AFL 2024 Rd 3: Carlton vs North Melbourne North gave us everything they had and we still won by almost 10 goals.
Trends: [1] There were 13 voters this round, a solid number of start the year but still less than our previous games. Good Friday? I left the thread open for longer than usual, but ...
[2] The rating was a 9.45, which is an B+. Fair enough considering that we won, and that we dominated significant periods of play.
[3]15 players managed a mention this week, which is one up on last week, but still significant. We are a champion team these days, rather than a team of champions and everyone is making a contribution. (I like writing this. )
[4] The average vote this week was 32. We don't often better this.
[5]4 players managed 100 votes or more again this week. This is becoming the norm when we win these days, and I am not disappointed in the least. May it continue!
[6] Harry McKay managed 414 votes to be BOG this week, a Judd-like display. Most weeks, Cripps' 291 votes would have been hard to beat.
[7] Only two players managed votes from everyone this week; Cripps and McKay. George Hewett missed from one voter.
[8] Elijah Hollands was the youngster who stood out this week.
[9] We were still a very even team this week, with significant contributions from the mids, the defence and the forwards. May that continue!
Votes: McKay, Harrison 414 Cripps, Patrick 291 Hewett, George 233 Cerra, Adam 102 Curnow, Charles 91 Weitering, Jacob 80 McGovern, Mitchell 58 Hollands, Elijah 58 Fogarty, Lachlan 25 Kennedy, Matthew 25 Acres, Blake 15 de Koning, Tom 11 Saad, Adam 7 Newman, Nicholas 4 Owies, Matthew 4
Progressive Voting: Harry McKay 854 Patrick Cripps 795 George Hewett 495 Mitch McGovern 431 Tom de Koning 351 Charlie Curnow 248 Adam Cerra 135 Adam Saad 134 Blake Acres 127 Nic Newman 93 Jacob Weitering 80 Lachie Fogarty 68 Jack Carroll 61 Elijah Hollands 59 Lewis Young 55 Jordan Boyd 52 Brodie Kemp 50 Zac Williams 45 Matt Kennedy 26 David Cuningham 13 Matthew Owies 10 Ollie Hollands 7
Jackson is currently rated as the tenth best player in the AFL. At worst, De Koning broke even with him. A more nuanced assessment would recognise that De Koning had significantly more impact on the outcome of the game than Jackson did, even allowing for Jackson's brain fade hitout that resulted in Cottrell's mark and goal to put us in front.
Jackson usually does his best work around the ground, but Tom nullified that totally. It was Tom who took the important marks, not Jackson. However, Tom's ruckwork probably wasn't as good as Jackson's on the day. Freo seemed to have 'worked out' our midfield structure and limited it.
Tom can be happy with his day's work, but not the way our midfield functioned.
Rating: B I gave us a B because we won against the odds, but I can’t remember a time where we allowed our opponents to play their game so much and still won. Really, we had a lot of contributors, but very few winners on the day, we were smashed in the clearances and we still won.
Votes: [3] Jacob Weitering [1.5] Brodie Kemp [1.5] Adam Saad [1.5] Patrick Cripps [1.5] Charlie Curnow [1] Tom de Koning [1] Adam Cerra [1] Matthew Cottrell [1] George Hewett [0.5] Jack Carroll [0.5] Nic Newman [0.5] Blake Acres [0.5] Mitch McGovern
Explanations: [3] Jacob Weitering: Not just clearly our best player, but an impassable wall in defence. Absolutely destroyed his opponents. [1.5] Brodie Kemp: Made a few errors, but did his job and took a lot of marks in defence. A really solid game. [1.5] Adam Saad: Got a lot of the ball, but was less effective as an attacker than normal. His defensive work was brilliant. [1.5] Patrick Cripps: A big effort from the Captain, and our best mid on the day. [1.5] Charlie Curnow: A patchy effort from Charlie, but after half time he won hos position and made things happen. [1] Tom de Koning: Like Charlie, Tom was patchy. He had some really good periods in the 3rd quarter where he really dominated and he took some important marks. [1] Adam Cerra: A solid effort, but not his best. [1] Matthew Cottrell: Didn’t see a lot of ball, but he stood up when he was required. [1] George Hewett: Like Cerra, George was solid and won most of our clearances, but he probably lowered his colours. [0.5] Jack Carroll: Again, he was a solid contributor, but he was probably beaten on the day. [0.5] Nic Newman: Not as damaging as he can be, but he ruled his position. [0.5] Blake Acres: Solid [0.5] Mitch McGovern: Did his job well.
Honourable Mentions: Jordan Boyd: Like the other defenders, Jordan beat his man. Matthew Kennedy: Not a huge game, but he stood up when required. Zac Williams: Beat his opponents and provided some important moments.
Kamp did a good job and should keep his spot. Marchbank needs game time, preferably in the VFL. When he is fit and confident, we can reconsider the issue.
Voting is as usual: you have 15 votes to award pretty much as you will, with the following provisos: [1] 15 votes in total, no more, no less. [2] No more than 10 votes for any one player (even Sam Walsh or Patrick Cripps) [3] Three players at least must get a mention. [4] A grade for the game, A+ (what I want to see) to F-.
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