Aug 14, 2020

AFL

AFL Mad Scramble: Day Seventeen

22 Comments

A column every day for twenty days, as we get more football than we even asked for.

Occasionally, this column will even mention football but rarely sensibly.

Last Night

Sydney (66) v Greater Western Sydney (25)

A loss to the Swans would have been a disaster for the Giants, so I’m not sure what to call a 41-point drumming.

It wasn’t all the Giants of course; the Swans were simply magnificent. They were desperate, poised and relentless, and showed that their young players are growing, despite going through some tough times to get there.

Yet even the Swans would have been surprised at how easy this was.

Greater Western Sydney seemed to think they could win on skill alone, leaving difficult things like tackling well alone.

Captain Stephen Coniglio described their first half as "hopeless" in a halftime interview, and he could be accused of putting a positive spin on things, Giants fans had a few harsher words than that to describe it.

It made you think that the Giants would respond in the second, which makes this performance even more disappointing. Instead, it was the Swans who lifted, growing in confidence as the match went on, as they realised the Giants were just simply not up for the fight.

It’s an astounding result considering the talent on the Giants team. The idea they’re a Ferrari is laughable, they looked more like a tricycle missing a wheel and sitting on the nature strip waiting for the hard rubbish collection.

And they were lucky they had the umpires playing up forward they could have been goalless.

It’s such a waste of talent, a subject I’m very familiar with, it shows that talent is nothing without effort.

The whole match left you thinking that of the two Sydney teams, one has a bright future, and one does not.

Today

Geelong v Port Adelaide (Metricon) 7:50pm Seven

This has the potential to be a great match and I really hope it is, we all need the distraction.

Take me back to 2019, where the worst thing to happen to us was the Cats movie. That only seemed like the low point of society.

Geelong made St Kilda’s premiership credentials look more fake than the drivers licence I used as a teenager to get into pubs, and they have a chance to do similar to the Port Adelaide here.

That said, Port’s credentials seem more authentic than St Kilda’s do.

The problem is, Geelong do this every year, they look bad, they then look really good, they do well and all of a sudden, they are in the finals and get knocked out in an incredibly disappointing display. 

For this, they are again well on track.

Port really do look good; they’ve been more consistent this year than Victoria’s daily coronavirus tally.

If Port win the premiership this year, it will unleash the Hardwick Effect on the AFL all over again.

That’s when clubs suddenly think, ‘hey, sticking with a coach for a long time despite how bad the results are works out in the end’.

It’s true, it sometimes works, but the problem is, the Hardwick Effect means clubs with bad coaches end up stuck with them for longer.

I now not everything is Damien Hardwick’s fault, but he did inflict two Richmond Premierships on us.

I’m tipping Port here, but that all depends on what Geelong outfit shows up, and the excitement of not knowing is all that’s making me feel alive at the moment.

At the moment I’m barely able to work, so you can help support me in producing this ridiculous nonsense I churn out on a regular basis. It’s greatly appreciated. Find out more here: https://titusoreily.com/support-titus

COMMENTS

Jack Chrapot

Aug 14, 2020

“ Giants fans had a few harsher words than that to describe it.”

What Giants fans?

They’re a myth - there are none in existence.

Bree

Aug 14, 2020

Not true Jack! I saw a GWS sticker on a neighbours car!

Andrew

Aug 14, 2020

Melbourne are experiencing the Goodwin effect - when you can’t afford to sack your coach no matter how bad he is. Subject of course to the Neeld clause - any coach that bad must be sacked regardless of the cost!

Peter Lake

Aug 14, 2020

Really looking forward to the Cats/Port match tonight. Game of the round , no doubt.

Happy as a pig in poo about Sydney beating GWS. Now, if Collingwood can play that well with 50% of a team against Melbourne we can cement a spot in the eight

BLOKE FROM THE OUTER

Aug 14, 2020

'The problem is, Geelong do this every year, they look bad, they then look really good, they do well and all of a sudden, they are in the finals and get knocked out in an incredibly disappointing display. '

I'm a Richmond member, was at the Prelim last year and Geelong was only one bad quarter away from being premiers. I put it down to an ordinary coach. They're in the hunt again this year and, after this game, could be a lot shorter than 11-1 odds.

