You can't fake class

You can't fake class

Less than 36 hours after admitting he cheated to get Jordan Lewis suspended and being labelled the league's worst stager, Bomber Angus Monfries returned a career-high 35 touches against the Crows. It was a stirring performance in an important win, and featured a stack of contested footy. Monfries "played like a man", said Essendon coach James Hird on Friday night. Not a bad start to getting your reputation back on track.

Live footy on TV can't come soon enough

Sunday's game at the Gabba had just about everything. Eight goals from bullocking Cat forward James Podsiadly. A buccaneering display by the Lions, who only flagged when captain Jonathan Brown was carted from the ground after yet another sickening collision. For much of the afternoon there existed the possibility that Geelong might lose their third league game in a row; something the Cats have avoided since rounds 8-10, 2006. What a pity then for Cat and Lions fans that Channel Seven opted to delay their telecast in favour of an episode of Footy Flashbacks.

Daisy loves a stage

With the possible exception of Travis Cloke, no top-drawer Collingwood player has shown greater improvement this year than Dale Thomas. Last week Thomas towelled up North Melbourne so effectively that he may well earn three Brownlow votes despite being subbed in the second half. He underlined in Saturday's blockbuster against Carlton that he has no problem delivering in the big games, either. In the first quarter alone he had eight touches and five marks, including a screamer. Proving he has two of the biggest lungs in the game, he continued to feature at both ends of the ground and through the middle, and only upped his influence as the Pies sealed their fifth straight win over Carlton. Now if only he could fix his goalkicking. So erratic is Daisy in front of the sticks that nailing this 45m set shot was something not even his teammates would have bet on.

This is what the future looks like ...

If crystal balls or tea leaves aren't your bag, try this passage of play as Gold Coast came home with the wind against the Tigers in Cairns. Zac Smith gave to Gary Ablett, who found the versatile Danny Stanley, who kicked to David Swallow. Squeezed into the right half-forward pocket, Swallow casually turned Trent Cotchin and kicked the goal on his left to put the Suns seven points up.

... but not for Richmond

A month of mediocrity, fade-outs and reversion to Terry Wallace-era play has Tiger fans clogging the talkback lines and perhaps contemplating the deposit of ‘presents’ on the Punt Road doorsteps. It's hard to blame them. Richmond's regression was typified by their chipping and stopping with a six-goal gale at their backs in Saturday's third quarter. Coach Damien Hardwick admitted the side had lost their mojo. The next finals appearance for the good old Yellow and Black appears equally elusive.

Grubber kicks are a blight on the game

Is there anything more infuriating than watching a forward saunter into an open goal, only to fluff the shot because he opted to dribble it along the ground? Yes, today's players are better skilled than ever before. Yes, they can kick truly with an inside-out grubber off their wrong foot every time at training. And yes, these feats of skill regularly produce miraculous goals from the pocket that were previously the sole domain of Peter Daicos. But try telling all of that that to Demons coach Dean Bailey when Liam Jurrah missed a simple shot from 25m out because he didn't take the time to straighten up and kick a drop punt. It's little short of lairising and sooner rather than later it will cost a team an important game.

Stray thoughts

-    The search for Shinboner spirit can be called off. The missing party was found alive and well under the roof at Docklands on Sunday evening.

-    Carlton hit the post six times on Saturday afternoon. That could be considered unlucky if the Blues weren't also sometimes their own worst enemy. Jeff Garlett's poster after he decided to soccer a bouncing ball in the goal square was the most glaring example. A more composed player would have picked the ball up and kicked a gimme. It came at a pivotal time, with the Blues trailing by three goals seconds before three-quarter time.  

-    St Kilda has produced scoreless quarters twice in the past three weeks, winning both games. Imagine what Ross Lyon's men could do if they actually played out something resembling 120 minutes?

-    If Brownlow votes were awarded according to an individual's influence on the game, veteran umpire 'Razor' Ray Richards would have been best on ground at the SCG.

-    Nic Naitanui might lack the football smarts of, say, Chris Judd but that doesn't matter when you can rip the ball from a ruck contest, sprint away and snap a goal while the opposition is still waiting to shark a tap that never came. Just ask St Kilda's dumbstruck midfield.

The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of BigPond Sport.

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