TALL TIMBER REKINDLES TALES OF YESTERYEAR

ASHLEY BROWNE

It was a week where off the field the AFL took a great leap forward with a new club and a new chief executive.

On the field it was a throwback to the grand days of yesteryear when full-forwards were the talk of the game and fans would walk from end to end between quarters to watch them from up close.

Charlie Curnow and Tom Hawkins were the stars, Sam Weideman and Ben King the notable support acts. And while Mitch Lewis left his kicking boots behind, he served notice that he wants to be part of the action as well.

Curnow booted 9.3 in Carlton’s 108-point thrashing of West Coast at Optus Stadium, getting them every way possible – including one in the final quarter after a spectacular mark on the shoulders of Shannon Hurn.

All up, he took eight contested marks and registered 11 inside-50s to back up claims that on his day he can be the best player in the game.

There is a fair argument that the Eagles are the worst team in the competition, but if Curnow can back it up on Friday night in a big clash with Brisbane Lions at Marvel Stadium, then the Blues might be back on track and perhaps play a major part in September proceedings.

EDITOR’S LETTER MICHAEL LOVETT

u Andrew Dillon’s appointment as the AFL’s new CEO this week should come as no surprise other than that it took so long for it to be made.

On all fronts, Dillon ticks the right boxes.

He’s been on the inside during some of the AFL’s biggest developments and, arguably, its biggest blemish (the Essendon supplements saga), over the past two decades.

Remember, it was only this time last year that eventual premier Geelong started to get on a roll and AFL history is littered with clubs whose path to the premiership started with an easy kill a few weeks into the season.

Last Sunday at the MCG was almost 30 years to the memorable day when Geelong legend Gary Ablett snr kicked 14 goals and Essendon sharpshooter Paul Salmon kicked 10 at the other end.

We got the 2023 version of that last Sunday when Geelong champion Hawkins kicked a careerbest eight goals and Weideman booted five for the Bombers in a 28-point win for the Cats.

A lawyer by trade, he has overseen Collective Bargaining Agreements with players, both men’s and women’s, and in recent years has been at the coalface of football operations.

Throw in the crucial role of game development and infrastructure at community and state league level and Dillon is the ideal all-rounder to continue Gillon McLachlan’s legacy.

Hawkins had four of his majors by quarter-time when the Cats already led by 27 points and the major interest for the remainder of the afternoon was whether he would break his record.

It took 334 games for Hawkins to chalk up a career-best haul and only Brent Harvey (412 games) and Kevin Bartlett (338) took longer to do the same.

Weideman’s performance at the other end further underlined what a smart move it was to leave Melbourne at the end of last year after being starved for opportunity.

He and the Bombers appear an excellent fit.

The new TV deal and Tasmanian team have been ticked off and the AFLW is now at an 18-team capacity, so Dillon takes over at just the right time. The inquiry into historic racial allegations at Hawthorn is still ongoing, but you get the feeling there will be an outcome by the time McLachlan officially departs in October.

Given his football/family background – he was a more than accomplished amateur footballer and his family has been long connected to the Victorian Amateur Football Association – it would not surprise to see more focus on what’s happening on field.

The sling tackle and the concussion debate are just some of the vexed questions facing the game and both will be a major priority under a Dillon-led administration.

After missing all last season with an ACL injury, King started this year slowly for the Suns, but he has found some form, with five goals last week against North Melbourne and he backed it up last Sunday at Marvel Stadium with four goals as the Suns made it two wins on the trot and three in a row against Richmond.

The Tigers are a shadow of their former selves and are mired in 16th place.

It was a meritorious performance by the Suns, but the visit by Melbourne to Heritage Bank Stadium late Saturday afternoon will provide the best gauge as to how far they have improved.

And while Lewis kicked 1.4 against the Western Bulldogs and the Hawks lost by 29 points, he underlined his importance to the team with 11 marks (three contested) in his first game after his pre-season knee injury.

His mere presence lifted the young Hawks considerably and provided more evidence of the electricity a powerful key forward can provide a team, irrespective of ladder position.

Of course, the team without a dominant key forward continued on its merry way.

Collingwood scrambled 8.11 (59) against Adelaide last Sunday evening and it was enough to beat the tardy Crows by one point.

The home team dominated the first quarter-and-a-half and led by 26 points at one stage but were made to pay for their wayward kicking by the clutch Magpies, who didn’t lead until Steele Sidebottom kicked a behind from a set shot with 30 seconds to go.

It was as brave a victory as you could wish to see.