Are the Demons Gawn?
WITH ruckman Max Gawn gone for 12 weeks due to a hamstring injury, the Demons face the situation they must have feared in 2017.
Gawn has been critical to the team's improvement around stoppages, and his absence was felt dramatically after half-time against the Cats.
Jack Watts shouldered the ruck load as the Dees conceded 11 second-half goals.
On the back of a dramatic reversal in hit-outs and clearances the Cats built a three-point half-time lead into a 29-point victory.
Jake Spencer looks the likely candidate to step into the breach after good form in the JLT Community Series and 30 hit-outs, 12 disposals and a goal for Casey Demons on Saturday against Werribee.
The free agent has played in just six wins in his 37 games and has not played AFL since round 23, 2015.
Spencer has never played more than eight senior games in any of his seven years at the club. But his 203cm and 105kg frame will be invaluable, particularly with third man up banned.
Had that rule not been introduced, Jordan Lewis – who the Demons presumably considered more valuable at trade time because of his ability to go third man up – may have been an option when his suspension ends in a fortnight to support a more mobile Cameron Pedersen or Watts.
The creativity the Demons seek to overcome Gawn's absence will instead need to come at the fall of the ball, where the Demons might be forced to push an extra number to the stoppage, further testing their undersized defence.
How three other teams fared when they lost their big man
| Ruckman | Missed | While he was out ... |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) | First 14 games in 2013 | ... the Dockers battled to fifth on ladder. A fit-again Sandi helped them push to third and then a Grand Final |
| Shane Mumford (GWS) | From round 11, 2015 | ... the Giants dropped from sixth to finish 11 |
| Nic Naitanui (West Coast) | Rounds 13-19, 2016 | ... the Eagles rose from eighth to sixth |
The nervous 790s
Lance Franklin went goalless against Collingwood for the first time in his 250-game career on Friday night. The Pies' Buddy blanket leaves him still five short of becoming the 12th player to reach 800 career goals.
Only the Brisbane Lions, Essendon, Hawthorn and Gold Coast have now failed to keep the Swan champ goalless in a game.
Another gun not firing
Hawthorn's Jack Gunston is goalless after three rounds. It's the first time in his 130-game career Gunston has gone three successive weeks without kicking a goal.
Gunston was also goalless after round three in 2013, when he played in two of the first three rounds. He finished that season with 46 goals, a premiership and second best on ground in the Grand Final.
Book holidays or stay at home in September?
Knock off the Lions at the Gabba on Sunday and the Tigers can start thinking seriously about finals. Since the final eight was introduced in 1994 only five of the 37 teams who made a 4-0 start went on to miss September action.
History is a more grim guide for the Hawks and Swans, who face the Cats and Eagles respectively in round four. Under the eight system no team has made the finals after losing their first four games.
The Kangaroos - this season's other 0-3 starters - were the last team to play finals after an 0-4 start. They capped their comeback story in 1975 by sweeping all the way to the premiership.
Finals fates since 1994*
| Started the season | Went on to make the finals |
|---|---|
| 4-0 | 86.5% |
| 3-0 | 81.5% |
| 0-3 | 10% |
| 0-4 | 0% |
*Essendon made the final eight in 2013 on the back of an unbeaten start but was booted out of the finals due to poor governance. It is not counted as one of the unbeaten teams after rounds three and four
Suns ride the rollercoaster
Gold Coast's 86-point smashing of Hawthorn following a 102-point loss falls short of the all-time record.
That's held by the Demons, who climbed off the canvas after copping a 190-point thrashing in 1979. The following week's 29-point win over Essendon capped a 219-point two-game turnaround.
Magpies get leather poisoning
Collingwood's 146 disposals in the first quarter on Friday night against the Sydney Swans was a club record in any quarter and the third most disposals for any club in an opening quarter.
The Magpies racked up 61 more disposals than the Sydney Swans in their first-term blitz. Alex Fasolo cleaned up best, earning 10 disposals and three goals by the first break.
Stats: Champion Data, AAP, Cameron Sinclair
Want more?
• Read more from the Stats Files
• After the siren: The future's so bright, it's wearing Schade
• Who starred for your club in this weekend's state leagues?
