Twelve months ago we weren’t sure if he had an AFL future after the intra-club incident with Cameron Cloke. He has played enough footy now and seems to understand the game a lot better. I love his competitiveness and he brings great energy to the Carlton side. He realises where to run these days.
Like Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly before him, I think we’ve found a gem from Ireland who will have a long career ahead of them. Setanta has kicked seven goals already this year and with the Blues looking for new avenues towards goal in the wake of Brendan Fevola’s departure, he could be set for a big year.
Clint Jones v Brent Harvey
I’d say Jones has gone past Cameron Ling as the hardest tagger to get a kick on and he certainly got the better of Brent Harvey on Saturday night. I reckon Harvey has got to find a new role. He’s over 30 and to have the No.1 tagger on him every week, it’s too much to ask of him. He should have played on Leigh Montagna on the weekend. If you get him to play on one of the opposition’s best players - and say Montagna finishes with a 16-possession game and Harvey gets 20 but uses it well - that is the role he should play. Either that or he should be playing more up forward. It’s time for guys like Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell and Liam Anthony to assume the mantle of getting the job done in the middle.
Recycled Saints
The Saints have copped a lot of criticism for the recruiting of Andrew Lovett but in fairness they have a great record of taking recycled players.
Michael Gardiner was also considered a very big risk when the Saints took him at the end of 2006 but he has rewarded them. Steven King has also had a good record, missing just a handful of games since he left Geelong.
Jason Gram was before Ross Lyon’s time but have a look at some of the more recent acquisitions. No one wanted to go near Zac Dawson and some had concerns about Farren Ray but he has turned into a very good player. Brett Peake was good on the weekend and will fit in. It’s a sign you have a good coach and a good system when you can turn around the careers of so many recycled players.
Melbourne
We’ve got to expect that we’ll get inconsistent performances from the Demons. That is just the nature of having so many players in that 0-50 game bracket.
But have a look at the players they’ve got in that bracket and there are some real promising signs for the future. Tom Scully, James Frawley, Jordan Gysberts, Jack Watts, Cale Morton and Jack Trengove are all first-round draft picks in the early stages of their careers and should become elite players.
Even players taken further down the draft like Austin Wonaeamirri, Addam Maric, Matthew Warnock, Ricky Petterd and Liam Jurrah have done some good things. If they can keep that group together through to at least the 70-100 game mark then you have a genuinely exciting list. Expect inconsistency but there is a glimpse of what it is going to be like.
Jonathan Brown
The Brisbane Lions’ captain was the big talking point in footy after taking Carlton apart on Thursday night. Over the weekend there has been plenty of media discussion about where he sits in comparison to the great centre half-forwards of all time. I still think Wayne Carey is ahead of him but Browny doesn’t look out of place as the runner-up.
My best five centre half-forwards of all time in order would be:
1. Carey: Led the Kangaroos to two flags and was the star of the competition in the 90s.
2. Brown: Has won the last three best-and-fairests and was the main man up forward when he was still a young player in the Lions’ three-peat.
3. Nick Riewoldt: Has won five best-and-fairests in a team that has been one of the competition’s best sides for much of his career.
4. Dermott Brereton: Was a super performer in the finals. It seemed that the bigger the occasion, the bigger the performance from the Hawthorn star.
5. Stephen Kernahan: One of the game’s great leaders and led the Blues to a flag in just his second year in the big league.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
