Early Tackle: Josh Barnes names his likes and dislikes from round 11 so far
North Melbourne fans would have been pleasantly surprised to be right in the game at the final change – but they were headed for the exit 10 minutes in to the last term for familiar reasons.
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There’s only been two games so far in round 11, but there has been no shortage of talking points.
What does Josh Barnes think of what has transpired?
He names his likes and dislikes here.
DISLIKES
FIRST UP FAIL
Hawthorn knew it was facing a slate of games that would show whether it is a flag contender or a finals spot filler and it failed the first test.
A loss to Brisbane was the first in a brutal set of games – Collingwood, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide come next.
Of Hawthorn’s seven wins so far this year, only one – against GWS – has come against a team in the current top eight.
Sam Mitchell was realistic during the week when he said he knew where the Hawks stand, and the rest of us will know by the time they hit the bye in round 15.
It was the final minutes of the second term that the Lions kicked away, winning six straight clearances as Charlie Cameron kicked three of four goals to get on track for a comfortable win.
The Hawks had a dismal four tackles in the quarter, a number that will surely be on Mitchell’s whiteboard this week.
The coach has some questions up forward.
Mabior Chol was ineffective on Saturday, Jack Ginnivan added very little, Nick Watson was blanketed by Noah Answerth, Dylan Moore is a long way from the All-Australian of last year, and Jack Gunston didn’t take his chances, kicking just three behinds.
The Hawks too often could only generate long shots at goal that proved fruitless, while the Lions kicked goal after goal from within 20m.
And those forwards watched over and over as Dayne Zorko jogged around without an opponent, racking up 27 kicks and doing whatever he liked.
“They’ve got problems up forward, if Chol can’t get find his best form and Gunston can’t continue to play at a high level they are just relying on too few. That’s the problem,” Hawks legend Jason Dunstall diagnosed on Fox Footy.
Up the other end, Mitchell has a developing quandary on skipper James Sicily’s form, with a late 50m penalty given away for arguing with the umpires about a rudimentary holding the ball call a bad look.
We will soon know how serious this team is.
ROOS BOUNCED OUT
It all happened so quickly for North Melbourne in that last quarter.
After Alastair Clarkson’s deliberate kick-and-catch gameplay saw the Roos get into a winnable position, trailing by three points at the last change, within 10 minutes the Pies had blown them away.
In that last quarter, Collingwood has six more inside-50s, three more clearances and a crazy 24 more uncontested possessions as they just jogged away with the ball.
It became way too easy for the Pies to score, as they notched up eight goals in a final term walkover.
North Melbourne fans have been waiting for someone to step up and win games like Saturday night, but there was nobody standing tall in that final quarter.
Harry Sheezel looks like he is between positions, George Wardlaw channeled Chris Judd with the strapping around his nose but didn’t get near Judd’s legendary output, Jy Simpkin missed a crucial shot on the three quarter-time siren and didn’t deliver after that.
The Roos lost the tackle count by 42.
Some of that could be explained by the uncontested style Clarkson implemented, but that is a monster differential.
Roos fans would have been pleasantly surprised to be so firmly in the game at the final break but they were headed for the exit by the 10 minute mark of the last term.
There is still so much work to be done at Arden Street.
BORING BOMBERS
The first Friday night Dreamtime at the ‘G was not a game befitting the occasion.
As the Bombers and Tigers eeked out a lacklustre first half, footy fans were scanning the channels wondering if there was a dull detective drama elsewhere more worth their time.
Dons fans do deserve a shoutout for showing up, the crowd of 76,051 was the third Essendon game above 75,000 this year.
The bad news for footy broadcasters – and good news for those who broadcast dull detective shows – is Essendon remains a prime time regular.
The Dons play Thursday next week against Brisbane, then have two more Thursday and three more Friday night games.
And eight of Essendon’s 11 fixtured games to come are in prime time.
That not only leaves Brad Scott’s developing side with nowhere to hide, it also means the footy fans have to reach for the remote or start planning some date nights.
STARS FADED
So often the complaint about Carlton targets the lesser players.
The Blues are top heavy and their depth is always a. Concern but on Saturday, the stars didn’t stand up when needed either.
Usually so rock solid, Jacob Weitering made two critical errors when the game was on the line midway through the final term.
Weitering could have taken through a rushed behind but instead dropped the ball in a tackle, allowing Aaron Cadman to cleverly soccer one through.
And not long later, the star defender left way too much air on a kick to Matt Carroll in the corridor that led to a Jesse Hogan goal.
Weitering’s fellow vice-captain, Charlie Curnow, also fell away when he was needed.
Curnow kicked two first quarter goals but faded faster than the Liberals in opinion polls leading into the election.
He kicked a goal with his only disposal in the third term and then didn’t have one possession in the last.
A one-kick half just doesn’t get it done and at times it just didn’t look like the superstar was working to get to enough contests.
When he did find the ball in the first half, Curnow showed little interest in passing it off and fired a few pot shots at goal.
