The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 21
The Gold Coast Suns will almost certainly announce Damien Hardwick as their new coach. They would love to have Dustin Martin go with him – but that won’t be happening.
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The top eight race has been wide open for a while, now the premiership seems up for grabs as the top two get the staggers.
Collingwood and Port Adelaide have been a cut above the rest for most of the year, but now the Power has lost four in a row and the Pies their past two, exposing a host of issues for Craig McRae to fix over the next seven weeks.
Meanwhile, the Blues are coming, the Dees nailed a genius low-key trade and don’t write off the Cats making a charge.
Chief football writer Mark Robinson names all his likes and dislikes from round 21.
DISLIKES
1. Magpie marshmallows
Problems have been identified in recent weeks, and they were glaring at the MCG on Saturday. The Pies lost centre-square clearance 18-3 and although the Hawks kicked only three from the centre bounces, it gave them territory. The plus 16 inside-50s from the third-bottom team against the once raging flag favourite had the Pies on the back foot. Taylor Adams, who had been deployed forward for much of this season, returned to the middle after halftime, Beau McCreery had a crack, Jack Crisp had a gallop there in the fourth quarter and Steele Sidebottom and Brayden Maynard also had a turn. From round 9, the Pies are ranked 13th for clearance differential. Is it a major problem? Richmond won flags being an average clearance team, but they made up for it with venom, structure and chaos. The Pies couldn’t land a finger on the Hawks, who adopted more of a kick-mark style, a plan which won Sam Mitchell the day. The Hawks were plus 97 in disposals, plus 87 uncontested ball and plus 66 uncontested marks. Is it a lack of motivation in a long season or are the Pies trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time of the year? Suddenly, the invincibility which shrouded this team for the majority of the year has loosened.
2. And now Nick’s gone down
Six weeks on the sidelines for the wonder kid means we won’t see him until after the first final, and that’s if the recovery goes according to plan. There are more queries now than there were pre-game on Saturday. Daicos is out, Murphy is out, Mitchell is struggling and has been subbed out or started as the sub in three of his past four games, Moore’s not at the top of his game and Ash Johsonn is just going. In fact, the collective is just going. And contested ball is an issue. From round 9, the Pies are 13th for contested ball differential when, from rounds 1-8, they were clearly the No.1 ranked team. That grittiness which coach Craig McRae likes to highlight ebbs and flows too much which is a concern three games out of September.
3. Not tough enough for long enough
St Kilda’s past two surging fourth quarters secured two wins over North Melbourne and Hawthorn, with the Hawthorn win franked when the Hawks bowled over Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday. But a repeat performance was beyond them. Coach Ross Lyon recently said the ladder didn’t lie – in defence of his team’s standing – but the truth is with three games to play against Richmond, Geelong and Brisbane, the Saints are on the way to being marched out of the eight. St Kilda wilted in the fourth quarter against Carlton. The Blues won contested possessions by 15, clearance by eight, inside-50s by 10 and St Kilda’s pressure was 165, as opposed to their first-half pressure of 203. The 165 rating, which is rated poor, was St Kilda’s 13th worst quarter for pressure of their 80 quarters played this year. The Saints have not been outside the top eight all season and if they lose to the Tigers at Marvel, finals looks a stretch. Lucky for them, the game will be played at Docklands, where Richmond has a high level of psychological discomfort.
4. Jaidyn Stephenson
He’s on track to kick his second-most number of goals in a season behind his 38.24 in his first season at Collingwood. But after a fruitful first 15 rounds, where he kicked 21 goals for a team which won two games, Stephenson’s scoreboard impact has drastically diminished. He’s kicked three goals in his past six matches, and those games include five single-digit possession games. Forwards can live in starvation corner but that’s good enough for a player of his capacity. He has one flaw, which he needs to try to eradicate. He likes to kick around the corner, or across his body, and while he was able to jag many goals for the Pies doing that, that preferred execution by him has failed to deliver in recent weeks. He wasn’t to blame for Sunday’s loss, but gee whiz, can he at least try to straighten up when having pots shots for goal.
