Darcy was a difference-maker in a match his Bulldogs needed to dig deep in to win and keep themselves within shouting distance of the top eight.
Nick Daicos is among the illustrious list of Rising Star winners.Credit: AFL Photos
In reality, the Rising Star award serves as a marketing exercise for the AFL to sell its best talent, with the likes of Nathan Buckley, Ben Cousins, Adam Goodes, Nick Riewoldt, Sam Mitchell, Joel Selwood, Jesse Hogan, Callum Mills, Sam Walsh and Nick Daicos on the honour roll.
It seems counterproductive to remove the opportunity for Reid to dominate the headlines, or to miss the chance to put the romance of the father-son rule up in lights if Darcy was to win.
There is another element to this now, too: a financial one.
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The new collective bargaining agreement was a boon for the league’s biggest names, but the next wave of stars – the top-20 draft picks each year – now need to wait until their fourth season to properly cash in.
But first- to third-year players can still gain extra cash based on games played and performance, with varying incentives for winning a Brownlow, a club best and fairest, All-Australian recognition and, you guessed it, being the Rising Star.
Neither Reid nor Darcy will be short of money in the years to come, but they miss out on tens of thousands of potential dollars as a result of not being able to win the Rising Star.
Could Melbourne miss finals?
There was plenty made on season eve that the Demons’ off-season from hell might ruin their premiership hopes, but the problems appear to run far deeper than that.
Fremantle took Simon Goodwin’s men apart in Alice Springs on Sunday in a shellacking they would not have seen coming, and they have now lost three of their past four games since running down Geelong for a narrow win in round eight.
It was a nightmare day in Alice Springs for Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin.Credit: AFL Photos
The sole victory in that period was over 15th-placed St Kilda, and included a six-goal defeat to 16th-placed West Coast, so the form line is concerning.
None of that seems to have anything to do with what happened in the off-season.
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“It’s incredibly disappointing and unacceptable in the way we want to play,” Goodwin said.
The Dockers’ youthful on-ball brigade destroyed Melbourne’s much-vaunted midfield – with all of Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney playing – ex-Demon Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy beat Max Gawn in the ruck, and their key forwards Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy looked unstoppable.
Making matters worse for Melbourne was bookends Jacob van Rooyen and Jake Lever were basically the only two first-choice players not playing, albeit two important ones who were badly missed.
Steven May certainly pined for Lever as Amiss and Treacy ran amok.
The 2021 premiers are at an interesting point after consecutive straight-sets finals exits and now with a battle on their hands just to qualify for September. They ended the round outside the top eight at the halfway point.
Melbourne have done an excellent job to lock away their best talent for the long term, but there is an argument to make that the overall playing list might be overrated at this point. There is also still a significant reliance on Gawn and May, too, both of whom are 32 years old.
There is enough talent, including younger ones, for the Demons to get back on track in the second half of the season, but that dynasty talk after their drought-busting flag looks fanciful now.
Where the ‘Hornet’ wants to be
Jason Horne-Francis was the No.1 pick three years ago in the same draft boy wonder Nick Daicos inconceivably slid to No.4 because clubs are sometimes shy about bidding on each other’s prospects.
Horne-Francis is still best remembered for the drama in his debut season – most notably the overblown ice bath incident – and leaving North Melbourne at the end of it, but he is blossoming into one of the AFL’s most promising on-ballers.
Patrick Cripps led Jason Horne-Francis a merry dance in the final quarter.Credit: Getty Images
His numbers have improved year-on-year, and he is averaging 23 disposals, seven clearances, five inside-50s and more than a goal per game this season.
Horne-Francis was one of the main reasons Port Adelaide were only seven points behind Carlton at three-quarter-time with game-highs in clearances (eight) and score involvements (seven). But a lesson is never far away for young players.
Blues captain Patrick Cripps let Horne-Francis know – verbally and with his actions – that the Power rising star was more calf than bull, at least in comparison to him, when it mattered most in the final quarter.
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Cripps was relatively quiet until then, but won nine of his 22 disposals in Carlton’s match-winning final term, as well as kicking two goals (both inside the first 2½ minutes), winning two clearances and driving the ball inside 50 twice.
It was Horne-Francis who desperately lunged at, and overran, Cripps before the Blues’ skipper got to his feet and kick-started his team’s eight-goal blitz that blew Port away.
Cripps cheekily chirped in the young buck’s ear all the way back to the centre square, and Horne-Francis was unable to shut him up afterwards. It was Cripps’ way of letting him know who was still the big dog.
Mitch making Hawks look like geniuses
It is impossible not to compare and contrast the paths of Sam Mitchell and Alastair Clarkson since Hawthorn fast-tracked their coaching succession plan.
The initial and clearly flawed idea for them to work alongside one another in the knowledge Mitchell would take over in 2023 never eventuated, with Clarkson departing a year early.
Sam Mitchell (left) and Alastair Clarkson flank Jeff Kennett at Hawthorn’s announcement of a coaching succession plan.Credit: Hawthorn Football Club
Clarkson’s legacy in brown and gold is cemented after overseeing four premierships, including a three-peat, but his final years as he desperately tried to defy AFL gravity set the club back for too long.
Mitchell’s strategy on taking over was the opposite, with veterans shipped out – including the two recruits, Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell, whom Clarkson brought in – and youth prioritised.
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The Hawks have surpassed expectations in their rebuild under Mitchell, even with a few stumbles at the start of this season, yet it’s a different story at North Melbourne, where Clarkson’s heralded arrival is yet to bear fruit.
It is impossible to know exactly how much the Hawthorn racism saga has impacted Clarkson beyond him taking an indefinite break. Clarkson has always vehemently denied the allegations of mistreatment of former First Nations players and their partners and an independent AFL panel made no finding against him after investigating the allegations.
But he has twice fallen foul of the AFL for his behaviour this season.
The first cost him a $20,000 fine and a suspended two-match ban for allegedly calling Jimmy Webster a “c---sucker” after his bump that concussed Jy Simpkin, while he will no longer coach from the bench after apologising for swearing “out of frustration” about an umpiring decision.
Meanwhile, Clarkson’s Roos are the competition’s only winless team through 12 rounds, and have not climbed out of the bottom two spots for five seasons.
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