The big talking points and questions out of Round 16

06/30/2024 04:00 AM

Round 16 taught us plenty about the AFL.

With the bye rounds in the rear-view, all 18 sides took to the field across three huge days of footy.

The round had close finishes, huge upsets, statement performances and more!

With that in mind, here's what we learned from the weekend's footy.

Sydney's one flaw finally came back to cost them

While the Swans haven't had many problems this season, one thing that has been causing them some headaches has been their slow starts.

They were down by 27 at quarter-time against the Dockers on Saturday, and that's what ultimately cost them in their one-point defeat as they couldn't quite reel them in.

It's the fifth first quarter that they've lost out of their last six games and while they'd come back to win in all of them before, Saturday was the time where it's finally caught up to them.

The Swans are still clearly the best team in the competition and if they can sort this out, they'll be near unbeatable.

But there's no doubt that opposition sides will now target this part of the game as their most vulnerable point.

It's nowhere close to panic stations but it's something John Longmire and his coaching staff will want to flesh out.

Port Adelaide got the win, but it won't get the naysayers off Ken's back

Port Adelaide got the chocolates in Sunday's 60-62 win over St Kilda, but it won't do a lot to change the minds of those who want Ken Hinkley out as coach.

While the Power were victorious, Sunday's affair was an ordinary game to watch for fans as neither side really took the game away from each other at any point.

Although that often happens when teams face St Kilda, you get the feeling that Port Adelaide wouldn't have beaten many teams playing like that with skill errors and indecision costing both sides equally.

There were some genuine positives to take out of the game for the Power who snap a three-game losing streak and return to the top eight, but there's still plenty of work to do for them to turn into a top-four contender again. 

Patrick Cripps' Brownlow push is well and truly underway

Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps has made a huge Brownlow push in recent weeks and there's every chance he picked up another three votes in Sunday's win over Richmond with 40 disposals, a goal and 13 clearances.

The superstar midfielder hasn't been talked about as much as Isaac Heeney and Nick Daicos in this year's race, but there's no doubt he's right alongside them at this point of the campaign.

Since Round 11, there's every chance Cripps has picked up three best-ons from five games as the Blues continue their push for a flag.

He's already won one 'Charlie' in 2022 and he may just add another in 2024 if his current trajectory continues.

Kingy was right, Izak Rankine really is that good

David King made some headlines in early May when he predicted that Izak Rankine would be a top two or three player in the competition by June.

While a hamstring injury set him back in that trajectory, he's returned brilliantly in the last two weeks and his best game yet this campaign may have come against the Giants in Saturday night's win.

The forward-turned midfielder kicked two goals to go with 27 disposals, nine score involvements, seven marks and six clearances.

He was clearly best afield at the Adelaide Oval and looked every bit of that top two or three player that King predicted would emerge.

Aged just 24, he's going to be a brilliant watch for Adelaide fans across much of the next decade.

It's a big week for Essendon

Essendon again failed to take a scalp on Saturday night as they went down to Geelong 105-60 at the MCG on Saturday night.

The defeat means that they're yet to beat a side ranked seventh or higher on the ladder this campaign, with all but one of their nine wins coming against sides that are outside of the eight at the moment.

That's what makes this Friday against Collingwood so big.

Win there, and they'll stamp their authority as a genuine top-four threat.

But if they go down again, they'll quickly get eaten up by the chasing pack that is already hot on their heels.

They're yet to really convince the footy world, and it feels like many will make their final decisions on the Dons once the Magpies game wraps up.