5, Dimma’s a yes, Dusty’s a no
Neither a like or dislike, but the Gold Coast Suns will almost certainly announce Damien Hardwick as their new coach, but Tigers champ Dustin Martin almost certainly won’t be following him. “I’d like to see Dusty play his 300th game at Richmond and I would’ve thought he would too,’’ his manager Ralph Carr said, noting Martin was 14 short of the 300 milestone. “He’s got such a history there.’’ In the off-season, the pair are headed to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to see some boxing, leave there and spend time planning life in 2024. Martin is contracted to be paid about $1.3 million next year, which is the final year of his contract. That the Suns would take Martin if he wanted to go there – we’re sure they’ve already inquired – tells us the Suns administration finally has a healthy salary cap. Martin, meanwhile, is not heavily in All-Australian media discussions, which is baffling. He is a victim of the high standards he has set and if his numbers this year were put up by a third or fourth-year player, the footy world would be raving.
6. The Richter scale
If you’re going to court, you’d like Robert Richter in your corner. It’s understood the author of the Hawks racism report, Phil Egan, has engaged one of Australia’s top lawyers to fight a slew of charges laid last week, unrelated to the Hawks. Richter, KC, has worked on some of the nation’s biggest legal cases including the acquittal of Carlton identity Mick Gatto following the 2004 death of underworld hit man Andrew “Benji” Veniamin. In fact, Gatto has Richter’s name tattooed across his chest. Richter also acted for Cardinal George Pell and the late Melbourne business tycoon John Elliott. Egan is smaller fry in comparison, but, like the other three, maintains his innocence. Egan, who spent Friday in discussions with his legal team, was charged with scores of offences after allegedly stealing from a body set up to help Indigenous communities. The Herald Sun revealed he was expected to be charged over the matter and last Thursday he was hit with 73 offences. Victoria Police said the charges stemmed from an investigation into allegations of fraud relating to the management of a Robinvale-based organisation. Egan was the author of a Cultural Safety Review into racism at Hawthorn and the charges have raised eyebrows, including at the AFL.
LIKES
1. Cheers to Paddy Dow
When Dow kicked the go-ahead goal at the eighth minute of the final quarter on Sunday, the roar he heard from delirious Blue fans had to course through his body. A whipping boy for so long, Dow played a pivotal role. ‘’There are some wonderful signs from him,’’ Cats great Patrick Dangerfield said on Channel 7. Coach Michael Voss would be pleased for Dow, and not necessarily because of the goal he kicked or the seven clearances he won, or because of the robust nature he displayed in the clinches. No, he would also be pleased because Dow lined up against St Kilda’s Brad Crouch in the final 30 minutes. Crouch had 31 disposals across the first three quarters and did not have a single possession in the final quarter. Neither did St Kilda captain Jack Steele, who was opposed to Patrick Cripps. In a bruising, bustling game at Marvel, the Saints had little hope of victory when their two best midfielders didn’t touch leather. The Blues kicked 4.6 to 0.3 in the fourth quarter and for sure Dow will be in Voss’s coaches votes when revealed on Monday.
2. You don’t have to be fast to be good
Angus Brayshaw and Lachie Hunter would be a nice match race over a 100m sprint. Don’t know who would win, but if Kozzie Pickett was an entrant for the race, he’d probably win by 30m. Lucky for Brayshaw and Hunter, they are two of the smartest players on the Demons’ list. Hunter has been a rock solid pick up for the Demons. He had 33 disposals on Sunday, second-most on the ground behind Brayshaw’s 37 disposals. His 15 contested possessions were a season-high, as were his nine score involvements. That’s good footy. Brayshaw’s switch from half-back to the middle to fill Clayton Oliver’s position also has been a huge winner. From round 11, he’s averaged 25 disposals and the query is whether Brayshaw will return to half-back when Oliver returns maybe next week or the week after. The Demons have used Rivers, McVee, Salem and Bowey as their small and rebounding defenders, and coach Simon Goodwin would be pleased with their output. With Christian Petracca now spending more time forward, we suspect Brayshaw will largely remain in the midfield through the September campaign.
