The Tackle: Brilliant Bevo taming topsy-turvy Dogs in quest for finals berth
Early in the season, there were calls for Luke Beveridge to lose his job. Fast forward three months, and while the Dogs are no less erratic, to Bevo’s credit they somehow have themselves in front of the ledger and racing to finals.
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Mark Robinson unpacks his likes and dislikes from Round 18 in The Tackle.
DISLIKES
1. BOMBERS’ TALL ORDER
Essendon coach Brad Scott has a selection problem. What to do with the big fellas, Todd Goldstein, Sam Draper and Peter Wright? Goldstein is a better tap ruckman than Draper, but Draper is the future so he must play. Draper is not a key forward, but Wright is not competitive enough to demand that position, so there’s an issue. Wright was subbed out on Saturday night with eight disposals and zero marks. It was wet so that’s an excuse.
Still, 19 goals from his 13 games would be testing Scott’s patience. But Draper is not a goalkicker either – he has three goals from 10 games – so there’s another issue. If Scott plays Goldstein, it’s obvious that one of Draper or Wright can’t play. Essendon won the hit outs against Melbourne on Saturday night 43-27, but lost clearances 32-44. Hit outs can be overrated – just ask Geelong coach Chris Scott – but it’s fair to suggest Goldstein’s guile would’ve helped the clearance deficiency. So, who plays? Goldstein and Draper and not Wright? Goldstein and Wright and not Draper? Or Draper and Wright and not Goldstein?
Scott has opted for that last combo in the previous two games, but surely he now has to consider Wright’s spot in the team. Can Draper hold down the key position role? He won’t kick a bag of goals, but he will be competitive in the air and that gives him the edge over Wright. At Round 19, the ruck-key forward conundrum is one of Scott’s issues. Maybe it’s time to bring Goldy back.
2. BAD ATTITUDES
Jason Horne-Francis, like his vice-captain Zak Butters, is a competitive extrovert. But too often they allow that competitive streak to take over to the detriment of their team. On Sunday, a frustrated Horne-Francis had to be taken from the ground and coach Ken Hinkley, like he did with Butters the week before, was forced to counsel his key playmaker. In what was a spiteful game, Horne-Francis gave away two free kicks because he blatantly threw his opponents to the ground.
Jason Horne-Francis loses his cool again... ðŸ˜
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They were idiotic and selfish actions because, in the moments, Horne-Francis was more concerned about his ego than his team. One of the free kicks resulted in a goal to Gold Coast. Fox Footy commentator Jack Riewoldt said: “He was off the ball today. He gave away two silly free kicks … he let them get inside his head.” Horne-Francis finished with two goals and nine touches, playing midfield and forward. It was an almost game from Port Adelaide. They lost Lachie Jones with concussion, which will see Alex Davies suspended, and Todd Marshall with a hip-groin, but still ran the Suns to 14 points.
3. TROUBLE FOR TOBY BEDFORD
There shouldn’t be. Even though Richmond midfielder Tim Taranto was forced from the field with concussion, Bedford didn’t apply a dangerous tackle. The fact that the umpire didn’t pay a free kick in the back tells us that it wasn’t a dangerous tackle. Taranto took possession of the ball, was tackled by Bedford who dived at Taranto, and Taranto’s momentum helped carry both of them to the ground.
Unfortunately, the whip lash meant Taranto’s head hit the MCG turf. It was a fair tackle and there was no double for forceful motion from Bedford. If Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield can escape punishment for his tackle on Sam Walsh, then Bedford has not a worry in the world. We’ve got to accept that accidents happen in football and not every bad outcome has to have a villain. Bedford didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, if he didn’t lay the tackle, he would’ve been asked why he didn’t. That’s how absurd it is.
4. THE SAINTS ARE FRUSTRATING
Last week, they beat Sydney in one of the games of the year and this week they kicked 39 points and lost to the Crows in wet conditions at Adelaide Oval. They were in the game for three quarters before being demolished in the final quarter. The result leaves the Saints 15th on the ladder with a 6-11 win-loss record. No one at the Saints expected miracles this year, but nor did they expect such a poor season. President Andrew Bassat recently said his Saints didn’t want to be irrelevant, but they stand accused of exactly that as the season enters its 19th week.
