ROUND SIX of the AFL isn’t over, we still have the ANZAC games of the Dees and Tigers tonight followed by the Pies and Dons tomorrow, but it is Monday and there are still some lessons to be learned for the Punters from the weekends’ footy.
So, without further or do, here’s a five-leg multi of footy hindsight we like to call AFL Five Lessons Learned.
(1) Saints can march in
Shout out to the EIGHT Ladbrokes punters, that’s right EIGHT Ladbrokes punters who backed St Kilda at $3.75 to make the top eight prior to the season starting at $3.75, not to mention the THREE punters who backed them to make top four at $10.
They’d be feeling pretty good right now, and it says a lot about peoples expectations about the Saints heading into season 2023.
Ever since Ross Lyon made his triumphant homecoming to Moorabbin all has been coming up Milhouse for the Saints.
The youth brigade is playing great footy, not to mention the likes of Brad Crouch and Seb Ross having a purple patch, and all of a sudden, the Saints can make the finals, actually bugger the finals – top 4, currently at $2 this is a great even money bet if current trends persist (or get them at $12 to win the flag, $9 to make the Grand Final)
Friday night footy looms for the Saints as they take on Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
It should be a beauty!
(2) Old, dark ordinary Blues
Carlton isn’t a good team, nor are they a bad team.
They are just ordinary.
A 22-point loss to St Kilda on Sunday, a 47-point loss to the Crows the week previous and some would argue that their wins this year haven’t really convinced the pundits out there that Vossy is taking the Blues back to the promised land.
The Blues remained in the contest for most of the match against the Saints, but let St Kilda run away with the game, with too much trying to be fancy and not enough trying to score.
Granted, Carlton should have an easy win over the Eagles at Optus this weekend (Carlton winning at Optus, sounds familiar) but with the likes of the Lions, Dogs, Pies, Swans and Dees coming up, the ordinary Blues better do something extraordinary if they want to be part or make in impact come September.
(3) Resume normal programming at the Cattery
So what if Geelong had a premiership hangover to begin the season.
The boys down at Kardinia Park have tucked into a Zinger box and a couple of blue powerades, had a nap, called in sick for work and are now back in the business of winning.
Some will argue that they’ve had easy opponents, but when you get back on the winners listd with an average winning margin of 74 points, thrash the Swans in your first home game of the season and have the likes of big Jezza Cameron up forward is averaging 4.5 goals, or is combining with the Tommahawk for five each…you’d reckon normal programming has resumed at the Cats.
(4) Dockers…more like Shockers!
Like the fool that I am, I was one of the people who had Freo in their top eights this season.
Big mistake that was.
Freo are just awful.
This time last year, we were talking Flagmantle, and there was a purple fairytale waiting to happen, but boy did we drink the Docker kool aid.
Freo is just, well, no good.
The signs were there when the Dockers beat lowly West Coast in the Western Derby.
They couldn’t even beat a team who was down to 16 men on the ground until the last 10 minutes of the match and carried on like they won the Grand Final (of which they’ve never done)
Fremantle appears to have talent, but they ain’t showing it at the moment.
With a tough month ahead, you can pretty much stick a fork in the Dockers – they’re done.
(5) Charlie Cameron has won goal of the Year
If Charlie Cameron doesn’t win goal of the year, yet alone goal of the week I think it’s time we scrap democratic voting for these awards.
Big bags are back at the moment and Charlie along with his motorbike mixed with John Denver singalongs are all the rage.
Cameron booted seven and could get a call up for the Socceroos with this effort.
If only Brenton Speed was in the commentary box to give that moment full Riley McGree treatment it would have been fitting.
It’s as though if your surname is Cameron at the moment, you’re going to kick a bag every week.
Charlie Cameron is averaging 3.3 goals a game, and in the past three weeks has had bags of seven against the Giants, four against North and six against Collingwood. He’s currently $21 to win the Coleman medal.
The Lions dynamic forward is back at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon with Country Roads cued up and ready to kick a few more against the Dockers.