Miller's Guide: Your club's vital player
It has been a horror week for two AFL clubs who needed a bit of luck this season more than most.
West Coast have lost their reigning club champion Eric Mackenzie for the year to a right knee reconstruction.
And the Western Bulldogs are staring down the barrel of what could be a disastrous season after their No.1 ball winner Tom Liberatore suffered the same fate in Saturday’s NAB Challenge clash against Richmond.
The Eagles may yet have the personnel to reshuffle the pack and fill the hole left by Mackenzie, but it is impossible for a club to completely recover from losing their best defender.
The most likely solution is to use Jeremy McGovern as a full-time backman this season.
However, a problem arises in that McGovern and Mackenzie are not like-for-like players.
McGovern’s strengths are his ability to read the flight of the ball and take marks at will as a floating tall back. Think the role Michael Johnson has played to such good effect at Fremantle.
Mackenzie instead excels in one-on-one match-ups and beating his direct opponent.
Eric Mackenzie is a massive loss for West Coast. Pic: AFL Media
Out of West Coast’s other defenders, Will Schofield is more the rangy tall who uses his leap to spoil and his pace to run the ball out of the backline.
That leaves Mitch Brown needing to step up into the No.1 defender’s role.
Brown spent much of last season matched up on some of the game’s best smalls like Fremantle’s Hayden Ballantyne, but he has experience going with the likes of Lance Franklin and Travis Cloke.
With 89 games of AFL experience, the time is now for Brown to finally graduate as an AFL player.
West Coast’s capacity to cover for Mackenzie will likely decide whether they play finals this season or not.
I’m leaning towards them missing for a third straight year, such is the 2014 club champion’s importance to the side.
Western Bulldogs will struggle to cope without Tom Liberatore. Pic: Getty Images
In Liberatore, the Western Bulldogs have lost their best player for the year.
The 22-year-old led the AFL for tackles (173) and clearances (156) last season. Without him, and given the off-season turmoil that led to the club losing their captain and senior coach, I’m leaning towards the Bulldogs winning this year’s wooden spoon.
The season-ending injuries to Mackenzie and Liberatore beg the question - which player is the most important at the other 16 AFL clubs?
I’d rate them as follows:
Adelaide: Patrick Dangerfield. The team’s most explosive player who leads the club for inside-50s entries. When Dangerfield fires, Adelaide tend to win.
Brisbane: Tom Rockliff. The young star was made the club’s new captain for a reason. Averaged more disposals per game (33) than any other player in the league in 2014.
Carlton: Bryce Gibbs. Showed last year he is a better all-round player than captain Marc Murphy in winning his first club best-and-fairest. Gibbs turns 26 this month and is entering his prime as a footballer.
Collingwood: Travis Cloke. Collingwood depend heavily on the 27-year-old to lead their forward line. The Magpies missed the finals last season on the back of Cloke only managing 39 goals – his worst tally in four seasons.
Essendon: Jobe Watson. Despite the rise of Dyson Heppell, the Essendon captain remains the heartbeat of the club’s midfield. His leadership during the ASADA supplements scandal has kept the team together and avoided a drastic on-field drop-off.
Nat Fyfe has emerged as Fremantle's key man. Pic: Steve Ferrier/WA News
Fremantle: Nat Fyfe. It would have been Matthew Pavlich or Aaron Sandilands as recently as the start of last season, but Fyfe is now one of the league’s bona fide superstars. The dual Doig medallist will have a huge say in whether Fremantle remain premiership contenders this year.
Geelong: Tom Hawkins. Forget Steve Johnson, Jimmy Bartel or even Joel Selwood. Hawkins has matured in the past three seasons and is now one of the game’s best power forwards. His five goals almost dragged the Cats over the line in last year’s semifinal loss to North Melbourne.
Gold Coast: Gary Ablett. The Suns won just one of their final seven games without an injured Ablett last season. Enough said.
GWS: A toss of the coin between Jeremy Cameron and Callan Ward. Cameron has led the Giants’ goal-kicking in each of the past three seasons and will only get better, while Ward is the standout leader amongst a young and talented midfield.
Hawthorn: Jarryd Roughead. One of the AFL’s most versatile players. Roughead is one of the few power forwards who can be swung successfully through the midfield and have a major impact. He was the difference in last year’s preliminary final win over Port Adelaide with six goals.
Nathan Jones is probably underrated because he is in a poor team. Pic: Getty Images
Melbourne: I’m almost tempted to say Jesse Hogan, but that would be rude to Nathan Jones. Jones has won the club’s best and fairest for the past three seasons. A ball magnet who would be more highly regarded in a better team.
North Melbourne: Sadly still Brent Harvey, although that is likely to change this year. The focus on Harvey’s suspension on the eve of finals last year showed just how important he remains to the Roos. A case could also be made for Daniel Wells, who was influential in last year’s finals series.
Port Adelaide: Robbie Gray. There’s a few to choose from at the Power, but Gray does it all. Kicked 42 goals and averaged 25 disposals last year. Saved his best for the year’s biggest games.
Richmond: Jack Riewoldt. The club’s barometer. Became less selfish in the back half of last season and Richmond benefited, winning nine successive games to make finals.
St Kilda: Nick Riewoldt. The 32-year-old has now won six club best-and-fairests and holds together the forward line. St Kilda would have been an embarrassment last year without him.
Sydney: Josh Kennedy is the linchpin of the club’s midfield, but it has to be Lance Franklin. Won games off his own boot for the Swans last year, notably against Port Adelaide in round 13 and Richmond in round 14. Incomparable as a player.
