Our AFL experts tackle some of the burning questions ahead of Round 6, including how to fix the umpire dissent rule, the key forward we would build around and the non-finalist from 2021 we believe in most.
How do we fix the umpire dissent rule?
Rohan Connolly: By being realistic about what constitutes dissent, and more fundamentally, what level of demonstrative objection actually helps turn potential umpires off the caper, which was the somewhat alarmist proposition at the heart of this crackdown. Players speaking aggressively to umpires with genuine anger is dissent and punishable. The mere questioning of a decision, regardless of gesticulation which accompanies it, isn't. The fact that a couple of similar incidents at the weekend escaped unpunished indicates the umpires aren't too fussed by arms out or the pointing to a replay.
Jake Michaels: I'm all for a 50m penalty being paid for verbal abuse, but come on, players reacting and holding their palms out after a woeful decision has been replayed on the big screen should not warrant any penalty. Right now, the interpretation of the rule is embarrassing, and I think the AFL is fully aware. Just keep it simple; 50m penalty for arguing or verbally abusing an umpire. That's it. Players still need to be able to communicate with them and ask why certain decisions were made.
Matt Walsh: Maybe employ some common sense? Honestly, some of the decisions on the weekend were frankly laughable. Abuse, sure, pay the 50, but for raising the arms, and asking a question? Come on, I don't think even the umps would want to pay that.
Jarryd Barca: I'm all for protecting and respecting umpires, but hasn't this rule already been somewhat of a disservice if its aim was to 'crackdown on abuse'? Fans are more outraged than they've ever been! How do we fix it? We don't. Like any rule, it's up to the umpires to make consistent interpretations throughout games and rounds and adjudicate any disrespect being thrown towards them. More public clarity on what's allowed and what isn't would work wonders so it doesn't appear they're just picking and choosing, but I must admit we're treading a fine line by asking the umpires to police natural human emotions - let's hope common sense can prevail so a contentious 50m penalty doesn't cost a side a premiership...
Which non-finalist from 2021 do you believe in most?
RC: Would probably be St Kilda. Since that lacklustre first round loss to Collingwood, the Saints have been very solid and, at times, like against Hawthorn, explosive. Carlton has had some big moments, but is perhaps a bit more vulnerable when the tide turns against it. Fremantle? The Dockers did lose to St Kilda at home, and until the second half against Essendon, I hadn't seen much of a higher gear. Will be interesting to see if that sparks something for them.
JM: The lack of run late in games is a huge concern but I still think the Blues are the team that can do the most damage in September, of sides that didn't play finals last year. Carlton's put together an elite midfield group featuring Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh, Matt Kennedy, George Hewett and others, plus they boast one of the competition's best key forward duos in Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow. If they stay healthy and can sort out some of these fitness issues, few will want to face them late in the year.
MW: Carlton, Fremantle, and St Kilda aren't consistent enough for me to say I 'trust' them, and there are good and bad attributes for all of them. Carlton's percentage (and inability to run out games) is a concern, while I'm not sure St Kilda or Fremantle have come up against sides that will really test them (for what it's worth, the Saints won their Round 2 match-up in Perth). Spin the wheel ... I'll pick the Saints because they played finals in 2020 and the Max King factor.
JB: I picked Carlton as my biggest riser this year and although they could easily be 1-4 as opposed to 4-1 had luck been against them, there is still plenty to like about the way Michael Voss has them playing. They're an elite, deep and ferocious midfield group that rightly backs itself in with confidence, have one of the best forward line combinations in the comp led by key pillars Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow and a new-look defensive system that, although exploited at times in the early stages of the year, should hold them in good stead as we progress through the season with minor tweaks here and there. They're coughing up big leads, sure, but good teams find ways to win and Voss has three-quarters of the season left to shore things up.
Which key forward would you build a team around?
RC: Max King. He's not even 22 yet, he's averaging 3.2 goals per game, and there's something about his capacity to get on a roll and slam on bursts of goals which suggests genuine match-winning capacity. Sure, his actually kicking for goal could improve, but that's very doable. If you knew King was going to be your spearhead for the next 10 years, you'd be pretty confident scoring wasn't going to be an issue.
JM: Give me Aaron Naughton. He still needs some refining but his upside is seriously insane. At 22, he's already one of the league's best contested marks and commands a massive amount of attention in the Bulldogs forward line. He's also a threat at ground level and some say he's an even better key defender, which gives him an edge over some of the other young key forwards. If he can become a somewhat reliable kick for goal -- which I think he can -- he'll be the player most teams would want to build around.
MW: I've already pumped up Max King in this column, so let's do it again. They guy has the reach, the smarts, and the skills to deliver week-in, week-out. Getting some capable crumbers around him makes him a better forward and teammate, and I think the Saints have done a great job at giving King all the tool he needs to be a long-term player at that club.
JB: Right now, I'd have to say the current Coleman leader Max King just ahead of McKay, given he'll be at the peak of his powers for a tad longer. He's just a polarising figure who has an enormous capacity to mark overhead, a sky-high leap no defender can curtail and elite kick in front of goal. King's upside is ridiculous, he's booted at least one major in each of his last 15 AFL matches and I firmly believe he will end up the best player from the 2018 AFL draft (sorry, Walshy).
Who has been the most impressive player through five rounds?
RC: Christian Petracca. Totally unsurprising choice, obviously, but I suspect he's still actually managing to improve, the Dustin Martin-like presence about him growing by the game. You just know when Petracca gets the ball Melbourne is going to inflict damage on the opposition, and while it's early days still, his disposal, inside 50, score involvement averages as well as metres gained are all up on last year. He's an absolute champion.
JM: I have just one player potentially polling Brownlow votes in all five games: Andrew Brayshaw. The young Docker has had a sensational start to the season, averaging 30 disposals per game and doing it on the inside and outside. Brayshaw's form is one of the main reasons Fremantle is 4-1, and that's without skipper Nat Fyfe suiting up once. If Brayshaw can add a few more goals to his game, he will move himself into the super elite category. Still, if the season finished now, he's the first picked in the All-Australian team.
MW: Can I change the question ever so slightly, and nominate Will Brodie as the most impressive offseason recruit through five rounds? A bargain from the Suns (and very possibly a salary dump), he's become a contested ball beast for the Dockers, and -- while a different type of player -- has filled the hole left by Adam Cerra when he left for the Blues. Averaging 27 disposals, five tackles, seven clearances and 14 contested possessions through five games? Big tick.
JB: Tell you what, I've loved watching mullet man Jack Sinclair tear games apart this season, to my -- and probably many's -- surprise. The drive he generates from defence and link up work with his midfield group has been incredible and he's a major reason behind the Saints' rapid rise after five rounds. The 27-year-old is rated elite for possessions (27.2), metres gained (493.5), clearances (3.2), score involvements (5.4), and pressure acts (17) this year and is playing his architectural role to perfection. If he isn't currently in the All-Australian side, I'll go he.