The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 3 of the 2021 AFL season
It might be nitpicking, but Robbo has noticed an annoying flaw in star Tiger Tom Lynch’s game that the big forward must fix. LIKES & DISLIKES
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Round 3 brought plenty of surprises, but the Blues are back in town, and don’t the fans love it?
Rumours of Patrick Cripps’ demise were premature as he led the Baggers to a big win over Fremantle.
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The Dons looked like a different team with Zach Merrett dominating in their demolition of the woeful Saints, and poor old North continued its horror start with Josh Bruce throwing it back to the days of the 10-goal forward.
What do we make of the Swans’ incredible start to the season and did the Power get ahead of themselves?
All that and more as Mark Robinson runs the rule over Round 3.
See Robbo’s likes and dislikes below:
LIKES
1. THE SKIPPER RESPONDS
Of all the hyperbole in the first two weeks of the season, the denunciation of Patrick Cripps was overly premature and majorly wrong. The new open game was supposed to be Cripps’ kryptonite and he could never be a forward, because he was too slow. Even when it was revealed he was carrying injuries, the doubts lingered. On Sunday, he was at his warrior best. His third quarter, alone, returned two goals, 11 disposals — seven contested — and five clearances. The speculation about Cripps’ future at Carlton, another topic which received more airtime than it deserved, finally looks to be over. Blues boss Cain Liddle said as much in an interview on 3AW pre-match. The captain is staying and, really, he was never leaving anyway.
2. SHANNON HURN
Hand up. I thought the veteran backman’s career had come to the tipping point at the end of last season. The Eagles maintained the faith and Hurn — and not for the first time in his career — has rewarded that faith. In his first three games of 2021, he has returned 31, 25, and 26 disposals and in a season where precise kicking has soared to critical advantage, Hurn has gone at more than 90 per cent efficiency in each of his three games. The cynics will argue most of them are the controlled ball coming out of the Eagles’ defence, but the objective remains to get the ball from Point A to Point B. Just ask St Kilda and North Melbourne of that objective. Hurn is 34 in September and in two games time will become the games-record holder at the Eagles and in 11 games will play his 300th game.
3. GEORGEY BOY
For several years, Sydney’s George Hewett was a disciplined tagger and his job was to take the opposition’s best midfielder. His job now is to take the opposition’s most damaging high half-forward. Against Richmond, he didn’t allow Dusty Martin and Kane Lambert to kick a goal. In Round 1, he kept Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko to one goal and in Round 2, he kept Adelaide’s Lachie Murphy goalless. The move is another huge tick for the Young Bloods. The Swans’ greater depth in the middle didn’t kick Hewett out of the team, it repositioned him to halfback and whereas some defenders in the competition are struggling to play one-on-one football, Hewett’s discipline makes him the ideal defender. He defends first and creates second, a welcomed mindset Mick Malthouse addressed in the Herald Sun at the weekend.
4. LID ON IT AT SYDNEY
While the rest of us were enthralled by Sydney’s win over Richmond, coach John Longmire’s reaction post-match and again on Sunday on 3AW was pedestrian at best. Nothing has been achieved yet is his thinking. Nothing to backslap. No big predictions or reassessed expectations. Internally, he would be rapt his team scored 88 points on turnover and rapt his team delivered 180-plus of pressure and rapt with the output of his Young Bloods. Longmire wouldn’t even playfully join in when asked which of the kids was considered by the rest of the group as his favourite. Was it Chad? Or Errol? Or Logan? “I like them all when they play well,’’ he said. Longmire’s joy is he has too many to choose from.
5. A CAPTAIN’S GAME
The Herald Sun asked to interview Zach Merrett before the St Kilda game, but he declined. Because he has not re-signed at the club and is apparently using 2021 to determine if he stays or seeks a free agency, it was thought he best not speak to the media. You know, the questions might be too challenging. After the insipid display the week before against Port Adelaide, a few words from the acting captain would maybe help soothe Bombers fans’ frustration. As it was, he and the team let their actions do the talking and if those actions continue, perhaps Merrett sees a future at the Bombers. He and Darcy Parish put the Saints to the sword. Parish attended 25 centre bounces on Saturday, the second-most behind Merrett, and together they had 14 clearances and 17 score involvements. With Dylan Shiel injured, Parish is playing inside mid, a position he should never again relinquish.
6. JOSH THE BRUCE
No other player took a kicking for his performances in 2020 more than Bulldog Josh Bruce. He was a Hall of Famer for dislikes, so his 10-goal haul at the weekend is deserving of every accolade. Similar to Taylor Walker, Bruce struggled under the long, highball and converging pack. Now, he’s thriving with the extra space and ability to hit up on the lead. Clearly coaches killed the full-forward with density and the new rules have saved them. With the Bulldogs clicking in the forward half, the argument to send Aaron Naughton to defence is over. Not even an injury to fullback Ryan Gardner will prompt coach Luke Beveridge to change his F50 philosophy. If Naughton stays forward and with Bruce, Tim English and Marcus Bontempelli (at times) beside him, it’s difficult to see a spot for No. 1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan anytime soon.
7. NO BUTTS ABOUT IT
Nurturing emerging tall forwards is as important as nurturing emerging tall defenders and while the irrepressible Tex Walker is turning the clock back in the F50, Jordon Butts is making the most of his early career in the D50. He’s played just six games and, in the absence of Daniel Talia, is being asked to stand the opposition’s bets forward. In Round 1, he kept Tom Hawkins to two goals. In Round 2, it was Lance Franklin to two goals. Against the Suns on Saturday, Ben King kicked four goals, but it was possible Butts was among Adelaide vote-getters. He accumulated 95 ranking points, which was sixth-highest for the Crows. King had six kicks and took six marks, so he converted his opportunities, but Butts had 12 spoils, which helped secure the Crows the win. As for Tex, he is the feel-good story of the year thus far.
