Hawks face huge tests as Dons, Eagles battle injuries
HAWTHORN FACE DEFINING PERIOD
The 'Hollywood Hawks' were premiership favourites after starting the year 4-0, but the hype has dwindled following four defeats in their past seven games. After losing to reigning premier Brisbane, Hawthorn have more tough matches to come against Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide in a stretch that will shape their season.
BOMBERS FACE TALL ORDER
Already dealing with four season-ending injuries, and important talls Jordan Ridley and Harry Jones being sidelined long-term, Essendon lost Kyle Langford and Zach Reid against Richmond. Brad Scott and his coaching team will have to make some significant shifts in their line-up ahead of a tough trip to Brisbane on Thursday night.
CAVALRY COMING FOR HIGH-FLYING MAGPIES
After showcasing their depth and ironclad system - and the talent of the Daicos brothers - with a last-quarter demolition of North Melbourne, Collingwood are set to regain players for their match against Hawthorn. Darcy Moore (shoulder), Lachie Schultz (concussion), Jordan De Goey (achilles), Scott Pendlebury (illness), Bobby Hill (personal reasons) and Steele Sidebottom (back) are all chances to be available, but Brayden Maynard (foot) is set for a stint on the sidelines.
BLUES SET FOR SOME SOUL SEARCHING
Michael Voss isn't ready to give up on Carlton's finals hopes but concedes there's plenty of work ahead for a team that takes a disappointing 4-7 record to its mid-season bye. The Blues, who had lofty ambitions of ending a 30-year premiership drought this season, face an unenviable task to turn their campaign around.
ARE WEST COAST DESTINED FOR THE SPOON?
West Coast forward Jake Waterman could miss the rest of the season after his shoulder popped out in Sunday's 66-point loss to Adelaide. And with Jeremy McGovern's future in doubt due to concussion, the last-placed Eagles are without their two All-Australians from last year and facing an almighty task against Geelong on Sunday.
HAVE FREMANTLE REGAINED THEIR MOJO?
The Dockers made it two victories in succession with a 49-point thrashing of Port Adelaide in the wet, with Luke Jackson playing a match-winning role in the ruck. Fremantle's midfield has risen to a new level on the back of Jackson's dominance, but they'll face a huge test against the Suns' star-studded on-ball division at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
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'They just smashed them; they walked through them. The amount of times Jeremy Cameron was out the back by himself, and it'd be uncontested possession, uncontested possession, goal,' King continued. 'I'd love to ask Alastair Clarkson 'what are you trying to achieve?' Show us what it should look like, and then we can at least enjoy the ride. Because we just go from week to week and not see it. We have seen it in patches throughout the year, but we're not seeing it now. 'I know the ruckman's (Tristan Xerri) not there, I know Nick Larkey's not there, but that shouldn't have as big an effect as what it does on their ability to stop the opposition moving the ball full length of the ground.' Patrick Dangerfield was tactically substituted out of the game, his 200th for Geelong, and the sight of the veteran sitting on the bench munching on a kebab while the game was still going on would have rubbed salt into the wound for North fans. 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Fremantle Dockers forward Murphy Reid compared to Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury as Rising Star calls increase
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Reid has looked perfectly at home in the AFL since kicking four goals in one quarter on debut against Geelong. He also kicked four goals against Port Adelaide. The Victorian is third favourite with bookmakers to be named the Rising Star behind Adelaide's Daniel Curtin and Brisbane's Levi Ashcroft, but Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said he'd done everything to warrant winning the award. 'If I was picking it, I'd pick him. If you looked at consistency across the course of the year, he would have been the most consistent first-year player,' Longmuir said. Curtin rocketed into favouritism after a huge month for the Crows. He was best on ground against Richmond with 26 possessions and two goals to kick start a wonderful run of form. The West Aussie also had 26 touches and one goal against the Western Bulldogs, then collected 20 possessions and kicked a goal against Gold Coast. He received AFL Coaches' Association votes in all three of those games. 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'He's got beautiful touch, he's super elusive and he's a very crafty player,' Young said. 'I thought he was outstanding for a bloke who's not that big. He's very hard to tackle. 'He's going to be a great player for us and I'm really happy with the brand of footy he's playing at the moment. Hopefully he can keep developing. I'd love to see him get through the midfield in the years to come.'
