The Buck Stops Here: Lions v Swans blockbuster, Essendon’s loss, the Bulldogs and more

Round 19 has been and gone and there is so much to talk about.

Former Collingwood coach and superstar Nathan Buckley has put together his takeaways in ‘The Buck Stops Here’ on SEN Breakfast.

He took a look at Hawthorn’s small forwards, the Brisbane v Sydney blockbuster, Essendon’s Friday night woes, the Bulldogs’ balance and system and Harry McKay’s head knock.

Read and listen to his thoughts below:

Hawthorn’s exceptional small forwards

“I thought their small forwards were exceptional,” Buckley said on SEN Breakfast.

“You couldn’t help but be drawn to Jack Ginnivan’s performance against his old team.

“They were exceptional. Nick Watson was the number one ranked player on the field, Dylan Moore was third, Luke Breust was fourth, Connor MacDonald was fifth and Ginnivan was eighth.

“So the small forward batch of five all had exceptional days. When you have 69 inside 50s and you move the ball as efficiently as they did and look so damaging out of stoppage, you’re going to give your forwards plenty of supply.

“They help the back six defend, they help the midfield move the ball and they finish.

“What they have is going to be very hard to beat.”

Brisbane v Sydney might have been a Grand Final preview

“Was it a Grand Final preview? It’s pretty hard to be disappointed with anything we saw.

“It reinforced Brisbane’s bona fides. After starting the season so slowly and then to drive their way through into the season - it’s been full of merit - to go from 13th five or six weeks ago to third with a great percentage.

“It sets them up really well for the last five weeks.

“Lachie Neale was held relatively well, Hugh McCluggage was excellent, Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner are starting to get involved. Dayne Zorko has been awesome off half-back.

“They’ve managed their own personnel issues and been able to find a way. They were excellent.

“Sydney didn’t lower their colours. They lost players to injury.

“Tom Papley, it will be interesting to see how that plays out. Will Hayward showed great courage to look after that badly sprained ankle and still contribute. They missed Dane Rampe.

“One thing on Sydney, about two weeks ago they had 16 players that had played every game for the season. They then lost James Rowbottom and Justin McInerney to injury and Isaac Heeney was suspended. Papley is one of those players and Hayward is another that had played every game.

“When you’ve played your best team so consistently, if you have some injuries as you go along you’re going to be bringing in players that may not have had high exposure to AFL. There’s a massive gap between VFL and AFL.

“They’ve still got a lot of work to do. They’ve set themselves up extremely well, they’re clear at the top of the ladder, their best football is the best in the comp.

“There’s still going to be challengers coming their way, and the personnel challenges may or may not be a part of that.”

Bombers should not have dropped that game

“The Bombers are still in the eight. Their percentage isn’t great but you are a game from fifth spot.

“It is so tight and you’re still got opportunities ahead of you, but there’s no doubt that Bombers fans with the history and what you’ve endured over a couple of decades is starting to come back at you.

“Brad Scott is the guy that is going to be guiding this group of players over the next five weeks. You can’t just sit on your heels here, you’ve got to chase it.

“I’m sure that ‘Scotty’ is more than aware of that.

“Essendon had a brilliant first half of the years, they are in a better spot than they were last year. But remember they dropped right away in the last two games.

“They would be smarting with that result. That is not a game they should have dropped.

“Their best football is really good but I’m concerned by their ground ball in D50. They’re great when they can kick it through their back half, but as soon as the opposition puts pressure on them…”

All credit to Bevo for the Bulldogs’ balance and system

“To go down to GMHBA Stadium in those conditions and to be so dominant was a great performance.

“They’re just outside the eight, it’s jam-packed around them, but the Dogs were huge.

“To go in with the talls that they did, with Jamarra Ugle-Hgan, Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy forward of the ball. Ugle-Hagan is making a habit of turning it on in last quarters.

“Marcus Bontempelli has got support, Bailey Dale is an absolute A-grader, there’s no better extractor than ‘Libba’ (Tom Liberatore), Ed Richards is turning into a legitimate A-grader and Adam Treloar has been there all along. Then you’ve got some young running players on the flanks.

“Who would have thought Rory Lobb would go behind the ball and be significant in that role, as well as Buku Khamis.

“They’ve created this balance and system that has been working for them. All credit to ‘Bevo’ (Luke Beveridge) and all credit to the coaching staff to do it.

“Remember the Ross Lyon mantra of ‘anyone, anywhere’ when St Kilda were at their peak? I think the Bulldogs are starting to look and feel like that. They’re an ‘anyone, anywhere’ team.

“It will be interesting to see what the next five weeks looks like.”

Should Harry McKay have come from the ground sooner?

“He copped one and it looked like he was dazed and should have been taken off the field. Play had stopped.

“The Carlton doctors down the race and in the next three or four minutes he kicks a goal. That’s not the point. In that three or four minutes anything can happen with a player who is dazed and confused or not quite at their full mental faculty.

“What if he goes and puts his foot down and does an ACL in a contest or he cops another knock?

“This point to me is significant: I would believe that the guys in class actions at the moment, they’re not complaining about the game they played, they’re complaining about how they were managed around that game through head trauma.

“This is so obvious. The AFL needs to act on this now.

“The game should not have restarted. The umpire needs to be given the call form the spotter that there is a HIA here and we’re not waiting for the club to make the call.

“That is in Harry McKay’s best interests, it’s in Carlton’s best interests, it’s in the game’s best interests. If he goes off, has a quick look and goes back on in two minutes, then that’s fine.

“But you cannot restart the game if a player has quite obviously been concussed. The umpires might not see it but an AFL spotter in the crowd will.

“The fact that Harry McKay was able to play that next three or four minutes before going off to get checked is a loophole that needs to be closed.”