The Round 5 View From Shepparton

by Peter Schumacher

St Kilda is going from strength to strength, whilst the term “Port Power” is turning out to be an oxymoron. Same difference I suppose.

I suppose that the only point a losing coach can make  in this circumstance is that the result shows where his team really is in the  scheme of things. Yes, sadly, for some, the Power were outplayed, out gunned. If I were a St Kilda supporter as each week rolls on I would be feeling an increasing sense of disquiet, uneasiness, insecurity, “How long can these good times last?” At least it can be said that their start to the year has been a bit above average. I thought that the fact that Koschitzke wasn’t playing would have been a real loss but he seems to have been hardly missed. Just as a matter of interest, does any one, particularly in the Knackers clan actually know, or know of, a Port Power supporter?

Don’t think that many people would have expected Freo to get up but it just goes to show yet again how important it is for interstate teams to win their home matches because no matter how good you are (unless of course you are Geelong or St Kilda, or even dear old Adelaide at this stage) you are going to struggle to win away. Good to see Freo get started though and at last Pavlich got going.

The same goes for Richmond, felt really happy for Terry Wallace but of course a win for one means a loss for someone else, now Dean Laidley is under the microscope. I have to say that it would be interesting to see what might happen if  the same culture of calling a spade a spade when things go wrong for players, coaches or umpires was translated to the work place. Political correctness would go out of the window and workers would be taking stress leave in endemic proportions.

The Bombers win was fantastic particularly given that Lloyd and Lucas are totally out of form. You wouldn’t believe it but just when the last quarterr started my household had visitors so I missed it entirely, just my luck to miss out one of the most fantastic finishes in this Anzac Day rivalry. How good must Zaharakis be feeling right now. Got to wonder though how much longer Lloyd and Lucas can justify their places. Could be the instance in both cases of players not knowing when to retire. The general disapproval of Mick’s post match comments has been well documented. In general terms this game was an example of AFL at its scintillating best, and finally it was good to see that Joffa was made to look like a dill.

As the Hawthorn-West Coast game was played in Tassie it was largely a case of out of sight, out of mind, and it will always be so whilst they (Hawthorn) are the token AFL presence there. If I were a Taswegian I would be insulted by this arrangement frankly and I certainly would not be embracing the Hawks as a substitute for their own team. I suppose that Hawthorn got the four points so that they would be happy.

Adelaide had their third away win but Crows supporters should be depressed by the manner of their winning. How I wish that kicks backwards into defence could bring about a play on call, it would stop this time wasting nonsense in its tracks. By the way, “the” commentator on local ABC radio 97.7 Goulburn Murray posed and thus reminded me of the question, “Why is the SANFL called the SANFL”?

Carlton I would have thought surprised most of us, the Western Bulldogs are now really struggling, understandably I suppose given that they were without both of their Brownlow medalists. Meanwhile Carlton’s bubble will start to swell again.

My arms would not have been long enough to fit all the black arm bands required to express my feelings re Brisbane’s form. Sure they played a side that is white hot at their home suburban ground in atrocious conditions but I fear that the Lions have become the Bears of old, that is a team making up the numbers. The worst thing is that if say there are no replacement ruckmen on the horizon how on earth are they going to get players of any description when the Gold Coast gets going. Just hope that I am proved wrong by a succession of home wins for a start but to think even that is an act of supreme optimism at the moment. Of course one has to mention Ablett’s form again, how good is he?