Round five AFL likes and dislikes

On Fire ... Kane Cornes is chaired off by his victorious Power team mates. Source: REGI VARGHESE / AAP

Fox Sports' AFL expert Julian de Stoop reviews round five in the AFL and discusses his likes and dislikes.

LIKES

Port Adelaide

The Power’s unbelievable resurgence under Ken Hinkley continued with an unbelievable come from behind win over West Coast. 

		P	W	D	L	%	Pts
1	Essendon	5	5	0	0	176.70	20
2	Port Adelaide	5	5	0	0	148.45	20
3	Geelong	5	5	0	0	114.20	20
4	Hawthorn	5	4	0	1	131.57	16
5	Sydney	5	4	0	1	124.53	16
6	Richmond	5	3	0	2	112.13	12
7	Fremantle	5	3	0	2	102.57	12
8	Collingwood	5	3	0	2	93.61	12
9	Carlton	5	2	0	3	103.67	8
10	Adelaide	5	2	0	3	98.90	8
11	Gold Coast	5	2	0	3	95.13	8
12	Brisbane	5	2	0	3	77.53	8
13	North Melbourne	5	1	0	4	100.20	4
14	St Kilda	5	1	0	4	97.63	4
15	West Coast	5	1	0	4	97.46	4
16	Bulldogs	5	1	0	4	79.47	4
17	Melbourne	5	1	0	4	57.16	4
18	Greater Western Sydney	5	0	0	5	63.84	0

To put the win into context, prior to this weekend the Power had trailed by four goals or more at half-time 80 times in their AFL history and lost every time.

Against the Eagles they trailed by 38 points and 19 minutes in the third term they trailed by 41 points.

But led again by skipper Travis Boak and young star Hamish Hartlett, the Power dug deep and stormed to one of the great wins in the club’s history in Kane Cornes’ 250th game.

Hinkley was overlooked by Melbourne, St Kilda and Richmond in the past but at this stage he is proving to be an inspired choice by the Power.

Harry Taylor

Not since the great Stephen Silvagni has the game seen an elite defender be so effective when they go forward. 

Taylor kicked five goals against the Dogs and is a nightmare match up for opposition defenders given his elite ability to read the ball in the air.

Chris Scott will be praying Jared Rivers’ troublesome right knee can stand up so he can use Taylor in attack more often.

Essendon’s Midfield

In their previous seven encounters, Collingwood’s midfield - in particular Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury - murdered the Bombers.

But with the recruitment of Brendon Goddard, the return to fitness of David Zaharakis and the addition of Dyson Heppell to the mix, the Bombers now have their most potent midfield since their last flag in 2000 and it stood up on the biggest home and away stage of all.

Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton are loving the added support and with no Dayne Beams or Luke Ball, the Pies were simply overwhelmed in the second half.

Charlie Dixon

Alongside Gary Ablett, Charlie Dixon has been the Suns standout player this season and against fellow new boys GWS he put together his best game at the elite level so far finishing with a club-record six goals.

Dixon has real presence whether up forward or in the ruck and despite being just 22 years of age he has leadership written all over him.

Small Forwards

AFL/VFL history is littered with star forwards but in the past most of them have been the key forwards but in the modern age of open forward lines and ‘slingshot’ footy it’s the little forwards who are wreaking havoc in 2013.

Lindsay Thomas yips are a thing of the past, Chris Yarran, Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett are creating havoc at Carlton while youngsters Jake Neade and Chad Wingard have been vital in Port Adelaide’s revival.

Lock down small defenders don’t grow on trees so if you have a good one (like Swan Nick Smith) they are worth their weight in gold.

DISLIKES

The Big Knee

Season 2013 has been marred by several serious knee injuries and on the weekend three more names were added to the list.

Taylor Walker’s injury is the last thing the battling Crows need and with Kurt Tippett gone Adelaide’s key forwards stocks are thin to say the least.

Walker is one of the league’s most exciting young players and let’s hope he’s back sooner rather than later.

