Port Adelaide’s plan to ‘terrorise’ Lachie Neale backfired last year, so they must find another way to nullify the Brisbane star
He’s the league’s in-form midfielder and has blitzed Port Adelaide in the past, despite the Power roughing him up during their last encounter. So just how will Ken Hinkley’s men stop Lachie Neale on Saturday night?
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How does Port Adelaide solve a problem like Lachie Neale?
The Brisbane ball magnet has put Port to the sword on numerous occasions, averaging 29.7 disposals from his 13 games against the Power and 36.8 in his last five outings.
And in 2020, he is arguably the form midfielder in the competition and winning the ball for fun.
The Power have let him run free in the past, backing their midfield to nullify his influence on the game, and that hasn’t worked.
And when they put an extremely hard tag on Neale last year, that backfired big time.
It was widely known then that new Port recruit Cam Sutcliffe would get the job tagging the man whose wedding party he was part of just eight months prior.
But when Ken Hinkley told Fox Footy’s David King just before the Round 17 match at Adelaide Oval the plan was to “terrorise” Neale, it was clear just how far the Power would go to try and stop their tormentor.
Operation 'Terrorise' Lachie: Ken Hinkley made Port Adelaide's intention to target Brisbane star Lachie Neale clear pre-game.#AFLPowerLions pic.twitter.com/Z7I9ChhMEf
— AFL (@AFL) July 16, 2019
Sutcliffe had the job stopping Neale amassing the huge possession numbers he usually does, and the rest of the Port team seemed to have been told to beat up the gun midfielder whenever they had the opportunity.
Tom Rockliff and Ollie Wines couldn’t wait to crash their bigger bodies into the 177cm Neale, while Dougal Howard – now at St Kilda – sent the Lion onto the floor off the ball and started a near all-in scuffle.
Sutcliffe continued the physical barrage of his good friend as they ran off to the interchange, prompting Lions hard-nut Mitch Robinson to seemingly challenge him to a one-on-one on Adelaide Oval.
But while the plan was to “terrorise Lachie” and bludgeon the Brisbane star, the Power’s tactics only galvanised a Lions side that would not be intimidated and kicked seven goals in a row to sew up the fiery encounter by quarter-time.
After the game, Hinkley said his players “misplaced” their aggression when it came to Neale, while Power captain Tom Jonas said in hindsight they went too far.
Lions coach Chris Fagan was less than impressed at the heavy-handed tactics.
“He got pounded, didn’t he?,” Fagan said.
Those watching the game were even more critical of the Power, with former captain Dom Cassisi saying while they tried to stop Neale, they lost focus on the ball.
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said it was a “rubbish tactic” and while former Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade said Hinkley needed to back his instincts, the Power “went over the top”.
But stats from Champion Data do show that if you give Neale some attention through a tag it can work.
In 2019, when Neale came up against five hard tags, he had no more than 16 disposals against his direct opponent.
Sydney’s George Hewett kept him to 14 in the 72 minutes they were matched up for (Neale ended with 29 for the match), Carlton’s Ed Curnow gave up 11 disposals in the 65 minutes he was on Neale (who had 30 for the match) and even Sutcliffe restricted him to 15 in the 73 minutes they went head to head (Neale finished with 23 disposals that afternoon).
Gold Coast’s Touk Miller’s 95 minutes matched up against Neale had the Lion amass 16 of his 20 disposals for the day, while in the second semi-final GWS’ Matt De Boer restricted him to just the eight touches in the 55 minutes he stood him and 17 for the match.
Last week, the Crows had some early success with a Ben Keays tag on Neale, but the Brisbane star was able to break it and collect 25 disposals on his former Lions teammate and 31 for the match.
But the success others have had in using the tag to curb Neale’s influence has Port Adelaide again considering it, according to vice-captain Ollie Wines.
“With a player of Lachie Neale’s calibre you’ve got to look into every avenue to stop his impact on the game,” he said.
“That might be a possibility or in the past we have done some team jobs.”
While Sutcliffe has not been included in the Power team to take on the Lions, Port midfield coach Jarrad Schofield said Karl Amon could run all day with Neale if required, Travis Boak could also go with him and Brad Ebert had experience in trying to stop stars like Nat Fyfe before.
But if the Power are thinking about going as hard at Neale as they did at Adelaide Oval, former Crow Cam Ellis-Yolmen said they better think twice.
“They can try what they want, it didn’t really work last time,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to it.
“We’re going to be playing our own brand of footy and they can bring whatever they want to.
We’re just going out and focusing on us.”
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HOW LOCKDOWN LED TO LION’S FITNESS TRANSFORMATION
Lions recruit Cam Ellis-Yolmen has revealed how an intense lockdown training regimen, involving boxing, cycling and Crossfit, helped him return to his dominating best.
The 190cm midfielder was given a harsh dose of reality after being overlooked for the Lions’ Round 1 selection and forced to watch the season opener against Hawthorn from the sideline.
And it was that feeling which motivated the 27-year-old to take up extra-curricular training sessions of boxing and cycling during the COVID-19 lockdown in a bid to get back to his peak fitness level.
The former Crow admitted having been left out of the Lions’ opening round team was the motivation he needed to get back into shape.
“I just went back to Adelaide to try and keep my fitness up,” Ellis-Yolmen said.
“Luckily for me, I was able to go back to Adelaide where (coronavirus restrictions) were less strict so I could go train and keep my fitness up.
“I was doing some boxing and cycling back in Adelaide.
“Moving over here is a bit of a challenge.
“Not getting picked for Round 1 was a bit of a kick in the bum and spurred me on to get back to the fitness I wanted to be at and I’m back there now.”
Now living back in Brisbane, Ellis-Yolmen has taken it upon himself to continue his extra training activities and remain in shape.
He said it was to safeguard himself from the continually changing landscape of the AFL – and the unknown beyond this weekend.
“I’ve tried to (continue cycling and boxing in Brisbane) but it’s a bit different,” Ellis-Yolmen said.
“Adelaide is a lot flatter so you can cycle a bit easier.
“Here, there are hills everywhere and I sweat walking to the cafe because there’s a hill at the front.
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“I try to keep up the cross training and boxing and stay fit for the year because you never know what’s going to happen.
“You could go into a hub or miss a week so everyone’s trying to keep their fitness and stay on the park.”
The Lions will play ladder-leaders Port Adelaide at the Gabba this weekend.
They will then likely travel to Sydney for their Round 6 game after Queensland border restrictions may force the AFL to reschedule their Friday night MCG clash against Collingwood to a later date.
Ellis-Yolmen said the club was prepared to set up camp “wherever” to ensure the rest of the AFL season is played out.
“We’ve just got to be ready for anything,” he said.
“This year has thrown up everything, so whatever happens and whatever challenges come our way, we’ve just got to put our foot down and keep moving.
“Everyone loves to play at the MCG, but we’ve just got to play wherever.”