The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 19
THE TACKLE: THIS is as bad as it gets for Richmond but Tiger fans should ease off Damien Hardwick. Robbo reveals his likes and dislikes from Round 19.
Mark Robinson
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THIS is as bad as it gets for Richmond but Tiger fans should ease off coach Damien Hardwick.
Thanks heavens the Tigers have Alex Rance, who saved them from an even more humiliating defeat.
Melbourne’s win over Gold Coast was painful to watch but it was a perfect night for Brent Harvey.
MARK ROBINSON reveals his likes and dislikes from Round 19.
DISLIKES
1. Calls for Hardwick’s head
Was at a funeral on Friday and death was in the air and the son of the deceased — my aunty June — was distressed. Still, amid his pain — and he is a Tigers fan — he found time to declare it was time for Richmond to sack Damien Hardwick. Then came Saturday’s misery.
The Richmond electorate is restless. Many want change. Saturday’s performance delivered all those things you don’t want to see: insipid, uninspired and their worst score in 50 years. But what was the expectation? The team contained Nathan Drummond (three games), Oleg Markov (four), Daniel Rioli (14), Adam Marcon (one), Jayden Short (12) and Kane Lambert (26) and they played GWS in Canberra.
One team had a contingent of inexperience, the other is aiming to win the premiership. It’s an odd environment, football. Everyone demanded Richmond plays the kids, and when they do and they get beaten, everyone says the coach should be sacked. Kids and losses go hand-in-hand. Remember, this mob beat Hawthorn by 75 points.
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2. Complete rebuild?
That’s already started and that’s why we have seen the aforementioned youngsters plus Liam McBean, Connor Menadue, Corey Ellis and Jason Castagna this year. The problem is the mid-tier group has hit the wall and recent recruits haven’t worked. Look at Collingwood. They bring in Levi Greenwood, Jack Crisp, Adam Treloar, Travis Varcoe and Jeremy Howe. The Tigers have purchased Jacob Townsend, Andrew Moore and Taylor Hunt.
Who’s rubber stamping these deals to get so-called hard heads into the group? Hardwick has to take responsibility, as does his list management group. The future plans are obvious: Keep draft picks, trade out to get more draft picks under pick 20 but, first of all, decide if Hardwick will get a second chance at a rebuild. CEO Brendon Gale said on Sunday Hardwick will coach in 2017, so clearly it’s trade and draft time.
3. What doesn’t help? Plenty ...
When Trent Cotchin doesn’t lay a tackle. When Shaun Grigg and Anthony Miles disappoint. When the team is soft and undisciplined. When the list is overrated. When they recruit Chris Yarran and he doesn’t play a game. When Brendon Bolton delivers a game plan at Carlton in one season and they push Sydney and Hawthorn in the past two weeks and the Richmond game plan is licorice all-sorts and they lose their past two games by 70 and 88 points. Let’s be honest, there are spotfires everywhere.
4. So what happens now?
Gale declared Hardwick would coach in 2017, but didn’t guarantee him. They play Collingwood, Geelong, St Kilda and Hawthorn in the next four weeks and if there are terrible blow outs in all four, if the team is as embarrassing as it was on Saturday, then the board will have to decide if Hardwick is the person to go forward with. That’s their role. So, the next four weeks are crucial.
5. Who’s under more pressure?
Justin Leppitsch’s Lions were shameful on Saturday night. They gave up 25.23 at home and, let’s be honest again, if Leigh Matthews wasn’t at that club, you have to wonder if Leppitsch would be. Matthews has declared Leppitsch will coach in 2017, but chairman Bob Sharpless said two weeks ago Leppitsch’s position would be reviewed at the end of the season, which he said was standard procedure. Would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at that post-season board meeting.
6. Injuries
Wrote on Sunday that if the Bulldogs win the premiership this season, it would be a flag for the ages. Jackson Macrae has a hammy and could be four weeks, who knows yet on Tom Liberatore and there’s a bundle of niggles.
The worry at North Melbourne is Jarrad Waite who can’t get his hip right. Without him, their premiership tilt is severely hampered, notwithstanding Drew Petrie’s return to form.
7. Melbourne v Suns
Worst game of the season, so much so that it was enjoyable to watch. Two candidates for worst decisions of the year. Gold Coast’s Jarrad Grant had a shot at goal, but it was a terrible attempt and the ball dribbled out of the bounds. And the field umpire paid deliberate. You have to be kidding.
Minutes later, with the Demons leading by a point, Billy Stretch, who has had solid season, had a three-on-one their favour in the forward 50m and kicked the ball out of bounds on the full. “I can now understand why Melbourne supporters go skiing,’’ commentator Jason Dunstall mused.
