Why the Pies can’t get de going and a Hawks wizard finds his magic touch: Key takeouts from round 19

As Collingwood’s season slips away, the aftermath is already beckoning a few players.

After Hawthorn set fire to the Magpies’ premiership defence on Saturday, coach Craig McRae was quizzed about whether Jordan De Goey might be put in mothballs to get his groin issues right for season 2025. McRae – eventually – dismissed the question as “futuristic”.

But everyone can see De Goey is in trouble. McRae acknowledged it, admitting Collingwood are managing him both at training and within games, trying to put him in positions where he can have an impact.

Let’s give credit to De Goey, too. Despite clearly playing hurt, he’s not had a terrible season. He’s just nowhere near the player he was in 2023. And he’s hardly Robinson Crusoe in that regard for Collingwood: very few have raised their games this year in the black and white.

But something is going to have to give soon.

The Pies play Richmond next. They’re no certainties on Saturday’s form. After that, it’s Carlton, the Swans and the Brisbane Lions, who are currently occupying the first three positions on the ladder. Good luck.

A Jordan De Goey robbed of his power and explosiveness is like Samson without hair, like Zeus without his thunderbolt. In other words, a superhero robbed of his superpowers, and much less terrifying.

All year, Collingwood have struggled for continuity and connection. There are many reasons for that, but as much as the coach is reluctant to blame the injury gods, the hobbling of De Goey is one of the biggest.

Who’s off to see the Wizard?

It was always going to turn for The Wiz.

Anyone who watched a Nick Watson highlights reel ahead of last year’s draft knew that this kid kicked bags of goals for fun. He could kick them from the third row, then casually roll out barrels from 60 metres that sailed through post-high (go to 1.15 of this clip and listen to someone giggling “Oh, stop it” in the background – he’s that kind of player).

And yet, his wonky conversion since coming to Hawthorn as the No.5 draft pick had got tongues wagging. He’d kicked 7.19, plus a stack more out of bounds, going into Saturday’s game against Collingwood.

He kicked three goals straight against the Pies, and gave another away with a field kick, in the wet, that showed his poise, class and vision. His speed, work-rate and smarts were all on show. And his finishing – particularly his second goal – was superb.

Watson knows, and has probably known for years, that he belongs at this level. There is nothing wrong with his technique, much less his positioning. He’s going to kick a lot more goals for fun in a long career – and he’s going to be a lot of fun to watch, too.

Keays unlocks Crows

Just before the beginning of the 2023 season, this masthead asked Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan what was the toughest call he had made on a player. Fagan thought for a minute before answering in a near-whisper: “Probably letting go of Ben Keays.”

Keays had been a member of the Lions academy, along with Harris Andrews and Eric Hipwood. He was drafted with pick 24 in 2015, but struggled to break into the Lions’ midfield, seeming to lack any real point of difference. He was delisted after 30 games at the end of 2019.

Thrown a lifeline by Adelaide, who picked him up as a rookie, Keays’ improvement from there was dramatic – notwithstanding he was playing for a struggling club. He has not missed a game since, and has been prominent in the club’s best and fairest count for the Malcolm Blight Medal.

On Friday night against Essendon, Keays surely played the game of his life at any level. His 22 possessions included five goals, two assists and 12 score involvements. He made eight tackles, gathered five clearances and pretty much dragged the Crows over the line.

He’s become a potent player for the Crows up forward, kicking 22.19 in 2023 (including that famous “point” against Sydney that denied his team a finals berth) and improved to a stellar 27.14 so far this year. That deserves a much higher rating than this workhorse is usually given.

Cats victims of another home invasion

It used to be the surest thing in football: a win at home for Geelong. No matter what the sponsors call the place, the Cats have been close to unbeatable down at Kardinia Park forever.

But that might be starting to change. Three times this year now, the home ground fortress currently known as GMHBA Stadium has been breached, and on Saturday night the Cats were handed a hiding by the Western Bulldogs.

It’s hard to know what to make of Geelong’s season. After winning their first seven matches, they looked like they might yet defy gravity again. But they’ve returned to earth since, with just four wins from the following 11 games.

Of course, they’re still only a game from second spot. At the top, Sydney are wobbling for the first time this year. And counting out the Cats after a bad night is akin to predicting the extinction of the cockroach.

But they do look like a team in transition. As for the Dogs, football’s box of chocolates (you never know what you’re gonna get, duh) are looking less flaky (sorry) and more like they’ve got a reliable glass and a half of full-cream milk in every block (I’ll see myself out).

Can Sydney go the distance?

We’ve seen this movie before: a season frontrunner – with the minor premiership all but sewn up – get the staggers late in the season and drop a few games before recovering.

Last year it was Collingwood who didn’t let a form dip in the final rounds stop them from going all the way. This year it’s Sydney’s turn. Sunday’s loss to the Brisbane Lions makes it just one win in the past month for the Swans.

But Sydney’s dip has come a bit earlier than the Pies last year. There are still five rounds to go, and other teams are closing the gap on the ladder leaders. Tom Papley exited the Gabba in a moon boot.

Coach John Longmire won’t be hitting the panic button. Those three losses were by a collective margin of five points. But premierships aren’t won in July or August, and for the first time this year, the Swans have to cope with a handful of players on the sidelines.

For the past two months, it’s been Sydney then daylight for this year’s flag. But the days are short at this time of year.

Why Harry’s HIA delay?

What the heck was going on when Harry McKay’s head slammed into the back of Eddie Ford’s in Sunday’s match between Carlton and North Melbourne?

Forget the fact that he was cleared of concussion symptoms on the night. Even more so, forget the goal he kicked five minutes after the collision. Football old-timers still get misty-eyed about players doing heroic things they have no memory of after the game.

Most of all, forget him twice waving club runners away. It shouldn’t have been a request for him to get off the ground. It should have been an order. Why did it take so long?

Everyone watching could see that McKay had had a head knock and needed an assessment. Yes, the Carlton doctors were otherwise occupied on a busy day for them, but McKay was still running around out there for six minutes of playing time.

That needs to be fixed.

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