The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 11
Demons ruckman Max Gawn probably suffered the most as inconsistency in a specific area of umpiring becomes more obvious. See Robbo’s likes and dislikes.
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Another season of hope, another season of disappointment for Carlton fans.
The Blues, Eagles, Hawks and Bulldogs all have tough questions to answer after Round 11, but the new-look Bombers backline and two veterans shone when it mattered most.
And why is no one talking about a huge premiership threat?
See all chief footy writer Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes below.
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DISLIKES
1. Bye, bye Blues
They are 4-7 at the halfway mark of the season and need to come home at least 8-3 to be a shot at finals. It ain’t going to happen. We can make all the excuses we like, but the fact is they are level on games won with Gold Coast and Adelaide. And the fact is they continue to be shredded in one quarter in most games. On Sunday, it was the final quarter. The margin at three-quarter time was three points. In the final quarter, the Blues were belted around the footy -12 contested possessions and -8 in ground balls. It allowed Sydney to control the game. The Swans took 41 marks for the quarter, and to put that in context they took 67 in the other three quarters. As a result, Carlton’s pressure was just 155, their fourth-lowest rating in a quarter this year. Simply, they weren’t tough enough for long enough yet again.
2. Crows shoot themselves
It was a terrific contest and the Crows would be pretty disappointed. They were the youngest team of the round and ran the premiers to two goals in final quarter before the Tigers were able to assume control. They conceded 27 points from centre square stoppage, when the average is about 10 points, and they too often butchered the ball. The kicking efficiency between the two teams was 79-61, which was the biggest differential between two teams in a game this year. Also, their pressure was 168 to Richmond’s 198, whereas last week when the Crows rolled Melbourne it was 192. They were dogged, the Crows, but that’s rarely enough to win game of football.
3. A weekend of displacement
Six quarters of football this year have put the downers on the Bulldogs. That’s not to say they won’t be barking when it matters most, but twice the Dogs have been put up in lights on Friday nights and twice they have been dismantled. Richmond did it in half in Round 7 and Melbourne for four quarters on Friday night. In both games, they were pressured in their back half into turnovers. In other words, they weren’t allowed to stream through the middle and overlap – and instead, too often, they gave the ball back to the opposition. In the first quarter against the Demons, they conceded more points from turnovers in the back half (37 points) than they had conceded in their other 10 games across four quarters. The Richmond game was their third-worst points conceded and in between was Carton (Round 8). That’s a trend. It’s only one aspect of an overall game plan against the Bulldogs, but would appear a key is to pressure kickers in the back half, force the turnover and then punish them on the scoreboard. Melbourne did it superbly on Friday night and we all remember what Richmond did to them in the second half of their game at the MCG.
4.Not even flat-track bullies
Problems galore at West Coast. Injures have decimated the team, and when they lost Tim Kelly and Oscar Allen on Saturday night, they couldn’t stop the surge from Essendon. Their midfield was overwhelmed and so, too, was their defence. At the moment, they are struggling to defend opposition key forwards. At different times, Cale Hooker, Harrison Jones and Jake Stringer were commanding, and if the Bombers were accurate in front of goal, the margin would’ve been 30-plus. The defeat came despite a powerhouse game from ruckman Nic Naitanui.
5. Tim Taranto
Has had a ripper season, but has one major flaw: his kicking. He had 36 disposals against the Lions on Saturday, which included a season-high 23 kicks. The issue was he went at 30 per cent efficiency by foot. That gave the Lions plenty of opportunities to win the ball back. Yes, Taranto does a lot of his work in traffic and he’s brave and knows how to find the pill, but if he is going to emerge as one of the gun youngish midfielders in the competition, his kicking needs to improve. His efficiency across his career is at 49 per cent. The league average this year is 67 per cent.
6. Pies’ De Goey dilemma
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is always questioned when he doesn’t play Jordan De Goey deep and give him space. And that’s all jim-dandy if De Goey kicks goals. What we witnessed at the weekend was De Goey’s midfield capabilities. The Collingwood snore-fest changed for the better after halftime when Buckley pulled the trigger. De Goey’s first half as a forward produced 22 SuperCoach points, eight disposals and two score involvements. His second half in the midfield was 63 SuperCoach points, 18 disposals, five score involvements and two goals. It was a striking performance, but the challenge for De Goey is to find consistency in either the forward or midfield roles. He was the light on a largely dark day for Collingwood, although Pies fans would be pleased with the effort of first-gamer Trent Bianco, who was the club’s seventh debutant this season. Who knows if Buckley will be coach next year, but he is coaching for the future, which makes winning in the now that much tougher.
7.We have a problem, Steve Hocking
First raised by Channel 7’s Brian Taylor, and written here five weeks ago, and highlighted again at the weekend, is the ridiculous ‘play on’ calls by umpires to players who have not deviated off their mark. The Max Gawn call was criminal at that moment. And to call ‘play on’ when a player has slipped in the motion of kicking – Bulldog Tim English and Essendon’s Harrison Jones – seems a little unforgiving. More to the point, why do umpires give defenders so much time before calling ‘play on’, but gave Gawn, who was kicking inside 50, barely four seconds to decide what to do. We like our quirky game, but we hate inconsistency.
