AFL Round-Up: Gather Round verdict is in, with Bombers and Crows ready to shake up the season

The inaugural Gather Round gets the AFL’s seal of approval, and sets up the rest of the 2023 season with some significant results. 

Welcome to the AFL Round-Up, where we digest the week that was.

SA’s big gathering gets the tick of approval 

So that was Gather Round. I hope you enjoyed it, because it is here to stay.

The AFL’s newest showpiece weekend was declared an unqualified success almost before a ball had been bounced, and sparked what may turn out to be history’s shortest bidding war.

Discussions over the future hosts of such gatherings brought basically every other state into the mix, with WA, NSW, Queensland and Tasmania all having their respective virtues pitched, only for Gillon McLachlan and best mate Peter Malinauskas to swiftly sign locking SA in as host until at least 2026.

It raised the question of what all this is for. Are we doing it to try to take the game into corners of the country it hasn’t yet fully dominated? Are we throwing a belated bone to the heartland states that bailed the battling VFL out of its financial hole 35-odd years ago? Is it all just for the benefit of state governments?

Or are we just trying have a bit of fun here? Unlike other codes, the AFL is not wanting for money or attendance at its games, so it seems as if the whole point of the endeavour — from a fan’s perspective anyway — was to put on a bit of a show.

With that in mind, why not just keep it in South Australia? Adelaide is a lovely city with a fantastic footy ground, and the Hills are even sweeter. If we’re going to do it, sure, it may as well be there.

All weekend, the players and coaches were unanimous in their praise for the concept and you’d have to go a long way to find a fan on the scene in Adelaide who had a bad time.

For those watching on at home it was much of a muchness, but I guess the AFL would simply encourage those fans to get on a plane next year.

What did you think of Gather Round? Have your say and join the discussion live from 10:30am AEST.

In defeat, Saints pass the test

We waited all weekend to see how St Kilda would fare against Collingwood, in one of those rare top of the table clashes that had a clear favourite.

The results are in, and they’re pretty positive for the Saints. They didn’t come away with the win, but Ross Lyon’s side proved they are worthy of a seat at the top table.

One of the great surprises of St Kilda’s season has been their inclination for attacking flair, but this was never going to be a day for that. Up against the Magpies, it was time for some good old fashioned RossBall.

And hell, it worked for a long time. The Pies had a lot of the ball and a lot of entries, but struggled to penetrate the Saints’ defence and certainly weren’t able to break the game open with the run and flair we’ve become accustomed to.

St Kilda’s issue was going the other way, and so it is likely to stay this year against the very best sides unless Max King is able to return in top form in a few weeks. But up until the last quarter, the structure held up.

And almost more importantly, the belief never wavered. It was an ambitious late fightback against a Pies side who was in the process of nestling the cue in the rack, but it still spoke to the culture that is being built at St Kilda — they’re going to fight their way to the final siren, no matter the score.

Securing the Bombers’ lid

Brad Scott is doing everything he can to keep that lid on. But for a club like Essendon, who have been starved of days like this for so long, no amount of tape can keep that thing down.

Essendon’s solid start to the season had been buried somewhat by the St Kilda story and the early green shoots at North Melbourne, but no longer. The Bombers came of age in Adelaide, and as a result their equation has changed.

The Bombers matched Melbourne at ground level, which is no mean feat against the Demons. They went shoulder-to-shoulder in the scrap, especially when the rain fell, and proved the slicker and harder runners on the outside.

And in the air, it was something of a domination. At the back it was Jayden Laverde and Jordan Ridley controlling the skies, and everywhere else the ruckmen proved telling.

When Max Gawn went down injured, we forecast that while Brodie Grundy would fill the void adequately in many ways, it was Gawn’s ability to play defensive failsafe that would be the biggest move.

Sam Draper and Andrew Phillips couldn’t have proven that point any better. Grundy was unable and unwilling to match the big Bombers’ efforts, and the combined five goals from Essendon’s rucks proved the difference in the game.

Could we actually be set for a good game on Anzac Day? The play has so rarely matched the occasion on April 25, but the Bombers are well equipped to make a run at Collingwood this time around.

Around the grounds

There’s nothing better than watching a young team rise to an occasion, and boy howdy were the Crows a sight to behold on Thursday night. It’s no flash in the pan either, Adelaide have been better than their record suggests and are primed for a finals run.

Port Adelaide are getting a lot right at the moment. Two close ones have now fallen the right way, a tough start to the season has been negotiated at 3-2, and Ken Hinkley is doing all the right things with Jason Horne-Francis.

Richmond’s concerns are real and multi-faceted, but better teams than the Tigers would have fallen at the hands of Tom Papley on Friday night. The Swans have so many weapons, but Papley on song is the most deadly.

Was almost sad to see Gold Coast limp to defeat in the last quarter against Fremantle. The Dockers are hanging on by a thread too, but the Suns can ill afford another year of nothingness.

Go back and watch the last quarter of the Giants-Hawks game if you missed it. As intense as you’d expect, but at a quality defying the teams’ respective ladder positions.

The North Melbourne of old made their first appearance of the season against Brisbane. Joe Daniher and Eric Hipwood have never seen such space inside 50.

The Eagles of 2022 would have lost that game against Geelong by at least 80 points. They are still largely non-competitive and in for a long year, but that’s something I guess.

In the clubhouse

Here we take stock of who is leading the race for the season’s individual awards.

This week saw the first AFL meeting of Harry Sheezel and Will Ashcroft, and both played well without completely excelling.

We still have Sheezel leading the way, but are getting more anxious to see more of him away from the backline. He’s certainly capable of influencing games all over the ground.

Now the good stuff. Harry Himmelberg has just knocked Harry Himmelberg off the top of the mark of the year podium with his match-winning screamer against the Hawks.

This beats his round one effort not only because of the state of the game, but also because a pack speccy in the forward 50 is worth 10 hangers at half-back. It’s also just a better mark, and will surely end up our mark of the year.

For goal of the year, we’re going with Kyle Langford’s one-man effort from the boundary line, outbodying Steven May then skidding one from 50 in the wet.

Chad Wingard’s opening round goal is still our clubhouse leader.