• Nine things we learned from round 16
• Fantasy form watch: And then there was Gaz
• Who fired and who flopped in this weekend's state leagues?

THE SYDNEY Swans have problems.

Against Hawthorn at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night, the powerful Hawks carved up their fellow premiership aspirants with speed, skill and use of space.

The Hawks were sublime. The Swans were insipid.

They were missing four likely best 22 players on Saturday night – Mike Pyke, Gary Rohan, Jeremy Laidler and Ben McGlynn – but none were likely to make a difference against the Hawks.

The issue for the Swans now is that they don't bat deep enough. The big bucks outlaid to get Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin, and the complications they have caused to the salary cap and the ability to trade, has eaten away at the club's depth and they don't appear to have adequate reinforcements in the NEAFL.

They travel to Perth next week and they will likely have to tackle the high-scoring Eagles without Ted Richards, who faces at least a week on the sidelines for his errant bump on Sam Mitchell.

But the biggest issue for the Swans is their forward line. Franklin has been sound this year – not at the level of last season or his best years at the Hawks – but that's it. Tippett won 23 hit-outs on Saturday night but the damning figure was zero, as in numbers of marks taken.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that Tippett hasn't delivered anything near the return the Swans would have hoped for – and expected – when they handed him that eye-popping contract at the start of 2013. The partnership with Franklin has yet to really gel to the point where the Swans have become as Franklin-conscious as the Hawks were in 2011 and 2012, at which point Alastair Clarkson decided it was unsustainable if the Hawks were to win the premiership.

Discussion has moved to whether Tippett might be best suited as a ruckman. That might be the answer, but that's not why they recruited him and handed him the big bucks and they are entitled to ask why he doesn't stand up and perform on the big occasions, which Saturday night at ANZ Stadium was.

There remains enough silk in the Swans best 8-10 players that they should finish in the top four. But they might lack the weaponry to go any further.

Conversely, the Hawks were incredible. And after a week when the aesthetics of football were placed under the microscope when even the game's most sensible talking head, Leigh Matthews, floated the concept of introducing zones to the game, the Hawks should be admired.

In fact, they rescued what had been a turgid weekend of football with a breathtaking display.

The Hawks won by 89 points despite the Swans having the edge in contested possessions, clearances, centre clearances and tackles. The Hawks kicked a remarkable 23.8 from 52 inside 50s and the spread of goalkickers – 12 this time around – demonstrates how hard the Hawks hard to defend.

Five of those came from Jarryd Roughead. The tragic events in Adelaide have naturally – and rightly – dominated the headlines the past few weeks, but for Roughead to suffer a cancer scare, lose 9kg and then kick five goals in his return game is extraordinary.

The social media take on Sunday morning was that Hawthorn is now the raging flag favourites although the hardheads at the club will be reminding everyone that the Hawks played at this level at times during both 2011 and 2012 without taking home the silverware.

Carlton on Friday night should not pose too many problems other than the third game in 12 days factor that might prompt some 'player management', but Richmond and West Coast come after that. Win those and a top two spot beckons and then the raging flag favouritism might be justified.

Other observations from round 16

1. Here's the thing about the Showdowns. Every time you think you've seen the best one ever, along comes another one to top it. Sunday at Adelaide Oval might well be the best of the lot given all that took place before it and what the three-point win to the Crows means, elevating them into the eight ahead of Collingwood and pretty much putting paid to Port for the season. If it wasn't the best game of the season to date, then the challenge is to name one better and if we were to get such quality football in the finals, then we would be truly blessed.

2. To those who say that footy has lost its soul, I give you Adelaide Oval and Etihad Stadium on Sunday. With 54,468 fans in attendance, there has never been a been a larger crowd for a game of footy at Adelaide Oval (or for a Showdown) and if you didn't get a bit teary watching the brave Quinn Walsh presenting Scott Thompson with the best on ground medal named for her father, then you have a heart of flint.

The same goes for 'Maddie's Match' between the Saints and the Tigers on Sunday evening. You could hardly blame Nick and Jack Riewoldt from being heartily sick of each other given their joint media appearances the last few weeks, but the cause was massively important and won the support of everyone in football. As Jack said, the result was probably insignificant given the occasion, although you suspect somewhere in the bowels of the Tiger rooms afterwards they were kicking themselves for not putting the Saints to the sword in the final term and totting up some much needed percentage.

3. Two wins on the trot for North Melbourne, but the Kangaroos remain unconvincing. Next up is a trip to the Gabba to face the Brisbane Lions. The shame for North fans is that Brent Harvey's 400th game is being played nearly 2000km away. Still, the Kangas don't have the luxury of 'resting' him so that the home supporters can enjoy the festivities because at 8-7, they need to keep winning. In any event, it is a huge game and as history suggests, the Kangas have every reason to be nervous. Let's hope the milestone is not a millstone.

4. Greater Western Sydney is still hanging around. The Giants have snapped out if their mid-season trough and are entrenched in the eight by a game and some percentage. It's not about style points for the Giants as they rack up the wins, but they have soldiered on admirably and while we hate to compare them to the Suns of 2014, the contrast is stark. Every week one of their young guns steps up to shine and this week it was Devon Smith with four goals. Next Saturday in Canberra against the Cats will be massive.

5. There was an air of resignation about Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley on Saturday evening. "We're a little bit off the best sides at the moment. Are we surprised by that? Are you surprised by that? I don't think so," he said when asked to assess his side at the end of a tough month that saw the Pies go 0-4 against Fremantle, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and West Coast. They had chances to win the first three – particularly against the Hawks – but were never really looked like beating the Eagles, particularly after Travis Cloke went off with a calf injury early in the first term.

Now 8-7, the Pies are probably back to where we thought they were at the start of the season, on the fringes of the eight. The issue now is scoring power. How are the Pies going to manufacture winning scores without their best power forward?

6. ANZ Stadium. The AFL was smart enough to invest in the stadium in Sydney's west when it was built, so that it could be configured as an oval-shaped stadium when required. But for footy, it might have passed its useful working life. Now that the SCG seats 46,000 you can only imagine it filling to capacity for, say, a preliminary final against a really big club, such as Collingwood, Richmond or Hawthorn. It is now totally adequate to cater for the demands of the Swans and the AFL, so the League should cut its losses, tear up the contract and abandon ANZ Stadium immediately. The condition in which it was presented for the Swans-Hawks on Saturday night was an outrage. 

QUESTION TIME


Ashley Browne: The record is 19, laid by Jude Bolton of the Sydney Swans in round 3 2011 against West Coast. Ablett laid 17 on Saturday at Metricon on Saturday against GWS and while the Suns didn't get the points, their skipper did turn on a masterclass in leadership with 30 disposals (14 contested possessions) and three goals. You'll want to watch that goal where he tackled Nick Haynes, dispossessed him, gathered the ball and goaled all in the one action, time and time again. The great man is back and I'm not sure why we ever doubted him.

Gary Ablett's masterclass against the Giants. Source: AFL Live Official App

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