Alan Toovey and Kepler Bradley were both whipping boys a few years back but both have developed into crucial players for Nathan Buckley and Ross Lyon respectively.

Unfortunately they join Matthew Suckling, Anthony Morabito, Daniel Menzel, Jon Patton, Ryan Schoenmakers, Alex Woodward and Alex Johnson in the ACL club of 2013.

Cyril Rioli’s Hamstring

On a night when his superstar teammates Lance Franklin and Luke Hodge were well beaten, Cyril Rioli kept his Hawks in the game with a blistering four-goal second half.

But unfortunately as has happened so often in the past, Cyril’s dodgy hamstring let him down and is set to see him spend more time on the sidelines.

The Score Review

We spoke about this last week and it will now come to ahead following the decision not to review Matt White’s shot for goal which hit the goal umpire in the dying minutes of Richmond’s heartbreaking one point loss to Fremantle.

To their credit, the AFL admitted it was mistake the next morning and new Operations Manager Mark Evans will address the issue including the positioning of goal umpires straight away.

Bottom line is there is no need for goal umpires to be in the field of play and if we need four goals umpires to ensure this doesn’t happen, so be it.

Brett Deledio and Jack Riewoldt

Both are elite players and this may sound a little harsh but the Tigers need more out of this star duo when it comes to the crunch.

Deledio has lowered his colours in back to back losses against Collingwood and Fremantle while Riewoldt’s body language was at times poor at Paterson’s Stadium on Friday night.

Damien Hardwick will need both to lift when Richmond face the unbeaten Geelong on Saturday night.

North Melbourne’s lack of killer instinct.

The Roos have done plenty right so far in 2013 but after 5 rounds they have managed just one win and their finals hopes are hanging by a thread.

In reality the Roos could be four and one.

Brad Scott’s men led Collingwood and Sydney at half-time, blew a huge lead against Geelong and against Hawthorn they were dominant in clearances, dominant in inside 50’s, held Buddy Franklin goalless and basically held Luke Hodge kick-less yet still couldn’t get across the line.

Quite simply, they had the Hawks on the ropes but their ball use let them down horribly and they now face a crunch game against the unbeaten Port Adelaide in Hobart next weekend.

Round Five Snapshot

They Said It: "Did I believe we were going to come away with a win at that stage? No, I certainly didn't.'' Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley after a club record comeback from 41 points down to beat West Coast.

Stats That Matter: Port's five wins to start the season are already as many as they managed for all of last year, leaving them one of three unbeaten clubs, along with Essendon and Geelong.

Man Of The Round: David Zaharakis' four goals and 34 disposals ensured Essendon's early-season momentum kept building with their big Anzac Day win over Collingwood.

Key Moment: Fremantle small forward Hayden Ballantyne roved a forward-line ball-up to kick the winning goal after Richmond had charged into the lead in the closing minutes of Friday night's clash in Perth.

Talking Point: The AFL will review the way goal umpires position themselves after a seemingly goal-bound ball from the boot of Richmond's Matthew White struck an umpire on the line and stayed in play at a crucial time late in Friday night's clash.

Tribunal Watch: West Coast captain Darren Glass faces scrutiny over a late, high bump on Port's Paul Stewart. Western Bulldog Brett Goodes could also be in trouble over a bump which concussed Geelong's Josh Caddy, while Brisbane's Billy Longer downed Melbourne's Sam Blease with a late head-high bump. And Lion James Polkinghorne was booked for tripping Demon Shannon Byrnes.

Key Injuries: Taylor Walker (knee), Alan Toovey (knee), Kepler Bradley (knee), Jared Rivers (knee), Cyril Rioli (hamstring).

Under Pressure: Two of last year's finalists, Adelaide and West Coast, face huge challenges. The Crows have lost Walker, sit 2-3, and play Hawthorn next round. The Eagles are 1-4 after their fade-out loss to Port Adelaide, might lose Glass, and face a must-win clash with an improving Western Bulldogs.

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