RICHO’S TOP 10: Matt Rowell my Brownlow Medal tip with Marcus Bontempelli out injured until Easter

1. With the Bont out until the Easter round, meaning he will miss a quarter of the season, I’m changing my Brownlow tip to the Suns’ Matt Rowell.

This guy is a beast. He’s tough with a ruthless edge and has added some outside run as well. Is this the year the Suns finally play finals? They are starting to look the goods. He won’t have received any votes against the Crows last week but this man is a competitor. The Suns are going places while he is there.

2. Some ideas work and some don’t.

The jury is still out on Opening Round but this weekend’s Gather Round starting tonight with the Crows and the Cats is an absolute roaring success. There were sceptics when it started two years ago but in that short space of time, I don’t think you could find one now. Everyone is onboard. The clubs, the players, the media and most importantly the fans. Will be even better this year with a venue added in the beautiful Barossa. If you can’t make it this year add to your bucket list for the future.

3. Talking of bucket lists I won’t be at Gather Round this year as I’m on a bucket list trip myself to the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

My best mate from primary school Ben Harrison turned 50 recently. We thought if we don’t start doing these things we never will. We grew up together, played AFL together, and this is a dream come true to share this trip together. I’ll tell you all about it next week. The place blows your mind. The pictures on TV don’t do it justice.

4. Saturday, 1.20pm, all eyes will be on the Blues-West Coast match at the Adelaide Oval.

More to the point all eyes will be on the second half, especially if the Eagles are in the contest. The Blues have fallen away badly this year and in second halves have kicked 10.24 84 to their opponents 29.20. 194. A staggering differential over only four games. It’s absolute must win time now. If Carlton go 0-5 it would be a disaster for Michael Voss particularly with that horror start including losses to Richmond and West Coast.

5. Footballers have never been quicker, faster, stronger or more skilled under extreme pressure but the one thing that has never really improved is set shot goalkicking.

The game stops. All eyes are on you. The voice in your head starts, ‘gee this an important kick, there is a bit of wind, This could put us in front’. There’s one player though that is close to mastering the pressure and converting his chances. North Melbourne’s Nick Larkey is the best set shot in the competition. He has a simple fluent action and doesn’t kick it too hard. He must be still in the mind. He has kicked 14.6 this season. He also has the highest percentage of any player ever to kick over 200 goals at 74.3 per cent.

6. Talking of key forwards, if you grew up watching footy like me in the 1980s a key forward kicked a bag every week.

A double figure haul was always on the agenda, but times have changed. It won’t happen more than once this year if at all. But after watching Crow forward Riley Thilthorpe kick five against the Gold Coast he may be the man. You can now see why he was the number two pick in the 2020 draft. He’s a hulk of a man with the viking beard. He’s a throwback to a bygone era of rugged, tough as nails big men. He’s the man for the job. His efforts in front of goal were overshadowed by a nasty finish after Mac Andrew made the odd decision to taunt the man mountain at full time. The Suns were lucky to close out the game as everyone knows that the no free kick call for Izak Rankine cost Adelaide a chance to win it. The AFL admitting it was an error just rubbed salt into wounds for the Crows. They have now been on the end of several of these wrong decisions over the last few years. Great restraint shown by Crows coach Matthew Nicks in the aftermath. I’m sure his level-headed approach is rubbing off on his players. Good times ahead at the Crows wit leadership like that.

7. The Saints were predicted to fall and fall fast this year after a horror preseason dominated by several injuries, their list management and adding a year to Ross the Boss’ contract.

Well guess what they have banked three early wins? Including over the Cats and a gritty win at the Adelaide Oval against Port Adelaide last Sunday. They did this with seven players with under 30 games experience and six of those had less than 12 games experience. It’s time for a little love for the Sainters.

8. So many underrated players in this competition who don’t get enough plaudits outside their team.

Last Thursday two such players won the game for the Pies in the second half against Carlton - Lachie Schultz and Darcy Cameron. Both were outstanding. Craig McRae would love them as do their teammates. They know their roles and play them very well.

9. It was music to my ears to hear Swans CEO Tom Harley has put a submission to the AFL to scrap the pre-finals bye.

I could not agree more. It definitely hurt the Swans momentum heading into the grand final last season. If you finish on top and win your qualifying final you end up having played one game in 28 days by the time the preliminary final rolls around. The bye doesn’t reward the best team all year. Nothing beats momentum when you have it. One game in a month kills that.

10. It’s just extraordinary that two people got into the MCG with firearms last Friday.

Apparently, it was human error, and the scanners did identify some objects in the bag but no one acted on it. It was a relief to hear the system worked in some part but let’s get to the footy early for the rest of season as I suspect it will take a lot longer to get into the grounds from here on in. And that’s a good thing.