Kafka’s Ghost

Aug 14, 2020

Jack, I saw a guy in a Giants cap at the dog park early this morning. Admittedly he was keeping well away from everyone else, and looked pretty bleak. Joining Hawthorn as “teams with pretensions” beaten by the Swans Academy squad would definitely ruin your night, though.
Really looking forward to Geelong v. Port tonight. Hope it’s as good as Port v. Richmond!

Egg

Aug 14, 2020

Thank you Titus for not tipping the Swans. It's good to see young players start to recover from Matt Rowell syndrome (a deep seated fear of not measuring up, leading to a fair amount of frantic, inept play, held by many debutants this season).

MICHAEL

Aug 14, 2020

As a Swans supporter I kept thinking the Giants have got some severe jet lag.

One of those win win games. If Swans win I'm happy, if Giants, I got the tip right.

Rob

Aug 14, 2020

GWS 3.7.25 Where have I seen that before?

It feels like it should be a premier memory...

Giant Hawk

Aug 14, 2020

I am a Giants member as cheaper than buying a ticket when Hawks come to town.

Fat Side

Aug 14, 2020

I’m pretty sure the Hardwick Effect was originally the Thompson Effect from his eventual success after a long stint at Geelong. I still love that footage of him relaxing and eating a sandwich in the coaches box during a last quarter as the Cats at the peak of their invincibility demolished some hapless team.

Fat Side

Aug 14, 2020

Sandwich video here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ar8NDqqo9p4

Fairwestuff

Aug 14, 2020

Passionate desperate emotional characteristics are some traits you just love to see in the AFL in supporters players and coaches. It all adds to the theatre which is AFL. I like what Longmire, Clarkson, Scott, Hardwick bring to the table. Some of this must rub off on players evidenced by Swans v Giants. Cameron looked disinterested like his players but Longmire Cox et al are creating a bond a brotherhood, reinvigorating " the bloods" spirit. Mind you it helps to have players like Papley, Rampe etc What the Giants needed was Toby restore the balance!! We need more Barrassi Fire and brimstone in our coaches nowadays!!

Fairwestuff

Aug 14, 2020

Passionate desperate emotional characteristics are some traits you just love to see in the AFL in supporters players and coaches. It all adds to the theatre which is AFL. I like what Longmire, Clarkson, Scott, Hardwick bring to the table. Some of this must rub off on players evidenced by Swans v Giants. Cameron looked disinterested like his players but Longmire Cox et al are creating a bond a brotherhood, reinvigorating " the bloods" spirit. Mind you it helps to have players like Papley, Rampe etc What the Giants needed was Toby restore the balance!! We need more Barrassi Fire and brimstone in our coaches nowadays!!

The g train

Aug 14, 2020

Titus, thank you at last for lowering St Kilda’s expectations of success. This augers well for the club. As Darius Foroux noted: “The secret to life Is low expectations”.

Colleen

Aug 14, 2020

To Peter the happy man! 50%? Pendlebury in. Gawn out. That makes it 50/50 I reckon.

robbo

Aug 14, 2020

41 point drumming? what the hell does that mean?

The Dude Abides

Aug 14, 2020

On behalf of all SJWs, TDS sufferers, anti-vaxxers, Covid conspirators, cancel culturists and punctuation pedants I am deeply sorry if you were offended by my reference yesterday to the GWS Giants. To avoid offence taken I will in future refer to this team as The GWS Vertically Gifted.

In further important news to some keyboard warriors who loiter on this platform I also was horrified, horrified I tells ya, to hear Leon Cameron's opening line at the post-game presser, 'the Swans come after us real hard'. I doubt I will be able to enjoy my football if this continues.

Great game awaits us tonight. Rose and Butters to steer The Power home.

J Clarkson

Aug 14, 2020

Well the Swans broke their hoo-doo of never beating the Giants at Optus.
Most likely because the Ferrari is in actual fact an old Alfa.

Rover

Aug 14, 2020

Jack. A friend’s 7 year old boy is a passionate GWS supporter residing in country Victoria - his dad is Dutch and so it’s the orange factor. GWS has a potential supporter base of 17.1 million people.

F. Carlton Collingwood IV

Aug 14, 2020

"41 point drumming? what the hell does that mean?"

As we all know, every band needs a good drubber.

Frenzied Out

Aug 14, 2020

@F. CARLTON COLLINGWOOD IV.
What do you call someone who hangs out with musicians?
A drubber!!!!! LOL.