The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from Round 3
After plenty of off-field bombshells, it was nice to turn attention back to the game we know and love. MARK ROBINSON runs through his Round 3 likes and dislikes.
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With plenty of off-field bombshells dropped during the week, it was nice to turn the attention to the game we know and love over the long weekend.
Mark Robinson runs through his likes and dislikes from Round 3.
DISLIKES
1. When it rains it pours
The spotlight always finds itself on the losers. This time it’s Brisbane. Sitting 0-3, the Lions are battling poor form on the field and, apparently, poor form off it. The US trip five months back is an unwelcome distraction. That the club had to ask co-captains Lachie Neale and Harris Andrews if there’s division in the group suggests there was a mini-crisis. They said no. So, that should be the end of that. Although why it took so long before the club was made aware of it, and the fact football director Leigh Matthews didn’t know until last Friday, suggests some of the players involved had something to hide. The interest is the titillation surrounding 10 or so young men road tripping in the US and getting up to all sorts of shenanigans. That’s hardly a surprise. That partners weren’t happy when text messages were discovered is absolutely not a surprise. Anyway, that’s their business. The business of why the Lions are faltering is in the lap of coach Chris Fagan.
2. So what’s gone wrong?
Fagan said in the pre-season the Lions had changed their training program. “Instead of playing a lot of 18 v 18, we didn’t have our first 18 v 18 hitout till later,” Fagan said. “And (we) had a lot of small-sided games and restricted spaces, with a lot more touches, a lot more going on, players got to think quicker, and I think that has been a benefit to us.” Is it possible the Lions aren’t fit enough? That the focus on quick hands and quick thinking in smaller groups instead of the usual collective hard-running sessions has left the Lions exposed. In second halves this season, the Lions have kicked 14.17 to the opposition’s 25.13. Across the second halves last year the Lions kicked 184.163 to the opposition’s 164.125. It’s just a theory. If it’s true, the Lions will be better with more match play, although at 0-3, a top four spot would appear unrealistic. Right now, it’s debatable whether a changed pre-season program has been positive.
3. Mind games
Sydney wanted it easy on Sunday. Despite coach John Longmire surely imploring his team to ready itself for a rebounding Richmond, it appeared that the Swans didn’t expect that much heat from the Tigers. And they cracked. Not for all the game, but enough to keep Richmond hungry for the contest. And then the mountain got too big to climb. They gave up five consecutive goals in the third quarter against a team which many believed didn’t have a chance on Sunday. Perhaps the Swans thought the same. In a nutshell, their good players fumbled and their average players dropped marks and missed targets. Gulden was poor in the first half, so was Papley, Campbell and Hayward, while Nick Blakey made mistakes by foot, and McLean, well, he shouldn’t watch the game during the week. The loss will, in review, prompt the biggest cliche in footy: It’s a close competition and if you’re off by two per cent blah blah blah. It’s not a laughing matter because it’s true. The Swans were off and Richmond revelled in the fear created by their pressure.
4. Adelaide’s lost generation
The Crows are a mess. They’ve lost three matches to teams which didn’t play finals last year – Gold Coast, Geelong and Fremantle – and have lost the one aspect of their game which made them dangerous. From being the number one scoring team in 2023, they’ve put up 54, 77 and 34 points across those three matches. They have teased us. Most pundits had them rising this season and right now they are in the bottom three teams and play Melbourne next. Their issues are widespread. The midfield is workmanlike. Tex is out of whack. So are young guns Josh Rachele and Izak Rankine. And the key defensive stocks are an issue. At some stage, the bracket of players aged 21-25 have to take responsibility. Mitch Hinge and Lachlan Murphy are 25, Darcy Fogarty, Chayce Jones and Lachie Sholl are 24, Ned McHenry is 23, Josh Worrell, Sam Berry, Harry Schoenberg and Lachlan Gollant are 22, and Jake Soligo, Riley Thilthorpe and Luke Pedlar are 21. They are at different stages of development and games experience, but as a group, their influence is ho hum. Which of them has the ‘star factor’ beside their name? And now it’s worse because Wayne Milera, a first-round draftee, will miss the season with a knee injury. People who say the Crows overachieved last year have a point because they are a long way off from the team that was denied a finals spot because of an umpiring mistake.
5. Mindless footy
There are small mistakes and headshaking mistakes and two players who should know better sit in the second bracket. The first was Cameron Zurhaar. In the first quarter on Saturday, Zurhaar’s exuberance – or was that selfishness? – had a dribble shot at goal which was a point, when he had two teammates in space and free about 15m from goal. Coaches demand “team footy” and that was a poor example from one of the Kangaroos’ leaders. The other was Esava Ratugolea, or as the Fox Footy boys called him, Esava ‘Ratugolerror’. His decision to mark the ball on his chest behind the goal line instead of marking it with hands thrusts forward cost Port Adelaide a goal. Coach Ken Hinkley refused to jump on his key defender, basically saying all players make errors and they would be reviewed during the week. It’s just that some mistakes are more costly than others.
6. Infuriating habit
Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli is one of the most watchable players in the game. When he left Judd McVee in his wake and ran, bounced, and kicked the goal from the goal line to give Port a six-point lead in the third quarter, silky. He has another habit, though, which is not befitting. When a teammate marks the ball in the forward line, Rioli often makes a beeline for his teammate’s opponent. He arouses hostility with a bump, a swipe, or a pat on the head, which surely infuriates said opponent. Supporters would applaud it as mind games. Others might call it needless antagonism.
