Considering the forward line Carlton had this season, they should never have come close to the final.

How did they become so vulnerable and dependent on other outcomes?

This was a season where the finale seemed a certainty for them and the only question most people asked themselves was how far they would get once they got there.

The fitness and medical people will face some criticism. Long-term fitness coach Andrew Russell is leaving at the end of the year, but it is hoped that deeper questions will be asked at Carlton about how the second half of the year went.

Whatever happened in Fremantle, the question remains how they could have made themselves so vulnerable.

Jones’ headache

Liam Jones is likely to miss the Dogs’ first final. His tackle on Aaron Cadman didn’t injure the Giants forward, but the way he tackled it could have. It was ugly and the kind of tackle where, although he only trapped one arm, it was a pivot move with a second action that sent the Giants player’s head crashing to the ground.

Cadman getting up was fortunate for him and Jones, it was similar to other tackles we have seen this year that have resulted in suspensions for the tackler.

Apart from the imperious Marcus Bontempelli, Jones is about the last player the Bulldogs want to lose because the alternatives are so clearly inferior. Rory Lobb is useful behind the ball as a second tall, but he can look vulnerable. Jones reads the ball better than their other tall players, and his importance will be even greater given they play the Hawks in an elimination final.

Hawthorn have Mabior Chol, Jack Gunston and Calsher Dear up front. It’s a tricky mix as none of them are the first target. Chol is the biggest so Lobb would probably go to him. Potentially Jones would have found himself on the precocious, talented Dear.

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Jones’ intercept marking is essential to his game, and against a Hawthorn team featuring Dylan Moore, Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan – with Luke Bruest coming off the bench – they’re content to create a forward game that gets the ball down the pitch for those smaller players to get on with. That makes marking defenders extra crucial.

Jones’ handling of the ball in the final quarter was crucial to the Dogs’ ability to withstand the Giants’ counter-attack into the wind.

His potential suspension could prompt the Dogs to consider sending Aaron Naughton behind the ball. There are many observers who would prefer him there anyway, but Luke Beveridge has been determined to keep football’s leading light Vitas Gerulaitis in his front half.

Despite the manager’s reluctance, this could be the time for him to make the move, given that he has Sam Darcy and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in form as key forwards. The reason for not doing so would be that firstly, it would mean a wholesale reshuffle of what has been an effective structure, and secondly, as a trio, the tall Dogs forwards would be a handful for Hawks James Sicily, Josh Weddle and Sam Frost to try and contain.

Hawks embarrassment

Hawthorn is a disgrace.

They are a disgrace to Essendon. They are a disgrace to Gold Coast, they have disgraced Carlton for not securing a finals place yet, and they are an absolute disgrace to North Melbourne. Their season of progress is a disgrace to North, their play on Saturday has humiliated them.

Hawthorn have not played in finals for five years and have finished in the bottom five for the past four years, including third from bottom last year.

What they have done this year by reaching the final is rip the fig leaf off these other teams and reveal their blushes. These teams that have been cobbling around the bottom of the ladder or even slipping into the eighth on occasion. But they have been overtaken in half a season by the excitable Hawks.

No, their task is not yet complete. It is true that they have not yet won a final. But they have taken the first and biggest step. They are entrenched in the bottom eight, and are the form side of the competition. They play an exciting brand of football, and they have quickly transformed themselves into a sought-after destination club.

Meanwhile, North Melbourne. Meanwhile, Essendon.

North Melbourne were one place below Hawthorn on the ladder this time last year and are still there. Yes, they had nothing left to play for in the final round, but realistically North have little left to play for other than pride for at least half of this season.

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How can Hawthorn become the better team by 20 goals and climb 10 rungs in one season, while North have stayed where they are? North should be better than this.

Essendon have made changes but their story on the field is still the same. They should be better than this.

Gold Coast won the most games they have ever won in a season, and they certainly fulfilled some of coach Damien Hardwick’s admonition at the start of the year to just “win some f—ing games”. But seriously, when Hardwick made that challenge he said “win the games and get into finals”. They should get into finals.

Ban on bottle throwers

The AFL will, without question or hesitation, impose a lifetime ban on the idiot who threw the bottle at the umpire. They should do more and would if they could, but what more can they do?

Hopefully the police will file criminal charges.

The referee, Steve Piperno, did nothing wrong. He was just standing in the goal box in green, making the right calls, when he was hit in the back of the head. The blow drew blood and forced the referee to be replaced by the emergency referee. Too bad for the emergency referee, Chelsea Roffey, who had to stand where her colleague had just been hit in the back.

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At the time of writing, it cannot be definitively said who the person was speaking out for. The area from which the bottle was thrown was populated by the Carlton cheer squad, but the person was not believed to be a cheer squad member.

Carlton fans were loud and clear in their frustration at the refereeing decisions in a thrilling match, and yes, the free kicks were against them (12-1 at one point in the second quarter and 12-3 at half-time), with all the half-time decisions or questionable moments seemingly going in St Kilda’s favour. But seriously, you’re a special kind of pickle to do that.

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