8.The freefalling Hawks
It would seem president Jeff Kennett is a better book launcher than he is a footy pundit. He spoke last week at the unveiling of colleague Mick Warner’s book about alleged governance issues at the AFL. Kennett didn’t draw breath or use any notes in a 15-minute speech about the quality and depth and, he said, the honesty of Warner’s read. A matter of weeks ago, however, he said he expected the Hawks to be strong contenders after the next two years. It is wishful thinking. Beaten by the Suns at the SCG, the Hawks need players in almost every area of the ground: Key forwards, small forwards and depth in the middle. The only area where they look capable and with depth is the defence, with James Sicily, Will Day, Changkuoth Jiath, Jack Scrimshaw, Denver Grainger-Barras, Blake Hardwick and Jarman Impey shaping to be a formidable group.
LIKES
1. The sleeping giant
Still, the Brisbane Lions are an afterthought as Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs – before Friday night anyhow – are considered the best two teams in the competition. Meanwhile, the Lions continue to dispose of opponents with clinical monotony. Even the win over the highly acclaimed Giants on Saturday is passed off as another “solid’’ performance. It was more than that. They stomped on a finals contender. It was their seventh consecutive victory – their previous wins coming against Essendon, Carlton, Port Adelaide, Fremantle, Gold Coast and Richmond – and at the halfway mark of the season they sit third. We’ll know more about their capabilities after they play Melbourne next week. If they win that game, the respect from the footy world should soar. Can’t wait for that game, wherever it will be played.
2. What a rebound it has been
The Lions were 1-3 after four rounds and are now 8-3. In the past seven weeks, largely without their best midfielder Lachie Neale and Jarrod Berry, they are No. 1 for points for (107) and No. 2 for points against (62). They are No. 2 for contested possession differential and No. 3 for clearance differential. That’s a strong premiership profile. If they knock over Melbourne, surely they start to get the respect they deserve.
3. Jack and the beanstalk
The young fella who has rivals circling was enormous in the first half and the veteran with the doubters clamouring was vintage in the second half. They are Callum Coleman-Jones and Jack Riewoldt. It’s little wonder clubs are wanting to learn of Coleman-Jones’ plans going forward. He looks to be a legitimate key forward prospect. With Tom Lynch sidelined, Coleman-Jones kicked four goals and Riewoldt five goals. Riewoldt plays a different role when Lynch is beside him, which is more a separation role to give Lynch space. In the second half on Sunday, he was the commanding presence and finished the match with 14 marks and five goals. Whenever observers start quietly questioning Riewoldt’s worth, the champ has also been able to respond. He did it again on Sunday.
4. The bubbly Swans
When Isaac Heeney and Tom Papley are whooping it up, the Swans are furiously dangerous. Heeney was best afield with three goals and 10 score involvements, while Papley kicked three goals in the second half when the game was in the balance. They are so potent in the F50, the Swans. Lance Franklin loomed all day and the other two were matchwinning with their performances. All the while, Luke Parker, Josh Kennedy and Callum Mills stand up in the midfield. Sydney is 7-4 with St Kilda and Hawthorn to come, and they play an attractive game of footy. That can’t be said of every team.
5. Jayden Laverde
He is one of the most improved players in the competition, but it has to be said that category has plenty of nominations. Against the Eagles, he played on one of the most in-form forwards in the game, Jack Darling, and Darling had a game-low 24 SuperCoach points, seven disposals and three marks. In the pivotal final quarter, Laverde had five disposals and took three marks, two of them intercepts near the death. He has been enormous in the reshaped Essendon backline, where Dyson Heppell and Nick Hind have been the newbies alongside Laverde.
6. Captain Joel
No one really talks about Joel Selwood any more. They should, although it’s understandable that the elevation of Quinton Narkle mainly and Brandan Parfitt has prompted plenty of media attention. Selwood, who turned 33 last Wednesday, is enjoying his best season numbers-wise since 2016. His impact, of course, is more than just numbers. After a solid start to the season, four of his past six weeks have been enormous, which quietens any talk that age – and crash, bang footy – has wearied him. His average SuperCoach points this year is 107. His past four year have been 88, 88, 105 and 100. Against the Pies, in what was an ordinary game of skills, Selwood had 26 and nine score involvements, second only to Tom Hawkins’ 12.
7. The secret full-forward
Melbourne’s Bayley Fritsch has played 10 games this year and kicked 25 goals, which is the second-most goals of any mid-sized or small forward behind Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti. It is said om McDonald and Sam Weideman are keeping Ben Brown out of the team, but the ability of Fritsch to play as an undersized key forward means McDonald, Weideman and Brown will never – OK, rarely – play in the same forward liner. Fritsch is tied with McDonald as the most targeted forward in Melbourne’s forward line this season. Because the other big guys require key defenders as opponents, Fritsch often gets the third defender and his marking and ball smarts make him a dangerous player. He had Zaine Cordy on Friday night, and before that Jake Kelly and before that Luke Parks and Lachie Plowman at Carlton. He is currently ranked No. 9 in competition for forward 50m marks and No. 1 for general forwards. What a weapon he is.
8. Mason Wood
The big tease kicked three goals and had 18 disposals against his old mob, and it’s games like this when you think he could become a regular senior player. We’ve said that before about the talented Wood, but he just can’t keep his spot in the side. Is it mental with him? Did the fact he was playing the Kangaroos – they kicked him out at the end of last season – trigger some emotional response? Whatever it was, Wood has to grasp it and try to salvage what has been a wasted career.
9. Has the wheel turned at the Suns?
It’s disrespectful to say it was only against Hawthorn, because you can only beat who you play. Gold Coast kicked 113 points, which was their highest score of the season and a significant turnaround from their previous scores of 57, 51 and 54. What the Hawks require is what the Suns have, and that’s second and third-year players playing significant roles. Ben King and Isak Rankine kicked eight goals between them and it’s a sign this tall forward/small forward combo can be formidable in time.
Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 11
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