DISLIKES
1. BULLIED BY THE BLUES
Carlton has hardly been Darth Vader with its intimidatory actions across the first two weeks, but on Sunday made Fremantle nervous with their aggression. There was a hint of white flag from the Dockers in the first half. They were -21 contested possession, -63 uncontested possession, -8 clearances and -18 inside 50s. It was such a comedown from last round’s demolition of the Giants. What we’ve learnt over the first three weeks is mindset is everything. Because the competition is so tight — has the gap between No.1 and No.17 been so tight? — a standoff-ish attitude will kill you. Look at Essendon over St Kilda, Adelaide over Geelong, Sydney over Richmond and Brisbane, and, on Saturday night, West Coast over Port Adelaide. The Dockers discovered some mettle in the final quarter-and-a-half but, by then, the Blues had bolted.
2. SOFT SAINTS
Is there a greater insult than being called ‘soft’?
Pathetic, embarrassing — Brett Ratten’s word — insipid and meek carry a level of insult, but soft, in mentality and action, is the collective dagger. And the Saints deserve the moniker. They laid 11 tackles in the first half, seven in the first quarter and four in the second quarter. The pressure factor in that second quarter was a dismal 137, their lowest result since the second quarter against Adelaide in Round 20, 2019. Alarm bells ring mostly everywhere for the Saints. Dan Butler is a passenger, Brad Hill is riding shotgun to him, Ben Long has stalled and now Jade Gresham (achilles) will miss the year. Rowan Marshall might return this week and they desperately need Paddy Ryder back in the fold. An urgent SOS to the big fella needs to be sent, but it remains to be seen if he responds positively. He was allowed time off to spend time with family and elders, which was fair play by the Saints, but equally fair is St Kilda knowing for sure when Ryder plans to return.
3. LUKE SHUEY
The frustration of having your body breaking down must be beyond comprehension for the Eagles skipper. His body language on the bench near the end of Saturday night’s game was tangible. Commentary he should’ve been benched when the game was done is always cheap post event. Nothing was said when he was racking up 28 disposals and eight clearances. With Shuey out for at least four weeks and Ellott Yeo for who knows how long, maybe coach Adam Simpson redeploys Liam Duggan from halfback to the midfield. He did it last year and it worked. So why not again.
4. STOP THE ONE-HANDERS
Tommy Lynch has a minor flaw. He is a powerhouse forward and opposed to Tom McCartin on Saturday, was meritorious after half time when the match was done. His penchant to try to mark one-handed, however, is small facet of his game that he needs to eradicate. It’s not the first time this is on the radar. Lynch likes to use his strength to hold his ground behind his opponent. He uses an arm to keep position, but doesn’t release that arm when the ball arrives over the back, meaning too often he leans back and tries to mark the ball one-handed. It was a Wayne Carey speciality, but not even Carey could consistently take one-handers. It might be nitpicking, but I reckon every coach in every grade in every year played has said: “Two hands on the ball.’’ And sometimes, Lynch’s strength lends itself to giving a free kick away. He gave away two free kicks on Saturday and has given away seven for the season, which is the equal most for key forwards along with West Coast’s Oscar Allen and Brisbane’s Joe Daniher.
5. NORTH MELBOURNE’S WOE
This rebuild requires patience, but also requires standards. David Noble asks for patience among fans but he must also ask for contribution from his players. It’s why he must have integrity at selection. Lachie Young can’t play this week because he doesn’t deserve a game and Aaron Hall might find himself in the same predicament. Young was caught in the headlights several times. He had three back-half turnovers, which the Dogs scored 2.1. The experienced Hall was worse. He had five back-half turnovers and the Dogs scored 2.2. Hall had 23 disposals (18 uncontested) and kicked a goal. And Young had 16 disposals. They are OK numbers, but they are just numbers. Noble can hardly reward them both with senior selection when their fundamentals were so lacking. Even in a rebuild, players cannot be gifted games. The bigger picture is North Melbourne’s mindset. Maybe bringing the mouthguards to training wouldn’t hurt.
6. PORT BOMBS OUT
Ken Hinkley should write BIG HEADS on the whiteboard and leave it there all week for the players to see it and accept it. That was shambolic against West Coast. Workrate and accountability was absent in the midfield and with only 40 inside-50s, what hope did the tactic of playing four tall forwards have of succeeding? Playing Georgiades, Ladhams, Dixon and Marshall didn’t work. Combined, they took three F50 marks, all of them taken by Marshall. The Eagles had 57 entries and Kennedy, Darling and Allen combined for eight goals and 17 marks. Clearly, the problems were generated in the midfield, but am curious to see if Hinkley plays the four talls against Richmond on Friday night. If his midfield can respond, the tactic could stretch a Richmond defence missing Nick Vlastuin. If the midfield is meek as it was against the Eagles, no tactic will work.
7. WHAT’S HAPPENED TO BEN AINSWORTH?
He had the opportunity to be the matchwinner on Friday night but two behinds in the final quarter either side of 40m from goal didn’t get the job done. Patience is always forthcoming for young Suns players, but at the same time, those young Suns have to start delivering. Ainsworth is now 23, was a top-10 draft pick and is nearing 60 games in his career. He had 18 disposals and kicked a goal in the trainwreck win over North Melbourne in Round 2 and against Adelaide it was only seven disposals, two behinds, three tackles and three score involvements. He’s shown he can be a good player, but not near enough to what he should be capable of.
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Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 3 of the 2021 AFL season
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