The Buck Stops Here.
Nathan Buckley has gone through his four biggest takeaways from the first week of the finals series.
Buckley highlighted the key elements of finals - composure, pressure, moments and matchups.
Luke Ryan and Fremantle’s composure
“The first thing finals are about is composure and the Dockers showed that.
“The guy I want to highlight is Luke Ryan. He seems to float under the radar.
“Ryan is one of five Dockers players who have over 100 games of experience. You’ve got David Mundy, Michael Walters, James Aish, Blake Acres and Ryan.
“Outside that, that side is as young and inexperienced as any that you would choose to see.
“Where’s the leadership and composure come from?
“I just reckon Ryan is that for the Dockers. He’s an absolute rock, he’s good in the air, I think he’s underrated.
“That performance was as strong as any over the weekend.
“It was a phenomenal effort.
“I expect a really strong showing from them against Collingwood who is going to put fierce pressure on them.”
Finals are about pressure
“That (pressure) is what we saw in the Geelong v Collingwood game.
“Defensively, Geelong are (ranked) number one for points against and number one for inside 50s against. So, just defensively rock solid.
“In the six weeks leading into that game, Collingwood were seventh for points against and three for inside 50s against, which is solid.
“Geelong a big tick there and Collingwood a little way off.
“Offensively, Geelong number one for points and two for scores inside 50 over the last six weeks.
“Collingwood number 12 for points aggregate for and number 15 for scoring from their inside 50s. A massive difference in offensive profile.
“There’s only three phases - defence, offence and contest.
“In the six weeks leading into that game, Geelong were number five for contested possession differential and number nine for clearance. So, that’s middling.
“Collingwood were 18 and 18 in those two areas.
“For territory and inside 50 differential, Geelong were number one, and Collingwood number 15.
“So, with all of those things, you ask how well can Collingwood compete based on the last six weeks of performance?
“The answer is in the intangibles. The only statistical thing going into that outside the energy and belief that you see was pressure.
“That’s exactly why all those numbers are irrelevant when it comes to any team really, because when you can put pressure on the opposition and challenge the way they play.
“Collingwood imposed that (pressure), but Geelong’s response was outstanding. They were amazing.
“That was a great game of footy. It had everything.”
Significant moments in the Melbourne v Sydney game
“The Franklin-Petracca moment where he got his leg kicked, I thought that was significant for the Demons.
“Clayton Oliver had a breakout game in terms of kicking goals and having direct goal assists, he had more impact from a scoreboard perspective than he’s had, but he didn’t have his wingmen with him.
“That’s another quiet one Petracca has had against the Swans this year. He’s got excuses with the knock he received, but you’ve got to find a way. He’s going to have to lift (next week).
“The other big moment was the rundown of Robbie Fox and the Sydney defenders who got back. It looked like a certain Melbourne goal.
“During the play, it was that impactful, it was that significant, whoever had the button turned the lights on. The players were trying to continue play, the ball was in play, but the lights were going crazy.
“That added to the spectacle as well.
“The May-Franklin free kick and 50-metre penalty was a catalyst moment, it definitely shifted momentum.”
The Starcevich v Bolton matchup and nobody to take Neale
“Brandon Starcevich came back into the side, and he didn’t play in the earlier game where Richmond ran over the top of Brisbane.
“Shai Bolton was amazing in that game, but look at Starcevich’s job on Bolton. He won’t get a lot of credit for it. Bolton only had three touches after half-time and that particular (one on one) contest takes a match-winner out of it.
“In a high-scoring, high-transition game, you expect Bolton to be a guy that’s going to get on the end and have a real impact.
“Starcevich had a fair bit of work to do, and for a large part, he took Bolton out of the game.
“Lachie Neale was exceptional.
“They (Richmond) don’t have a player, outside of Jack Graham who was injured, schooled up to do that and it cost them.”