ESSENDON'S win against a previously undefeated Geelong on Saturday night was a stirring upset win you'd expect most clubs to celebrate in style. Especially when you consider that by defeating the Cats, the Bombers snapped a five-game losing streak.
But in Monday's Age Rohan Connolly wrote that Essendon coach James Hird was at pains to bring his players back to earth as quickly as possible.
Connolly said Hird indulged in a fist pump and a broad smile before the players filed into the rooms after the final siren but soon reverted to killjoy status.
"It's one win. It's one win. I don't want to see any backslapping," Hird told his players.
Connolly said Hird and the revamped coaching panel he brought to Windy Hill late last year had identified that the Bombers playing group was too comfortable with its modest record of recent years and had a tendency to lift against better sides and then drop off against sides further down the ladder.
Hird would no doubt have been mindful on Saturday night of his team's looming match-up with 13th-placed Richmond this weekend, exactly the type of encounter for which the Bombers have dropped their guard in the past.
Hird was a fierce and proud competitor as a player, so it should be no surprise he is trying to instil the same values in his players.
Connolly noted Hird has maintained a constant demeanour throughout Essendon's up-and-season 2011. When the Bombers rocketed up the ladder to sit third after eight rounds, Hird refused to get overexcited, just as he has refused to panic as they have struck engine troubles in recent weeks.
Clearly, Hird is under no illusions about where the Bombers sit in the AFL pecking order - they are a developing side yet to prove they can regularly compete with the competition's big boys.
But with Hird at the helm, Essendon may bridge that gap sooner rather than later.
Tigers' ruck woes
It's been widely reported Richmond is hoping to snare an experienced opposition ruckman at the end of this season.
In recent weeks, the Tigers have been linked with Brisbane Lion Mitch Clark and Power tall Jackson Trengove, while North Melbourne's Hamish McIntosh and Carlton's Shaun Hampson have also been identified as possible targets.
Monday's Herald Sun underlined why Richmond is so keen to bolster its ruck stocks. In his weekly column Stats Confidential, Mark Stevens unveiled some statistics that would have had Tigers fans choking on their corn flakes.
Based on team differentials against direct opponents, the Tigers rank 16th for hit-outs and hit-outs to advantage and 17th for scores from clearances.
But Stevens said the most telling measure of the effectiveness of a team's ruck division was the differential for centre bounce clearances. And this told an equally grim tale for the Tigers.
Tyrone Vickery, who is increasingly playing as a forward, had the best record of the Tigers' main three ruckman at centre bounces, with Richmond having won 31 and lost 33 of the clearances at centre bounces he has contested - a -2 differential.
But regular ruckmen Andrew Browne and Angus Graham have been less effective. The Tigers have won 49 clearances and lost 67 (-18) when Browne has contested centre bounces, and won 88 and lost 120 (-32) when Graham has done so.
Stevens said Browne and Graham rank last on the list of regular ruckmen in centre-square clearance differentials. In comparison, Carlton is +37 in clearances when Robbie Warnock takes the centre bounce and North Melbourne is +28 when Todd Goldstein does so.
We will see just how determined Richmond is to land a tall fish at this year's trade period.
Hunt a leader for the Suns
Karmichael Hunt has taken some big strides for Gold Coast on the field this season. In his first full season of Australian Football, Hunt has struggled at times in his transition from rugby, but by and large his development in defence has been encouraging.
It seems Hunt is having an even more profound impact for the Suns off the field. As the most recognisable Suns face among Queenslanders, Hunt has been front and square in the Suns' quest to win the hearts and minds of Gold Coast locals.
But less visible is the leadership Hunt is showing off the field. As a former rugby league international, Hunt knows what is required to succeed in elite sport. Now he has stepped in to try and help the Suns' No. 2 pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft, Harley Bennell, make his way from outstanding junior to AFL player.
The West Australian 18-year-old has struggled to adjust to the demands of AFL football this year and was suspended by the club recently after missing a training session when he returned late from Perth following the Suns' round 11 match against West Coast.
Last week, Hunt stepped in to help Bennell get back on track, inviting the youngster to come and live with him and his partner, Emma Harding, in an effort to curb his homesickness.
"It is common knowledge that Harley hasn't been travelling the best of late and there are a few things the club want him to fix up in his personal life and his application to training," Hunt told The Courier-Mail.
"We feel that for Harley to come and live with us we can provide a little bit of what he may be missing from home."
In short
Sydney Swans veteran Ryan O'Keefe says the Swans will be "kidding themselves" if they can't snap their current three-game losing streak against Gold Coast on Saturday night, The Daily Telegraph reports. Still smarting after the Swans' round 15 loss to Adelaide, O'Keefe said: "The next month is crucial to our finals aspirations. We have to be really ruthless on ourselves and our preparation and make sure we hit this next month as ferocious as we (can)."
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has defended the lucrative performance-based salary packages of AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and his fellow executives, saying the competition's administrative costs didn't take "that much" out of the game's overall revenue pool, The Age reports. McGuire also said it was important the terms of the 2012-16 Collective Bargaining Agreement did not affect the AFL's ability to make multi-million dollar investments, such as the proposed plan of take ownership of Etihad Stadium ahead of schedule.
Adelaide's win against the Sydney Swans on Saturday night may delay the Crows putting in a call to former Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos, The Advertiser's chief football writer Michelangelo Rucci says. Rucci said Adelaide's inner-sanctum regarded Roos as the "best option" should the club decide to replace Neil Craig as coach at the end of this season. But he said Craig had bought himself some relief from recent intense scrutiny and could argue Saturday's win showed he retained the attention and respect of his playing group.
The Western Bulldogs will continue to play Callan Ward for the rest of the season whether or not he decides to join Greater Western Sydney, the Herald Sun reports. Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade said he would not drop Ward if he knew he had committed to GWS.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
