The Serve

The Big 5: AFL Round 18

Kevin Sheedy’s travels, the Brisbane Lions, Fremantle, drugs and Carlton’s loss. These provide the big 5 questions for AFL round 18.

5. Were Essendon affected by Sheedy’s busy week?

That was confirmed when Matthew Lloyd spoke openly about the disquiet amongst players. It was embossed when the Bombers were slaughtered. The supposed secret footage of Sheedy turning up at the house of Melbourne chief Steve Harris may have looked like journalism at its finest, but the trained nose picked up a smell. Sheedy is a master at working the media and very few things around him are an accident.

4. Can the Brisbane Lions be a force this year?

What a turnaround. Five wins in a row after seven matches without victory. The Lions are in the eight and control their own destiny. If they can negotiate a month of football that includes Hawthorn, Sydney, Adelaide and Geelong, then they deserve to make the finals, and more importantly they can do damage. The Lions have one thing no-one else has: Jonathan Brown.

3. Is Andrew Demetriou being naïve about drugs?

One could argue the boss is being naïve about a lot of things. His midweek reticence to even acknowledge that the priority pick system is open to abuse will surely differ now. Sure, it was the ubiquitous Jason Akermanis that claimed he played on someone chemically enhanced, but it deserved more than the short shrift it received.

2. Is Fremantle still alive?

Surely not. Their stellar victory over the Eagles has to be seen as an aberration, until proven otherwise. The Dockers need to win all four remaining games, and still hope for a miracle. Freo’s draw is good (Port at AAMI is the only match against a top 8 team), but the task must to be great.

1. Did Carlton tank?

Just because the players put in 100% and were gutted after their loss to Collingwood, that doesn’t necessarily mean they were given the best opportunity to win. In all likelihood, there was nothing untoward, but the problem for the Blues is the perception. Brendan Fevola went off for two minutes. Two lousy minutes that wouldn’t have reversed a four goal margin, but with the game in the balance, it was stark. The mere possibility of tanking has to be removed.