiment: Why Saints’ woes are not Max King’s fault

Max and Ben King might be identical twins, but the teams they play for look to be heading in opposite directions.

  • Michael Gleeson
Zach Merrett.

How the Bombers became a team of Merrett

Essendon are back after learning to play like Zach, how veteran’s move has turned Melbourne around, Hawkins left hungry again, and don’t argue with this comparison.

  • Michael Gleeson
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps has a word with the umpire on Saturday afternoon.

Why it’s time the AFL pushed back on this forgotten rule

Push has come to shove for footy’s forgotten rule; a Giants star has become a modern-day great after crossing to Geelong; and Carlton ruckman’s comeback is anything but the pits.

  • Michael Gleeson
Toby Greene was offered a one-match suspension after this clash with Carlton’s Jordan Boyd.

Why footy’s bravest act needs to be flipped on its head

Jordan Boyd should not be penalised for the collision with Toby Greene, of course. But the game needs to stop praising that type of bravery and start discouraging it.

  • Michael Gleeson

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/four-points-6gng