Harry McKay went goalless.
So good for much of this year, George Hewett had just two handballs in the last, and Tom De Koning didn’t have his usual impact on return from injury.
Those depth players weren’t the problem against the Giants.
Cooper Lord has emerged as a genuine find, Ollie Hollands was good in a new role at half-forward and Will White has shown something.
The Blues are now two games back from the top eight and wont bridge that gap if their stars don’t lift.
Carlton simply had to beat GWS and didn’t.
Another wasted season is looming.
THROW IT AWAY
The umpires have copped plenty lately and this is just another minor gripe.
Far too often players are shovelling the ball out of a tackle, throwing it to teammates, and being allowed to play on.
The interpretation that an effort is enough even if the ball is moved on illegally just isn’t right if a team gains advantage from a throw.
Umpires are hesitant to ping a throw in case there was a fist on the handball but not throwing the ball is a core tenant of our game.
Unfortunately, it’s a gripe that would land a long way down the list of issues for AFL HQ right now.
CROWD QUESTION
There are some excuses.
Getting to Geelong – and back – after work on Thursday can be tricky, and the timeslot is really better for TV than for fans going to the game.
But the Cats should be disappointed about landing only 32,641 fans for what was the best built-up game of the year.
Clearly there was some concern for ticket sales when the club sent out messages to come seat holders on Wednesday offering them a free seat.
Ticket sales at GMHBA Stadium are complex.
A large swathe of seats are held year-round and many don’t take up the seat return system – in which you get a discount on next year’s membership for returning your seat and it selling when you can’t come.
But there needs to be a better way of filling out the stadium.
Only twice have more than 33,000 gone to a Cats game since the Selwood Stand has been open, so work needs to be done.
LIKES
NIC’S KNACK FOR IT
He may not always deliver the ball as crisply as you expect, but things generally flow a lot better for Essendon when Nic Martin is involved.
The running machine at least points Essendon forward when he win the footy and his 35 disposals and 660 metres gained added some verve to the Bombers attacking play on Friday.
With Archie Roberts (34 disposals) and Andrew McGrath (31) adding some bounce off half-back.
It’s always a relief for Zach Merrett to have some support and Essendon is a tough team to beat if someone is running shotgun to the captain.
The story is often told of how Martin was let slip out of West Coast’s grasp, but he must be thankful as well that he wasn’t forced to find his way with the battling Eagles and has at least played on a competitive team to start his career.
So, Nic Martin just did this 😮#AFLTigersDons | #AFLDeadlypic.twitter.com/e7OGMRbM6g
— AFL (@AFL) May 23, 2025
The Dons can get caught in their own malaise at times but Martin is always looking to attack and was a deserving winner of the Yiooken Award.
Essendon has not been a good side this year but they were in the top eight on Friday night and continue to force-feed games to kids like Angus Clarke, who showed something with a few goals.
That’s a win for a club that actively got younger last off-season.
As Nate Caddy noted post-match, the Bombers need to go big in the mid-season draft just to get enough bodies around the club to field a team, but they have put in each week, even if the polish isn’t always there.
BILLY’S BRILLIANCE
Foot woes meant Jamie Elliott was literally one bad step away from retirement last year, and now he might bit in career-best form.
Collingwood powered away late to squash North Melbourne and it was Elliott who kept the Pies going before the final-term avalanche.
The man Pies fan adoringly call ‘Billy’ bagged five goals against Essendon in round 7 and six against Fremantle in round 9.
His cool head to bag five majors against the Roos when most of his teammates couldn’t find the big sticks during the middle of the game was telling and he has always had more class than an overworked year 12 student.
Elliott has never kicked 40 goals in a season - his 39 in 2023 is his best - but he has 28 majors through 11 games and is moving better than he has in years.
A nasty foot injury severely limited the 32-year-old last year but now he has to be in consideration for the All-Australian side.
As Elliott kept the Pies afloat, along with workhorse Ned Long, it was Nick Daicos who pushed them towards the big win.
Quiet for Daicos standards, he had 10 disposals in the first half but took over after the main break to tally up 28 in the second half.
After a few lean weeks the Brownlow Medal favourite made a statement.
COOL PALM LUKE
Clearly, it is no longer a question of how Fremantle can make Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy work together.
Now the Dockers need to work out if they can get any value for Darcy in the trade market and rivals will be positioning themselves to grab the injury-prone ruck.
Because Jackson just simply has to play as the lone ruck for the Dockers from now on.
He dominated Power big man Dante Visentini early, racking up a ridiculous 13 hitouts to advantage in the first half and doing his bit at ground level.
Visentini fought on admirably but Jackson’s influence was clear as he ended the night either eight clearances to go with 38 hitouts, a goal and 21 disposals.
The big man was ably backed in by young Murphy Reid, who at 18 has football IQ way above most players with more experience.
His four goals were electric, and he is the best performer in a purple headband since Dodgeball’s White Goodman.
