New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.<\/a><\/p>\nCOLLINGWOOD<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Counterpunch<\/p>\n
Between Opening Round and Round 15, the Pies were second for points scored from half-back. But between Rounds 16 and 20, they\u2019ve sat 13th. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re looking at anything to try and gain that little edge from what you\u2019re currently doing to when the finals come around, it\u2019s that counterpunch off half-back,\u201d four-time premiership star Jordan Lewis told On the Couch. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the other interesting part to the Collingwood conversation is, is Dan Houston playing for his spot in this Collingwood finals team? \u2026 There\u2019s going to be some tough decisions. I genuinely think he\u2019s playing for his spot in a Collingwood finals team.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the first half against the Tigers, Houston ranked 37th on the ground for player rating after just four disposals and one intercept. <\/p>\n
Triple premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt added: \u201cThere\u2019s six to come back for Collingwood; that\u2019s the thing you\u2019ve got to factor in. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey traded a lot to get this man. Maybe that\u2019s the big decision that\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan De Goey, Bobby Hill, Beau McCreery, Jeremy Howe, Billy Frampton and Scott Pendlebury are walk-up inclusions to the side that beat Richmond in Round 20. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing there is that there\u2019s only Jeremy Howe, and Frampton as well, that are defenders, but they\u2019re deep defenders. So, they\u2019re not playing in the same role that Houston\u2019s playing in,\u201d Magpies legend Nathan Buckley said.<\/p>\n
Daicos STARS as Pies take down Tigers | 02:51<\/p>\n
ADELAIDE CROWS<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Clearance game<\/p>\n
Much has been made of Adelaide\u2019s electric forward line and improving defensive group.<\/p>\n
But there remains doubt over its on-ball brigade.<\/p>\n
Adelaide ranked seventh for clearance differential between Rounds 0-11, but has sat a lowly 16th between Rounds 12-20.<\/p>\n
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown said the one question mark on the Crows remained \u201cthe depth of midfield\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve just got to fix up this part of the game,\u201d he told On The Couch.<\/p>\n
\u201c(James) Peatling\u2019s 240th (ranked in the AFL), (Sam) Berry 130, (Luke) Pedlar doesn\u2019t even qualify because he\u2019s only played the past two matches, (Jake) Soligo there as well. <\/p>\n
\u201c know they\u2019re supported by the outsiders, (but) you just wonder about that midfield and how that depth holds up.\u201d<\/p>\n
BRISBANE LIONS<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Midfield<\/p>\n
Brisbane irrefutably has a star-studded engine room. But of late, it hasn\u2019t been performing. <\/p>\n
In the past six rounds, the Lions have sat 14th for points from clearance, 18th for points against from clearance, and 16th for clearances. <\/p>\n
Riewoldt declared they were \u201csome damning numbers for a very good midfield\u201d, adding the ruck combination of Oscar McInerney and Darcy Fort \u201cwere smacked by Jarrod Witts\u201d during the Lions\u2019 loss to the Suns.<\/p>\n
Brown added: \u201cI think that\u2019s the last time you\u2019ll see two rucks. Forward McInerney is not working, McInerney\u2019s clearly sore. So, I think Sam Day, who played reserves (last weekend), will come back in as the backup ruckman\/forward \u2014 that Joe Daniher role \u2014 so there\u2019ll be a bit of a change in mix. <\/p>\n
\u201cPurely on that stoppage stuff, they\u2019ve got to get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
“You DREAM about performances like that” | 09:57<\/p>\n
GEELONG CATS<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Defending ball movement<\/p>\n
The Cats, since Round 12, have been one of the AFL\u2019s hottest teams, winning eight of their past 10 games by an average margin of 63 points. And in those eight wins \u2014 of which six have been against bottom-nine team \u2014 they\u2019ve averaged 120 points.<\/p>\n
Yet Geelong is ranked 18th \u2014 against the top nine sides \u2014 for defending opposition half-back to score.<\/p>\n
But Lewis said he saw it as an \u201copportunity\u201d for the Cats to improve, rather than a flaw that\u2019ll break their flag aspirations.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou like to think of it as \u2018warts\u2019 and what\u2019s going wrong with their game,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to think of it as: This is the opportunity for this side to hone in a little bit on these actions, which can get them the edge to take them to premiership glory.<\/p>\n
HAWTHORN<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Midfield<\/p>\n
Like the Crows, Hawthorn\u2019s lack of midfield depth remains a concern \u2014 despite recently regaining their No.1 man from injury.<\/p>\n
Against Carlton in Round 20, the Hawks were -12 for first possessions, -12 for clearances and -8 for centre clearances. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe return of Will Day helps the Hawthorn midfield, but at the moment, their numbers in terms of first possession, clearance and centre clearances have not been up to standard and were not up to standard on the weekend \u2014 and that was with Will Day in the side,\u201d Riewoldt said.<\/p>\n