8 Wait, there’s more
The non-decision of incorrect disposal against Sam Day when tackled by Aaron vandenBurg with 100 seconds to play was mind-boggling. And then Bernie Vince turned the ball over by foot which allowed Tom Lynch to mark and shoot for goal after the siren. Lynch didn’t kick it, but fair dinkum this match was unbelievable for its drama, its errors — and Jack Watts at the end.
9. Does everyone think Ross Lyon should be sacked?
The Dockers lost by 90 points, at home, against a top-four team and no-one will bat an eyelid. The Dockers’ tumble this year is worse than Richmond’s. At the same time Lyon got a five-year deal, Hardwick got a two-year deal, but performances like Fremantle’s on Sunday don’t register similar backlash on the national AFL front. They should. This was poor. But there’s perspective at the Dockers. You play kids, you get these performances.
10. Zac Dawson
After years of looking at Zac and his awkward mannerisms, it’s difficult to have sympathy for him after yet another clumsy/menacing attack on a player. This time it was Jake Lloyd and while Lloyd did fumble the ball, there’s no excuse for Dawson to crash into his head. If guilty, and you can’t see him getting off, he is looking at a three-week suspension.
LIKES
1. Boomer Harvey
Liked the build-up, liked the pre- and post-match, liked Lindsay Thomas giving off the easy goal and even liked seeing Richo having a beer on camera as the festivities kicked off in Kangaroos rooms. It was the perfect night for Harvey, his family, the club and the AFL, but that’s it Boomer! There’s not one aspect of your life that we don’t know, so when you retire, be it this year or next, there will be only be a couple paragraphs in the newspaper. I’m sure you won’t be fussed, anyhow.
2. Drewy and Dumont
It was contributions from the old and the young who helped to make Saturday night special for Boomer. Petrie was mighty as a key forward — his goal at the start of the final quarter was the game killer — and plenty of commentators have to admit they were wrong about his demise. Dumont might’ve been the most influential player on the ground. He had Jack Steven for 70 minutes and kept St Kilda’s match-winner to 15 disposals and one clearance.
3. Sam Mitchell blueprint
Brendon Bolton knows what Mitchell can do, so he had no hesitation sending a tagger to the Hawks champ and you wonder if finals opposition will do the same. Sam Kerridge got the nod and he kept Mitchell to 22 disposals and four clearances and you’d take that any day in a final. Remember, last September Mitchell had 35, 33, 35 and 34. Lot to like about the Blues, not least the tackling pressure applied by Jack Silvagni. Some of his efforts on Saturday were terrific.
4. Darcy Moore
Could choose 10 players, from Rupert Wills’ 11 tackles in game one, to Josh Smith, to Pendlebury, Taylor Adams, Treloar and vastly improving James Aish (26 disposals), but the salivating was all about Darcy Moore before his injury. A breakout game was looming when Moore injured his collarbone in Round 10. On Sunday, the breakout game was delivered. He took five contested marks in the first half and kicked 3.2 which was the class in a fierce approach from Collingwood. The Pies laid 119 tackles, their most recorded in a match. In the third quarter they laid 46 tackles to West Coast’s 19.
5. Travis Boak
Ken Hinkley is throwing his players everywhere, the most recent being the skipper Travis Boak who spent almost half his game-time in attack on Saturday night. He won 17 of his 24 disposals forward of centre and a disposal efficiency of 82 per cent in this area of the ground. He also finished with a career high 17 score involvements and kicked an equal career high three goals. That said, the Port players were lining up for free ball for much of the night.
6. Alex Rance
He would’ve gone insane with frustration on Saturday afternoon, wondering what in the hell was happening in his midfield. Talk about under siege. And if Rance didn’t play, the Tigers would’ve lost by 140 points and not by 88. Rance had 17 intercept possessions, the second most by any player this season and the sixth most ever recorded, and that’s not counting his spoils and tackles and pressure. Arguably, he was the best performed player on the ground.
7. Stephen Coniglio
All the chatter is about Callan Ward’s legitimacy as the All-Australian captain, but Ward can’t be the only Giant in All-Oz mix. Coniglio past six weeks have produced 29, 31, 30, 32, 28 and 33 disposals, as well having, at times, a run-with role. Ward, Coniglio, Dylan Shiel and Tom Scully are the midfield contenders, Steve Johnson has to be considered at half-forward, while Heath Shaw is the automatic in the back pocket.
8. Rhys Stanley
Applause all around for Jimmy Bartel and Corey Enright and for what was a spanking night of football and celebrations, save for the Bulldogs injuries, but Stanley was remarkable. Will ask again, who knew Stanley had this sort of football in him? He kicked five goals, had 16 disposals and of his seven marks, five were contested.