Jackson isn’t just a unicorn in his ability to play as a tall midfielder when the ball hits the deck, he showed on Saturday he can be a genuine tap ruck too.
As the Jon Ralph reported in the Herald Sun last week, Jackson wants to be the No.1 ruck and if it doesn’t happen, his flirtation with a departure may become something more serious.
He was crystal clear on Fox Footy post-match when he said “I do love” being the solo big man and it is “Where I play my best footy”.
Fremantle will need Jackson to carry on his form as they push back towards the top eight, given captain Alex Pearce should be suspended for cleaning up Darcy Byrne-Jones, with the shoulder contact to Byrne-Jones’ head the smoking gun in that incident.
Darcy has had a wretched injury run in recent years and holds a contract with the Dockers until 2030.
Geelong has long been said to have interest, but given his history, would any other Victorian club take on all of another five years and $3.5m to get him back to his home state?
Jackson has to be let loose in the ruck, so Darcy probably has to be let loose in the trade period.
STILL THE LION KINGS
We all thought the Lions were only just going in recent weeks, but in comparison to recent reigning premiers they have been flying.
Of the previous four teams attempting to defend a flag, only Melbourne in 2022 has had a start like Chris Fagan’s side 11 rounds into the season.
The Dees that year were 10-1 and well on top of the table.
As the siren sounded at the MCG on Saturday, Brisbane was sitting on top of the table.
Not other premiership defence in that timeframe has started so well, with no other team in the top five after 11 rounds.
The Lions were unstoppable in September last year thanks to their wide variety of weapons and that was back on full display in dispatching Hawthorn.
Charlie Cameron had kicked 8.15 for the season before exploding for three goals In three minutes in the second term to put a gap on the Hawks.
Cal Ah Chee (four goals) was at his best, Kai Lohmann showed some good signs and Logan Morris continues to develop.
Cam Rayner was invisible in the first half but should have kicked four goals after the sun set.
Brisbane’s kick-mark game stretched Hawthorn and the pressure from those red jumpers would have pleased Fagan, who enjoyed his 200th game in charge on Saturday, the most – the Lions simply feasted on turnovers.
If we were seeing some minor hangover signs in recent weeks, the Lions have now smashed a bacon and egg roll and are feeling fine again.
GREENE LIGHT
Toby Greene dialled it up with an outstanding first term – 12 disposals, two goals and 307 metres gained – and carried that form on to a memorable win in his 250th game.
Greene has had an indifferent 18 months by his high standards and showed some of his best to squash Carlton.
If he really gets rolling the Giants can be serious contenders because their depth behind the A-graders is so good.
Leek Aleer is being hunted by Victorian clubs and would play every week in 17 other defences, and he was strong in his first game of the season.
Calum Brown comes and goes from matches but he bagged three goals at important times after being thrown around between the seniors and reserves this year and has serious talent.
Aaron Cadman kicked two late goals when it mattered, Harvey Thomas is a player and Joe Fonti showed good composure when it counted in the last term.
The Giants will still feel they gave it away last year when they could have won the flag and have some injury worries.
They need to bank wins against Richmond and Port Adelaide in the next fortnight before back-to-back meetings with the Queensland clubs that could decide if they make the top four.
CAMERON’S COLEMAN CASE
Geelong stationed Jeremy Cameron close to goal in the final term of a loss to Sydney in round 13 last year and liked what it saw.
From then on, ‘Roaming Jerry’ was contained deep and in the final 12 games of 2024 he averaged 3.3 goals and 5.5 scoring shots per game – both would have led the league last year.
Cameron played a heap of wing time against GWS in round 9 but when Patrick Dangerfield felt that familiar hamstring twang early in last week’s win over Port Adelaide, Chris Scott and forwards coach James Rahilly sent him deep and he has bagged 13 goals in eight quarters since.
‘Jezza’ was irrepressible against the Western Bulldogs on Thursday, and Rory Lobb will be having nightmares about him running back into an open forward line for weeks – wearing the same blue and white colours as the great thoroughbred, defenders chase forlornly like they are trying to mow down Winx as Cameron picks up steam.
Cameron was at his best in his Giants days when he could sprint towards goal into space and the Cats set the field up beautifully for him that way.
He can win the Coleman Medal if played in this role.
Instead of Pagan’s Paddock, defenders will get lost in Scott’s Sinkhole if that kind of space is left for Cameron in coming weeks.
Only Lance Franklin could rival Cameron in terms of genuine tall forwards in space in modern times, and the elder Cats fans rugged up at GMHBA Stadium would have been having flashbacks to another jaw-dropping forward who wore No.5 at times on Thursday.
The Dogs small forwards were just as dangerous during the brilliant ‘Baz Battle’ and Luke Beveridge would not have been too concerned about how his team is travelling come Friday morning, especially when he remembers those five posters.
We have all lauded Dangerfield’s dominance up forward this year, and now Cameron is rounding into form, with Shannon Neale starting to get a handle on senior footy.
Look out.
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