Geelong’s plan for Charlie Dixon and Tom Hawkins’ field day highlights two key areas Port Adelaide needs to address quickly
The full-forward showdown between Charlie Dixon and Tom Hawkins was a non-event, and the Port spearhead would have watched with envy as the Cats found space to exploit the Power defence. Has Geelong found the way to stop Port Adelaide?
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We knew a fit and firing Charlie Dixon was key to Port Adelaide’s lofty ambitions in 2020.
But are the Power too reliant on their spearhead?
A tantalising clash on paper, the Friday night showdown between the ladder-leading Power and third-placed Geelong at Metricon Stadium became a tale of two key forwards.
And it was a horror story for Port and Dixon as the Cats showed not only just how to stop the Power in attack, but how to serious hurt their defence.
While Geelong’s Tom Hawkins reminded the AFL world that he may just be the best key forward out there, kicking six goals, Dixon had three Cats defenders around him whenever Port kicked it to him in the game’s opening stages to no reward.
Dixon had no disposals or marks at halftime, and couldn’t even take advantage of a hobbling Harry Taylor in the second half.
He finished with just three disposals, two marks and zero goals, but Geelong coach Chris Scott said while stopping Dixon was importan,\t, it wasn’t Plan A of how to beat Port.
“They are more multifaceted than that,” he said.
“He is such an important player because not only does he kick goals and he is such a big presence and can mark it, but if he doesn’t mark it the seas tend to part.
“I wouldn’t pin it all on Charlie, they are a lot better than just him.”
However, a theme is emerging in the games Port Adelaide has lost in 2020.
Against Brisbane in Round 5 Dixon was kept to zero goals, six disposals and four marks.
In the loss to St Kilda he finished with one goal, eight disposals and four marks.
Todd Marshall has been missing since the Saints game. Peter Ladhams has won his way into the side, but is still a ruckman first, and Mitch Georgiades, while talented, is still raw, meaning Dixon had little support when Port did go forward.
Power coach Ken Hinkley said he wasn’t concerned that teams stopping Dixon could seriously blunt the Power attack.
“No, not really, the battle we lost tonight was to a really well-oiled defensive group,” he said.
“Charlie has dealt with two or three players a game.
“Again, it’s not the Charlie factor or the Hawkins factor, it is what goes on and helps and supports them at each end of the ground.
“For us Charlie he creates a contest more often than not, sometimes he doesn’t have big days but he creates a contest.
“We got cleaned up on the ground as much as we did in the air in our forward half.”
Former captain Travis Boak said the midfield group and Power youngsters in the forward line needed to come to Dixon’s relief when he was subjected to the tactics the Cats used.
“He was battling three or four all night and that’s the way they play back there with numbers and we probably didn’t adjust quickly enough, and they were able to rebound the ball the way they wanted to with numbers back there,” he said.
“We weren’t composed with the ball in hand to start with and that improved, but we weren’t efficient inside 50 or without any penetration.
“Charlie has obviously been in great form and we know what he can bring to the group, but we’ve got some great options there. Mitch is still learning and is still a really good talent down there and Peter Ladhams has come in.
“We definitely have some other options, it didn’t work for us and things didn’t fall our way, but those guys have to learn if Charlie is getting all the attention how can they bring themselves into the game, and it’s the same with us (in the midfield) moving the ball, how can we move the ball in there with more efficiency and find guys who are free.”
Up the other end of the ground Hawkins had a field day.
While Cats defenders swarmed to Dixon for the aerial contest whenever Port kicked to him, Hawkins was able to get isolated time after time and use his height advantage (198cm) over Tom Clurey (193cm) and Tom Jonas (188cm).
Clurey first tried to play in front of Hawkins, but the service from Geelong’s midfield was just too good, and then when the Power defender adjusted the Cats would just hit their spearhead on the lead.
The presence of Gary Rohan, who kicked three goals, gives Hawkins the perfect foil in the Geelong attack as he takes a defender out of the game and helps the Coleman Medal leader get those dangerous one-on-one contests.
The Cats even rolled Lachie Henderson forward at times to ensure a Port key defender was unable to get free and help out on Hawkins.
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For all the talk — and there was a lot — that Dixon was the best key forward in the competition following his and Port’s stellar start to the season, Hawkins made a big statement of his own, finishing with seven contested marks and 12 score involvements to go with his six goals.
Not that he cares about where he is ranked in the football world, according to Scott.
“I doubt it, he is one of the most respectful football players I’ve come across, he has a lot of respect for his opposition and he is such a pro in that respect,” Scott said.
“He lives on a farm outside Geelong and he pines for the simple life, engaging in that sort of stuff I actually don’t think he could give a hoot about what his status in the game is.
“I could be wrong, but I just don’t think those are the sort of things that motivate him.”
Hinkley conceded it was a rough night for his backline, but they needed to be helped further up the ground.
“It is really simplistic to say Hawk won his battle, he did do that but we know it is a result of what happens up the field, if we can get pressure on the board then Hawk doesn’t get the looks,” he said.
“Our backline needs support like every backline needs if you are going to be effective and if you don’t put pressure on the ball and allow quality looks quality players can do that.
“It was around our pressure and hunt around the ball, that was allowing them to get good looks with their shoulders out and running at us with plenty of numbers.”
Boak agreed.
“The backs fought very hard … but certainly up the ground they moved the ball way too easy and were able to give Hawk some really good looks,” he said.
“It is a whole ground defensive thing and if we want to be a really good side we have to make it difficult for sides to move it into their forward 50.”
St Kilda great Nick Dal Santo on Fox Footy said Port Adelaide needed to change its tactics once it became apparent just how damaging Hawkins was.
“The way they played Tom Hawkins, the amount of players who went through Tom Hawkins and the system that Port have had, the Cats picked them apart,” he said.
“You listen to Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Hawkins post-game, they spoke about their preparation coming into the game, they knew exactly how they were going to work their way through that initial defence, the forward press from Port.
“Once they got through there, the amount of space they had over the back — it was a beautiful tactical game and performance from the Cats, but from Ken Hinkley nothing changed. It was a different defender but it was the same result.”
Longtime AFL opposition analyst and strategy coach for Essendon, Adelaide, the Cats and North Melbourne Rob Harding said on Twitter Hinkley would need to learn from how Hawkins exploited his defence time and time again.
“Teams will look to repeat Hawkins spacing + length, need a plan for it,” he tweeted.
