Round 17 of the 2023 AFL season has played out and Nathan Buckley has put together his five takeaways in The Buck Stops Here.
Essendon’s improvement, Carlton’s expectations, Melbourne’s performances and the evenness of the competition were on Buckley’s mind after Round 17 on SEN Breakfast.
Read his thoughts below:
All credit to Essendon and gun skipper Merrett
I loved the Essendon versus Adelaide game yesterday and one of the reasons is because I really rate Adelaide.
Their (Essendon’s) pressure was high, they controlled the ball, and the coach was wrapped with what they put out yesterday, but even more about what they are potentially going to see in the future.
I want to single out Zach Merrett … his impact looks profound.
All credit to him.
Read more: BUCKLEY LAUDS MERRETT AS COMPETITIVE DONS TEACH CROWS A LESSON
How will Carlton perform now that finals are back in the picture?
“Number two for me is Carlton, three wins in a row, three 10 goal wins in a row.
“Yes, the leaders are playing better … but the expectation is a big one for me … their leaders have performed when the expectation has gone altogether, their season was done and dusted.
“Now they're back in the mix, what impact does that have on them?
“It's fascinating.”
Read more: IS CARLTON BACK IN THE FINALS RACE OR HAVE THEY LEFT THEIR RUN TOO LATE?
There’s real concerns about Melbourne despite St Kilda win
“Melbourne, I have real concerns about them.
“They beat a St Kilda side who had three players out really quickly.
“They haven't kicked over 80 points in seven games.”
Read more: MELBOURNE’S PREMIERSHIP CREDENTIALS QUESTIONED DESPITE ST KILDA WIN
The next two weeks will be crucial in even competition
“Four is about how tight the competition is.
“I think of eight-point games or mini elimination finals, you want to view it this weekend alone.
“Sydney plays the Western Bulldogs, Gold Coast play St Kilda, Geelong play Essendon at GMHBA - I think that's going to be fascinating, Adelaide play GWS who have won four in a row.
“That's four of our nine games this round (that are eight-point games).
“Go to Round 19, Essendon play the Western Bulldogs, Freo play Sydney, GWS play Gold Coast, Melbourne play Adelaide.
“It keeps going, we will look back at these at these rounds and I think this is as fascinating a season as I can imagine.
“It went from five to 14 two weeks ago (positions that were up for grabs), but I reckon it goes from four to 15 now.
“Melbourne are 10 wins and then you've got Fremantle that are on seven and Sydney they're on 6.5 marginally.
“Percentage could have an impact, but you're just going to have to win games against teams that see themselves at your level and they’re eight-point games because if you give those four points up, it's going to be hard to catch those teams.”
Port Adelaide are full of guts and determination
“Point number five I've got Port Adelaide, I just think it was old fashioned G and D … that’s exactly what it was, guts and determination.
“13 wins in a row, they really ground out the first four or five of those in determination.
“I think the bloke that, the bloke that embodies that for me is Sam Powell-Pepper.
“He didn't have a massive game (against Gold Coast), he's a combative player … they've got players that will step up when challenged.
“Gold Coast at their best can be hard to beat, when they come to play.
“They (the Suns) got a little bit of momentum and that's what they had in the first half, admittedly Port were at home, but they had to arrest that momentum.
“I reckon the 13th win in a row is hard to do because when you've got all of those 12 there you think all of the sudden a loss is going to come.
“(Dan) Houston, (Zak) Butters, (Connor) Rozee, (Charlie) Dixon on one leg and (Jeremy) Finlayson are playing really well, they’ve got role players everywhere.
“All credit to them and all credit to Kenny (Hinkley) for being able to withstand that expectation and pressure.
“Others have wilted under it, but they actually dug deep and got stronger and I'm impressed watching them go about it.”