A strange routine keeps paying off for Sam Draper, the Lions remain composed while playing from behind and the Suns continue to reap rewards from the AFL’s helping hand.
Here’s what we learned from round three of the AFL season.
Draper keeps nailing his strange set shot routine
Essendon ruckman Sam Draper is now 6.2 on the season and is the Bombers’ equal-leading goalscorer for the season alongside Zach Merrett.
One of the most interesting aspects of Essendon’s first three games has been the anticipation and then reaction whenever Draper marks the ball inside 50.
If he is inside 30 metres, Draper has opted to go for a very methodical snap shout routine where he gets side on to the goal similar to English rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson.
The entire routine is absolute theatre and Draper, ever the showman, loves milking it to the fullest. He nailed a couple more in the Bombers’ important win over Port on Thursday night.
After taking a mark, he’ll slowly mark out his run-up and then get completely side on to the goal where he then holds out the ball like he’s a waiter at a fancy restaurant serving up canapes to guests.
Essendon fans, presumably already frustrated by their club’s last two decades, absolutely blow up whenever this happens. Cameras flash to fans with their hands in their heads before there are very audible cheers of relief as the ball goes through for a goal. Draper usually tells the crowd to shut up or hypes them up, sometimes simultaneously. It’s all brilliant.
So far this season, Draper is yet to miss one of his around-the-corner set shots. He also drilled a regulation drop punt set shot from further out in round one.
Set shot kicking is all about finding a routine that works for you and then sticking to it. Credit to the Bombers big man for clearly working on it during the off-season and then executing the skill beautifully so far.
Liberatore sets the tone for the scrappy Bulldogs
There are victories during the course of the year that define a club’s season, and the Bulldogs’ comeback win over Carlton might prove to be just that.
The Dogs were terrific on Friday night against the Blues, overturning an early four-goal deficit, and flipped the script in a heated third quarter where there seemed to be a melee a minute.
In the middle of all was the club’s scrapper-in-chief, veteran midfielder and stand-in skipper Tom Liberatore.
Tom Liberatore’s impact on his young Bulldogs teammates has been profound through the first three games. (Getty Images: Michael Willson)
Liberatore is as big a tone-setter as there is in the competition. Even when the Dogs are fully stocked, when Liberatore is up and about, his teammates walk taller. This influence is even more pronounced with the Dogs currently rolling out a M.A.S.H unit midfield without Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar.
Liberatore has quietly been one of the best clearance players of his generation, and his love of doing the dirty work has allowed stars such as Bontempelli, Treloar and Jack Macrae prior to this season to thrive around him.
The 32-year-old has been tremendous through three games this season, averaging 30.7 disposals and 7.7 clearances per contest, and is allowing the 2-1 Dogs to stay afloat until the cavalry arrives.
The Suns midfield, created by the AFL, is terrifying
We have waited for the Gold Coast Suns to officially arrive for a decade and a half, and it might finally be happening.
Gold Coast’s 58-point win over Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday afternoon was alarming for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, the Suns rolled into the match like they expected to win, something that has been a rarity for this club away from home since it entered the competition.
Secondly, the Suns absolutely battered a midfield that, at least on paper, was as loaded a midfield group as you’ll find in the AFL.
Noah Anderson and his midfield mates monstered the veteran Demons midfielders in the clinches at the MCG. (Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)
Gold Coast won the clearance count 40-24 including a 16-8 figure at centre clearances, and it continued what has been a central theme for Damien Hardwick’s side through its first two matches.
The Suns are averaging 45 clearances a game so far this season, tied with the Lions. It is early, but they project to be one of the most dominant clearance teams we’ve seen across the last decade.
GWS’s mark of 42.2 clearances per game is the highest number by a single team in the last 10 years and it would be no surprise to see the Suns run them close.
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Central to it all has been the two-headed midfield monster that is Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson. The two top picks in the 2019 draft are averaging a combined 68.5 disposals and 17.5 clearances per contest.
The Suns were able to draft Rowell and Anderson after receiving an assistance package from the AFL prior to the 2019 draft and they are now reaping the rewards from AFL HQ’s helping hand.
Assistance packages and priority picks remain a prickly subject in the AFL. If the Suns end up putting together a dominant few years, we are sure to hear a lot more about the 2019 assistance package.
Brisbane runs down another opponent
There is no team in the AFL that is more comfortable playing from behind than the Brisbane Lions.
The Lions famously wiped out significant deficits against the GWS Giants and Geelong en-route to winning last year’s premiership, and they’re proving to be the masters of the comeback once again.
Saturday night’s clash against the Cats saw the Lions mow down a 32-point deficit and it all started seconds before the half-time siren.
Geelong dominated the second quarter when Brisbane had one last forward 50 entry. Like most of its first-half entries, it was messy and three Geelong defenders looked set to easily gobble up the final seconds before the break.
Will Ashcroft’s superb effort sparked the Lions and was a part of a brilliant 33-disposal, five-clearance outing for the Norm Smith Medal winner. (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris)
In between them was last year’s Norm Smith medallist, Will Ashcroft, who capitalised on a couple of Cats fumbles to win a free kick for holding the ball. Ashcroft went back and nailed the set shot and Brisbane came out of the gates a completely different outfit in the third term.
Chris Fagan won’t be enthused by his side spotting five-goal leads to opponents over the last two weeks, but he would love the way they’ve worked themselves back into the contest both times.
The Lions are a veteran side now, having made several finals runs with this same group of players, so it is unsurprising that they’d be a little flatter during stretches of matches played early on in the home and away season.
The good news from a Brisbane perspective is the Lions have played nowhere near their best football for an entire four quarters and still boast a 3-0 record. Wait until they start clicking.
