Magpie superstar clamp down, Giant return, Saints win of determination, Ongoing growth at Arden Street: AFL Round 17 Talking Points
IMAGE: St Kilda FC X formerly Twitter
Jubilation abound: Mattaes Phillipou and Brad Hill celebrate a nail-biting as St Kilda edged past Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
An immersing round of football saw a young North Melbourne outfit take continual steps in their development.
Essendon overcame a slow start to defeat Collingwood, showing they are finals material.
Geelong has steadied their season, backing up last round's win over the Bombers running rampant over an in-form Hawthorn.
Two rounds ago, Port Adelaide supporters were booing coach Ken Hinkley in a disastrous 79-point home loss to Brisbane. This time, the cheers rang around Adelaide Oval as the Power plugged apart the Western Bulldogs, with skipper Connor Rozee putting on a dominating midfield masterclass, finishing with 36 disposals and a goal - including 18 opening-term touches.
GWS regained some much-needed form, withstanding a fourth-quarter rally by Carlton to move back into the top eight.
And St Kilda delivered one of the season's upsets, recording a gallant two-point triumph over Sydney.
These are the Round 17 talking points.
1. Clamping a Magpie superstar
Finding an adequate game plan to nullify a superstar is one thing.
But applying this from theory into practice is another.
Nick Daicos' arrival onto the AFL stage in 2022 was met with hype and anticipation, following in his older brother Nick's footsteps and his legendary father Peter "The Macedonian Marvel".
The younger Daicos wowed everybody with his poise, class under pressure, and constant work rate, outsmarting the opposition.
A handful of games in, Nick was already producing match-winning performances, including a 40-disposal, three-goal magical display in an epic victory over Adelaide.
By last season, the conversations began around whether he was already having the best start to a career since two-time Brownlow Medallist Chris Judd.
It is an accurate comparison, as the 2006 premiership player burst onto the scene in his first season (2002), then transcended his game to further heights in year two (2003) - notably against Brisbane at The Gabba when he kicked five opening-half goals.
Daicos' match-winning influence brought upon opposition coaches to insert the tag.
In the lead-up to their round two encounter with Port Adelaide, Collingwood coach Craig Macrae dared the Power to tag Nick.
They tried by having the burly Lachie Jones on him, lasting only one quarter with Daicos' leg speed too much.
Sydney implemented niggling tactics before the bounce and during the game, aiming to ruffle the feathers.
Daicos still finished with 25 disposals.
But in the final month of the Home and Away season, Carlton and Hawthorn laid a ploy to curtail Daicos.
The Blues sent reliable midfielder George Hewett, who kept close tabs around stoppages, staying step for step. Daicos finished with 28 disposals but only at 53% disposal efficiency.
Eight days later, Finn Maginness's defensive assignment frustrated Daicos, who mustered a career-low five disposals before hurting his knee - missing six weeks of action.
On Friday, Essendon didn't deploy a tight tag on Daicos but rotated Sam Durham, Jye Caldwell, and the returning Dylan Shiel on him at various stages.
The trio didn't allow Daicos to roam free around stoppages, maintaining a close leash, denying him from getting goalside and using his quickness to burst from stoppages.
Each time Daicos touched the ball, either of the three immediately held up for a ball-up. If he got hold of possession but under pressure, his kicks would only carry five metres without meaningful territory.
Despite Daicos finishing with 31 disposals, he only went at a lowly 41% disposal efficiency and only racked up 395 metres gained - way below his season average of 518.5.
Recently, Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick told other clubs to tag Daicos to avoid being beaten perhaps they'll follow suit.
2. A Giant sound
To say GWS badly required a scalp is an understatement.
However, against a red-hot Carlton, they demonstrated their "Orange Tsunami" DNA, which had been missing for several weeks, running, spreading and engineering their gameplan to devastating effect.
Not before enduring an eight-goal Blues opening term that saw them trail by 39 points.