3. Best season ever?
It’s difficult to quantify but with three games to play, 14 teams are at the starting grid to play finals. The top four is settled but not the order, and it’s fifth through to 14th to fill the remaining positions. The Lions have learnt how to play footy at the death. They closed down the game with 90 seconds to play, and Joe Daniher, pinch-hitting in the ruck, was mammoth at the end to stifle Fremantle. Still don’t know how good the Lions are, which sounds ridiculous with them in third spot. How great are any of the top four? Port have lost four in a row and although gallant, they didn’t win the four points. The battered Pies have dropped two in a row. The Lions lost to Gold Coast last week and just hung on against Fremantle. It leaves Melbourne as the best performing team of the top four teams, while the hottest team in town is Carlton. Daniher has kicked 45 goals and played crucial minutes in the ruck, which will have to be taken into consideration by All-Australian selectors. A bench spot for Joey wouldn’t be beyond him.
4. The Hawks captain
Could the most valuable player, as voted by the players, be the skipper of a team which has won six games and sits third-last on the ladder? Outside of Max Gawn and Marcus Bontempelli, not sure there’s a more valuable player for their team than James Sicily. Remember when he was hothead? His maturity and leadership and ability to play the game across half-back is astonishing. He’s a rebounding key defender who can play tall or small who controls games, and he did exactly that on Saturday. If Collingwood coach Craig McRae had his time again, you’d think he’d do something about Sicily collecting 37 touches and 19 marks and 11 intercepts. The Pies don’t tag, but footy’s about making adjustments when you have to. Like, can someone occupy James Sicily please. What a player he is.
5. No tanking
North Melbourne was 90 seconds shy of securing for the next decade or more one of the most hyped players in the national draft. Deep in the last quarter, the Eagles led Essendon by five points before some clinical work by the Bombers nailed them a one-point victory. An improbable Eagles win would’ve given them their third victory of the season and a passage off the bottom of the ladder, which also would’ve meant the Kangaroos, with three games to play, were the chief cellar-dwellers. Yes, Harley Reid would’ve been a Kangaroo save for some Darcy Parish clearance work in the middle. The Eagles have found their fight and the fact they almost won the match tells us tanking can be totally dismissed. It’s heartening to know – others might call it stupidity – that four points in round 21 of a truly wretched season was more important than the No.1 pick which, a) could be Reid or b) could easily be traded away for two or three players.
6. Oh, Errol
The Swans lost one swashbuckling left-footer during the week but they’ve already found a replacement for Buddy’s swagger. We’ve spoken all year about Errol Gulden’s game. He’s a lock for All-Australian on a wing but he’s more than that. On Saturday night he got the one-two on the half-forward flank and strolled towards goal. He had options. He probably should have centred it, but sometimes players get that licence, or better still earn that licence. Buddy obviously had it, Papley’s got a licence too, and Gulden showed he’s got a love for showmanship and for theatre. If he missed the goal he would have been castigated but, just like his mate Bud did for so long, he delivered. He had 32 disposals, kicked two goals and won the Brett Kirk medal, and we suspect it might not be the only medal he wins before his career is over. One query though, why do the opposition clubs allow the best left-footer to have 30-plus? Gulden ripped Essendon last week and then the Giants on Sunday night and he needs far more attention from the opposition than what he’s getting. Surely, taggers need to be reintroduced.
7. Gryan again
He became a meme earlier this year, but there’s no jokes about this bloke. The coach loves him, in fact he has called for All-Australian honours for his pocket rocket. Right now he’s in the form of his career at the time the Cats desperately needed someone to impose themselves on the game. Tommy Hawkins and Blicavs are injured, Jezza is banged up and Dangerfield can’t do it all himself. Against Port, it was the boy with the dreads who had 24 disposals, 10 marks, two goals and 12 score involvements. Twelve is a big number for just 24 touches. He’s kicked only six goals this season, with his role now being the provider higher up the ground and not the small forward scavenger. He leads the league in goals assists and score assists, ahead in both categories from Melbourne’s Christian Petracca. In a remarkable season, the Cats live on, and if they can take down the Pies at the MCG on Friday night, well, hold on to your hats, ladies and gentleman.
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Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 21
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