Each week of the 2024 AFL season, ESPN.com.au's Jake Michaels looks at six talking points.
This week's Six Points features sound reasoning as to why Carlton's better than Geelong (despite the loss), reborn Max Gawn and his historical standing, the AFL's most underrated player, and more MRO nonsense.
1. Forget the score, Carlton's definitely a better team than Geelong
You can tell me to look at the final score -- and ladder -- all you like, but there's no way you'll convince me the Cats are a better football team than the Blues in 2024.
On Saturday afternoon at the MCG, Carlton dominated Geelong in just about every major area. The Blues finished +35 in disposals, +21 in inside 50s, +19 in contested possessions, +6 in clearances, and had more shots at goal, yet inefficiency forward of centre meant it was the Cats celebrating at fulltime.
Since 2003, there had been 191 instances (not including this effort from the Blues) of teams enjoying such stark advantages in these areas. The win-loss record of those sides was 187-4.
Champion Data's expected scores tell us the Cats should have won the game by just three points instead of 13, but even that feels incredibly generous to Geelong. My eyes tell me the game wasn't remotely close.
Accuracy, or in Carlton's case, inaccuracy, fluctuates week to week. The numbers would suggest that if you played this game 10 times, the Blues win seven or eight of them, at the very least!
For all of those reasons, I'm not concerned about Carlton and its premiership aspirations. In my mind, they remain far more likely than the Cats to go all the way this season. In fact, I'd go further. Sydney, GWS, Melbourne and Carlton are all better premiership chances in 2024 than Geelong. Stick that in your time capsules.
2. Reborn Max Gawn staking his claim as the best ruck ... ever?
Melbourne's decision to sign Brodie Grundy ahead of season 2023 will go down as one of the biggest footy failures of the modern era. It's not that Grundy flopped as a Demon -- though he certainly failed to live up to the hype and expectation many placed on him -- it's that his arrival stifled generational teammate and club captain Max Gawn.
With Gawn and Grundy sharing ruck responsibilities, neither was able to flourish and Melbourne's up-and-down season ultimately fizzled out with a second successive unceremonious straight sets finals exit.
But credit to the Demons for all but admitting the move had been a bust when ahead of Round 18 last year they opted to sit Grundy and hand the fulltime ruck duties back to Gawn. That night, Gawn exploded for 29 disposals, 21 contested possessions, 10 clearances, and a goal, once again reminding the footy world he's easily the No. 1 ruck in the game.
Ever since then, the six-time All-Australian has been on an absolute tear. He's averaging 16.9 Rating Points per game, easily the best among rucks and good enough to rank him as the sixth-best player in the league, behind only Marcus Bontempelli, Matt Rowell, Isaac Heeney, Tom Green, and Christian Petracca. For comparison, Gawn averaged 12.3 Rating Points in games played alongside Grundy last year, ranking him 60th in the league.
So where does he sit among his ruck contemporaries? I don't have an exhaustive list -- at least not yet -- but it's pretty clear he's now well and truly secured a place on the AFL ruck Mount Rushmore. Does he finish his career as the best to ever do it? We'll have to wait and see...
3. The AFL's approach to incident assessment is a joke
Oh boy. Where to even start with this one...
By now I'm guessing you all know my thoughts on the AFL's controversial judicial system. For those of you that aren't up to speed, let me fill you in: it's trash!
Jack Higgins copping a three-game suspension for tackling Aliir Aliir is yet another example of why the entire system needs to be blown up and rebuilt from the ground up. If Aliir hadn't have been concussed from the tackle -- one which started to slip off as he was heading for the turf -- Higgins would have absolutely no case to answer.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and MRO Michael Christian had no choice but to follow the laughable guidelines and hand down the three-game penalty. Higgins had no luck getting the penalty reduced at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday evening and will miss upcoming games against the Kangaroos, Hawks, and Dockers.
Jack Higgins has been handed a three-match suspension for this tackle on Aliir Aliir.
— AFL (@AFL) April 27, 2024
Full details: https://t.co/knAkrZeKEX pic.twitter.com/oXt4yiPRwr
What the AFL is basically telling us is that luck isn't just a factor in determining the outcome of these incidents, it's the only factor. How is it fair that the exact same tackle, which doesn't leave a player concussed, doesn't carry a penalty? It isn't.
The league is right to want to discourage dangerous actions, be it tackling or bumps, but its current approach is only causing confusion and frustration among players and fans. Suspend the action, not the outcome.
4. It's time to say goodbye to the draw
I've never had an issue with the draw. Not one time. I've attended games that have ended in a draw, and watched dozens more on TV. It's always been a quirk of Aussie Rules football, at least during the home and away season, and until last week, it had never even occurred to me that we should continue playing until a winner is determined.
But last Thursday was different. For the first time in my life I was shattered to hear the fulltime siren sound and for there to be no winner. Collingwood and Essendon were locked on 85 points, having just played out one of the great Anzac Day clashes.
FACT: There have been 41 draws in the AFL since the beginning of 2000.
Scott Pendlebury, almost jokingly, suggested extra time should be played to determine a winner. Essendon skipper and Anzac Day medallist Zach Merrett agreed. In fact, I'd be stunned if any current player would rather end a game in a draw than play until a result. So why don't we do just that?
Outside tradition, there's absolutely no reason a game should end in a tie. It does absolutely nothing for the ladder, the players, or the fans, and it robs us of excitement. If the fulltime siren sounds and scores are level, it should be the old schoolyard rule of next score wins.
"Why are we stopping?" ⏰
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) April 30, 2024
Following the Collingwood vs Essendon draw on ANZAC day, the @FootyTips boys debate whether it is time for draws to be scrapped in favour of extra time.
Listen to the full pod now! 🎧 https://t.co/C4K8hAd38P pic.twitter.com/jIyLNFsnyL
5. Willem Drew is the AFL's most underrated player
Rory Laird and Zach Merrett have each held the title during their career, and for the last few seasons it's belonged to Tom Liberatore, but now, the AFL's most underrated and underappreciated player has to be Port Adelaide's Willem Drew.
He's not the flashiest, quickest, silkiest or most eye-catching. He's never polled a single Brownlow Medal vote and Champion Data will tell you as a centre bounce midfielder he doesn't rate 'elite' in any area, but what he does is contribute across the board -- particularly defensively -- show no weaknesses and play his role week in, week out.
This season, Drew is averaging 20 disposals, six tackles, five inside 50s, and four clearances per game. Good numbers, sure, but they aren't blowing anyone away. Yet he ranks 18th in the competition for total Rating Points per game (15.9), and only trails Zak Butters (16.3) at Port Adelaide. That in itself highlights the impact he has with ball in hand, as well as the defensive side of his game that often goes unnoticed.
Drew's game hasn't really changed over the last few years. He's winning a little more ball in 2024, but just about everything else has carried on from where it was last year. That's not a knock on him, rather an observation on how underrated he's been for quite some time!
6. Why can't Saturday at 4:35pm become a marquee timeslot?
Today's column began with a rant off the back of the Cats-Blues game, and I'm also going to close with a takeaway from that clash.
What a glorious sight it was to have 87,775 fans packing the MCG for the 4:35pm start on Saturday afternoon.
It might not be traditional primetime, but you have to love two marquee sides competing in this window. There's something about the game starting in daylight and ending in darkness which adds to the drama and atmosphere.
The free-to-air broadcaster has traditionally snubbed this timeslot, but it's clear fans are interested in big games that are scheduled at this time. Perhaps it's something that should be put on the radar, not just for next year's fixture, but also for the rounds that have yet to be unveiled later this year.