Then the booming Giant sound took flight, kicking 14 of the contest's next 17 goals to reverse the deficit into a six-goal lead at three-quarter time.
Veteran warrior Callan Ward sparked the Giants in the second, gathering 14 disposals and a goal in the term.
But Jesse Hogan shone the brightest, clunking every mark his way, whether on the lead or in contested situations.
The compact Carlton backline was receiving a working over with Jacob Weitering somewhat hampered by a corked thigh, eliminating his intercept marking and aptitude to play third-man to impact the contest.
Jack Buckley got the better of two-time Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow despite the former 2015 first-rounder extending his goal tally of consecutive games to 63.
The ongoing assignment of tagger for Toby Bedford claimed another scalp, this time restricting running machine Sam Walsh to only 22 disposals and 222 metres gained.
And he did a respectable job on Blues' superstar Patrick Cripps, although the 2022 Brownlow Medallist finished with 33 touches and 11 clearances.
After looking premiership favourites when starting the season 5-0, could this win, prove vital in re-claiming form for GWS as the season nears its nitty-gritty conclusion?
3. Saints inspiring win
It was the least likely result of the round.
St Kilda, who sat in the bottom four.
And Sydney, who sat on top with only two blemishes.
The Saints perhaps gave an additional blueprint, following Fremantle to other sides on stopping Sydney.
St Kilda's game plan to hunt Sydney through persistent pressure was an underlying strategy. Additionally, it forced the premiership favourites meticulous kicking game to come undone, especially in the opening and final quarters.
Constant fastidious planning prevented prime users Errol Gulden, Chad Warner, and Isaac Heeney from utilising the corridor, instead making them kick along the boundary.
Although Sydney managed to wriggle themselves from St Kilda's grasp, at one point threatening to motor out to an eight-nine goal margin, the Saints put together a superhero's comeback.
Being ambitious became the order as Liam Henry began to influence the contest with his run and carry and Jack Sinclair's insertion into the middle adding further pace - as he produced in the side's round 13 meeting last season.
Mattaes Phillipou had his best outing, collecting 26 disposals and kicking a goal, returning to the side for his first game since round 10 against Fremantle.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, the driver for its ball movement, consistently chose the right option in switching his kicks back through the middle, opening space to launch from.
Whilst the signs of being ball movement adventurous against Brisbane were there, particularly in the second half, Saints supporters will hope to envision more attacking chains and less conservative play in the remaining seven matches.
4. Shinboners continual growth
As the final siren rang around Marvel Stadium, former St Kilda champion and now Fox Footy broadcaster Leigh Montagna said, "And for their sake, it might be the last time they'll be there for a while," after North Melbourne's epic victory over Gold Coast.
The win lifts the Kangaroos off the bottom in the potential emergence of a club with young and enthusiastic players.
A long rebuild stemming back to 2020 might finally have seen its course.
Two wins in its last five matches build inner belief of a gameplan under four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson starting to emerge.
Technically, the Kangaroos should have beaten Collingwood.
But from this valuable lesson, the foundations are in place.
A game plan centralising around the fierce Shinboner spirit and bringing the running power on the outside, through linking play.
The midfield nucleus is there for the next 10-15 years with Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw, and Colby McKercher, plus senior leaders Luke Davies-Uniacke and Jy Simpkin, who have plenty of years at the highest level.
Charlie Comben's emergence as the Kangaroos' number-one defender is one of the league's Renaissance stories.
Against the Suns, he convincingly won the battle over in-form spearhead Ben King, nullifying him to a solitary goal.
What we've learnt about North Melbourne in the last five matches is their fight to stay in contests, even with the contest not on their terms.
They held firm over West Coast in hostile territory at Optus Stadium, nearly beat Melbourne after trailing by 39 points, agonisingly lost to the Magpies, fought out the contest to the Western Bulldogs, and kept calm against Gold Coast with the game on a knife's edge.
Whilst 14 wins from its last 100 matches doesn't make for great reading, the light over the horizon towards becoming a finals side isn't too far away.