Riewoldt also flagged the selection conundrum around the Hawks\u2019 tall forward set-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the fascinating watch over the back part of the year is Mabior Chol,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would be their preferred forward-ruck option but at the moment finds himself out of the side. Calsher Dear performed well the other night, Mitch Lewis gives them a different look ahead of the ball \u2014 a bigger key forward which Chol doesn\u2019t give them \u2014 and Jack Gunston.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Chol misses out. I think they go with the three they had on the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greene’s groin kick raises eyebrows | 00:26<\/p>\n
GWS GIANTS<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Holding up<\/p>\n
This is something Buckley has been all over all year.<\/p>\n
Despite their exciting recent form, the Giants this season rank 16th for inside 50s against.<\/p>\n
As star-studded as their dependable backline is, Buckley said the Giants are doing themselves no favours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been living with it, and everyone\u2019s known about it, but they\u2019ve still been able to perform through it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to give that much weight of field position away, I don\u2019t know whether that\u2019s sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving said that, 17 inside 50s in the second half they gave Sydney, which was their best return for a half for the year \u2014 21 against West Coast was their previous best.\u201d<\/p>\n
FREMANTLE<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Post-clearance contest<\/p>\n
With the likes of Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw and Luke Jackson, you\u2019d think the midfield would be Fremantle\u2019s biggest weapon.<\/p>\n
The numbers, however, suggest otherwise.<\/p>\n
The Dockers this year are ranked 13th for contested possessions and 13th for groundball gets. <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the clearance leaves the 10 to 20me bubble that you need to get over to \u2026 Hayden Young, I think, helps this, (Sam) Switkowski back helps this,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the contested possessions and the groundball gets, post-clearance, is a real opportunity for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nasiah’s game-winning TWO goals in 15s! | 00:36<\/p>\n
GOLD COAST SUNS<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Turnover scoring<\/p>\n
The Suns are surging towards a maiden finals appearance. <\/p>\n
But they\u2019re falling short in one of the most important KPIs in footy of late.<\/p>\n
Between Opening Round and Round 11, the Suns had no issue punishing their opposition off turnover, ranking second in the competition.<\/p>\n
Between Rounds 12 and 20, though, it\u2019s been a vastly different story, ranking 13th in that time. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were smashing it out of the park early, half-backs running hard and being able to score especially from the back half,\u201d Buckley said. \u201cThey haven\u2019t been as strong with that in the past couple of months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re scoring 84 points from clearance (against Brisbane last Saturday), you\u2019re probably not going to be pressured to turnover score as much. But, as we know, that back-half scoring in particular is a model that the premiership sides have been able to action well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Rioli\u2019s absence due to a fractured tibia hasn\u2019t helped, of course.<\/p>\n
WESTERN BULLDOGS<\/p>\n
Weakness\/question mark: Defensive woes<\/p>\n
It\u2019s seemingly been the Bulldogs\u2019 Achilles Heel for years.<\/p>\n
Luke Beveridge\u2019s side is ranked ninth for points against, 11th for scores per inside 50 against and eighth for points against from turnovers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wonder (about) the inexperience of (James) O\u2019Donnell, (Jedd) Busslinger and (Luke) Cleary in their back six,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s going to be a watch for the Dogs if they go all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No team is perfect, no matter how healthy or convincing their win-loss records might be. And for this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[9126,638,28952,28956,64,63,55,639,3423,14349,3237,28962,28967,28966,3528,10128,27713,14390,2458,28963,28955,12090,9200,28957,28969,10124,13659,9130,27717,5330,12102,3231,25882,10132,12935,27725,19080,25049,28961,663,15626,14402,11098,16712,18093,28960,26511,3233,14224,28951,28959,28970,14444,28965,3242,19083,28968,85,28954,28953,19086,12113,13154,28964,698,28958],"class_list":["post-30796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-andrew-brayshaw","tag-ashcroft","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-bobby-hill","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-centre-clearances","tag-clearance-differential","tag-clearance-game","tag-contested-possessions","tag-dan-houston","tag-dane-rampe","tag-daniel-rioli","tag-data","tag-defending-ball-movement","tag-defending-opposition-half-back","tag-final-quarter","tag-finals-contenders","tag-finals-team","tag-flag-aspirations","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-geelong-cats","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-groin-kick","tag-head-coach","tag-jack-gunston","tag-jack-jovanovski","tag-jarrod-witts","tag-jeremy-howe","tag-joe-daniher","tag-jordan-de-goey","tag-jordan-lewis","tag-kilda-saints","tag-lion-jonathan-brown","tag-luke-beveridge","tag-luke-jackson","tag-mabior-chol","tag-maiden-finals-appearance","tag-matthew-nicks","tag-midfield-depth","tag-moment-finds","tag-nathan-buckley","tag-oscar-mcinerney","tag-points-scored","tag-preferred-forward-ruck-option","tag-premiership-glory","tag-premiership-sides","tag-question-mark","tag-ruck-combination","tag-sam-day","tag-scott-pendlebury","tag-selection-conundrum","tag-sports","tag-star-studded-engine-room","tag-stoppage-stuff","tag-toby-greene","tag-tom-stewart","tag-triple-premiership","tag-turnover-scoring","tag-western-bulldogs","tag-win-loss-records"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}