Big list decisions are looming. Seb Ross is 31, Tom Campbell is 32, Tim Membrey is 30, Zak Jones is 29, Dougal Howard is 28, Zaine Cordy is 27 and Ben Paton is 25. Some of them are list cloggers, some of them have had plenty of chances and most of them have their best footy well behind them. They all didn’t play at the weekend, but that’s not the point. To be 15th and have so much dead wood on the list is the issue. The million-dollar question is how and how quickly the Saints can fix it?
5. DON’T CHANGE THE BROWNLOW
Isaac Heeney’s suspension put everyone in a fizz. AFL coaching great Mick Malthouse was right when he told the ABC on Saturday: “It (the Brownlow eligibility rules) should not be touched under any circumstance and it (should stay) as it is … Don’t dabble with the rules of history.” The issue is how do we deal with careless acts – which once commanded a free kick – which now incur a suspension. My mate Brendon had a worthy idea. It’s a demerit point for acts considered careless and not intentional, or of a low impact, and if a player accumulated three demerit points then the player was suspended for one game. It would mean acts such as Heeney’s accidental swipe would not immediately incur a suspension. It would also mean, for example, that Zak Butters, who has been fined several times this season for lashing out at opponents, would be ineligible because he would’ve accumulated three demerit points. It’s an idea which keeps the Brownlow Medal integrity intact and gives some leniency to players.
6. ‘CHICKEN WING’ TACKLES
Although deemed the perfect tackle because it restricts the player from disposing of the ball, it does have the potential to cause injury. When Nick Daicos gathered the ball on the wing on Friday night, and was accidentally kneed in the back of the leg, he had a) no prior opportunity and b) had one arm being held/pulled away from the ball. He had zero chance of disposing of it while also being put in a vulnerable position. The chicken wing tackle is dangerous and is yet another example of how the ball winner has been disadvantaged this season. Prior opportunity has been practically swiped from the game, which favours the tackler, and now we have chicken wing tackles swamping the game. It will become an issue soon enough.
7. THE 50M DEBACLE
In the first quarter on Saturday night, Melbourne’s Kossie Pickett ran over the mark and the umpire immediately called a 50m penalty and Kyle Langford kicked the goal. Kossie took ground when he shouldn’t have and paid the price. In the third quarter, Ed Langdon took a mark and Nic Cox ran over the mark – which was exactly what Pickett did – yet the umpire this time called Cox to come back several metres. How come there’s leniency for one play and not the other? The entire mark/stand rule needs a review because it’s become too rubbery and inconsistent.
LIKES
1. MORE FUN FROM TOBY GREENE
The Giants skipper took the piss out of Sydney’s Isaac Heeney on video during the week and followedup on Sunday by taking the piss out of Richmond at the MCG. The video had a bit of humour, although the Swans weren’t laughing, and you suspect Richmond coach Adam Yze wasn’t smiling on Sunday either when Greene got to work. Playing on the experiencedNathan Broad, Green kicked four goals and had a season-high 154 ranking points.
He just knows how to find the ball, and althoughhe has been wasteful this season with 24.20, on Sunday he kicked 4.0. It was a strange game because the Giants kicked 17.6 from just 36 entries as opposed to Richmond’s 12.12 from 53 entries. Class separated these two teams. The positive for Richmondwas the overall endeavour – they got within three goals in the final quarter – and the three goals third-gamer Steely Green. Greene and Green made a cold day at the MCG all the more better.
2. LACHIE AND HIS LIONS
That’s six on the trot for Brisbane and they include their last three wins by five points (Melbourne), 11 points (Adelaide) and 13 points (West Coast). They’re not playing their absolute best football, but they are getting the job done. We asked last week was it possible Lachie Neale could win a third Brownlow Medal? On Sunday, he had 34 disposals, kicked two goals and had 13 clearances. That’s another three votes and by our calculations he could have five three-voters from his past eight games, and two others in games against Collingwood and Gold Coast. The TAB has him rocketing to $8 behind Cripps, Merrett, Daicos and Bontempelli in that order.
The Lions keep winning. This was always going to be a test, with the Eagles gathering a response after Adam Simpson’s sacking. In fact, the Eagles with a bit of luck could have stolen it. The farewell for Simpson, it must be said, was not cringe. He was celebrated by the crowd and at the end of the game offered a final wave. It was handled much better than his official departure last Tuesday that’s for sure.