LIKES
1. Pressure mostly wins
We know without it, you don’t have a realistic chance. That was Richmond last week. Meek and mild. On Sunday, Richmond was gritty and spirited in what was a mighty performance. It’s further evidence that if you bring the heat, you’re more than likely going to leave with the four points. The Tigers’ pressure last week was 150. On Sunday, it was 174. The key component was the tackling, in the contest and in their run-down tackles. Coach Adem Yze would be pleased with his small forwards. The Tigers laid 14 forward 50 tackles compared to Sydney’s four, and what a difference Maurice Rioli makes. He laid six tackles and was the second highest ranked player on the ground for pressure, behind Sydney’s James Rowbottom. Add Rhyan Mansell’s four forward 50m tackles, and the Swan were jumping at shadows deep in defence.
2. ‘Team effort’
Not sure there was a poor contributor for the Bulldogs, other than Caleb Poulter who had four possessions as the sub. It was a nice afternoon for match practice. They had 421 possessions. Essendon had 417 the night before. The Bombers were short and sharp. The Bulldogs, in contrast, ran in numbers and linked with plenty of handballing. The weirdest stat was the Eagles and the Bulldogs both had the same number of forward 50 entries – 51. It speaks of the class difference. It was a soft kill against a team which needs time and talent, and draft assistance at the end of the year. The AFL cannot deny them. The Bulldogs positives were Bramble, Dale, Williams and Johannisen off the back flanks, which kick started the ball movement, the fans’ whipping boy Laitham Vandermeer was dangerous at high half-forward, Bontempelli played major minutes as a forward, Harvey Gallagher got a sniff and kicked two goals and Buku Khamis edged further ahead of Alex Keath and Ryan Gardner in the key defensive post. Most of the rest enjoyed the team’s dominance.
3. Expect the unexpected
Melbourne whinged after being bounced from the finals last year because the expected scores had them beating both Collingwood and Carlton. Expected scores are stat-based on where you take your shots and how much pressure the player is under. Basically, it’s about efficiency in front of goal. On Saturday night, Port Adelaide was +36 in possessions, +15 in clearance, +10 in tackles and +21 in inside 50s – and -7 on the scoreboard. Expected scores from those numbers had Port winning by five goals. Long-time derided for their lack of forward chemistry, ball delivery into the F50 and set-shot accuracy, the Demons kicked 15.6 from their 45 entries, the stat which tells you why they won the game. It’s little wonder why Port coach Ken Hinkley, in his post-match press conference, looked like he had won the lottery and then lost the ticket. Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin had the same forlorn face in September last year. On the field, Ben Brown (three goals) is rewarding Goodwin’s faith, while Alex Neal- Bullen (24 possessions and two goals) continues to be unheralded by footy fans, but highly valued within the four walls.
4. The master of the short kick
Dyson Heppell lives in an unwelcome weekly bubble. lf the Bombers lose, Heppell is too old, too slow, and why did he not retire? When Essendon wins and Heppell is influential, as he was against St Kilda on Saturday, his experience in helping to orchestrate the new game plan is invaluable. Heppell’s 30 touches were rated better than Nic Martin’s 44 touches and Heppell’s tenacity was highlighted by teammate Kyle Langford in the post-match. His value is not speed, but his footy nous. The Bombers’ plan is to go short coming out of the back half and, overall, win clearance, win the contested ball and apply pressure. They were +5 in clearance, +5 in tackles and +13 in contested ball against a legitimate hard-nut team in St Kilda. Big ticks. They also took 101 uncontested marks, mainly because of their willingness to take the short option and St Kilda’s unwillingness to absolutely defend it. Essendon’ plan is in motion. In the pre-season, they were the number one short kicking team. After three matches, they are still the number one short kicking team, which is co-ordinated in the back half by Heppell, Martin and Andy McGrath, who all had 30-plus against the Saints. It can be a tricky game style because it’s risky, it requires elite talent by foot and needs players presenting. On Saturday, it helped to wear down the Saints. Add a pressure rating of 186 and suddenly Bombers fans can see the light.
5. Ryan’s express
A mate (Darren Caddy) was bewildered about why Luke Ryan didn’t make the Top 50. This year and last year. He argues that because Ryan plays for Fremantle and is on the other side of the country, he doesn’t get the recognition on the east coast that he deserves. A suburban coach for 25 years, Caddy makes a fair point. An All Australian in 2020, Ryan has been a superb mature-age pick up. He was 21 when the Dockers took him from Coburg with selection 66 in the 2016 draft. What a wise decision it has been. He reminds you of Jeremy McGovern. He’s not as competent as McGovern in the air, but he has the same ability to pick off the opposition ball coming in. He’s taken 27 marks and had 65 kicks in three matches this season, which ranks him among the best key defenders in the game. He plays tall (he had Darcy Fogarty on Friday night) and on mid-sized forwards (Cameron Raynor in Round 1 and Cameron Zurhaar in Round 2), and plays a significant role in how the Dockers move the ball from half-back. Contracted until the end of 2027, he’s also remained loyal.
6. The game is flowing
The stats say there’s no drastic change in free kicks paid across the first three rounds compared to the first three rounds last year. To the eye, though, the umpires are letting the game flow by not paying incorrect disposal. In other words, there’s a leniency towards players with the ball and how, and how long, they are allowed to distribute the ball. It creates frustration for players and fans, but as long as it’s consistent and the ball remains in motion, it is a positive. Contact below the knees, however, is a flip of the coin. Port’s Darcy Byrne-Jones was unlucky not to receive a free kick, as was St Kida’s Zak Jones, when they had their legs cannoned into.
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