9. Welcome back Isaac Heeney
Been in a hole for a couple of months and timely with four games to play before September, that Heeney finds touch. It was average opposition, but Heeney got his hands on the ball (22 disposals) and kicked four goals. It was possession-fest at Subiaco on Matthew Pavlich’s big day, which says plenty about the accountability. Four players had 40-plus and with some lopsided games looming in the competition, we can expect to see plenty more big-possession games.
10. Jack Watts
Don’t really know why but there are some players you really want to see play well. It’s probably because of the all abuse Jack Watts has taken over his career. He is a significant footballer and was the match-winner for the Demons, kicking the winner with two minutes to play after taking a contested mark in the pocket and then, when pushed behind the ball at the death, he took a saving mark in the goal square. We often say great leadership in regards to Luke Hodge and Joel Selwood and Lance Franklin and that’s exactly what Watts supplied.
BEST TWEETS
@rpbion: likes Suns Pies resurgence dislikes Lions, Dockers and Tigers not turning up
@mattpruys: like @JackWatts4 - kicks winning goal & is only Demon to run behind ball from restart, takes saving mark. Super
@SpiersTroy: dislike : Brisbane Lions..? What the hells going on there...! Likes: go the cats....Hawkins back.
@magicmoca: dislike hardwick smiling in the box. Did he realise during this game he’d finish at year’s end?
@jerka17: Dislike Dees having all the ball in last two games but inability to convert. Cost us last week nearly did today
@dcookis: Dislike: being an Essendon supporter. 4 years of purgatory...
@Maxpower806: Dislike the Richmond FC board decisions need to be made
@Gothebombers2: dislike the way Gerard Healy only focused on Daniher kicking 2 OOB and not on his 4 goals or 10 marks
@DeLuca_JD: Like: John Butcher. Dislike: The mess AFL left in Brisbane now they have a new love child in GWS.
@aflfootychick: Dislike: Live coverage cutting Pav being chaired from the ground in his 350th game.
@OzGunner: like - Jackson Trengrove
@fragga81: Likes: Patty Cripps - contested/clearance beast. Played only 40 games. Dislikes: tigers and lions - no explanation needed
@JackySnapback: Like Jack Watts kick to take the lead, dislike Bernie Vince kick to almost cost @melbournefc the game!
@Benny1277: likes the long year for essendon is nearly over dislike is danihers disgracefull set shot kicking for goal
@PaulZauch: like - @JButcher_11 great to see a guy who always has a crack come good. @pafc cult hero
@Shazzam999: dislike the footy God shitting on the Bulldogs
@JrTime09: Like: July now belongs to @patrickcripps also plz ask @JordanLewisO3 of his thoughts on PC9 tomorz
@MrDamage747: likes - Pies tackling and pressure, GWS flogging The Tiges, Boomer. Dislike - Freo.
@RandyVuck: Like: Heeney’s return. Dislike: inconsistency of the contact below the knee rule
@DaniG88: #dislike Tom McDonald holding the club to ransom but still can’t hit a target to save his life... We better not pay overs
@simonsbargains: AFL footy is just about the toughest sport to play. Season is just too long. 17 games plus finals is enough.
@JasonFairall: Like: Up & down nature of top 8. Dislike: Cats players always question umps - umps are under enough pressure.
@Oddscouple: an avg losing margin of 48.89 for the round and clubs clocking of for the year because the AFL rewards losers
@netdog73: Sick of Simpson making excuses for weak, soft,skills errors. No wonder we have the least injuries.#softasbutter
@JayIlsley: I’ll dislike dogs injuries again!!! Season over
@tcb934: like- the way Benny Gale is backing Dimma dislike- the way Benny Gale is backing Dimma!!! Torn!
@dylanph22: Like: JPK’s career best game. Dislike: Channel 7 not showing Pav cheered off + Brisbane all together.
@meljla22: ok.... Dislike: Saints goal kicking and the sliding in rule Like..... Bolt ons coaching against Hawks....
@b_jones_3: like - Carlton, played the last 3 grand finalists in the last 3 rounds and lost by a combined 32 points
@haydenjames32: like: seeing stubbies being handed ‘round in north rooms post match. Old fashion celebration #shinboners
@TheGovorkian: Dislike: Fremantles effort to honour the clubs greatest player; Like: Jack Watts,
@nicofooty22: Like TomScully, Steven Coniglio, Dislikes West Coast are flat track bullies, Brisbane can’t b fixed by leppa
@ddinardo17: dislike playing for a tigers membership every year just to be laughed at. Why pay to be a part of this joke?
Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 19
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