Gather Round's Sicko Saturday treats Adelaide Oval to some gloriously bad football

[ad_1] In case you did not know higher you'd have sworn it was a typo in your fixture card.

A scroll down the record of video games and venues took you to Saturday at Adelaide Oval, and the curious pairing of Carlton-West Coast into Melbourne-Essendon.

There isn't any rule that claims the video games on the 53,000-seat Adelaide Oval must be the marquee ones of the day, however it does make logical sense. And but, right here we have been.

The reigning premier Brisbane had been despatched to Norwood together with the Bulldogs, and to no one's shock performed out one of many video games of the yr.

Granted it made a bit extra sense to ship the Kangaroos and Suns to the Barossa, however each side have been projecting up this yr and performed prefer it out Tanunda manner.

Again then they could not have predicted it, however by the point all of us gathered for this around the 4 groups enjoying on centre stage on Saturday got here in with a mixed season document of 1-15.

Both by dangerous luck or dangerous design, the AFL had created its first ever Collect Spherical Sicko Saturday — a double-header to be savoured solely by the truest and most wicked footy nuts.

A part of the present of Collect Spherical is the chance, if in case you have the means and can, to soak up a large spectrum of video games and groups. In doing so you may actually begin to get a way of what good soccer appears like when in comparison with the remaining.

On Saturday, Adelaide Oval obtained nothing however the remaining. And in a gross manner, it was fairly fascinating.

It could have been silly to anticipate anything, however the early one between winless Carlton and winless West Coast was a catastrophe. If there is a worse recreation this yr, simply hope you do not by accident watch it.

So many poor choices, after which so many errors when the correct determination occurred to be made. The Blues have been clearly the superior workforce however wanted time to persuade themselves of that truth.

Shedding, it appears, is an awfully onerous behavior to interrupt.

As soon as they figured it out it was an unglorified coaching drill for Michael Voss's facet as they racked up stats that even the coach himself described as "extraordinary". However the numbers could not do that recreation justice.

Figuring out a low ebb from the afternoon is hard. Was it Charlie Curnow lacking a five-metre handball to a teammate in an open objective and by accident speeding a behind?

It may have been Jake Waterman making an attempt to sidestep Mitch McGovern on centre wing, solely to neglect to really change instructions earlier than operating straight into the Carlton defenders' arms.

Possibly it was Jack Williams's mind overheating and shutting down when on their lonesome 20 metres from objective, neither passing or taking pictures and as an alternative chipping it to nothing and thru for some extent.

It was a punishing watch at occasions, and the one subsection of the inhabitants to have taken any pleasure from it in any respect can be Carlton supporters. However even their solace was tainted by a concussion to the returning Harry McKay and a severe late damage to Brodie Kemp.

Harry McKay suffered a concussion within the first quarter of his comeback recreation. ( Getty Photos: Sarah Reed )

Positives for West Coast? Tom Gross appears promising. Liam Ryan performed properly. The draft is in about seven months.

With out desirous to sink the boot any additional than vital, the Eagles are a way off the usual of even the following worst groups. They know this in addition to anybody however discovering some reduction, not to mention a remedy, is proving not possible.

What the Demons and Bombers produced could have been much less farcical than the afternoon's efforts, however it was solely simply barely higher.

Melbourne particularly is a workforce completely misplaced within the wilderness, a shadow of the outfit that gained a premiership in 2021 and dominated the primary half of 2022.

Chief among the many Demons' points is their complete lack of a ahead line, although with the best way they use the ball entering into there it would not matter if David Neitz was nonetheless operating round.

For a workforce preventing for its season, perhaps even for the long-term way forward for its coach, Melbourne was an entire damp squib within the first half. It was painful to look at.

To their credit score there was a response after half-time however it was for little. The standard did not match the endeavour, and finally a few turnovers and dropped marks rendered all of it null and void.

Issues get messy as Max Gawn, Sam Draper and Clayton Oliver collide. ( Getty Photos: Sarah Reed )

Essendon was unconvincing however a transparent step above the opposition. There have been durations when the Bombers would flip the ball over two or three or 4 occasions inside their very own defensive 50, however every time be saved by Melbourne's personal ineptitude.

The Bombers, would not it, get to play West Coast subsequent week on the identical day Carlton faces North Melbourne. Simply in case you could not get sufficient of Saturday.

All of it'll give the AFL trigger for consideration when concocting subsequent yr's Collect Spherical fixtures. There have to be a solution to keep away from treating the regional video games like second-class matches whereas nonetheless conserving the cream of the crop within the prime-time slots.

Or perhaps they'll simply lean into the Sicko Saturday idea and reserve one Collect Spherical day a yr for some correct slop. It would simply make us savour the great video games that bit extra.