Suns at home under the dome
It took seven attempts for Gold Coast to register its first win at Etihad Stadium – now the Suns have two in a row. Like the 43-point domination over North Melbourne a fortnight ago, Gold Coast lapped up the serene conditions. The fast deck and absence of wind and rain suit the Suns game plan perfectly, especially with midfield speedsters such as Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia, Jarrod Harbrow and David Swallow.
It's scary to think Gold Coast has Jack Martin and first-round draft pick Henry Schade to come into the side.But Guy McKenna's men don't return to Docklands until Round 22 when they play Essendon.
Is there a role for Adam Goodes at Sydney?
Sydney's big-money forward is finally producing the goods and it is an absolute joy to watch Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin leave opposition defences hopeless. But the arrival of Franklin at the Swans was always going to limit the importance of some players in red and white. On evidence so far this season, that man is 34-year-old Adam Goodes. It took the dual Brownlow Medalist more than 30 minutes to collect his first possession in the Swans' huge win over Essendon. And the 34-year-old was subbed out early in the last term with just seven touches, including a goal awarded from a 50-metre penalty. Fellow key forward Sam Reid also had a quiet match.
Roos' impact at Melbourne has been immense
When Paul Roos' illustrious coaching career ends, he will no doubt be remembered as the man that took Sydney to their drought-breaking premiership. But perhaps his time at Melbourne will be more significant. He has managed to turn the Demons from a basket-case into a very competitive side. Their efforts in the past six weeks are the best they have shown for years and wins against Carlton, Adelaide and Richmond have been the reward.
While they still struggle to kick big scores, it has been their defensive and tackling pressure that has been the most pleasing. Against Richmond on Saturday, key forwards Chris Dawes and Cam Pedersen had eight tackles each. They are extraordinary efforts for big men and must be a testament to Roos and his coaching style. Roos has really put his stamp on the footy club and the board should be doing everything in their power to ensure he stays for a third year.
It's all about attitude for North
Brad Scott's post-match comments after his side slaughtered an under-manned Brisbane on Saturday may have been more revealing than he intended. Scott said: "We're in a group of teams where if we drop our guard we get beaten by anyone. I was really concerned today when (Tom) Rockliff and (Joel) Patfull were taken out of the Brisbane side. As a coach complacency's the hardest thing to guard against and we really wanted to make sure that we were on our game and that's a consistent message cos if we're slightly off we look mediocre. I'm fortunate we've got some pretty compelling statistics which tell the story. When we don't hold up our end of the bargain in the contest we get beaten by anyone."
The problem for North fans is that there's two ways of looking at that and neither are all that good. The first way is that Scott may be offering up a little mis-information there. Maybe his side isn't quite good enough to match it with the competition's big guns despite some good wins this season against Freo and Sydney. But maybe he's diverting attention away from the fact his side aren't quite up there with a comment about intensity, refocussing on that rather than the overall quality of the club's list. The other way of looking at this is that good sides apply the same intensity each week regardless of opposition. You just need to look at Hawthorn. So if North aren't doing the same thing, they're probably an also-ran in 2014.
Crowley v Johnson
Every time Fremantle play Geelong there always seems to be an off-the-ball incident to look at. There may be no Matthew Scarlett there for Hayden Ballantyne to antagonise, but when Ballantyne doesn't annoy the Cats, Ryan Crowley does. Crowley has been enduring a tougher season so far as his standards slipped somewhat, his efforts aligning with a Dockers' form slump. But both Crowley and his team-mates were back to their best against Geelong on Saturday night. As Channel 7 ran a Thursday night poll asking whether Brent Macaffer is now the league's no.1 stopper, Crowley reminded them all who's boss as he completely obliterated Steve Johnson, restricting him to just nine kicks.
Johnson didn't take it well either and his mini head-butt on Crowley – not to mention an elbow to Michael Barlow's head – could land him in hot water with the MRP. If it does, Johnson's carryover points and poor record will see him miss a vital Friday night lash with North Melbourne. The Cats need much more discipline from their major playmaker, especially as their long injury list doesn't allow them the luxury of having too many players on the pine. But the enture team also has to play a role in helping Stevie J beat the tag.