Each week of the 2025 AFL season, ESPN.com.au's Jake Michaels looks at six talking points.
This week's Six Points feature the dire Demons, football's top five rivalries, the most uncelebrated player in the league, and why the AFL was correct in suspending Rhyan Mansell.
1. The Melbourne-Simon Goodwin relationship must be severed immediately
After a tumultuous year, an off-season filled with uncertainty and wild speculation, and now a horror 0-3 start to their 2025 campaign, the Melbourne Football Club continues to find ways to have football media aiming the blowtorch in its direction. And while it would be easy to continue the pile on, I'd prefer to spin it forward, focusing on what this club desperately needs.
Simon Goodwin will always be a premiership-winning coach but his race at the Demons has been run. It's time for Melbourne to make a coaching change, not only to bring in fresh ideas, but to also serve as a line in the sand moment for where this club has been and where it intends to go.
Since winning that 2021 premiership, and being hailed as football's next true dynasty, the Demons have not won a single final. That's as incredible as it is disappointing. And through the first three games of this season, they have done little to suggest that will be changing any time soon. Melbourne has been obliterated in clearance and look completely inept at moving the ball down the field. The Demons rank last for accuracy in front of goal, second-last for kick rating, and third-last for scores per inside 50.
But it's not just the game style, the lack of leadership at the club has become worrisome, so much so that captain Max Gawn called out his fellow on-field leaders for failing to set acceptable standards. It's getting ugly, and nothing is working for Melbourne despite possessing the personnel many still believe are good enough to be, at the very least, a fringe contender.
Sure, Goodwin doesn't deserve all the blame, but something has to give. Because if not, Saturday afternoon against Gold Coast at the MCG was a worrying, stark reminder that if the Demons continue to slide into irrelevancy, the bulk of its fans won't be showing up to support them through it.
2. Collingwood vs. Carlton remains the best rivalry in the AFL
You've got to love rivalries. You've especially got to love them in the AFL where there's no shortage of fanbases that don't see eye to eye. There are recent rivalries, long-standing rivalries, and others that just seem to produce classic matchups every time they take to the footy field together.
So, for a little bit of fun, here are the five best rivalries in football today:
5. Hawthorn vs. Port Adelaide - Granted, it's a new entry, but name a footy fan that isn't salivating at the prospect of these two lining up against each other in 2025.
4. Sydney vs. GWS - Not only are they cross-town rivals, these two continue to face each other in September at an almost inexplainable rate.
3. Geelong vs. Hawthorn - The greatest modern day rivalry, bar none. Grand Finals, dynasties, Easter Monday clashes; this match up always delivers.
2. Adelaide vs. Port Adelaide - A Showdown just hits differently to any other fixture. It's a game that doesn't just capture the attention of a state, but the entire nation.
1. Collingwood vs. Carlton - The league's oldest rivalry has been renewed in recent years after some epic games (and mesmerizing finishes) between the two clubs.
3. Rhyan Mansell simply had to be suspended for that ugly act
Footy suspensions are often polarizing, and Rhyan Mansell's from Round 3 has proven to be no exception. The Richmond forward was handed a three-game ban for pushing St Kilda's Liam O'Connell into oncoming traffic, causing a nasty collision that left him concussed. It was a ban which was upheld at the tribunal on Tuesday night.
Rhyan Mansell has been handed a three-match suspension for rough conduct following this incident involving Liam O'Connell.
— AFL (@AFL) March 30, 2025
Full Saturday Match Review findings: https://t.co/ZurEIL7spI pic.twitter.com/yWQYxpWueO
It's not the first time we've seen this type of incident in 2025, and while many will cite precedent that suggests Mansell should be let off, this type of action had to be met with a hefty suspension.
The act of pushing a player into a marking contest is inherently dangerous, as the player being pushed barely has a millisecond to brace themselves for contact. As a result, the pusher must have some duty of care to their opponent's wellbeing. And just like the precedent the AFL has laid out with 'the bump', if you elect to lay one and get it wrong, then you must pay the price. Have I always agreed with that? No, but at least the league is remaining consistent.
Let this hopefully serve as a timely reminder to all players the dangers involved in pushing opponents into marking contests and oncoming traffic.
4. Tom Liberatore deserves to be celebrated far more than he is
When Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli was struck down in pre-season with a complex tendon injury, many were quick to abandon their predictions that the club could contend for a flag in 2025. Instead, with an incredibly difficult opening to the season, and as long of an injury list as any side in the competition, there was a real feeling Luke Beveridge could have found himself without a job.
Enter Tom Liberatore.
The Bulldogs stand-in skipper has been arguably the player of the season to date. Through three games, Liberatore ranks elite (top 10% of the league for his position) for disposals, kicks, handballs, tackles, clearances, effective disposals, inside 50s, contested possession, uncontested possession, ground ball gets, score involvements, and even goals. Yep, pretty much everything.
Liberatore remains one of the game's best inside, contested, ball-winning midfielders, and while playing alongside Bontempelli has often reduced him to playing the 'Robin' role, he most certainly is capable of being 'Batman', too.
5. Something quirky I noticed
It's fair to say it was blowing an absolute gale in Launceston on Saturday evening, so much so that it had a profound impact on scoring between the Hawks and Giants.
GWS enjoyed the wind at their backs in the first quarter, racing out to a 37-2 lead. Hawthorn then won the second term 44-2. The advantage cooled off in the second half, the game ending with 98 points (70%) scored to one end and 42 (30%) to the other, but it was still one of the most bizarre scoring patterns in recent memory. But how does it compare to all time?
The biggest scoring end differential in recorded history occurred between Gold Coast and North Melbourne at Cazalys Stadium in Round 1, 2018. That day, a staggering 89% of the game's point were scored to one end of the ground! You may remember the game as it was marred by par torrential rain and swimming pools of water on the ground.
6. My favourite stat of the week
On Saturday afternoon at Marvel Stadium, St Kilda's Jack Sinclair tallied a career-high 40 disposals in a blowout win against Richmond. It left me wondering two things: first, how many players in the AFL have had at least one game with 40 disposals? Second, which player has done it the most times? Fortunately for me, Champion Data provided the answers.
There are 54 currently listed players who have recorded at least one 40+ disposal game in their career. That's a whole lot more than I would have guessed!
Here's who has achieved the feat the most times: