How good is finals footy?
We had thrillers, statement wins, controversy, magic moments and plenty of talking points from this weekend’s four games.
Here’s what we learned from finals week one:
Dees are the team to beat
Melbourne made a statement in their win over Brisbane on Saturday, leading from effectively start to finish to win by 33 points.
Coming into the game as ladder leaders, some would say it was expected, but I believe this win truly cements everything they’ve done so far this campaign.
Their brand stood up to Brisbane’s test in the third term, and ultimately it looks like they’re built for finals football.
They have stars all over the park, and are set to face the winner of Geelong v GWS in two weeks’ time.
You could argue they’re on the better side of the draw, and as a result have a golden opportunity to make the big dance.
They’re rightfully the number one seed, and at this stage, our flag favourites with just three weeks remaining.
Geelong’s week one struggles continue
Well, we’ve come to expect this from Geelong.
Unfortunately for Chris Scott, Friday night’s loss to Port Adelaide takes his week one finals record to 1-8 since their 2011 premiership.
It’s becoming an all too familiar tale for the Cats - roll into finals as one of the league’s best teams, but come out of it with many claiming their run as contenders is over.
Obviously, it’d be pretty reckless to write them off having seen them ease through last year’s semi and preliminary finals, but it’s going to be very tough from here.
While Jack Henry was a shining light down back, they clearly missed All-Australian Tom Stewart’s presence, with the Power scoring at ease in the first and second terms.
They take on the Giants next week, and they’ll be needing to recapture something near their best if they’re to make it to preliminary final weekend again.
Sydney fail to cover for Kennedy and Mills
This one would hurt Sydney fans.
After a year of such promise, to go down by one-point is as gut wrenching as it gets.
Ultimately, in a game of margins as fine as Saturday’s, one or two changes could easily have flipped the outcome.
While they weren’t embarrassed on ball, they clearly looked below their best without Callum Mills and Josh Kennedy, and that will go down as the key reason for why they weren’t able to win a final in 2021.
Having dominated inside 50s and even having four more shots on goal, John Longmire would be certain that even having one of his star midfield duo would have made all the difference.
In saying that, they shouldn’t be disappointed with how their season played out, and with their list in the shape it’s in, they’ll be back at this point in years to come.
Wines and Oliver are made for finals footy
When you think of finals football you think of tough, contested, hard games with neither team willing to give an inch in their desperation to win.
As a result, players that usually stand up in these games are those that win their own ball, and use it with effect, and Ollie Wines and Clayton Oliver do that so, so well.
With both having genuine Brownlow claims this year, they continued their form beautifully in their respective qualifying finals to carry their sides to victory.
Both Wines and Oliver had 33 disposals, and combined they had an astonishing 18 score involvements as their touches often turned to gold.
With Port Adelaide and Melbourne through to respective home preliminary finals, the only chance we have of these two-matching up is in the big one…just imagine how good that would be.
Two midfield bulls in the form of their lives duelling for premiership glory.
Make it happen, footy gods.
Bombers fans should be pleased with their 2021 campaign
While they again fell in finals, Essendon supporters should be ultimately happy with how their 2021 season transpired.
Predicted by many as a potential wooden spoon chance at the start of the season, playing finals alone with this young list should be something that’s commended.
The team they lost too aren’t slouches either, with the Bulldogs being fancied as perhaps the best team in the competition for a fair chunk of the year.
With Ben Rutten leading this exciting side to finals in just his first year at the helm, Bombers fans should be bullish about where this list can go in years to come.
It’ll hurt now, but in a day or two you’d imagine this season will be one that’s looked back on fondly.