3. HIS BEST AND WORST
Gold Coast’s Alex Davies’ career-best game will be his last for a couple of weeks. He’s a contest winner, which is what you want in a player, but that willingness to compete got him in trouble on Sunday. He cannoned into Port Adelaide’s Lachie Jones when Jones had his head over the ball. It wasn’t malicious, but it was reckless and he is likely to be suspended for at least three weeks. The penalty is high because Jones was subbed out with concussion. Davies didn’t let the incident, nor the physical retaliation from Port players, get inside his head. The 22-year-old finished with 20 disposals, 13 contested, laid a game-high 12 tackles and won eight clearances. At 193cm, he was also required to take 12 ruck contests. It was a big return from a player who has struggled to break into the Suns team. It was his fourth game of the season and 29th overall. As expected, the Sun won at home because they always do. This week, it’s the Giants away. We wait and see if they have grown up for that game.
4. BRILLIANT BEVO
It was said pre-match he was coaching for his career and not for the first time this season, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge put his doubters back in the box. He is a wonder at bucking the narrative. He had his players buzzed in for the contest – desperation apparently was the demand – and the Bulldogs responded. That he can elevate the emotional commitment from his players is not the issue. He’s brilliant at that. The issue is the varying emotional commitment from week to week, which is why the Dogs are 9-8 and waver between potential contenders and missing finals.
Saturday’s win was their best win of the season. They had key players missing and yet they bettered the Blues, led by Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, who was more authoritative in the air and on the ground, and Rhylee West who is becoming more and more important. Last week we said we couldn’t trust the Dogs after their insipid effort against Port Adelaide and despite knocking over Carlton, we’re still not sure how big a threat they are. Consistency always is their issue. If they beat Geelong at Geelong this week, the doubters will disappear. As will the narrative about Beveridge coaching for his career. As the Blues, there’s no need for panic. If Charlie Curnow kicked straight, the result would’ve been different.
5. REBUILDING ON THE RUN (I)
Melbourne won’t win the flag this year and that’s OK because the Demons are using this year to build for the future. Sydney and Geelong are the best at building on the run. They have remained competitive while exposing youth, and that’s seemingly what Melbourne is doing. Against Essendon, the Demons had five players under 20 games – Taj Woewodin, Caleb Windsor, Daniel Turner, Koltyn Tholstrup and Andy Moniz-Wakefield – and three more under 50 games – Kade Chandler, Judd McVee and Jacob Van Rooyen.
In contrast, Essendon had three players under 50 games – Nik Cox, Harrison Jones and Nate Caddy. Despite a year of upheaval, which included the Clayton Oliver drama, the Petracca injury, the Gawn and Lever injuries, the forward line issues, and let’s not forget the loss to West Coast over there, the Demons are in there swinging. They are in the top eight with Fremantle (away) and the Giants (home) over the next two weeks. If they win those games, they are playing in September, which would be a damn good result.
6. REBUILDING ON THE RUN (II)
It feels like Adelaide has been rebuilding since the Grand Final loss in 2017. They certainly haven’t played finals since that debacle. And they won’t play finals again this year. What they are doing is playing the kids. On Saturday night, they had six players under 25 games – Mark Keane, Billy Dowling, Zac Taylor, debutant Hugh Bond, Brayden Cook and Luke Nankervis – and still disposed of the Saints in a dominating final quarter. After Phillipou kicked a goal late in the third quarter, which made the margin one point, the Crows outscored the Saints 32-1. It was an extraordinary return in the wet conditions and the kids like Dowling and Taylor were prominent. They are the green shoots which the Crows desperately need.
7. THE POCKET DYNAMO
Usually midfielders need 35 touches to be judged best afield, but Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe had just 16 and four clearances and arguably was the most influential player in Tasmania on Saturday. The Herald Sun votes were James Sicily 3, James Worpel 2 and Luke Jackson 1 and it will be interesting to see if the coaches agree. At three quarter-time, Newcombe was the 20th highest rated player on the ground and by the end of the match had rocketed to fourth. In a cracking final quarter, he had seven disposals, two clearances, four score involvements and kicked a goal. The goal came via a brilliant tap from Lloyd Meek which allowed Newcombe to streak through the stoppage and snap the goal on his right foot. It was inspiring in the same vein as Sicily’s two goals in the final term, one of which came after he took a pack mark carrying a bung shoulder. How perfect this week is. The surging Hawks play Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday. A win and finals beckon and it would also end Collingwood premiership defence, if it’s not over already.
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