Fox Footy Jury: Should the Pies persist with Mason Cox? Can the Tigers cover Houli and Edwards?
Even though they’d just played in a preliminary final, Melbourne’s problems were still evident in 2018. Perimeter paralysis is where it starts, but how can the Dees fix it?
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Round 5 in the AFL threw up plenty of talking points, from Mason Cox’s two-disposal game against Essendon on Friday night to Richmond’s two best line-breakers deciding against going into a Queensland hub.
Plus, just how can Melbourne turn around another season where hopes are fast fading?
We asked three Fox Footy experts for their views on the hot topics.
Should Collingwood persist with playing Mason Cox or is a smaller forward line the answer?
Ben Dixon
Former Hawthorn hero
I wouldn’t have played Mason last Friday night. I would have played a Josh Thomas instead and gone smaller with the wet weather. But I think you’ve just got to weigh up the opposition. If you can exploit them in the air and you’re going to get the conditions to suit, I’d play him any day of the week.
But if you’re coming up against a high rebounding backline, I think you’ve got to go a little bit smaller. Because it’s about pressure now and the squeeze and keeping the ball in your forward half is pivotal. I just thought it was a strange selection in the wet last week, but you live and learn.
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Dwayne Russell
Former Port Adelaide and Geelong champion
I think it’s horses for courses with Cox. I wouldn’t be playing him at the MCG in the middle of winter when it’s raining, but I do like the idea of playing him at Optus Stadium in fine conditions and I like the opportunity of playing him if they get more games at the Gabba and Metricon. So I think he is worth persevering with and circumstances might conspire to help him out in the next two months.
Bob Murphy
Former Western Bulldogs captain
He’s like footy’s coriander, Mason Cox. You’re either all out or you’re all in. I’m in. I just think they look more dangerous with him there when they kick the ball to him properly. He just unsettles opposition sides so I’m in the believer camp.
But he really does rely on good delivery, probably more than any other player in the competition. He’s got to add other strings to his bow, but I’d be willing to stick with him.
How much will Richmond suffer from having Shane Edwards and Bachar Houli stay home?
BD: It will impact their side enormously. I think we’ve come to the realisation that their system is so good in recent years, but they’re too big energy players and strong users of the ball. That’s going to hurt your momentum that they got on the weekend. Especially Bachar, his use out of that backline is insane. He often starts the build from the back half. So that’s a big loss.
If this question was posed last year I’d say they’d probably cover it. But because of the broken season and the fact they’ve taken a little while to get their mojo, that’s going to be two big losses for them.
DR: I reckon they’ll be OK. I think the family-first foundation that Richmond has set in stone has held them in pretty good stead and if we all get lucky and we can get a batch of four or five games back in Melbourne on the way to the finals then having players who can come in fresh like that would be big.
But the bottom line is it depends on how many injuries they get. There’s a tipping point with how many guys you can have out. I reckon they’re close to it, but they’ve still arguably got a list that’s finals worthy. If they can just tough out the next month and then come home and get those blokes back, Richmond is the kind of team that can win the flag from seventh or eighth.
BM: My hunch is a fair bit. Coaches talk about it being one soldier out, one soldier in. But what Bachar and Edwards do is bring other people into the game because they run and tend to slice through opponents. We’ve seen how well teams are setting up defensively this season and they’re probably two of the best dozen players in the competition who can run and bounce through those defensive grids. So I think it will hurt them on the field.
How can Melbourne regain its mojo after a 1-3 start to the season?
BD: After the prelim in 2018 I said they’ve got real issues in what they’re trying to implement as a footy team and then they finished down the bottom of the ladder last year. They’ve still got perimeter paralysis. What I mean by that is, once it gets on the outside they’ve just got no defence. Their defence just falls straight away. That’s the one part of their game why they went from heaven to hell in a year. That’s the only reason, is their defence.
When you defend, you’ve got to be able to get your perimeters right and be able to squeeze like all the good teams defend. They’re just not doing that. They’ve got no energy on the outside defending and it’s opening them up. They’ve got some serious work to do. I’ve got some serious concerns for Melbourne.
DR: I think they need to recruit a key forward who can take a mark and create havoc. I think that’s the key. They’ve had a few experiments and Luke Jackson might be that guy in two years’ time but he’s not that guy yet. Fingers crossed he ends up like Max and Ben King in time. But someone like that straightens you up and gives you more confidence to attack if you’ve got someone to attack to. They don’t have that at the moment.
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BM: They just handle the ball like it’s a hot potato. There are technically effective disposals in there, but every time they get it, there’s no care or no responsibility. It’s just a case of, ‘Get it away from me’ and it sends everybody into chaos. They just don’t make it each for one another. And they don’t have forwards who naturally lead to the ball in the traditional way. But care and responsibility with the ball is what I think is holding them back at the moment.
Originally published as Fox Footy Jury: Should the Pies persist with Mason Cox? Can the Tigers cover Houli and Edwards?