THE BAD

Bernie’s burden 

Bernie Vince could be the latest casualty for Melbourne through suspension after he was involved in two fiery incidents on the weekend 

The first came against Eddie Bets, where he unnecessarily elbowed Betts’s head behind play. The second came against Richard Douglas, where Vince elected to elbow Douglas high instead of pulling out of the contest. 

Already missing important personnel in midfield and Simon Goodwin publicly defending the players’ culture, the timing isn’t ideal for Vince’s actions. 

Dusty’s Brownlow blow

Dustin Martin was involved in a physical exchange with Nick Robertson on the weekend that will be looked at by the Match Review Panel and potentially threaten Martin’s Brownlow Medal eligibility. 

Martin hooked Roberton’s face off the ball, and while there wasn’t much in it, Martin will be sweating until the sanction is decided. 

Corey McKernan and Chris Grant polled the most votes in 1996 and 1997 but were disqualified from wining the Brownlow through suspension. 

Dockers’ shanks prove costly

There’s an old saying that goes ‘good kicking is good football’ and Fremantle’s goal kicking accuracy proved how relevant this saying is. 

At three-quarter timer, they’d registered 3 goals, 12 behinds and 2 misses from their 17 shots. 

The Dockers scored 5.14 for the game for a score of just 44, misfiring kick after kick in an appalling display of attack. 

THE UGLY

A tale of two weeks

A week after terrorising Richmond at Etihad Stadium, the Saints were knocked off their own perch by a similar margin. Essendon rocked St Kilda early and the Saints failed to respond, eventually falling by 61 points at the siren.

St Kildas’s lack of star power was evident as Nick Riewoldt, Leigh Monagna, Seb Ross and Jack Billings were all well held and their crop of youth failed to carry the mantle. 

Ultimately, it is this young group of players that will dictate how far the Saints go in 2017 and beyond, the must rise to the occasion if they’re to make the top eight.